Blood Hound or Doberman?

Man. A lot has happened- and I mean a lot. So much that I had to stay up one night and think about all the things I have seen and need to add to blog. SO here it goes...

Normally as we drive the 50 km back to Mthatha for a weekend, we probably see about 20-30 males on the side of the road peeing- not trying to hide it- just letting it all fly. If I tried to do this in the States I would be arrested- but here it is normal. What really weirded me out was when I was working atop the roof- I looked down and saw two women (at different times) walk off the road (barely) and just pull up there skirts and proceeded to squat. GROSS! it is so gross.

One day, my Mom and I were walking to the store to get some food and on our way out we say two boys- probably around 18 years old in a real, old fashioned fight. My Mom was kind of scared- but all I remember thinking was "They can't fight at all. Why don't they just try to tackle each other and try to break the nose?" Funny that's what came into my mind.

Okay. This is going to be long- but very good. We went to Mthatha this past weekend to the Catholic compound for the handicapped and orphans. I met a Swiss girl the last time I was there and she said she would take me down to the orphanage the next time I arrived (which was this weekend). So I went to knock on her door and a beautiful girl answered it. Her name is Karin- she is from Lichtenstein. So normally I would be like "oh Nina (the swiss girl) isn't here...I'll come back." BUT NO! I talked to her and another nice girl from Germany who's name is Anne. They invited me in and Karin said she would take me to the orphanage on Saturday. I probably stayed there an hour and a half talking. Karin is 26 and had volunteered at the orphanage 2 years before- and is only going to be here for a week. So Saturday came and after waiting until about 3pm Karin came and we went to the orpahanage. I got to play with tiny black babies. She took me around to the toddler section where we stayed for about 30 mins. They stole my wallet 3 times. No joke. It cracked me up. THEN, we walked back and I went back to my flat with an invite to go over to the girls flat later that night. I went back over and played UNO with them and a boy named Matteas. Then we all just talked. Sunday, I went to the longest mass in my life and waited again for Karin to fetch me to go see the orphans. She came around 4pm and we walked back on down there. My parents' plan was to leave Sunday night to go back to Qumbu- so I didn't have much time and was bummed that I couldn't hang out with the girls another night. Nina was supposed to come back and it would have been fun to go back over there. Well, as luck would have it- the road ended up being closed and we went back to the compound. I walked right over to the girls flat and stayed there for almost 3 1/2 hours.

I don't know if it was because I was lonely and I could talk to people my age and with a similiar background or what, but I had one of the most fun weekends ever. They are all so cool and fun to be around- This Friday, we will go back to the compound and I think we are going to have a party with wine and some food. That is the thing I am looking forward to most this week.

So- If I ever go to Europe- Switzerland and Lichtenstein are on the itinerary.

Anyways, other than that- we have painted 2 coats on the roof and are now working on refurbishing the flooring in the church.

Oh yea- The days are long so I've been trying to think of simple decisions to make in my life- such as: should I get a blood hound or a doberman as a dog? Should I buy an Xbox 360? etc etc. And you know- I think of these things everyday and still have no answer.

I saw VT over Nebraska. Niiiiice

You are Ikhewzi!

I assume from the comments I have recieved that people read this- but I think I will write like no one does.

We are still on the roof and it is frustrating- I would very much like to be doing some building or demolition. BUT we are where we are and I should try to be positive. Over this past weekened we went to East London to get some supplies. The drive was about 4 hours one way so by the time we got back we were pretty worn out. I am drinking some wine here, which is tasty but makes me sleepy. Man does it make me sleepy.

The African people stare at me. I think it's because of apartheid- but it could also very well be because of my stunning looks. nahhhhh... But they do. It's okay though- I think if I were oppressed I would stare at a person who could have oppressed me as well. As long as I don't have to throw any 'bows, everything is kosh.

We have 56 days left here- time in some instances moves slowly and others flies on by, which I suppose is a lot like life. (I don't know what that means because life is always being lived so, of course it is like life). I definitely miss home- but am enjoying my time here. President Mbeki was essentially forced out of office, which has caused some turmoil- but not much more than a ripple in the vast ocean that is African politics. Anyways, internet is more accessible than I had thought-so hopefully I can write more.

Brrr....it's spring

It is cooooold here! Who would have thought that it would be so cold here? It is 9:00 pm on Saturday September 20. A day off! We have been scraping the roof of the church- some local Africans joined which made me glad because they are a pair of 23 year old boys. They speak enough English to share some laughs. It rained today and like I said before it is sooo cold. There is no heat in the houses so I am having to wear layers upon layers of clothes.

I haven't taken enough pictures yet- boooo- but there still is alot of time to make magic with a camera. Unfortunately, the internet isn't fast enough to upload any pics- but we may be getting a wireless card which appears to be a little faster.

In my off-time we hang out with the priest, study for the MCATs, and attend random churchy things. Like today, we went to mass dedicated to an unvieling of a tombstone, saw it at the graveyard, and went to a biiiig lunch. Now it isn't the most fun things to do, but I am going to try to be open to those sorts of things so I can grow as a person and try to be more positive. Hope all is well with you all.

Man, it's been awhile

Hay hay hay! Geez, it's been too long since my last update. Ten days actually. The internet here is slow- sometimes you can get on and it won't even load up a page. This is the first time I have gotten blogger to even load. Either way- I'm here safetly. We are mostly in Qumbu living with a priest, who by the way is absolutely hilarious. However, we do go to Mthatha which is about 50 km from here. There we stay in an area called Ikhewzi Lokusa. There is a compound run by nuns who take in the handicapped (both physically and mentally), teach them skills, such as: Sewing, Leather working, Pottery, and more. The nuns also have an orphanage with children ranging between the ages of 3 months and 4 years old. I really want to work in the orphanage when we go back there for a few days.

It really is sad to see so many disabled people, some of whom were shot in the back, hit on the head with a pipe, or ate bad pork to become that way. It is inspiring, however, to see how chipper they are and how much they do for themselves. I have heard not one single complaint- amazing! I doubt I would be like that. They play soccer very well and enjoy every minute of it.

Here in Qumbu, we are currently scraping the roof of the church so we can paint it as one way to seal it. The church has had some water damage, so we are trying our best to seal the roof. The next step will be painting. Then we will apply some sealent to the random holes and cracks in the tin. There is a lot of work to be done here AND in 10 outlying churches- but I doubt we will make it to many of them due to the time constraints.

It's funny, when I told people I was coming to South Africa to do work they said "South Africa isn't like Africa." And to be honest, even though I have been to South Africa before I too believed that. BUT....in Mthatha, 77% of people are unemployed. Here in Qumbu it is much the same. People do not have money. They have to walk sometimes miles to get water. So South Africa is very much like Africa. People here are poor. And it isn't safe- although I can't say people aren't obviously intimidated by my bod.

Anyways, I am going to try to be patient and update this as much as I can- but since it is dial-up and the priest pays for the phone bill, it's hard for me to spend a lot of time on his internet. I miss all you guys and miss home- but am really loving my time here and feel very grateful to be able to come back and see with more mature eyes what I, and all of us really, take for granted. I have been in such a good mood here and am happy, which is very good- hopefully I can bring this back to the States! I can check emails pretty easily so if you guys want to send me some emails I can see them and write back. Please update me on VT football. I saw we beat GT! niiiiice.

Miss you all- hope all is well there.

Tomorrow

Even though we are leaving tomorrow, it still hasn't hit me.  It doesn't seem like by Wednesday we will be halfway around the world for 3 months.  It hasn't hit me that 3 months is a long time.  Today, I just did some laundry- prepared my ipod- and will probably end the night by playing 2 crude dudes with some friends.  

I suppose I will be all packed by tonight and will be ready to go to the airport around 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.  I should take advantage of all I can while I'm here- I know I will be without 85%  of these things I take for granted.  Air Conditioning, I will miss thee.  Nice big bed, goodbye. Internet whenever I want it, it's been too good.

Anyways, tomorrow is the big day and then my life will be different.  It's going to be crazy.

3 days

Three days until we make the almost day and a half journey (including layovers) to South Africa.  I know some of the plan has changed- but I do not want to get into it too deep right now because I should be asleep and will most definitely pay for it tomorrow.

I do know that we will be going to Umtata instead of Qumbu.  I also know we will be driving to Qumbu to do work.  Here is a map of the area.

Umtata is near the star and Qumbu is just North

The ocean you see is the Indian Ocean- and I think we will be able to travel there at somepoint.  We still will be building and repairing buildings- but we will also spend time in an orphanage located in Umtata, which I look forward to doing a lot.  Hopefully we will be able to provide medical care to the children there.

This may sound stupid- but I think ( and hope) that I am going to be taller than 90% of the people there- I seem to remember being much taller than them when I went in high school- so hopefully I'll be able to teach people the phrase "How's the weather up there?"  I, of course, will proceed to do a helicopter dunk then say, "The weather is good, sooooo good."

 And the clouds in the sky will vaporize.