Things I love about Open Arms

Written on August 13^th, 2010:

In an attempt to get one of the girls to talk in more positive terms I told her that often I like to take time to write out everything that I like about where I am. (Where I am physically, emotionally, in life, with my friends, you name it…). And while it may not have gone entirely as planned in terms of our conversation, it did remind me that it’s about time I take stock of the things that I love at Open Arms – and in this case, share those with you.

I’ll try to keep this to a (somewhat) reasonable length but we all know that I’m not one for few words. Especially when it comes to this blog so here goes!

Things I like (but really I mean love) about Open Arms (in no particular order):

The children (first and foremost). The stunning stars at night. Eating Milo cereal every morning. The incredible people that come here to volunteer. The purple house. Kids falling asleep on my lap during movie night. Goodnight hugs and kisses. Throwing the babies up in the air. Seeing our one year-old smile. The mamas’ mac n’ cheese. Going to Auntie Ruth’s. Dancing in the crèche. The collage I made of my friends and family. Flipping through the pages of my (nearly full) journal. Watching one little girl’s head pop up from behind the counter. Hearing the word “Kea-ten!” shouted from just about anywhere. Smiles. Finishing a book with one of the kids. Getting cards from the kids. Talking about life with the other volunteers. Watching Auntie Rita in action. Listening to the CD Rosie made us. Long car rides. South African sunrises and sunsets. Making it up the hill to Open Arms on our (few and far between) runs. Heaven Bars, Magnum Bars, Tex Bars and Lunch Bars. Imitating the children with their thick South African accents: “Pickmeup!.” “Whatsyoname?!” Funny language barriers. Seeing the kids wearing my sweatshirt. Hearing one of the girls we’re teaching ask a perfectly-formed question in English without being prompted. Sloppy, wet kisses. More smiles. The hilarious things that the kids say. Telling the kids about the charms on my necklace. The kids singing (and dancing!) at church. Giving piggyback rides (shh, don’t tell them!). Watching How I Met Your Mother with the other volunteers. Mug cake (good or bad!). Getting to wear sweatpants whenever I like. Baking with the kids. Tiny clothes. Tiny shoes. Fat cakes. My South African stunna shades (thanks again Caitlin, Kaitlyn, and Elyssa!). E-mails from my friends and family. Reviewing my pictures. Steri Stemple chocolate milk. Being the cause of one of those million dollar smiles. Laughter. Girls night. Having one of the boys ask: “How did you learn to play soccer?.” Stunned faces when I take them by surprise. Tickling them. Hearing one of the two year olds sing “Everywhere we go” over and over…and over again. Realizing I’ve now memorized the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD almost completely. Watching Cars with a few kids in my lap. One of the girls constantly shaking out her blanket. The constant talk about “poofy.” My conversations with the oldest child at Open Arms. Reflecting on my life. Pushing myself. Talking to Auntie Rita. Talking to Auntie Jeanine. Feeling like I’m making a difference. Coming up with new ideas to make this place better. Auntie Roses. Dominoes. Laughing with and at Uncle Pat. The trees. The swing set. “Wee.” Remembering I’m in Africa. The goats. Liane laughing so hard she snorts. Silly stories. Komga. Mpshane. Inkwenkwezi. The sweet animals. Braais. Finding out I’ve been spelling everything wrong since day 1. Festival. Bringing my Notre Dame blanket all the way across the world. Talking about Notre Dame (constantly). Hot chocolate. The nargi (sp?) tree. Going to Esme’s. Talking on the phone on Bob’s porch (or the blue house porch). More hugs. More smiles. Snack time. Crazy hour (yes, even crazy hour). Teasing the oldest kids. Learning clapping games. Making up not-so-secret handshakes. Getting fist bumps from the two year-olds. Hearing “Whatsyoname?Keaten!” (no pause in between). Sitting up late at night writing my blog. My bunk bed. Getting mail. Taking pictures. Small battles. Having the mamas teach me Xhosa. Trying and majorly failing to speak Xhosa properly. Hearing “little lady” or “madame” said by one of our older boys. Backwards hats on the kids. Having the kids say “Go Irish!” (or ask if I go to “Go Irish”). Hearing about how the kids have changed (in positive ways). South African accents. Meeting new people. Putting my hand out in front of a kids mouth and them knowing that means “spit it out” even without any words. Petting cheetahs. Seeing giraffes and lions and all sorts of things I’ve never seen before. The box of things we have collected from children’s mouths (shocking what’s in there!). Playing Pictionary-telephone with an Open Arms theme. Reading. Writing in my journal. Cottage pie. Tuna salad. Homemade bread. That’s what she saids. The kids singing. Birthdays. Bonfires. Storytime. Singing in the crèche. Helping the kids paint. Drawing portraits of the kids. The South African flag. Doing craft projects in the crèche. Hearing about school. The kids’ names. Feeling like even after only two months that I’ve lived here all my life. Falling in love with so many little things it’s hard to name them all.

I could go on (and undoubtedly in the near future I will), but for now I’d prefer to end with the quote hanging beside my bed (thanks Nicole!):

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it’s the journey that matters in the end.” –Ursula LeGuin. Here’s to the journey!