This is an outrageously long post -- playing catch up

Wow, so it’s been a real long time since I’ve recorded what actually happening at Open Arms! As you can tell by my last few posts I’ve been keeping myself occupied (as usual) by musing and reflecting about life here but I’ll try to stick to reporting the more factual events this time around.

Alright, well my last post about actual events was on July 23rd…so what’s happened since then?

Well, according to my journal (thank you Notre Dame service send off!) I awoke early on July 24th to the sound of screaming children and a vuvuzela (thanks again Uncle Zach for that precious gift…it has since been destroyed and Pat and I couldn’t be happier ;). It really is funny how I’ve discovered, looking back, that it’s the little thing sin life that consume the pages of my journal. For instance on July 26th I wrote about the mini dance party that happened in the crèche before the day’s activities began. It was such a blast! We blared the High School Musical 2 soundtrack (an Open Arm’s favorite) and just…danced. Eleven, beautiful, hilarious children and I bopped around for about fifteen minutes and it was for sure one of the major highlights of my day! Similarly a few days before that my journal entry was pretty much exclusively about watching two of our boys dance during crazy hour – picture one four year-old thrusting his hips madly to the other children singing about Jesus while another just lifts his stiff leg up and down to the beat. Seriously too much!

Ah, but so much has happened since my last entry I’d better not get too caught up in individual dances and such (although goodness knows I’ll fall back into that in just a few paragraphs!).

Since my last entry so many volunteers have come and gone it’s gotten hard to keep track of who came and left when. It’s actually a pretty bizarre feeling to realize that within the span of a month and a half I’ve had to say goodbye to Zach, Caitlin, Kaitlyn, Elyssa, Erin, Liane, Susan, Mary, and (beautiful auntie) Wendy. But rest assured they have all left an indelible mark. Saying goodbye to Auntie Elyssa certainly marked the end of an era for me as well as she was the last to leave of the volunteers that were here when I arrived over two months ago. Luckily Elyssa didn’t have to leave before we could celebrate her 21st birthday with a roaring bonfire, delicious s’mores (reminded me of s’mores in Australia with Bianca!), and hilarious conversations underneath a stunning moon.

In the past two days we have also been fortunate enough to have two new volunteers: Auntie Katie from Germany and Auntie Elly from the States. (Thank you to them for giving me some roommates in the Purple House! – it was so weird to be there by myself!).

The past month or so has also included a few trips in various forms for the volunteers and I. Pat, Liane, Erin, Susan, and I made it to a South Africa must on August 2nd – a game reserve! (By the sounds of it most of you have seen the brilliant pictures via Erin’s facebook but I’ll talk a bit about it nonetheless!). The “safari” we went on was a mere 30 minutes away from Open Arms at a place called Inkenkwezi and man was it awesome! (I know I overuse the word “awesome,” but this truly was awesome!) We saw all kinds of animals including: blessed buck, wildebeests, (white) rhinos, impala, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, kudu, monkeys, elephants, lions, and cheetahs! I wrote six pages on all that we learned about these animals in my journal but maybe I shouldn’t bother you with all the details? The gist is just this: it was sweet! We were about 10 feet away at one point from one of only 60 white lion males (two others were just a few feet further). There were also about half a dozen baby lions and a female lion. It was such a bizarre feeling to be so close! We were also lucky to see the white rhinos (given their name not because of their color but actually as a mistranslation of the word “wide”) since they were the only two on the reserve! We also got to go pet the cheetahs which was crazy! They’re seriously just like giant cats -- and that may seem like a “duh” statement but you should hear them purr!!

Pat and I were also lucky enough to be invited up to Grahamstown to stay with Rosie at Rhodes University which was an absolute blast! We got to watch her hockey tournament (Tri-varsity) in Port Elizabeth (they played great!) and Pat and I got a glimpse at one of the most awesome trends – all the students have matching coveralls that they decorate for their school. It’s hilarious and there are some pretty sweet designs!! The weekend was supremely great though. It was so nice to see Rosie, meet lots of her friends, hang out, check out a South African university (it actually reminded us a lot of Notre Dame!), and really just get away from Open Arms for a bit. (As much as I love it, it was nice to have a short break!). We were supposed to leave on Sunday morning but we happened to discover that we weren’t, in fact, in America anymore and found that all the busses left at the exact same time (3 hours before we started looking for one). We spent most of that afternoon calling every bus company we could (most didn’t answer or answered once then not the other times), checking out the internet (amidst frequent power outages), and failing to be able to pay for any of them due to our lack of South African credit cards. Fortunately Rosie was nice enough to put us up for another night and it turned out to be glorious and just what we needed. (Thanks Auntie Roses!! That was a great weekend!)

Other travels included a day long “getaway” into East London with Auntie Rita where we spent the morning running errands, shopping, and seeing the movie Inception (which I thought would be a break from having to think – but it turns out you have to think even more than usual while watching that movie!). In any case, it was a tremendous day out (although we did return to a food fight later that night – Shepherd’s pie everywhere! – why you would waste that delicious meal I can’t fathom!!)

But speaking of food, in the past two (+) months I have come to greatly appreciate a few culinary (and not-so-culinary) items. Tex Bars (you were right Caitlin, they’re delicious!), Lunch Bars (I have one stashed away for an emergency now), All Sorts (black licorice flavored candy that will have to take the place of Good and Plentys for a bit!), Niki Bars (thanks Auntie Roses!), and PS Bars (yum!!). Those have most definitely taken up a good chunk of my budget lately. (I’m trying to call it quits quite unsuccessfully…). And while I will never be able to replace Memphis Meltdowns (the best ice cream ever!) Magnum Death by Chocolates and Heaven Brownie Bars do the trick just fine! Surprisingly I have also come to adore beets! They are so good and I always go for seconds when I can! I have a love-hate relationship with butternut squash (which we have all the time) but I usually force myself to eat my entire helping of it because I know it’s so good for you – it’s starting to get easier to chock it down (though not much!). Of course, nothing will ever be able to rival fat cakes in my opinion (delicious homemade fried dough filled with mince meat or honey – so good!!).

Of course, while I started writing this I also happened to be scarfing down a box of…get this…TimTams!! which Pat and I discovered at a store that sells foreign goods! (Oh how I miss Australia!)

Alright, well I actually need to stop writing about food now since I realize that all I’ve been doing is eating and there has been relatively little working out to counteract it lately (sorry dad! – I’ll work on it!!). This wasn’t always the case though. One day I even worked out three times in one day including a Pilates class that proved to me how very inflexible I am, and ab workout, and a run down to the train tracks with Elyssa and Liane (going up our beast of a hill!).

Ok, but we all know the real reason that people read this blow is to hear more about the children – so back to them! The children, as per usual, have brought out all ranges of emotions in me. They are constantly proving to me that life is full of love, laughter, disappointment, anger, happiness, sadness, and everything in between but that all that is important is that we cherish the laughter, love, and happiness the most! Among my favorite moments with the children in the past month have been a few good quotes and conversations that I’ve written in my journal, my favorite of which took place one morning in the crèche. It seriously just cracks me up! Christine, the crèche teacher I work with, and I were explaining to the children what stars are and the conversation went a little something like this:

Christine: Where do we find the stars?

Kids: Moon! The moon!

Christine: OK, yes, where are the stars and the moon?

Kids: The sun!! Sun! The sun!

Christine: Ok, the sun, the moon, and the stars are where?

Kids: Goat! Orange! Horse!!

(I kid you not, those were actual answers!) Boy oh boy do I love these kids!

Despite the ridiculous answers given by the children in this instance, I’m actually finding my work with them to be rather rewarding and I think we’re making great progress! Two weeks ago Christine had me prepare a short activity regarding the planets, sun, and moon for the afternoons which I absolutely loved! We finally put (one of) our failed piñatas to good use by using red and yellow handprints to turn it into the sun! I was so impressed by the kids’ willingness to sit still and wait for their turn to paint!! (This, if you couldn’t tell, is a pretty difficult task!)

Working with the three girls that we wanted to get into school has also been extremely rewarding. Liane, a volunteer and (former?) kindergarten/fourth grade teacher started working with the girls in the morning along with me and got two of them to memorize their alphabet perfectly! (The other is a little further behind but making tremendous progress!). We’ve also been working on the girls’ English which is getting to be much better! (One of them has been dazzling us by asking questions in full sentences! – although it should be noted that frequently one of the girls would answer “pink” as her favorite food and animal…woops! We’re working on it…). The good news is…drum roll please!...the girls had their first day of school this past Wednesday!! I couldn’t have been more prouder of them! They were thrilled when we told them (they were in the bathtub at the time so there were lots of wet high fives!). Ah, I do miss teaching them, but what a joy to see them come home from school!! It melts your heart (I know, I know, most everything here does!)

Of course, education has always been near and dear to my heart (mostly due to my parents’ incredible and unwavering dedication to Reed and my education), but I find that here it’s becoming more and more apparent how extremely important it is. Working with the girls and in the crèche has, of course, given me some insights into how important it really is, but there have also been several other events that have really brought it all into perspective.

First, a meeting at that Rita, Liane, Pat and I attended a few weeks ago at one of the schools (11 of our children attend this school). We went to this meeting prepared for a parent-teacher type meeting but instead found ourselves listening to the principal address the parents about the school’s budget – or lack thereof. The principal was literally having to pay for a few of the teachers’ salaries out of his pocket, not to mention other expenses. Ultimately he looked around at the parents gathered there (only about 40 or so for 800 children at the school!) and was asking for a way to raise money. He suggested that all parents donate R50 per child but it was clear that he wasn’t going to get all (or even most) of the parents on board for that. Just to put that into perspective, that’s roughly $7 per child. He couldn’t get $7 per child. Wow. That hit home. It just makes you so endlessly sad. Seven dollars. Just let that sink in for a second. As if that weren’t uncomfortable enough to here, it did, in fact, get a little more uncomfortable for us when he looked right at us and suggested we get help from “overseas.” (We’re not really sure he understands that as a privately-funded home we work hard to fundraise just to raise our children,. However, the lovely and talented Liane was able to raise some funds from home to donate to the school as well as Open Arms, so that was wonderful!)

Ah yes, and I can’t go without mentioning the opening to the meeting. The principal opened with, I kid you not: “If you’re wondering who these white folk are they’re from Open Arms…we only have black children at our school.” We’re still not exactly sure why he felt the need to say that to us but oh well…

That meeting was incredibly eye-opening for me, without a doubt, but what’s even sadder is what has been going on the past few weeks: major strikes. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about strikes in the States – but this one going is ridiculous. It’s anyone’s best guess as to whether or not our kids will be sent home from school because no teachers are there. (Now, granted, there’s always a chance their won’t be teachers there even when the teachers aren’t striking…don’t get me started…but still!). Our children at the school I mentioned before have been home for a week straight now. But what’s worse than them being sent home is that around the Eastern Cape these people on strike are literally threatening to burn down schools, preventing students from going in, even stealing busses and throwing rocks at their windows. I mean seriously! It makes you sick – here are teachers, the people who are supposed to take care and educate our children and this is how they’re behaving!! Are our children supposed to destroy busses when they don’t get their way?! I hope not! They’re even preventing teachers from going into school that want to be there! Ok, now that said, I understand that they want higher wages, that lots of people need to make ends meet, but just the way they’re going about it…And of course Americans do things like this all the time, it’s just that I’ve never seen it so first hand before. Sorry, of course it’s only a select few that are doing the terrorizing so there’s no need to be upset with everyone but I think you get the gist.

Fortunately I got to see another side of education in South Africa (and in Komga in particular) by going to school with one of our girls who tested into a more elite school this year. Her teacher is a good friend of Rita’s and Open Arms and was so incredibly welcoming, helpful, and kind to me! The school was incredible! Just a beautiful little campus with great opportunities (especially for sport!), a wonderful principal, and great teachers. I had a blast helping the teacher grade papers, listen to her lecture, talk with the principal, and get into a lovely discussion about the distinctions between the South African and American educational systems. I seriously want all our children to go to this school, but unfortunately they have to cap their enrollment at 30 students per class because while they are a “semi-public” school they only receive funding for the teachers’ salaries and nothing else. Meaning students must apply to get in and have to pay tuition as well.

Rest assured, I am now more thankful than ever to have been given such a glorious and in-depth education with so many qualified, dedicated, and compassionate teachers and professors. (Thanks mom and dad, first and foremost for that!)

Other news from this past month? There’s so much….some funny things:
Women’s Day – the kids got the day off from school but as far as I can tell there is absolutely no known celebration for this holiday. Funny note on women as well, one day we heard a song on the radio that went a little something like this: “As a woman I’ve been told my place is in the kitchen…as a woman I work hard for the man to get the glory…” (We kept expecting her to continue onto something like “I won’t do it!” but nope…).

Having been in south African for over two months now I am also starting to realize that some things are just different here. For one, they operate on much different business practices and schedules. One day, I kid you not, we went to the post office during their regular hours and it was just closed. No explanation. Ok, fine, so we then proceeded to the library where a sign was hung: “Sorry, we will be closed on (the day’s date).” No explanation either. Then we drove up to the jail to let the kids see. Gate closed. Seriously people! Haha, oh dear. I suppose we all need a little time off, eh?

Of course, all that said I do love South Africa very much. The people that I have encountered and spent time with here are tremendously kind and welcoming! I am constantly astounded by the generosity of complete strangers who help at the home, offer to spend time with Pat and I should we ever need a break, or just smile and give you a hug.

Another thing I love about South Africa, and particularly the Eastern Cape is the Xhosa language. Goodness knows I will never be able to speak it, but I’m trying to pick up a few phrases each week to add to my repertoire. So far I can mispronounce the following: sit down, be quiet, listen, I’m cold, I’m hot, where’s (insert name)?, I’m hungry, look over there, I’m going to hit, hello, how are you, good, and thank you! The kids always make fun of use when we speak because we can’t click properly…one day I’ll get it! One of my favorite mamas (shh, don’t tell the others!), also recently attempted to teach me to make dough so that was great! She also taught me how to pour our milk without spilling (every time I would pour the milk out it would slosh all over the place but I haven’t spilled since she taught me!! So exciting!)

In other news, I fear that I’m going to be exposed to thousands upon thousands of hours of Dave Matthew music – it’s all Pat listens to, bless his heart! It got to the point where, when asked what kind of music we wanted to listen to, Liane and I simply responded in unison: “Anything but Dave.” – (If Pat ever read this though, I will admit it is growing on me.) Poor Uncle Pat, he’s had to spend much too much time with me!

Sorry, I know this is extremely length – my sincerest apologies, but I just want to paint a picture of what it’s like here on a daily basis: which is always an adventure, even when it seems like we do the same things again and again.

One of my favorite events of the past two months came in the form of a baby goat. The kids found the tiniest little baby goat you’ve ever seen wandering around the yard, abandoned by it’s mother. Pat was then put in charge of finding it’s family but none such luck. It was so heartbreaking to listen to it bleat for it’s mother. It would scream so loudly it’s voice would crack every time and it sounded just like a child screaming. Pat and I (along with the children) wanted desperately to keep him, but for obvious reasons we couldn’t. We eventually called our dear neighbor who, bless his heart, is always helping us out with things big and small and told him “Uh, we have a little dilemma.” Needless to say the name stuck, so now we refer to the little guy as “Dilemma.” Little Dilemma currently is still residing up at our neighbor’s house, so hopefully we can go visit him every now and again!

Some other funny things: the kids referred to me one night as “that chubby girl from High School movie.” Needless to say my self-confidence is in need of bulking up since the kids here have no filter for comments like “hey, what’s that one your face?,” “you smell bad!!,” or “your legs are hairy!” (among other things of the like). Another child, the one that is constantly dancing (so cute!) wore snap together jeans the other day that I swear I found unsnapped no less than five times that day – which doesn’t sound that funny except when they were unsnapped they looked like a long jean skirt. Such a funny sight! Of course there are always “poofy” (their word for poop) incidents here are Open Arms. One day one of our younger children, in protest of being punished, poofied on the floor only to have one of our babies put both hands in it and smear it on herself. (Thankfully I wasn’t a witness to this and only heard stories later!). One of our chattiest children, brother to one of our least chatty children, also was talking non-stop one night so I asked him how he was related to his sister; without missing a beat he answered “My sister says I should talk as much as possible and as loud as possible!” and then he just smiled and kept going. Ah, love him! I also just love joking around with the kids. One Saturday, after being told sixteen thousand times “I want to go to playroom!” I asked one of our children what day it was (his day is Monday). He, of course, responded: “Monday!” so I put on a shocked face and said “Oh no!! It’s Monday!! What are you children doing at home?!” We then proceeded to run around Open Arms telling Mamas, children, and volunteers that we’d forgotten to take everyone to school as it was Monday. He giggled the whole time and it absolutely reminded me why I love kids. One of the things I also love the most about Open Arms is sitting at the volunteer table and hearing one of our two year-olds singing faintly to herself in the other room “everywhere we go-oh!…everywhere we go-oh!…everywhere we go-oh!” over and over again.

Alright, well there are many more stories, little and big, that I can share with you but I realize that I am going on page 6 of my word document so I think I’d better start wrapping it up – my sincerest apologies! For those of you that have made it this far…thank you! And I’ll try not to do it again!

Thanks for reading! It took me so long to get through this post that I won’t even get into Bob’s visit, Rita going home (and all the adventures that has brought), and some gnawing questions about my time here. More soon. I will try to update every week or so with short posts, but feel free to e-mail me at any time as well. And please, please, please sent me updated about you!! I want to hear everything that’s been going on!! My life is often consumed by the going-ons at Open Arms and it’s such a delight and pleasure to hear what you all have been up to!!!