It's a Culture Thing

Sorry, again,  for the lack of blog posts. It has become more difficult to write about my time here. Everything has become normal, I sometimes forget that it's still foreign for those back home. I'll try my best to capture the details of life in South Africa. I'll pick up from where I left off. Enjoy! Sorry, the internet is no where near good enough for photos.

We arrived back home (Children's Home) on February 13th, after our Garden Route travels. As we were still officialy "on leave" we didn't need to join the flurry of competitive volunteers, running after clues as part of a team building excersize. I recently took part in one of our team buiding days AFTER a very long night shift. It's safe to say I was not in the best of moods, running around, stroppy and exhausted. Well, it was a little bit fun. Pssht. 

On that very day, I met Damson, my new room mate. She's a returnee who was here until August 2013 with Project Trust. It was highly amusing when she bolted into the kitchen screaming "HI, no time for introductions" before bolting back out. 

My old room mate Lisa went home to Germany. I still miss her, we became really good friends and VERY good room mates. I'll definitely pop over to Germany for a visit. The night before Lisa left, we went to Cubana to celebrate her time here. It was lot's of fun. Cubana is the too-fancy-for-my-liking Shisha Bar where the classy Capetonians drink. 

Roanna and Jen, from a project in Malawi , joined us on that same night. They spent almost three days travelling to Cape Town. It was incredible to hear about their Malawian adventures. I couldn't miss taking them to Signal Hill

I was a little worried that Rach and I would become friendless at the loss of Yvi and Lisa. However, with Damson's appearance and Katie's transfer to Durbanville, we are extremely happy! Katie's project in Underburg wasn't going so well so she joined us in February. She fit's invery  well, sharing a room with Rachael. We have become each other's motivation for the local gym. It's very odd being with brittish people, I had become so accustomed to day-dreaming (german german german german german).

One of my (three) partners returned home for personnal reasons. Although she is missed amongst the volunteers, I know she is happy back home.

Shortly after Katie arrived, Peter from Project Trust arrived. He is our PT desk officer, keeping us in check from the tiny Isle Of Coll. I correctly guessed that he would arrive wearing a navy blue "staff" polo shirt and his bag over one shoulder. The visit was really nice, It was good to catch up and talk about our time so far. We were treated to a meal in Mama Africa, Long Street- the bill on Peter. The steak was devine but i'm really not a fan of PAP. Pap, Pap, everywhere Pap. Pap. Google Pap. 

My new room mate Damson plays the violin. There was a cringy moment when I almost cried at her playing. She has been learning some Scottish Ceilidh songs, poking at my heart for home with her bloody bow. Katie and I spent yesterday dancing around Damson while she played the Gay Gordon. Yes.

We recently celebrated St Patricks day. The South Africans are very taken with St Patricks, I don't know why. Our idea of "celebrating" was to paint our faces green and head to the local bar to play pool. The Black Label was GREEN. It was fun.

One of the interesting things about Durbanville are the volunteers.  I'm sure you can imagine the dynamics of forty-odd teenagers living together. It can be fun but there IS drama. To give you an insight, here's an example...

One of the boys decided to wear a Black Morph Suit last night. No reason, he just decided. Unsurprisingly, only he thought it was "funny." Armed response were called on the account of "an unknown black man wandering the grounds." Armed Response as in WE-HAVE-GUNS-WE-WILL-SHOOT-BULLETS-ARMED-RESPONSE. It definitely wasn't funny. One of the girls was terrified and I can't blame her. A man in a body suit, no face, hissing at you like an animal, in South Africa.

We recently had a Sports Day for the children. It was lot's of fun. I took some photo's 

There was recently a memorial service for a staff member who passed away. I didn't consider how emotional it would be to create the video for the service. I had to watch each child say a "good-bye" message. Some of the children were clearly unaware of the actual circumstance.The little ones shouted "By uncle and rest in pleaseeeeee, please." 

Drumming is going great, as usual. It's my favourite thing to do. The circle want to sponsor Damson and I to embark on a facilitation course. This course will give us the skills and knowledge we need to lead our own circle. That is extremely exciting news. It will allow us to run a circle for the children.

I have news. My mum AND my friend are coming to South Africa! My friend, Luke, will visit in May. He is coming for two weeks. I think we will travel along the Garden Route. If we take South Africa's Baz-Bus-for-Backpackers,  we can visit anywhere and everywhere. I'm going to pressure him into the Worlds Highest Bungy. 

I still can't believe my mum is coming to South Africa. It wouldn't be possible without the generosity of my mum's sisters. They are sending her to South Africa as a birthday present, wow! I didn't know how to process the news at first, I had adapted to the idea of not seeing anyone from home for a whole year. However, now that I know she will soon be here, I really can't wait! For once I'm asking time to hurry up a little. I can't wait to share my experiences with her.

During my year, I only actually have twenty-four days of leave. So far I have used nineteen. I won't be taking leave when my mum visits. She will be staying here in Durbanville until I start my short week, we can then stay in Cape Town for five nights. I will use my extra five days leave when Luke arrives, as we won't be staying in the Cape. However, since I have chosen five week-days, I also get both weekends off! I have also volunteered to work extra shifts for extra hours. 

Everything is great at work. I am now a nightshift volunteer, working with the oldest girls. I love my work, I finally feel at ease. The girls are great. They do have their dramas and teenage tantrums but it's mostly all good fun. It's taken a very long time to build relationships with the girls, they were very cold in the beginning.

You might be curious about my title "It's a Culture Thing" ...

In South Africa, everything is a culture thing (it's a culture thing).  It's a Culture Thing  ranks high in my list of "most said phrases." Everytime the volunteers do something silly it's justified as being a culture thing. Every time the kids say something odd it's a culture thing. Every time we eat bizarre food it's a culture thing. The babies dancing with more sass than twice their age is a culture thing. The transport is a culture thing. The languages are a culture thing. Hair is a culture thing. South Africa is just one big culture thing. It's so much of a culture thing that South Africa's comedian Trevor Noah named one of his shows "It's a Culture Thing." It's a culture thing.

To bring this blog to an end - everything is perfect.