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Dear Blog friends
I'm not sure how many people are reading this but as I have said before I am not going to apologize for anything I say on here this is my year and you are seeing it through my eyes so you will get the good the bad and the very ugly. It is strange to think that I only left home a few weeks ago. After the London fiasco and then going around the south coast with the Ordsmiths all of a sudden it hit me. I'm not coming home for a year. This is CRAZY!!!! Just to quickly fill you in I am writing this on Thursday 9th September 2010 at 6:35 from my flat as we have a laptop here with no internet and the internet at school is STONEAGE and cuts you off half way through which is why you are getting an essay now rather than the original blog I wrote last week as it cut off half way through writing and hadn't saved to the page so sorry. Anyway back to the original thing you want to hear rather than the ramblings of me.
So
I left Henry's house sobbing every few minutes unable to say goodbye. It turned out that my flight to Nairobi was delayed by an hour so we sat fairly quietly just holding hands and waiting for the inevitable to come. I eventually went through the security check and put on a brave face to go and find more volunteers. I introduced myself and was soon known as the newbie throughout the group. I never felt like an outsider and was astounded by the welcome that they all gave to me. I honestly think Project trust volunteers are a breed of people past volunteers that we met seem to have this incredible ability to enter a room and be able to strike a conversation about the most random things to complete and utter strangers. This gives me hope that I will fit into South Africa. BTW I will explain more later about past vols. So we sat on the plane and I was sat between Katie and Ellen both are from Northern Ireland and got me so excited for coming here. Katie is working near the coast in a project that is 2 hours away form the local shop so basically she has a really tough project and Ellen who is working in some of the roughest parts of Durban to the point that they have a chauffer.
We landed at Nairobi to find our next flight had also been delayed and so we spent around 2 and a half hours sat around Nairobi airport. Getting on the plane I found out I was sat on my own next to a woman from Sierra Leone who was flying to Sydney Australia to visit her sister. Then I got really freaked out at that time last year I was in Cairns making our way to Sydney in the next few days, freaky!!! We landed in Johannesburg and traveled to the Back packer Ritz in Johannesburg in one of the rich suburbs to be our home for the next few days. Saturday night was spent playing pool and for me getting to know the people who would become my family for the next year.
The next day we woke up and went on a tour of Soweto. Soweto is one of the regions of Johannesburg and to be honest I was amazed. We drove through Soweto along the main road and just sat looking out of the window the social divide was amazing the poorest people living in shanty towns such as the Chicken farm named from the fact it was owned by and Indian family who ran a chicken farm till they donated the land to the local people who have created a huge shanty town.
Next door to that there was the middle class who rented "house" from the council really they were four concrete walls and a tin roof which start at R800 for a 2 bedroom house so you had a living/ kitchen/ dining room with 2 bedrooms and a communal toilet for just under £80 a month. I will put this into context for you; I don't even get paid R800 a month. Then merely a few yards away there are the rant millionaires who live with swimming pools and live a more luxurious life than I could dream of. We then began to drive through what could be described as a downtown part of Soweto as there are multiple areas and regions we arrived at the Walter Sisulu square of dedication. This square commemorates where 30000 people gathered in 1955 to protest about the rights of South African people and from this the Freedom Charter was created establishing the 10 human rights of the South African people regardless of race. As we walked round the square, music boomed out of the walls with people setting up tables with fruit, vegetables and traditional African figures and cloths. We walked around reading the boards of information and eventually landed at the museum. It was unbelievable.
On entering you were faced with quotes from different societies created during the apartied and told the stories of local people. This would normally have been interesting for about 20 minutes but we were all captured as the stories were told by these wire figures that had been dress and the stories they told sewn into the cloth. Something that struck me about this was the way in which each person had experienced such brutalities and yet had lived to tell the tale, no sugar coating allowed.
Stories of young girls being captured and raped by the police and not being able to object for fear of being killed, people loosing loved ones whilst being removed from their homes to be placed in concentration style camps, trying to find parents, husbands and wives. One of the stories that I heard was of a husband and wife who became separated and the only way she recognized who her husband was by the end of their separation was the way he took her hand in his as his hands were the only thing that the war was unable to change as he had such charming hands.
We moved on from here to then go to the Credo Mutwa Village which holds Soweto's African worship grounds known as the Kwa-Khayu Lendaba. We entered and were told of the legends that surrounded the place and the current prophesier who had predicted the death of Princess Dianna, the HIV aids crisis across the world and also the bombing of the twin towers. This man is now used as a member of the government and has prophesized that MEDC countries will be returning the mother land, Africa, for assistance in the future so watch out folks.
After this we went to a Church which had been attacked by police officers and still has the scars to prove it. It has been visited by Nelson Mandela, Madonna and Bishop Desmond Tutu yet this was not the information that stayed with me. It was the singing. When we first enter the church grounds jazz was playing from huge speakers as people tucked into delicious smelling food. We entered the church and before you even stepped in you could hear the people singing, I thought there would be around 100 people at least singing, there couldn't have been many more than 30 and all I can say is that even though they have been through so much as a community, their faith is what has pulled them through. We then went to the back of the church and walked up to the art gallery which held pictures cataloguing the life of the church. We stood there and next to all the pictures people had written quotes and one that has really stuck with me is
What lies behind us and what lies in front of us, is nothing to what lies within us.
It was then that I stood and realized that this year is only whatever I make of it, and with that I have taken what I have been given and I am going to make this the best year of my life so far even if it kills me first, I would at least die happy.
We then went to the Hector Peterson museum. Hector Peterson was the second child to be killed in BANTO warfare which was the protest that children held stating that they did not want to be taught in Afrikaans and would rather be taught in their native tongue typically Sepedi or Sotu in Johannesburg. The museum was dedicated to Hector Peterson but yet this was not the only intention of the museum to inform on the events before and after his death but to highlight the rights of children in education and how the teachers were made to believe this was the way to teach by them being a full pot and pouring little information into each cup was the analyses given by one of the teachers being interviewed and how they tried to rebel but this only brought about trouble with the police and still poor results from pupils. We then returned to the hostel enroute via the World Cup stadium. Something that I never knew about the World Cup was that they broke even but the infrastructure that has been left behind has created a safer South Africa with combis having to be registered and you can identify which ones are or are not. This also means you don't catch so many of them with spanners being used as a steering wheel and ones that actually have doors rather than a piece of plastic preventing you being hurled into the road when they turn a corner.
On returning to the hostel we sat in the sun and enjoyed time together as a group. Later in the evening we went and visited our representative for South Africa who provided us with information about our Projects, hosts and local information that we might want to consider. He then provided us with alcohol and plenty of food including chilli con carne with rice and salads but just to sweeten the deal he served ice cream with hot chocolate fudge sauce. Mr. Ian Widdop certainly knows how to keep his volunteers happy. Ian is the representative for South Africa meaning if there is a problem which we feel we can not talk to our host about we can report to him.Once again we found ourselves at the backpackers hostel and read our tickets for the bus Polokwane to Johannesburg. Wait. What? That's right we had tickets but from our destination so ringing the bus company asap we discovered that they were closed, well it was 10pm at this point so fair enough. We stayed up until midnight and at midnight we gave Oren his birthday card as he turned 18 on the 30th August.
Bright and early in the morning we found out that we could not get to Polokwane until the next day as today's buses were fully booked. This meant the Polokwane people had an extra day and night in Johannesburg. So for the whole day we hung around at the youth hostel and waved our friends goodbye as they went off to their projects via plane or bus. The 6 of us that remained then went and shopped for some supplies for on the bus and also stopped of at the delicious bakery at the top of the road from the backpackers which btw has the most lovely owners and an excellent cook who makes a mean leek and potato soup.
So bright and early once again the 6 of us woke and gathered all our belongings and headed to the bus station to collect our new tickets which we had to pick up once we were there. Wrong again. They hadn't changed our tickets meaning we had to book ourselves on to ANOTHER bus to Polokwane. We jumped on the bus and after 4 hours or so on the bus tension and excitement was high as Polokwane began to poke its' head between the mountains. Landing at the bus station it was manic people bustled around us but waiting with arms wide open for us was Sue, our host.
Sue Altrenoxal is the head of the Enrichment Centre at Mitchell house; she is an Afrikaans woman who has adopted the cutest baby girl Erin who turned 1 the weekend before we arrived. She gave us all a big hug before whisking us off in her little car and a buckie (pick up style truck to you and me) and hurried us to our accommodation. Not without a few notes about buckies
"It is perfectly legal to sit in the back of a buckie but not to stand and never put your stuff in the back of one, unless someone is there to sit in the back so that you can guard your stuff from being nicked right out the back of your vehicle."
Always inspires confidence don't you think?
Polokwane has this very complicated one way grid system so getting round with the robots (traffic lights) took us a few fast minutes as we pulled into PEMPS hostel, our home for the year. PEMPS is a primary school with PEPPS being the attached high school with the hostel being home to those who board. We walked in and went up the stairs opening the door to our very own little flat.On entering there is a store cupboard to the right with a toilet straight in front, a door to the left of that being the bathroom and another door next to that being the Shower room. If you then turn 90 degrees anti clockwise there is the kitchen and another 90 degrees anti clockwise to enter the first bedroom, which Sarah and Yzzy share. You then walk through their room to the living and dining room and then through there to mine and Jenny's room. It is nothing special to say the least but we have made this our little home, and to be honest our little pad has become my sanctuary and is a lovely retreat from a busy day at work.
Now here is the part that is anyone knows me will be thinking wtf? I have to be up at 5:50 every morning to be picked up at 6:45 to be taken to work starting at 7:15. I know exactly what you are thinking and I would like you to stop giggling now.
So our first night consisted of the four of us cramped up in mine and Jenny's baby room and drawing tattoos on each others feet, mature I know.
To be honest it already feels like home, apart from the constant on and off crying. I laugh about this now but at the time I felt like crap when I was down I was down and when I was up I was high as a kite but I now look back and believe it was mainly to do with not fully saying goodbye to everyone in my heart as life had been so manic before getting here however now I am fine. I think it takes everyone down a very different road the way to say goodbye and that was my time to realize the pain of goodbye and yet it is never goodbye it is only see you later. I will leave you with this installment of South African life for now and will update you soon.
I would apologize for the length but hey, this is my way of giving you the South African experience the one thing that is really sticking with me is this is a country of such extremes it is going to take a while to become accustomed to but I am completely willing to give each side a chance.
And with that I send my love, I miss everyone but I wouldn't change this experience for the world.
Miss you
God Bless
Happy Travels
and
Love Always to all
Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- comments
Po Thank you for sharing Lucy. It is so good to hear from you and know that you are safe. This is an eye-opening account, reminding me of how comfortable my life is. You are an inspiration. Joshua 1:9. Bless you x
Mandy Conner Hey Lucy! One word....AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! HOWEVER, you know me better than that, so one word will NOT suffice, LOL. I think you are a remarkable young woman, and I just KNOW the Lord is going to use you, both in your time in South Africa, and in the years to come!!! Paul would have LOVED hearing the jazz playing, Lucy, as you may realize!!! I read this and try and imagine such volume of singing from so few people!!! Seems to me these people really know how to 'sing to the Lord!!!' That quote that stuck with you will stick with me also, Lucy. ' What lies behind us and what lies in front of us is nothing to what lies within us!' That is profoundly true, isn't it?! My prayer for you each day, Lucy is (and I will do my utmost to not forget to pray this each and every day)...that the words in that quote will resound in your heart through each experience...each day that you spend there!!! When you are mssing your dad, and missing your extended family and friends, just you remember, girl, HE lies within you!!!!!! lots and lots of love, and a huge hug coming your way, angel!!! Paul and Mandy xxx
Hannah B Hey lovely :-) sounds like you're having an amazing time - and just think, there is so much more to come! I think you are so brave and so fantastic and I know God will bless you (he already has with the friends hes placed you with) and keep you safe throughout this. Looking forward to your next entry. Love and cuddles, Han x x
Joe Mol Hey Lucy, I'm glad to hear that you have settled in your flat and that you are safe. Indeed, it reminds me how good we have got it here in the UK and how we need to be grateful and thankful for how fortunate we truly are. Hope things continue to go well. God is always with you and above any situation, as that quote puts brilliantly! "What lies behind us and what lies in front of us, is nothing to what lies within us." It's strange because I had that same passage that Po has given you in my mind for you as well before I read this blog, I think that's pretty cool! Check out Psalm 91. All the best. God bless.
David Murray You are going through such an experience. The ups and downs are all part of it, part of the forging of experience and wisdom, part of sharing in the life of people with far less and far more than us. Keep the entries long, with all the detail. You're blessing us with the detail and raw honesty. God bless you, Lucy. D
Cory Thanks lucy for sharing that, just hearing that makes me think how blessed i am to have what I have and its awesome that your doing this and I will keep you in prayer and keep us updated, be blessed, God bless you x
Ali Price God Bless you Lucy. In my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences xxxx
Vikki Law What a fantastic account of your 'ups and downs' so far. It is inspirational reading it and we will be praying for you over the coming months. Can't wait to read about your work at the school God bless xx
Sue great to hear from you, glad you're having such a brill time :) God Bless you x
Andy "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fevor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." That comes from somewhere in the bible. I don't remember the verse, just the quote. I'm sure you'll have an amazing time and I'm glad that things are going well for you. Smile beautiful. I'll see you soon ;) Little bro x
grandad dougie Lucy your blog which Nana and I read set our hearts and minds at rest to know that you are living your dream. We are sure that your life will be enriched just as much as those people and particularly children will be enriched by you touching their lives. We love you .God bless
steffy wyse lucy i miss you so much :( but i am so glad that your having such an amazing time out there your blog is filling me with confidence for my trip now and i just cant wait make sure you keep us all updated!! btw youll have a letter off me arriving soon hopefully :) god bless lucy and know your best friend is praying for you to have exactly the experience that you dream of :) i love you!! xxx
alison mumford Amazing Lucy, Its such an awsome account. God is doing great things with you and I am sure we will all be blessed by it. Take care, God Bless Alison, Graham, Phil and Rob!
'Uncle' Ed Hi Lu, Good to know that you are safe and well. Keep the blogs coming ! You are doing an increadible thing...... love Ed, Vic and Robert.
Emily Bethell Heyy Lucy, Hope everything is ok!! And that your having a fab time!! :) Sounds like your having a blast!! Make sure that you take loads of pics!! :) Take Care :) Emily xxxx PS: Dont doodle on your feet with permanent marker cos I doodled on my feet once and all my shoes got wrecked when I wore them (They got coated in black marks!!! :} )
uncly Pete Out of bed at what time? That I would like to see!! ;-) xx
Mr Mol Hey Lucy, It was great to chat with you on Saturday night , we were just having a well deserved pint after a day out in the hills . Gary managed to stay out of the peat bogs, unlike some others (mentioning no names). He wasn't a happy chappie when, just as the sun was setting over Kinder, his camera decided to throw a wobbly ! He really does need to invest in a new one, maybe a similar one to yours , keep in touch . Jon & Barb x
DerekG Wonderful to read about your experiences, we visited Soweto and were as impressed as you. we visited the church you describe and the Hector Peterson Museum. Enjoy your life enhancing experience, You go with our prayers Gid bless you
Aunty Marg n Uncle Steve Hi Lucy, just spent the w/e with your Dad at Carsington. He was in 1st class accom. The boys and bobby did a walk on saturday. Are you back to work.?.Luv M n S XXXXXX