Heritage Day

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in one of the most excellent holiday celebrations ever this week. Even better, I was able to celebrate it TWICE. Once at St. Leo and once at 1000 Hills Community Helpers.

To give you a little background on the holiday itself, I will first allow two of our grade 4 learners to explain a bit about it two you. Pinky and Bongi on Heritage Day and King Shaka:



For more detailed information see:

http://braai4heritage.co.za/ (thanks, Shin!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Day_(South_Africa)

At St. Leo we spent the day watching the learners from each grade do various traditional dances paying homage to their heritage. We also shared a communal meal with the teachers afterwards. Shin and I filled our plates with the traditional Zulu cuisine that the teachers had prepared. I proudly partook in eating tripe, which is the lining of a cow’s stomach. I was a little too brazen with my food selection, though. After a close call with the tripe, I let Shin finish the liver I had also taken. Oh well, at least I tried!

At 1000 Hills, the teachers and learners in the crèche prepared a dance routine including a whole bunch of awesome Zulu dancing. I even participated a little bit. The kids were all decked out in traditional garments and everyone was in a happy and festive mood, celebrating each others’ cultures.

Grade 3 Zulu Kicks

A few weeks ago Shin and I had the pleasure of watching Lindani, one of the awesome Grade 7 boys we teach, do a little teaching himself. We walked out of our classroom because of a ruckus going on outside the windows. To our amusement and joy, Lindani was teaching all the grade 3 boys how to do a proper Zulu kick. Have a look:

Holiday Programme in Review (Finally)

Remember two months ago when it was the FIFA World Cup? I finally got around to loading some photos of the work we did at St. Leo and at 1000 HCH. MK and Shin did most of the work at Leo’s while Meg and I focused our energies on 1000 Hills:

At Leo’s we had a daily countdown to the Cup. Here is what it looked like:

Leo’s had a two week camp where we divided the kids into teams according to country. MK made sweet bracelets to keep track of the kiddos.

Lusanda, a grade 4 learner, shows his Paper Mache skills.

MK, Shin and Ayanda (the St. Leo’s Computer teacher) had Net Ball tourneys to keep the kids active and entertained.

And the kids decorated soccer kits for whichever team they were (they matched the groovy bracelets that MK made) assigned.

Over the hill, in Inchanga Meg and I kept the kids at the Community Center well entertained…

We did lots of Bafana themed art projects and face paints.

Some of our teachers, Pretty and Dumah, helped decorate the creche’s Bafana poster.

We also had a very successful art gallery to display all of the learners' work.

And an awesome inspirational heroes project. (If you look closely you can see “Spongebob is my hero because he is funny.” And the more sentimental and meaningful “Maduma (Dawn Leppan – founder of 1000 HCH) is my hero because she helped me.”)

A Poem For Alwa

There is an awesome baby at the 1000 Hills Community Center Creche who I have completely fallen for. Her name is Alwande and she has the most phenomenal smile. Our favorite thing about Alwa happens to be her hilarious hair. She comes in every week or so with a new hair style. It usually involves some sort of hair extensions. Keep in mind that Alwa is only 2 years old.

Anyways, this is a picture of Alwa, so that you can visualize her crazy hair.

And here is a poem that Shin wrote for her, which I try to recite to her at least once a week.

Poem for Alwa:
Your hair is so cray-cray
Even though you're just a baybay.

That's all there is for now, but I have faith that Alwa's hair will continue to change in crazy ways and our poetic creativity will grow as well.

Alwa is one of the brightest moments of my day when I work at 1000 HCH.

Visual Aide

After 8 months of being here, I thought I'd provide you with some visual assistance so that everything isn't left up to the imagination:

Below is a picture of our humble cottage, though the property you find it on is a little less so. The bay window opens up to our dining room/living room (which, if you have skyped with me, you will also have seen).

This (below) is the view from our house. I can see the sunrise and set every day. When I look at it, in photograph form and for real, I wonder how the hell I'm supposed to leave it in four months.

Below is a picture of what we like to do on weekends. Usually it involves laughing a lot. Most of the time it happens outside. Sometimes there are giraffes. Always its the four of us. From Left to Right: Me, Sinead, Mary-Kate and Meg.

I wanted to include a photo of Durban during the World Cup. It took me a long time to decide on this one. It doesn't show the actual city, but the colors are a representation of the excitement, joy and diversity that flooded the rainbow nation for a few brief weeks.

More photos coming soon, but I hope you enjoy these in the mean time.

Writer's Block

The chaos involving the wrapping up of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has clogged up my creative flow. I will have some useful material for you soon, but for the time being; let me share with you something that I find inspiration in:

Below is a quote from the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller reflecting on why he chooses to be concerned with social issues. I take these words to heart in a way I wish I could fully convey to you:

“The problem is not a certain type of legislation or even a certain politician; the problem is the same as it always has been.

I am the problem.

I think every conscious person, every person who is awake to the functioning principles within his reality, has a moment when he stops blaming the problems of the world on group think, on humanity and authority, and starts to face himself. I hate this more than anything. This is the hardest principle within Christian spirituality for me to deal with. The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest.

(…)

More than my questions about efficacy of social action were my questions about my own motives. Do I want social justice for the oppressed, or do I want to be known as a socially active person? “

A Few Funny Moments

1. The Dancing Gogo of A Thousand Hills: After a long day at the crèche and clinic at 1000 HCH, as I was driving home I noticed a lone Gogo thumbin’ it on the side of the road. Begrudgingly, I pulled over to offer her a lift (imagine the rhythmic stylings of Paul Simon with Ladysmith Black Mombazo grooving in the background). She hopped, or more accurately – hobbled, into my car and immediately popped her hands into the air and started swaying and singing to the music. She said “This is nice music, my baby” and continued to dance for the next 15km until I dropped her off in Drummond. And I will never begrudge a Gogo in need of a lift again.

2. Gogo Gloria’s Advice for the week:

- Never travel alone. It is not nice. Especially when you are flying. You will see couples travelling together and it will make you feel very sad.

- It’s okay if I don’t marry until I’m 50. You have to wait for the right man. And sometimes you don’t find him until you are 50.

3. Loud Noises: In the silence of grade 4 hard at work on a worksheet about the 5 senses, a child let out the loudest fart I have ever heard in my entire life (even louder than yours, Campanelli).

4. He Who Must Not Be Named: I got to spend over 5 hours reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince aloud to Siya. My life is awesome. Also – the enraptured look on Siyabonga’s face was worth every minute of reading. AND he now is reading them on his own. Hell Yeah.