We Made It!

Just a quick blog because, quite frankly, I just don't feel like going to sleep just yet...

We all made it back from our community stays safe and sound. This morning we all headed back to the CBO, with the goal of being there at 9. Ironically, Mel and I stayed with one of the care workers (it's a long story that I will blog about in more detail tomorrow...), and we were the last to arrive. We got there around 9:30, and Busji says that makes us officially African, because we now are moving on African time and not Western time! We got into some manual labor at the center: sweeping, moping, and polishing the floors, along with breaking up some ground to weed and even out ruts, and cutting some grass and disposing of the clippings. I got yet another sunburn, but it isn't too bad. I just look very pink, or so I'm told. After we finished those tasks, we had a quick debrief with the care workers and some of our families, and we prayed before we left. Then we repacked the cars and climbed in for the long car ride back. We were all pretty tired. I'm not sure about everyone in the Venture, but I know Dave, Mel, and I tried to sleep on the way back. I was probably the least successful, but I've slept the least in general since being here, so I really shouldn't be surprised...

Once we got to Hazyview, we went to KFC for lunch. Stephen was telling us about how much better KFC is here than our respective countries, which of course peaked my interest. It was an experience because we were all told to bring not more than 30 rand, and I had given some of mine for offering at the Church Mel and I attended. I ended up getting a 4-piece wings and mashed potatoes and gravy, because it would have been un-American to get anything else, for 20.80 rand ($2.29 USD) so it wasn't so bad at all! Then we got back into the cars to continue on our way. We had some time to relax, check email (I had over 150 unread emails in my inbox from just 3 days...) and shower! Mel and I took at least two bucket baths every day in the community, but it was still really nice to take a hot shower - not to mention being able to wear pants! Once I was settled, I ventured up the hill to pay the boys a visit, and buy a can of Pepsi. It never fails, so many volunteers don't drink pop, but we all come here and drink it. I think it's because we, at least the new intake, cannot just leave the Village at any time and when you can't have something, you usually end up wanting it more often. So I went up to get my post-community fix, and talked to the boys and their mom about our community stays. When I went back to the Village, most of our intake was congregated on the front porch, relaxing and waiting to go grocery shopping. By the time we were off to Pick n Pay, I was feeling even more giggly than usual and I'm blaming the latest sun exposure. Poor Daytona had to put up with me laughing hysterically in the car, both to and from the store. In terms of shopping, I was determined for it to be quick and painless so I made a list and stuck to it. Today the boys decided it would be fun to play bumper cars, and anytime they found one of us in the store, would purposefully ram our carts. My list worked and I was the first one done, so after loading up my groceries, I sat with Kristi and Daytona while they finished their meal, while we all waited and watched for the others to come out of Pick n Pay.

Back at the Village, we had some semblance of dinner. Some opted for salad, to counteract all the traditional foods we ate this weekend, I just had a proper peanut butter and jelly sandwich (something I've had basically everyday without fail since being here), and a few others just relaxed. And the hi-jinx, due to sun exposure and/or exhaustion, continued. We then headed up to the Waspe's for another debrief, which was fairly quick as we have another debrief session with Jen tomorrow morning. Then we went back to the Village, where even more hi-jinx occurred. We heard the latest Australian headlines from Leyton, I sang a few songs that everyone my age knows (aka Dave knew exactly what I was singing, but it was completely lost on Leyton and Mariah) and Mariah had a fit of laughter that was positively delightful. Singing and laughter are two tell-tale signs that we, the North Americans, have experienced too much sun exposure, especially seeing as it is winter back home. Once Mariah started laughing, I started laughing. Luckily we got it out of our system just before curfew. And no one was here to enforce curfew anyway because Jenna was getting picked up at the airport. Anyway, that is the gist of our day post-community stays. Perhaps not my most exciting entry, but we have the afternoon off tomorrow and I will try to write a proper blog on home visits and/or community stays tomorrow. Until then, I should at least try to get some sleep. Or at least not keep Alicia up... Either way, look for an additional post, or two, tomorrow!