An update

This week was busy with exams and papers.  However, I think I am finally getting the food situation under control.  I made chicken, carrots and potatoes with a Thai peanut-coconut sauce which I was able to freeze most of.  I look forward to having the meat and then I don’t search for more food all night.  I’ve also been getting apples, because they don’t spoil easily.  And, I have a mango for dessert about once a week.  Previously I had been throwing a LOT of food away because it doesn’t keep, or it was spoiled when I brought it home, and I was only eating PB&J’s and baked beans or other kinda weird meals like that.  I never went hungry, but I really prefer to have fruits and veggies and a bit of variety in my meals.  Oh yea, I also discovered these great rolls at the store which are tasty and very cheap.  They are like a giant cinnamon roll, but they have spinach, cheese, sometimes ham, and tasty or “savory” things baked into them.  They are fittingly called “Savory rolls,” and a huge one only costs about a dollar (R7), and I can cut it into quarters to have with a meal.  It’s really good with a simple tuna salad for lunch.  Today I plan to make a carrot oat cake which I only need to buy one ingredient for, exciting!  Otherwise I just plan to write a paper and read on the roof because the sun is out today =D

Yesterday, I got home from class and worked on a paper and then ran and did a body circuit.  Last night, we went to Coco de Mer, a chic night club a block from Langerry.  It was Becka’s 21^st birthday, and her parents send a message to buy everyone two rounds of drinks.  So, we had two shots of liquid cocaine, a really, really sweet and tart bright blue shot.  We all dressed up and it was a fun time with the whole group.  I had the China Beach salad with cabbage, rice, prawns, pineapple, litchi, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a fabulous dressing (on the side, please) with a glass of the house Rosé wine.   Most of the Minnesotans had chicken cordon bleu, no surprise there.  The meals were all very cheap at about R50-60 ($8-9) in a beautiful black and white atmosphere with the suede and glossy alternating black stripes on the wall, funky but classy mirrors, and plush upholstered chairs with tall backs and no arms with a bold rose design on them.  

This is my flatmates and me after dinner.  Notice how tall I am... that's the heels.  Too bad I didn't get a full length shot since that might have been the only occasion I have to wear that dress.

I talked to Gma n Gpa Wags this week and gave the suggestion of building a shower like the one at Terra Khaya on the hill next to their house.  That apparently warranted some hearty laughs.  Is it so hard to imagine a family gathering in which you build a fire under the metal barrel, wait a few hours, and say buh-bye to everyone for a bath with a nice view? Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch for some people, but I think it sounds nice.

The shower at Terra Khaya.

The view from the shower at Terra Kyaha.  Now imagine the greenery of the fields behind Gma n Gpa's.  It would be like looking out from the window over the sink, but much less domestic and much more spa-like ;) haha

The bath at Terra Khaya.  The view to the right (I have no idea why I didn't capture it) is of the mountains.  You can see out just enough so that everyone in the world can't see in.

 

Culture for Bruce (and anyone else who wants to see the Xhosa language)

This week we spent some time with Anga, a South African from East London who lives near Langerry and goes to NMMU.  He saw us heading out for an ice cream study break late Wednesday night, and he joined us on the walk.  He cleared up a few of the Xhosa clicks for which there is a different clicks sound for x, q, and c. I was saying Xhosa with a “q” sound rather than the “x” sound.  IT kind of funny at times how foreign a concept it is to us to use clicks in a language.  He did a clicking tongue twister for us that was insane!  Click on the link below to get an idea of what he was talking about.

Youtube Xhosa lessons with the tongue twister at the end

The language barrier here is sometimes difficult.  Taylor said that at Pendla, the school she volunteers at, the kids are often very hurt when she can't pronounce their names. On the flip side, she now just introduces herself as "Taylah" because that is how most South Africans pronounce it, devoid of the American "r" at the end.  At House, it is difficult to communicate with the children who don't speak English, especially when the older ones know they are being naughty and pretend not to understand "no" or timeout.  It is even sadder sometimes, that we can't encourage the children who don't speak English, rather we use high fives and body language.  It is also tough to get questions answered from the Playschool teacher, because sometimes we don't talk slowly enough or she might not understand a word or two.  So, we work as a team, asking the same question in a different way three or four times.  At a mentoring meeting on Wednesday morning, we realized that we are half-way done with service.  We still have one bedroom and two bathrooms left to paint, and we are planning an outing with the kids. Times is flying.