17 August
2013
Other than
my work (that’s for another post, another day) the most challenging thing about
living here has been adjusting to the different lifestyles of the different
volunteers that I live with. I am here until January. The other volunteers that
have come have only stayed a month or two. I see them come and go. They are
each different in their own wonderful way and each time they come it’s a bit of
adjustment for me…
When the
Czech girls were here, they liked to sit around the small kitchen table and
talk and eat and laugh. Then spent lots of time in their rooms; they were
cliquey. They didn’t understand me. They would often look at me like I was
stupid. They definitely were not open to the American way. Shortly after they
left, the Irish volunteers came for a month. They liked to be out and about
during the day. We took walks, spent lots of time outside and we even went to
Cape Town for a week. They spoke English well so it was easiest to communicate
with them. At night, one person would cook dinner and we would eat in the
living room on the couch while watching a “film” as they would call it. We
would watch films until late at night. The next day we would go to work and do
it all over again. I really enjoyed living with and getting to know them. After
a month, they left and it was just Chrissy and I for 2 weeks (Chrissy was here
when I got here in June). That was an adjustment too. She was busy with school
work and projects for the sisters so she spent lots of time in her room. She
didn’t cook, so I had to cook our meals each night and we often ate separately.
That was when I got really sick with bronchitis. I spent 3 days in bed. It was
very quiet and dreary in our house those 2 weeks. Now the Italians are here! I had
been looking forward to their arrival. They are an interesting group. They like
to do things their way. They are very particular about how they wash their
clothes, what they wear, what they eat (pasta always) and how it is cooked. We
all chip in and cook dinner together every night. But I have to approve what I’m
cooking first to make sure they would eat it. We sit around the dining room
table and eat a huge meal family style. Then when were done, we stay there and
talk forever. We would do dishes and then play card games or board games or
share pictures from our work that day. The two boys speak some English and the
girl speaks no English at all. Lots of times they have conversations with each
other and I’m in the dark. After a head nod and look of confusion, one of the
boys would jump in to translate for me. I learned some key words thought that
would help me communicate with them. That brings me to now.
Now I am
looking back on my crazy past 2 weeks since Chrissy left and they arrived. Sister
G wanted to show them around town both the weekend they got here and the
weekend after. So we spent the first weekend going shopping at the malls and
markets and eating out. Then we worked the next week and spent the following
weekend on Safari and more shopping and eating out. I think I did too much too
soon and didn’t fully recover from the Bronchitis because this Monday I got
sick again. This time it’s sinus/cold like symptoms with fevers and headaches.
I tried to work but couldn’t. I stayed in bed and slept from Tuesday until
Friday. The sisters were really worried and took me to a doctor on Friday
afternoon. The doctor wasn’t real clear on a diagnosis but he said infections
and pneumonia and he gave me LOTS of medication to help. Now it’s Saturday and I’ve
been taking the meds for a day but I already feel better. I have the energy to
write this post and most importantly, say hello to TWO MORE Italian volunteers
that got here last night. Yes, last night we were a large Italian family of 7
(including Sister Giovanna). We ate a huge pot of pasta and drank wine (well
not me thanks to all my medications, wine, cortisone and tranquilizers don’t
mix very well). We were also celebrating one of the girl’s birthdays. It was a
wild time. Then this morning I had to kiss them all goodbye for a week. They
are going to Cape Town for a vacation. When they leave Cape Town, the two
newest Italians will be coming back to work and the old 3 will be leaving
straight for Italy. So it’ll be a house full of Italians until they leave mid-September.
To be honest, I am glad they are gone for the week. That will give me quite
time to rest my body, my stomach and my ears (they talked a lot and very fast,
I could never keep up). I need to recover fully this time. I have been sick
more days then I have been well.
Amidst all
of the going and coming and the sickness, I’ve hardly had time to think about
the fact that this time, for the past 4 years, I have been preparing my
classroom, sitting through meetings and enjoying the start of a new school
year. Because I have been so busy here and have had so much going on, I haven’t
spent much time thinking about my old life. Now I can reflect on it, though. I
thought I would be sad during this time. I thought I’d be wishing I was home
doing that stuff as usual. I thought I would start questioning myself and why I
chose to leave the job I love to come to South Africa. But it hasn’t been like
any of that. My lifestyle, my routine, my health, everything has been so different
and I have been totally embracing it. I haven’t been dwelling on the past and
my past routine and lifestyle. I do know, though, that one day I will be back
to that routine again, just not now. I know that I am meant to be in education.
I know that I will always be in a classroom, in a school, with children. But
for now, it’s just a different time and place. At home it’s the end of summer,
the start to a new school year. Here, it’s the end of winter and the three
quarters of the way through the school year. So I have to look at it like that:
same teacher just in a different time and in a different place.
Lastly, I
have gotten many cards and packages from friends and family at home. Because of
all of the craziness, I haven’t had internet access leaving me unable to
contact those people to properly say thank you. But I mean it from the bottom
of my heart, THANK YOU. The cards I have received from previous students and
their families, cards from my sweet grandmother, packages from my friends and
family and even a fundraiser to support my mission, all mean so much to me.
Those things make me feel close to home when I am so far away. There are days
when I want and need to feel close to home. The first two months here were like
a honeymoon period where everything was smooth, for the most part. Now, I’ve
adjusted to the lifestyle and gotten into the meat of my mission and its
getting hard to keep going day to day (that’s also for another post another
day). I am also praying about what to do after January 4th. I have
been asked a few times to stay here in South Africa and work at the schools thought
June 2014. Some days I can’t imagine myself being anywhere else and then other
days the thought of being here any long sounds insane. I am praying hard about
it though. I dedicated this year of my life to mission work. I want God to show
me where he wants me to spend February through June whether it’s in South
Africa or somewhere else. God’s answers and plan are just not always that
clear. It was clear for me last January when I decided to go on mission but I
have a feeling this time it’s not going to be that clear. I just have to keep
praying and be patient.
Love from
Africa!!
