One Month In

Hey all!!! Tobella from the depths of South Africa. It is March first and I've been in Africa one month now!!! I am living with a host family in Limpopo province whom I love. It is my Gogo(grandmother), my host sister and her two kids. My gogo and sister speak English well and have amazing stories of Apartheid. We use a pit toilet on the property and have no running water. To take a shower, I have a bucket that I have to boil water, carry the water to the buckets, then move the buckets to the "bathing room" at which point I then have somehow figured out how to take a bath. Showers are nonexistent here. It's quite a task, much like everything. My first day at my home, I did not even know how to wash my hands because there are no sinks or faucets. Don't get me started on my spider friends. One night a cochroach was crawling on my arm. Gross. I don't use the bathroom after dark anymore either because one night I went out wiht a flashlight and a giant spider the size of my hand and a cochroach, also similar in size, were fighting each other on the toilet seat!!! Yeah, I even plan my evening tea around when the sun sets to aviod using the pit toilet. My life........ :)

I've eaten mopane worms, chicken feet, cow hoof and some sort of intestine since being here. Lots of rice and pap, which I love. It's like a porrige mix of rice and corn. I can't descirbe it. I eat more meat here than I have in my entire life. I stop asking what I'm eating.I've learned it's best just to close my eyes and eat. I laugh a lot. We don't use utensils, it's all my hands. Makes for messy meals given no running water!!! So far, only one day of Diareaha, however, other fellow trainees are not as lucky. I really had to adjust to the food. I never feel full because it's a lot of empty calories. And, they eat at different times. I try to run, but it's not safe after dark so there goes my evening. I've gotten somewhat used to being called Lahoa-white person and have learned to avoid the shabines, w hich are the local bars!!! Not fun to walk by them.

It;s hotter than hell here with the most awesome thunder storms EVER. The lightening shoots out of the sky four at a time, lighting up the mountains. The sky turns black and it rains harder than I can even descibe. It comes on out of nowhere and 15 minutes later, its dry and hot again. I feel bad for the goats. They get pelted. The thunder is crazy. We all jump because of the noise!!!

I spend my days learning isizZulu and I can now say hello and greet people in about six languages. I've learned some Afrikaans, Sepedi and my language I'll be speaking is zulu. Clicks and all!! I love it. We have class everyday and saturdays. Sundays are supposed to be restful, but are not. I have gone to church, which is four hours long and amazing, I've gone to a wedding celebration which was so much song and dance and even went on a game drive ON MY BIRTHDAY. I saw monkeys, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, wild dogs, hippo and millions of birds. We had a huge braii(bbq) and just spent all day eating with monkeys. There are babies everywhere so it's really awesome. ON my first day here, I saw a warthog and some gazelle's as well.

My town is in the mountains and the sky looks painted. It's so green here with red rocks and all the roads are red. As I mentioned via email, I don't see cars much and donkey carts are common. Coming to the city today is overwhelming because life has slowed down. There is not one thing that is the same here. But the kids and locals have taken us into their hearts and take care of us here.

These people are amazing. They survive with nothing and every morning I wake up to so many new things. SOme days you want to pull your hair out because I don't understand how things work. But everyday I laugh with my new friends, my family and kids. The kids here make my life amazing. THey are beautiful and want to know you so much. They are always around and meet me after school everyday. They love to sing songs. I have taught them jumprope and lots and lots of games. We play forever. They come up to you and greet you with thier big smiles. They clap their hands together and extend their arms. That's their greeting. I just kneel down, kiss their hands and cuddle up with them. Despite the fact that they may not have ever seen a white person before, that they have lived with the most hatred I've ever ever come across and may not eat much, they are so happy to see you. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming all in one. I feel so blessed and honored to be here and am so excited that for I get two more years here. The South Africans are by far the most warm, genuine and hospitable group of people I've ever met. Each day is challenging but I love it. My friends and I just laugh so hard because there is nothing else to do. What do you do when you need to get to town and the Kumbi (taxi) just doesn't show up. Or how do you respond when someone says to you "So, AIDS is a black person's disease, isn't it?" Or when a group of fifteen children run to you and say "Lebo, Lebo," and just want to be touched. They don't see the broken glass or the litter, or the lack of amenities that six weeks ago in my world I thought nothing of. They don't care that they eat on the floor or don't have book bags. They don't care that their toilet is outside, or that you have to take care of your whole village to be sure everyone is safe. They see tires to play with, and use mango pits to grow treas. They see their families that love them and have more hope for their future than I ever could imagine. Somehow, in one short month, this country has changed my sense of hope and has allowed me to begin to understand just what it means to be American I see these people, my family, and am beginning to understand how poverty and true beauty unite as one. There is more warmth here than I can describe and I don't want to be anywhere other than where I am...

Much love,

Rebecca