Hello everyone. Thanks for sticking with me on this blog. This last week has been very busy traveling to and then getting settled in Soweto. The first couple of days were absolutely overwhelming with the combination of reading about all the operations at DAM, shopping in a grocery store by myself, watching it hail in single digit (Celsius) weather, trying to meet/learn names of everyone, and feeling like a fish very very far from any body of water. I'll try to hit some highlights for you in recent days that have seen me far more functional in the community than I was at the start. And, I just realized that I need to take some pictures to help back up my stories. It's a hard balance to strike because I don't want to seem like a tourist running around with my camera but I also need to share with y'all. Here are some orientation photos from Pietermaritzburg to sate your appetite.
On Friday, I jogged to the Oppenheimer tower with a kid named Tshepo. The sh just makes an S sound, and the T in front means you start the S sound with your tongue on the roof of your mouth. He speaks Sotho (pronounced SOO-too), as do most of the people at DAM. I was originally going for a jog since I was feeling cooped up, but I ran by him on my way out of DAM and he told me he wanted to take me somewhere. He proceeded to show me around the cultural village at the base of the tower, then took me to the top. There was a great view of the city as the tower rises probably 8 stories above the trees on a hill in the middle of Soweto. That evening I watched a stand up comedy skit by Trevor Noah which, in addition to being hilarious, taught me a surprisingly large amount about South African culture.
On Saturday, I crashed a wedding. Okay, maybe a slight overstatement, but Elias (my flatmate who works at DAM) and the two German volunteers, Julius and Philip, were the only people I knew in a rather intimate setting of about 60 people. To make things slightly more awkward (though everyone was incredibly welcoming) I was expressly brought to the head table with the bride and groom at the luncheon afterwards. Things loosened up overtime, and I met some Lutheran Youth League members who invited me to a street bash that evening. I had a great time learning to dance the Sushi to South African house music.
FYI, if you attend a church service in South Africa, bring a snack and some water as a precaution. Though the 5 hour service didn't feel nearly as long as it was, I was physically exhausted by the end because I only ate a banana in the morning and I forgot my water bottle. The service was wonderful though. All the songs are a cappella, and in Zulu, and everyone has them memorized somehow. I get to sway along and enjoy the music but I hope to learn a few over time, maybe in a choir! There was a lunch afterwards which was a huge benefit, and then I watched (and participated for a song) as the Youth League mass choir practiced for another hour after church and the lunch.
Monday was a recovery day of laundry and reading, then the fun really started on Tuesday. I'm now working with the Home Based Care (HBC) crew in the mornings and the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)/after school program in the afternoons. If I can find time, I'll also help produce the newsletter and website content.
With HBC, I get to walk around Soweto visiting homes of patients of all ages, making sure they're taking their medicine, checking up on them, and supporting them with house cleaning or doctor visits as necessary. With OVC, I'm helping find opportunities for the kids to get out into the community with zoo visits or health awareness days when those opportunities arise. Mostly though, I chop vegetables as necessary to cook their afternoon meals, let them touch my beard and hair, and do handstands to keep them entertained. Really though they do far more entertaining with their smiles and nicknames for me. I'm also watching them practice the performances they're working on for an October gala to be held at the Central Diocese.
Two more paragraphs I promise, I've gotten excited about everything coming into place in the last couple of days. Outside of DAM, I met some nice locals named Moeti and Hloks who, in addition to bringing me out to their soccer games, have promised to show me the town in the coming year. They were good friends with the last YAGM here and I know we'll have a great time as the year progresses. Also, I'm training with Julius and four other guys at a boxing gym up the road. I've wanted to try boxing training for a while to see what it's like and because, quite frankly, it looks freaking cool in the movies. The coach is a great speaker to keep everyone pumped up at the end of grueling practice sessions (my forearms hurt typing this post right now) but we work hard and then pray after every session which is a nice tie in to the YAGM program.
And, finally, I just realized that the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will be held in South Africa this year. The final match is at the World Cup stadium in Joburg, so hopefully I can find a way to get in the gate for that match, or at least an earlier one in the tournament. More info here if you're curious.
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