Thursday, May 21, 2009

(sorry, Ill add the pictures in tomorrow!!)

Another great day…. Hopefully that’s just how everyday is going to be.

All of the morning was spent in Masiphumelele. We went to a day care called Akhaya Labantwana Educare. There we taught the kids (between ages 3 and 5 about) how to brush their teeth properly, when to brush their teeth, and what their teeth are for. There were about 35 of them so we split them up into groups and we had a toothbrush, a tooth paste tube, and mardi gras beads for each of them. We showed them the best way to brush then let them try themselves. They were all so proud when they did it correctly. It was really rewarding. They are so cute too ☺

After the lesson we did a dance for the kids that our professor had taught us. The kids sang a song for us too. I was so sweet and you could tell that they had practiced a lot! I think it might have been their national anthem but I’m not sure. Heres a video of it!!

Then we went to a library which was right down the street. The library is very build up and very nice. It was surprising to see how developed the library was in an area with shacks too short to stand up in for houses. Here is a really really poorly filmed video of the library. There were close to 100 kids at the library that we taught lessons to. They were between the ages of about 3 and 8. They were so excited after the lesson because we took pictures and they kept asking us to take pictures so they could see them.

After this we went to an artist who also lives in Masiphumelele named Nondyebo Mashiyi. She has the most beautiful artwork that she and two others make out of her home. She even has a website www.masip.org definitely take a look because everything is so beautiful (very African). Her son was out front playing (hes 8 years old) and I started talking to him. In perfect English he said “I’m going to Boston when I’m older.” This amazing little boy has huge dreams to get out of the town. He has so much hope and it was so touching to see that he has such big dreams.

This was our last stop in Masi. After we left we had lunch on a game reserve. It was pretty cool because they had all thatched roofed huts. I even saw a springbok- a type a deer like animal with a white face and antlers/horns. On our way home we stopped on the side of the road where there was a pull off to go down to the beach. I touched the Indian Ocean! It was pretty exciting, not gonna lie.

Seraj, our driver, is so awesome. He is the one that took us to the ocean and on the way to the different places he has given us great descriptions, history, and cultural information. He took me and some of the girls on a run when we got home. We went all the way up this huge hill (seriously, it was hard to even walk up it because it was so steep). And from the top we could see all of Cape Town. It was beautiful.

At the end of the night, after dinner, we went to a place and met some of the locals. Its really fun meeting the people here and learning about their culture. Its interesting how completely different things are here. I have plenty of stories but its just too much to write.

Interesting fact of the day- hats in our culture are disrespectful… for example, we take off hats when we go inside a lot of places like school or a church. Here, a hat is a sign that you have become a man. When a boy reaches puberty he is sent off into the bush (not sure if that’s how its spelled) and if they come back in 3 months, they are honored and have become a man. If they come back before 3 months are over, they are given time and when they believe they can go back out again, they are sent out. When they complete it they are honored and they used to receive a certain hat. But this hat is a sign of respect. Cool, huh?