Less than 3 weeks......

Happy 2011 my friends!  

My apologies on how long it has been since I updated my blog.  Seeing as though I now only have 2.5 weeks remaining in South Africa I better get to updating you a few more times before returning to America.  So much to catch you up on!

First, to clear up some serious false assumptions, my friend George (Alexis) and I are not a couple.  Never have been, never will.  We are simply best friends of 10 years who travel and vacation very well together.  We pick on each other, laugh at each other, cry together and bug the crap out of one another, and all of this with absolutely no physical benefits.   Come to think of it, I guess we are technically like an old married couple.   Anyway, Alexis took the great opportunity to visit South Africa and his best friend who he knew was very sad missing her family over the holidays.  (thank you pumpkin)  So the guy you see in these “Garden Route” pictures is my good friend Alexis, not some new South African boyfriend.   Sorry ladies.

Our road trip was both relaxing and adventurous.  It was uneventful on the safety part and eventful on the fun category.  Perfect combination.  I sent some of you a link to part one and two of the pictures.  If you didn’t get a chance to look at them I will post the links on my blog.  We started in Cape Town where I could enjoy being a tourist, then we followed the southern coast “Garden Route” East to Port Elizabeth.  Part way through we detoured north to Outsdhoorn where we enjoyed the Cango Caves, a waterfall and some wildlife.  I braved my life riding an Ostrich which unfortunately wasn’t captured too well with pictures since the dang bird was moving too quick.  I wish I would have taped a video camera onto my head.  HILARIOUS.  Thankfully the little South Africans ran behind so that when I did fall off, they could catch me before I broke any bones.  

Being the over-planner that I am, I had planned out the route staying in the most inexpensive back-packer hostel type lodging with my next to nothing unemployed salary.  With most every booking I had reserved separate twin beds when possible.  This posed no issues until some silly folks thought they would be kind to upgrade us to a double bed (obviously thinking we were a couple).  I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Crazy American woman, making a scene and demanding two beds making it look like Alexis did something horrible and was in the dog house.  “OH No you DON’T... you are NOT sleeping anywhere close to me tonight!  Get your own bed!”  Some managers would look at me like I was an angry bitter old woman and gave Alexis the “Oh you poor guy” look.  Of course I always enjoy embarrassing Alexis, so this was a fun part of the holiday. 

Mother Nature apparently didn’t like my plans so the days that were designated as beach days usually rained and turned into a movie or curio shopping days.  Two of the unfortunate rainy days were in Jeffreys Bay which is one of the top 5 surfing destinations in the world.  I was supposed to be admiring good looking surfer dudes, looking for my future husband on those days.  Instead I found myself acting crazy once again and decided to get a 2 hour surf lesson.  Sharks?  What Sharks?   I had myself convinced that the Great Whites didn’t like the rainy weather either.  Of course the day I pick to learn how to surf the wind was severely hectic and the waves were crashing in like crazy.  This seems like ideal surfing conditions, but not for one trying to learn and make it out past the break to a calm spot to turn the big, clumsy, learner surf board around.  Man do I have a new respect for surfers!  Oh my word, it is much harder than it looks.  I did manage to get up a few times and felt a tiny rush of excitement.  But honestly I spent more time coughing up salt water and getting the hair out of my eyes.   I still have all my limbs so overall I think it was a great day!

I won’t bore you with all of the holiday adventures.   It was a wonderful trip.  You can check out the photos to see the places we visited and ask me for stories later.  I will be home soon.  The monkeys were adorable, the elephants were so amazing and the best part was that we made it back home to Somerset West safely without killing one another.  That in itself was a miracle.  

On the drive home I was reflecting on my little vacation and realized how quick we forget the blessings we have.  I felt guilt as I was complaining about the horrible, uncomfortable 3” mattresses and pillows that you could see through and literally needed to tri-fold for any cushion support.  At the very last place we were fed up with the hostel conditions, tired and a bit cranky from the stupid young kids drinking till wee hours in the morning and making so much noise. (gosh I’m getting old)  We made a mutual decision that despite our budget challenges, we would use our credit cards and end the final 2 days of vacation on a high note by staying in an actual hotel with the luxuries and comforts of the typical American life.  Two huge beds with down comforters, pillows and air condition.  There were little bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  A little fridge.  A garden tub. Dark drapes over the sliding glass door. A TV with movie channels. We were in heaven.   How quick did I fall back into wanting the comforts and feeling like I deserved those just because I slept on some crappy mattresses for 2 weeks?  Who the heck am I?  We complained about the previous lodging, but in reality we were spoiled with a roof over our heads, running water, a shower and our own toilets.  We didn’t have 7 other people packed onto the two twin beds in the hot summer African heat.  We were fortunate to have enough savings to actually go on a road trip and experience so many amazing things.  We saw the most beautiful mountains and scenery, the type you see in movies and wish that you could be there.  We had so many blessings and saw more in our 2 weeks then most Africans would see in their entire life time.  

As I quietly drove home, I mentioned my thoughts to Alexis and the fear that I would forget it all, slip back into my old ways and take all of my blessings for granted.  My weeks are limited now and the fear of reality is slipping back.   All the questions in my head once again..... what will I do?  Where will I live?  What job will I get?   How do I keep this experience fresh in my mind?  Then of course I felt bad that I was even thinking about those silly things since I know that no matter where I end up or what work I eventually find, that my living conditions will probably be 100% better than most people in South Africa.   If I end up living in a trailer park with my double-wide it would be heaven compared to my friends in the township.   That thought made me smile and I snapped out of it and quit thinking selfishly about my future and knew I needed to concentrate on my remaining days here and my children.  

Before Alexis left I took him into the township for a quick drive-thru tour.  I’m not really sure what Alexis thought of the township.  We weren’t able to visit Kuyasa as they were still closed and gated.   He was quiet and taking it all in.  He laughed as I had to swerve around the many kids, dogs, and adults who just walk down the middle of the street and assume you won’t hit them.  Like usual I would slam on my brakes as children ran in front of my vehicle chasing one of their balls or empty plastic 2-liters.  I avoided the drunk swaying guys who also enjoy hogging the road.  All was normal in the township.  We picked up Yandiswa and took her out for a nice lunch so Alexis could get to know her a bit.  After dropping her back off in the township, we heard a yell “Sis Katie!!”  and saw 3 of my 7th graders running to my car.  I rolled down my window and they each gave me a great big hug and were happy to see me.  I smiled and knew God was sending me a little message that everything was going to work out just fine.  No worries.

Now I am back to work at Kuyasa and the remaining 3 weeks at work are packed with many activities getting Kuyasa ready for 2011 school year.  I will be working on typing up new curriculums, painting, cleaning, organizing and starting up classes next week with the children.   On a Yandiswa update..... I just received confirmation from Lead to Serve (the NGO) and am HAPPY to share that I am very close to my goal of raising a full years tuition for her!  Unbelievable.  My prayers have been answered.  Thank you to the 13 who have confirmed and sent in money for her!  I promise you this, you are helping to change this girls life.  She has a chance at a real future now.  You guys ROCK.  Thank you!!   I am waiting for the transfer of funds this week so that I can take Yandiswa to the college next week and get her all registered and set up for classes.  She is very excited and I am anxious to get everything in order for her.   There is still time for those of you who may have wanted to contribute but haven’t gotten around to it.  I am still in need of roughly $400 to reach my goal.   Any little bit helps.   Email me if you would like the details regarding the account I have set up. 

Another update to come next week.   Tick, tock, tick, tock....