Last weekend we took a trip down to the Eastern Cape. There were 6 of us from Hands at Work, me and 5 ladies, eesh. One of our friends here (Busie) had her sister pass away in an accident so we went down to support her. It took us 17hrs one way, to drive there, but every inch was incredible.
The drive down through the mountains of the Eatern Cape blew my mind. The beautifully coloured houses perched on the mountain side, the rolling mountains, and the way the sun hits the land.
When we got close, Busie and Stephen (another friend from Hands at Work) had driven out to meet up with us in the nearest town, to show us the rest of the way. Everyone was so excited to be there, and Busie was overwhelmed to see us in the area of what she calls "my people". So we got ready to follow them, but Stephen stopped to get gas. Busie took that chance to run over to our car and just talk with us a bit more while we waited. Right as she stood by our window, we hear a huge thump, and look over to see a man flying in the air as a truck hit him. It was devastating, especially for Busie. You see that is how Busie's sister passed away, she was crossing the road and got hit by a taxi. We stayed and did what little we could, a traffic cop happened by and said there would be no ambulance coming. I thought he was dead right away, but he started to move. He was badly mangled, and I won't get into anymore detail than that. No one said a word for the rest of the ride back to the Busie's family house. It was terrible, we felt horrible for Busie.
We managed to get past that and had an amazing time with Busie's "people". They were so inviting, we experienced a lot to do with the Xhosa culture, the funeral, slaughetering a sheep, all kinds of things. Ok Ok I didn't actually see the sheep being slaughtered, but disemboweled. We met amazing people. Let's just say that Alicia, Me, Stephen and Jayme were the only white people out of 300, so we stood out a little bit. The family made us feel so welcome and they let us be involved in all kinds of things. Their neighbour gave up his home, so us visitors would have a place to stay. We slept in his bed, and he slept out on the couch. Such generosity is really inspiring.
On the Sunday we took a trip to the beach, it was refreshing. It sounds cliche but to have my feet in the sand and the water washing over them was incredible. Made me miss home.
The whole experience was so amazing; the sights, the culture, the food and the people. It's hard to put it into words. I feel all the more blessed for having experienced such a different culture and being a part of everything.
~T
eesh...it has been too long
For the past three weeks I have had this voice inside me saying "you need to blog...it has been too long...come on Alicia, just write something..." and for three weeks I have tried to ignore it because I I feel like I have nothing to write about. It's not that we haven't been busy, but I guess I just have felt like there has been nothing exciting to report.
Until the other day...July 18th...the day I drove! Now I know what most of you will say, but trust me, it is momentous for me and I couldn't stop smiling after my "moment." It felt so good to be independent. The only thing that has stopped me thus far has been my inability to drive a manual. And since most cars here are manuals, I haven't had the opportunity to drive...Until now because one of our friends got an automatic (yay Dave!)
But of course that is only part of the story. Driving may have been a highlight, but in South African words, the real highlight highlight (the repeated word is for emphasis) was where I drove, and who I drove.
The story goes like this...After finding out that 2 of our close friends from the community -
Phumla and Modise - passed their mid-year grade 12 exams, Ty and I decided that we had to celebrate by taking them out for a pizza lunch (complete with chocolate for desert...such a treat!)because passing was a HUGE deal. You have to understand. Literally everything goes against the kids in the community. These two girls in particular have almost no support at home because they have lost 1 or both of their parents and now head up their households. They go to a school that has so few resources and so few dedicated teachers that it is nearly impossible to meet governmental standards of passing (you actually only need 40% to pass in a community school which sounds great on paper, but in actuality really hurts the kids because they are so under prepared for university when and if the time comes)...and that is only scratching the surface.
In any case, these two incredible girls have overcome such odds because they have set their minds on greater things. They have made goals and one by one are achieving them. We couldn't be prouder when we hear how hard they are studying and how much they are investing in their futures. I can't express how much joy it brings me to hear these girls talk about becoming counsellors or nurses...they inspire me beyond words and I am so blessed to call them my sisters.
-a
Until the other day...July 18th...the day I drove! Now I know what most of you will say, but trust me, it is momentous for me and I couldn't stop smiling after my "moment." It felt so good to be independent. The only thing that has stopped me thus far has been my inability to drive a manual. And since most cars here are manuals, I haven't had the opportunity to drive...Until now because one of our friends got an automatic (yay Dave!)
But of course that is only part of the story. Driving may have been a highlight, but in South African words, the real highlight highlight (the repeated word is for emphasis) was where I drove, and who I drove.
The story goes like this...After finding out that 2 of our close friends from the community -
Phumla and Modise - passed their mid-year grade 12 exams, Ty and I decided that we had to celebrate by taking them out for a pizza lunch (complete with chocolate for desert...such a treat!)because passing was a HUGE deal. You have to understand. Literally everything goes against the kids in the community. These two girls in particular have almost no support at home because they have lost 1 or both of their parents and now head up their households. They go to a school that has so few resources and so few dedicated teachers that it is nearly impossible to meet governmental standards of passing (you actually only need 40% to pass in a community school which sounds great on paper, but in actuality really hurts the kids because they are so under prepared for university when and if the time comes)...and that is only scratching the surface.In any case, these two incredible girls have overcome such odds because they have set their minds on greater things. They have made goals and one by one are achieving them. We couldn't be prouder when we hear how hard they are studying and how much they are investing in their futures. I can't express how much joy it brings me to hear these girls talk about becoming counsellors or nurses...they inspire me beyond words and I am so blessed to call them my sisters.
-a
