Getting into the Routine


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Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » East London
August 27th 2012
Published: August 27th 2012
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This second week has really gone quickly as I have finally begun to learn how daily life operates here.

Every Sunday, we get to sleep in till 8 am then we go to mass with the kids. We attend a small nondenominational Christian Church wherein our large group of children and workers take up half of the seats. The Church is much different from what I am use to with a lot of singing/music and no communion. This most recent mass was quite interesting as the pastors wife had a sword to demonstrate that our tongues could be weapons - that clearly got my attention as she waved it around. Last Sunday after mass we traveled to Lunch in a little cafe. After lunch we walked down to the beach which was only a minute away from the cafe where I had my first chance to get my feet wet in the Indian Ocean. As it is still winter here it was a little chilly but very refreshing/exciting to feel the Indian Ocean for the first time.

Monday - Friday is pretty much the same schedule. I wake up at 6:45 am and make sure that the 12 kids I am in charge of eat their lunch and are ready for the bus that arrives at 7:30 to take them to school. After that I usually have an hour or so to myself (pretty much the only time all day by myself) which I spend either reading outside or going for runs. I found a nice path right outside of Open Arms that is probably about a 5k in length. Each time I run on the trail I meet the same dog that often will run with me for a kilometer or so and loves when I take breaks to pet him.

After my little break, I usually have to fix things around the campus. I have already learned to fix "geysers" or water heaters here. After a little practice I was able to replace the guts of 3 water heaters with new parts and restore hot water for the children so they can shower again. Other projects that I have to work on soon include patching up and repainting various walls, resurfacing our rain water collection pools, retiling the kitchen, and my favorite fixing the swimming pool so I can teach the kids swim lessons. The pool is quite small and dirty now but once summer arrives I will be sure to have that pool crystal clear for the kids.

Lunch is late here starting at around 1 pm. The kids usually arrive back from school at around 2 pm. After handwashing their school clothes, they have a couple hours until dinner at 5 pm to play soccer or other games outside. The food here has been much better than expected for the most part so far except for one meal called African Salade which is not a salade at all. Even though I had been warned by previous volunteers not to try it, I had a mouthful last week which did not go so well. African Salade consists of milk left out in the sun until it is clumpy combined with I don't even know. But, it tastes exactly what it smells like which is extremely sour milk.

After dinner is when I sit down with the kids to provide homework/studying help and also additional tutoring in order to go beyond learning material from school. When all the kids studying is finished they go prepare for bed while Auntie Margaret, Auntie Anne, Auntie Suzanne and I prepare the kids' 45 school lunches for the next day. This can take quite a while as we have to make what seems like a barrel full of juice to fill up all of the kids water bottles.

Finally at about 8:30ish pm my day is over and I usually read until about 10 pm when I go to bed.

But with 45 kids things never go according to the schedule as unexpected things always occur. For example, recently I had to get a spider out of the Open Arms office. When I first heard that I needed to get a spider out I was very relaxed thinking that one of our Aunties just didn't want to deal with it. When I arrived I saw that the spider was actually huge and about 2 inches long and was probably a taranchula. I scooped it up carefully into a cup, showed some of the children the spider which scared them quite a bit then let it free quite a distance from our compound.

Last Saturday, the older boys also got to have a sleep over in the tv room which I had the pleasure to attend. I grabbed tons of snacks, cookies and chips and the boys watched Indiana Jones and and a movie called Mr. Bones which I have no idea what it was about since I fell asleep at around midnight.

On Sunday we had a girl's Net Ball (a game somewhat similar to basketball) tournament at Komga Junior (one of the schools our children attend). There I got to meet a bunch of the kids classmates and somehow the younger kids are convinced I am a vampire because of my pointy canine teeth....I think they have read too much Twilight or something.

Otherwise things here are much slower than in the United States. Everything takes much longer which requires a lot of adjusting. One of the hardest things for me will be missing Notre Dame football games as I have no way to watch them. For the past 6 years I think I have not seen one and that was because our Notre Dame swimming team was away for a meet.

Also, I got to see my first monkey while I was driving. He kind of looked like a little meerkat as he popped his little light brown head from the glass looking fascinated by the cars that passed. My birthday is tomorrow and I am going to bake a large cake for all of the children. I am hoping also that I will get to pet some cheetahs soon at the local game park. Apparently that is a normal thing here - who would have thought but then again it is Africa.

I hope all is well with everyone at that Kevin Boughey and Phillip Gantner had great 23rd birthdays.

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28th August 2012

YOLO!!!!
Dear Kevin, That sounds awesome!!!!! The only bad thing about it is it makes me feel lazy! I hope you are having just as much fun in Africa as yOu do when you hear us and belles LOUD voices. Keep doin what you are doing have fun keep that pool clean and don't scrape your knee on the bottom!!!!!
12th September 2012

Thanks for the note! In fact I think the cut was a little worse than I originally thought as it has finally closed up without a scab. But we won the lifeguard relay so that's all that matters. Blood, sweat, tears right haha.
28th August 2012

Happy Birthday
Hey Kevin! I wish I was there it sounds soooooo much fun!!!:) Happy Birthday!!! Please teach the kids YOLO and say thats what some crazy girls say in america!!!!

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