Just a quickie!

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Hello one and all!

This can only be a short post as I don't have long on the net - but I thought I'd just let you all know that I am alive and well 😊

School has been tough the last few weeks - teachers have been sent off to workshops so we have had full days teaching every day, covering their classes. I seriously don't know what the school would do if it didn't have GAPs! I love the older grades - ten, eleven and twelve, even though the boys come onto us ALL the time they are actually all very sweet kids, and are fascinated about my life back home. I really enjoy telling them about it, and a few of them want information about coming to study in England! They're all really keen to finish their matric with top grades, and it's really inspirational that even though some of them have really sad stories (orphaned, parents had AIDS etc) they still want to be doctors and social workers and engineers and all sorts. I love those kids so much and we've gotten really close already - they're pretty much the same age as us and even though they don't know how old we are it's obvious we're on the same level which is nice 😊.

Now the workshops are pretty much over I'm gonna be taking over in the Grade One class a lot of the time. They are SO sweet but a bit of a handful! They don't speak much English at all so it's gonna really help them to have either me or Samy around every day as they won't be able to communicate with us in Zulu. There's a very cheeky boy who is my secret favourite - even though he pushed someone in the fish pond the other day haha!

I've come home from school very stressed sometimes, mainly because of Grade 7 (who are the most frustrating kids I've ever met) or the workload, or if I've argued with the librarian (who is STILL being so slack, he just watches me do all the work, I've nearly finished reorganising the whole library and he hasnt lifted a finger! AND he had the cheek to tell me to come in at the weekend - he makes my blood boil sometimes! I've spoken to the principal about it now though and she's going to have words, and hopefully if he carries on he will be sacked. Fingers crossed!), but I'm very much in love with the school and all the children. They are my life now, and every day they just amaze me and inspire me and I think they are teaching me more than I am teaching them!

To raise money for the matric dance the grade 12s organised a Valentines event on Friday. For the lst two periods pretty much the whole school gathered in the TINY science lab (kids standing on tables and bookshelves and everything!) and they'd organised dedicating songs and poems to people, and kids were singing and performing dances, and everyone got SO into it it was lovely to see! It made me fall in love with it all over again even after a very stressful day! I watched it sitting down with two Grade one girls sitting on my lap, one on each knee, and the one little girl kissed my hand afterwards and whispered that she loved me!! They're SO sweet 😊. And I had a really great time - I've even learnt some poppin' dance moves from ym Grade 11s! :P

We've done lots of things in our spare time now and are really starting to explore! We've visited Manguse to stay with the GAPs at Kosi Bay private school and went shopping and out for a (very cheap!) meal at a beautiful place called Maputaland Lodge. I bought a gorgeous dress there too! Last weekend we met some really nice people who work for NGOs (non-government organisations) like Orphan Care and the Women's Centre. They're 3 Zulu blokes; Fana, Dumi and Nahte, and a woman called Lee-Ann, they're so nice! We went to a braii (BBQ) with them, and last Sunday we went to Kosi Bay beach, a place called Kosi Mouth, which is where five rivers meet the sea. It was beautiful! The water was warm and clear blue and there were lots of fish, and the sand was lovely, and there were random mountains in the middle of the bay! The beach was almost deserted so we had a big swim (very rough water - good workout!) and a braii on the sand.

We've also started to go to Bible Study on Wednesdays!!!! Don't laugh too much, they're doing six weeks of a 'life's questions' course thing, which involves loads of discussions and stuff, and I really want to understand their point of view about things and they really want to understand ours so it's actually very fun and interesting 😊. It's with Ruth and Simon and mostly people from the hospital but they're all very nice, it's a good social thing and we play soccer at the top of the hill (lovely view) with them now on Thursdays too!

We've turned into proper housewives, we get very excited about cooking supper and we've baked a lot of cakes! We have to handwash our clothes and things too and it's actually a lot of fun. This morning we even weeded the garden and made our own veggie patch! You really have to make your own fun in Ingwavuma but it's fine, we really enjoy it here now we're used to it 😊.

We still have no water despite it raining ALL of last week, and our power went out for most of the week because of the moisture too. Thankfully the power is back now and has been fixed so will hopefully only go off during storms, and we don't mind fetching water, it's a good workout and we have a water filter now so it's always clean.

Sorry I can't tell you very many detailed things this time but I just dont have time! I am trying to write to everyone I havnt already written to this week and next so look out for me in your postbox 😊.

Our plans for Easter (April) by the way are now to go to Swaziland for a few days and then go to Mozambique, where we can go white water rafting and surfing and maybe paragliding yayyy! Can't wait!

Miss you all very much, hope to hear from you soon - write to me!

All my love,

Linda xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S. I have been here 4 weeks tomorrow!!!! Mental!!!!!!

P.P.S. I have some funny valentines day stories:

1) First thing in the morning when we were on the way to the taxi rank (we visitied Mkuze...it was rubbish) a random old beardy man pulled us both into a hug, wished us happy valentines and asked us to be his girlfriends!

2) When we got to Bhambanana we had to swap taxis, and the two taxi drivers going to Mkuze started arguing about which one was going to take us. They were yelling at each other in Zulu and then made us choose - it was very awkward!

3) In Mkuze there was a policeman wandering around with a massive gun and no-one seemed to care.

4) Valentines day evening was the one night we couldnt go and pester Ruth and Si for some company, so we sat on the floor in our room feeling sorry for ourselves, eating chocolate dipped in icing!!! We were so pathetic, but we talked a lot and it was actually a lot of fun :P.

I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am having a fantastic time I promise 😊 how are things in England?

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Comments

[Na]

Awesome Title
Hey, not much in England...teehee bible studies, they make me laugh!

[Joe Harry Frederick Thompson]

Yay!
You are still alive! I was wondering when you'd write another blog! Glad you're having fun! I miss you Lindy :D xxxx

[Jack]

Fun Times
Sounds like so much fun! Although lacking pictures =P The librarian sounds like a right bad person. Going to get round to sending you a letter soon! Much love xxxxx