Durban and week 4

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This weekend we didn't go off on any wild adventures exploring South Africa, rather we spent the time in Durban. This was actually really enjoyable. I'm glad we are spending our weekends exploring, but I also wish we had more time to explore Durban. There are just not enough weekends. Friday afternoon Inger (the student liaison officer), helped me get some more off my asthma preventative medication, seretide. It was funny because this is a drug that requires a prescription in South Africa (as in Australia), but somehow we managed to get it without one.. Gotta love SA and Inger was a bit of a star!!

In the evening Sue (the director of Woza Moya), picked me up and took me for dinner and drinks at her house. I had very generously given Sophie my cold, so she wasn't feeling up to joining us. Sue lives in a big house with her husband, her sister and her sisters husband and their two children, and her mother. Oh and can't forget the 2 dogs and 4 chickens. One of these chickens was from Woza Moya, as they try and work out how to stop the local dog from getting in and killing them all... this chicken was the sole survivor from the latest attack. This was to be Sophie's job. Anyway, the house was lovely and had a gorgeous view of Durban from the attic. We had drinks on the veranda with her household, a neighbour and Jovita who I had worked on the website with. Sue's brother-in-law is Australian and he was excited to hear an Aussie accent. Lots of fun conversation, gorgeous salmon & trout and a bit too much wine was had by all. A couple of wine glasses were sacrificed....

The next day we had a mid placement briefing session with the group. We drove out into the Valley of a Thousand Hills which seemed a bit strange, but our car naughtily stopped at the Hillcrest AIDS Trust craft shop on the way (we had been wanting to get there for the entire trip, but weren't sure when we'd get the chance). So after our little shopping stop and being pulled over briefly by the police (random roadworthy type test), we arrived a little late. The others were worried cause we'd left home before the other car and arrived quite a bit later. So we spent the day talking about our experiences and discussing how we would do things better for the program. The site also had a Labyrinth which we walked around, contemplating. It was interesting and got me into using the one at the BRC during the week sometimes.

That evening we ate dinner at an average chain restaurant with about half of the group and then Sophie, Steph and I walked along the beach boardwalk and piers. It was very peaceful and we stopped to eat ice cream and had an intellectual conversation about how to fix the problems in Africa. There were differing opinions, so it was an interesting conversation which I enjoyed, but also possibly a little to full on for a Saturday evening.

Sunday the three of us headed to the beach early and relaxed reading in the sun. It got really windy quickly, so we headed for a morning coffee at an awesome bar on the end of the pier. We drank a delicious coffee while watching the surfers catching waves below us... very nice indeed. Then it was off too Florida Road for a thai lunch before heading back to the guest house to relax for a few hours by the pool.

Later on I drove to Northern Durban to visit my friend Elke and her family. I knew Elke from when I worked in London. She has just moved back to SA. It was so lovely to see her, her husband and their 2 year old, Grace. They cooked me up a braai and Milly (corn) bread. So delicious. They lived in a gated community. I hadn't been into one of these before, so it was interesting to see another side of South African life.

The week at Woza Moya was again very interesting and enjoyable, although I did have a couple of down days when I was thinking about home, but that was mainly because of what was happening there. My Dad donated his kidney to my brother and the surgery was this week, so it was difficult not being there to support the family. The news is all good though, surgery went well and recovery seems to be going as expected. Time will tell of course.

So this week I made a 'Sock Monkey'. It's so cute. I'll put a photo up so you can all see it. It's so ingenious how it is made. We did this during craft day when some of the women in the community come in to receive advice and assistance in making crafts. This is designed to provide the women with skills and an ongoing source of income, as well as increase their confidence and self esteem. Mind you, the main woman who trains them is really scary and not sure if i could work for her, but they do make a lot of crafts. As part of this I was some how commandeered to do a costing of each of the crafts. This ended up being a mammoth task, but I was happy that my accounting skills haven't left me and are still useful at times.

Friday we went out to one of the schools for the School Support Program. The idea is that vulnerable children that need school uniforms are identified in the community. Donors pay R1000 (Aus $150) and with this money the children are provided with a school uniform, shoes etc. The donors then receive a photo and description of the child. We were there to take photos, measurements and interview a group of children for this program (well Sophie and I were assisting). It was slightly unorganised with lots of kids lining up that weren't on our list. It was good to be out in the community again and we had an interesting trip riding in the back of the bakkie without anything much to hold onto. I was very dusty and a little sore by the time we got back. I understand the whole thing, but it does feel a bit like selling children. It's a shame it has to be like that.

The rest of the week was kept busy with a range of tasks to do with the stock, excel work, database assistance and some time spent in the play school again. I enjoy working with all the staff. We have a lot of laughs, they are an amazing bunch of women (oh and one guy). Woza Moya is a purposely female led organisation for a number of reasons and the women involved so strong, talented and passionate about their work.

The week at the BRC was an interesting one. The staff are generally lovely people with very warm personalities and happy to help. We are no longer guests as such, rather part of the furniture. Chantelle who is in charge of the kitchen and meals that are prepared, often asks us what we feel like for our meals. So sweet. The food is always delicious, so I trust her judgement and am happy to eat whatever she provides. It is nice to be asked though. We had some lovely friendly guests staying which made the week more interesting. One morning I joined them for Chi Kung. This is apparently a martial art, but it focuses on mediation, breathing and movement. It was ok, but I got bored with standing in one spot and breathing for over 30 mins. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I also joined a led meditation session. This was ok too. We also had another fire poi night. I have somehow become a bit of an expert with poi too.... although I'm not that good, but I guess to beginners I do alright. I'm still a little scared with the fire though. Am better just playing around without the flame. I didn't do much with them when I had the fire ones. We did all this to a cd provide by Chantelle called 'Infected mushroom'. The music was great with poi, but wasn't particularly relaxing or buddhist like. Luckily we had the right type of people there, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to do it. We had lots of laughs and some interesting conversations.. All good.

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