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Published: February 6th 2007
The girls
L-R
Holly, Katie, Mary (On the other shift but started my week), Suzanne and Me!Well we never made it to the tarrot restaurant on Wednesday as the taxi driver said it burnt down. I didn't predict that!
Instead we ate at a place called the Obz cafe. The food here is great, very good value. Lots of traditional food, and all the usual mexican, italian etc. Pizza is quite big here.
Wednesday was my first big night out. We (as in me and the 4 other girls on my shift - Katie, Holly, Jess and Suzane and Donna who is waiting to join the Gary's surf school project in a few days time) went to Zulu and then Cool Runings on Long Street which is like the Cape Town equivalent of St Mary's Street only longer (!) and with more interesting bars!! We were out until the early hours of the morning.. and I was drinking savana dry (a very good local cider), straw rum (which is 80% proof apparently so I only had a few sips of course) and naughty by nature which is a very sweet alcopop like a reef. The music was all Uk chart stuff. Home from Home really. Not somehting I want to do every night but after a tough
The girls tasting wine
L-R
Jess, Mich, Holly, Mary
shift at Bap its good to go ad let your hair down (only I couldn't as it is still in braids!!)
Anyhow, Thursday was unsurprisignly a lazy morning.. it is impossible to have a lie in at the AVIVA house as Megan has an officer here (sjhe is the volunteer co-ordinator) and starts work ealry, the sun shines bright, and lots of people are coming and going!! I went into Long Street with Holly after scrambled eggs for breakie (we have that a lot here as eggs, bread, milk, cereal, and basic are provided free by AVIVA), and I picked up my safari confirmation details. Had lunch at Buzz a great juice/smoothie bar, and did a little shopping. I'm binning my Bap clothes after the 6 weeks as they get filthy and all sorts of things on them so picked up a couple of t shirts for less than a pound each.
New people always arriving at AVIVA house, and some new people came who will be on the other Bap shift. Also most AVIVA volunteers stay at the house for a day or two (or longer) either side of the projects even when they are not at
Mich at Claremont Rotary
Making another speech - presenting my 3rd banner. I did a bit of Welsh this time..! This is me with President Rochelle of RC of Claremont Bap so being here means I get to meet most people, and there's new faces all the time.
Thursday night was nice and relaxing - I cooked pizza which took about 30 seconds before it was burnt - the oven here is very hot/quick!!
Friday I was picked up by a taxi at..... 6:20AM!!! I went to the Waterfront Rotary Club's breakfast meeting at Hotel School, Granger Bay which was great fun. There were 5 Nottingham Rotarians and their inner wheel wives there too, and everyone was very friendly. I swapped banners and made a little speech (again!!). Took a strole down to the main Waterfront and went to the Aquarium where there were some very cute seals, scary spiders and ncie looking sharks! Apparently chairs and toasters kill more people each year in S Africa than sharks do so please stop giving them bad press!!! I met Malcolm and Calan from RCCB for a coffee in their hotel which was brilliant. So good to see Cardiff friends when I am so far from home. I then went to the Cape Town Rotary club for lunch (I wnet there last week), and had another enjoyable meeting, so a very Rotary Friday! I met Steve J's friend Trevor, and it was good to go back a second time. The speaker was on classic cars and Oxford/Morris had a good mention.
On the way back to Obs I went to the Cape Town Convention Centre as there was a 3 day women's conference and I heard there was free stuff!! well I had free skin care session, free lipgloss, free drink, free magazines and free tampax, so not bad seen as I went in through the wrong door and got in for free as well!! There was a main stage with lots of events happening including pole dancing (for fitness for women not for the guys!!), and discussions such as what do S African women thiink about sex in the work place? A bit too feminist for me, and all that sisters together malarkey isn't me really but good to pop into!
Friday night most of the people in AVIVA house went to Diva's for a pizza, I just had desert which was great!!
Saturday was work!! After a chat with the shift we are swapping with, it was straight into work. Snack time, play time, lunch time etc, like goundhog day especially as all the food is nearly the same. But Sat was a very special day - it was Nanana's brithday. She was 4, and we had got her a cake and one of the past volunteeers had left her a present. We all sang, and it was a fun day. I did older kids bathtime on my own with one care worker and that was good.. although I am sure the careworkers are laughing at me.. the outfits are still very strange.. and the pjs don't match!! Suzanne has bought more paint, but I was busy writing postcards in the evening, I've sent nearly 40 so far so give me your address if I haven't already go it!!
Sunday was supposed to be church - the kids had shoes on and were all excited, but we played whilst waiting for a call to go down to the 'church hall' and it never happened so we didn't go to chuch! I quietly warbbled a few hymns instead though - some of the very little ones seam to think my signing is ok. That's quite typical of Bap, plans change! The good thing is the care workers have swapped shifts so no need for a 4am bathtime this week but we are still doing bottles at 7am. Sunday afternoon was great as Katie had bought ice cream for snack time! There is usually snack provided by Bap, but it is often stale bread and a tiny bit of jam/peanut butter so often the volunters buy something. The kids love ice cream. Monday I gave the kids crisps that I had bought - just a little 10p bag, but one each. It was so quiet I was a little worried, but that shows how much they enjoyed them and I have never seen one bag of nik naks last so long and be so treasured!! There was enough for the careworkers and some of the older kids who just 'happened' to stop by!
Monday was an interesting day as most of the older under 5s went to creshe. This left 10 babies from 8am - 3pm. I was with the babies, two volunteers were peeling vegetables and the other two were helping on another project. (NB Bap has been donated 1/2 years supply of fruit and veg so diet is improving a little here - they have mashed potato, butternut squash, what looked like brussel sprouts and marrow here now). So I sang a little, postman pat, nelly etc, and helped Baphiwe (the boy with cerebal palsy) walk around the room. The babies cry as soon as you put them down because they want more attention which is hard. But on the other hand I have the power to stop a baby crying!!! :-) Some of the older babies are being toilet trained.. which just involves them being put into underwear.... and lots of puddles on the floor so they are now back in nappies!! Fun!! :-)
I'm really pleased I'm getting to know a lot of the names and personalities now. At the beginning I thought they all looked the same, I couldn't pronounce the names, and thought I'd never crack it!
Well Tuesday morning I did the bottles at 7am. The rather grumpy doctor had been in yesterday and changed all the system around, so it was a bit tricky. But all the careworkers are so friendly and really pleased we are helping out. All the bottles have names and times on them that the babies need to be fed. I thought Bam was a boy but it was 6am on the bottles..!!
Back at AVIVA hosue now. Off out tonight to Rotary (on a tuesday just like RCCB!!) and then out with the volunteers as it is Karties' last night here.
I've had complaints from my fellow volunteers that I haven't been writing about them so here goes!!
Kaite
Canadian, been at Bap since before xmas, brilliant with the kids, has been fanastic at showing me the ropes, her last night tonight and I will miss her lots. She's great fun.
Holly,
Boston, US, also brilliant with the kids and showing me the Bap ropes as she has been here for over 3 weeks now, thinks I am crazy but I'll forgive her!!
Jessica
canadian, I emailed Jess before I came away as I knew she was on the project too. lots of fun, very clever at keeping her long nails in tack even though she's working hard, great with the babies
Suzanne
Dutch, our police lady who wears very warm fleecy sheep pyjamas! Great fun, brilliant at English, our camera person so we should have a great video!
See I can't really write that much about them in case they read this..not that I have anything bad to say at all!! Execpt they do all think I am crazy but I am trying to swap crazy for quirky!!
The British accent is popular here so I'm enjoying that! There's a few more British people here to, and Laura who joins our shift next week. Tongith is a British accent night for Kartie sleavign do - shoudl be interesting!! I have to try a Dutch, Canadian or US one apparently..!
We all have lots of fun in the Bap flat, painting, playing cards, and also in our free time off in Cape Town.
Oh and I've taken the braids out and now have very curly hair!!!
Talk to you next week,
Mich
x
PS pob lwc Wales :-)
pps check out my photos which I can now do!!
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mjp
non-member comment
It's been a hard day - your blog made me smile!
. an extract from your 7th paragraph 'sex in the work place' - surely you are out there working etc., not disrupting the locals productivity! . how do you know the pj's are 'very warm fleecy sheep pyjamas'? I could go on but still mourning Wales loss to Ireland on Saturday - perhaps you could bring back a South African rugby player!!!!! mjp