True Life: I'm Addicted to South African Soap Operas

So, Thursday after my last post, and during Scandal, the power went out. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal. I mean, it was dark out so we couldn't see anything and had to get out candles, but I found myself freaking out that I wasn't going to catch the end of the episode. Thats when it dawned on me. I'm addicted to SA soapies. Let me give you the run down. There are three shows that I have to watch every night, even though they all involve very dramatic plots centering around a magazine company. At 6:30 there is Rhythm City, where Gail's boyfriend is a serial rapist and their therapist just put two and two together. There is a break at 7:00 for the news, and this is usually when the family has prayer time. At 7:30 is Scandal, where Shakira is a murderer and in love with another member of her family, Tino, and also pregnant with his child, and Donna, Tino's girlfriend, wants Shakira committed (duh), but Shakira has convinced Tino not to because she is pregnant. Phew. Then, at 8:00 is Generations, my favorite. Right now Queen's son, Prince (fitting?) is mad at her because he found out that she has a new boyfriend, Lungile, and Phenyo just broke off his wedding to a girl he's been dating for 7 years because he thinks he's in love with Deneo, but his ex-fiance barged into one of Deneo's meetings with an important client and called her a slut, so now Deneo wants nothing to do with him. I know these all probably sound like pretty stupid story lines, but there is something about them. I even like reading the subtitles! I also tend to get them confused... I realized I'm probably going to go through withdrawal when I leave South Africa. Maybe they're on DVD and I can order them online. I sure hope so. OK sorry for that rant. Anyways, never fear, although I missed the end of Scandal, the power came on right as the theme song to Generations started playing.

The school garden starting to grow in nicely! Next week I get to help plant some more seeds!

 
 Friday I got to spend some time with the aunties that cook the food for the kids at school who either don't get fed at home or whose parents can't afford to pack them a lunch, as well as those that don't have parents...For my ISP I'm looking at the role of the school in caring/providing for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), so I greatly enjoyed spending my morning in the kitchen!

The Aunties hard at work! Fish stew!

There were HUGE pots of rice and stew.

All of the buckets for the different grades after they were filled with rice and stew!

Some "salad" that they gave me to try/eat with my fish stew! Not bad!

Saturday  I went to a Zulu ceremony. When a girl turns 13 or 14 (begins menstruating), they throw her a big party on her birthday! It was a lot of fun, but I wish I had known more people there. Obviously the first friend I made was a 2 year old. We had fun chasing each other around the tent as I helped set the tables. After the prep work it was time for some dancing. All the girls were dressed in traditional Zulu dress (meaning most of them were shirtless), and they sang and dance while people went around and pinned money to the birthday girl's headband. They also draped some part of a cow over her shoulders.. questionable. Either way, it was very entertaining and fun to watch!

The money headband and Mama adding to the collection!

Saturday night I was in my room when I heard a knock on the door. A few minutes later I heard a baby cry. We don't have a baby living here.... So, naturally I decided to investigate. As I was walking down the hallway, one of my sister's turned the corner with a 3 month old baby! Surprise! She immediately thrust her into my arms, as two more small children (~2 year old twins) rounded the corner. "And here are the twins!" she exclaimed. Where did these children come from? I have no idea. The baby liked me enough, but the twins were a little skeptical. The little boy eventually warmed up to me a bit, but the other girls were too busy doting over the little girl for me to get to interact with her much. Either way it was a very pleasant surprise! At one point I went to brush my teeth, and when I came back, I found that they disappeared just as quickly and mysteriously as they had come.

This morning I woke up, had another huge breakfast, and finally convinced Gogo to let me help with the dishes. Gogo washed, I rinsed, and Andiswe dried. After we were finished Gogo said "Thats enough, you must go rest now." Well, at least I was useful for 15 minutes this morning. I wish they would let me do more. I feel like I need to earn my keep, especially since the girls do so much around the house. I feel so lazy just sitting there watching! I did a little bit of work on my ISP (meaning I started a word document and set up a table of contents, with out the page numbers of course). I also go to watch some ESPN. I was in heaven. They were even doing the NBA recap, perfect! Anele then came inside and asked if I wanted to come play outside with them! Yes! I did! I played a bunch of running games with Anele and Andiswe, my twin 11 year old sisters, Asanda, my 13 year old sister, Nati, my 5 year old sister, Zima, a 5th grader at Bangibizo who walks home with me sometimes, and another 3rd and 4th grader from the neighborhood. We played a lot of running games, had some relay races, and I taught them how to play fishy fishy cross my ocean. It was really hot in the sun, so we picked some guavas, and sat in the shade of an avacado tree. We played some hand games and they tried to teach me how to zulu dance (I'm no where near flexible enough). We sung our respective national anthems, mine being a lovely solo, and then they quizzed me on some Zulu words. We then realized it was already 2:30! So we went inside, had some lunch and tea, and listened to some music on my laptop.

Other than that I've been trying to teach the kids, trying to bond with my host family, eating immense amounts of food, trying to find the minimum amount of liquid needed to stay hydrated without having to pee more than a few times a day (both my bladder and my stomach have increased in size during this homestay), and enjoying the beautiful scenery here in Mtwalume!