An Early Easter

This past week we had 15 Norwegian visitors come to Botshabelo to volunteer for 5 days. The majority of their time was spent teaching the kids and cleaning up our garden. They also helped our kids make Easter baskets. It's a little early for Easter, so why they choose to make baskets is a little beyond me, but it was cute, I guess. At the end of the week we decided to show the visitors how we do Easter at Botshabelo and even had a practice Easter egg hunt with them. I will explain Easter at Botshabelo in more length once we have our real Easter celebration, because it's a very emotional and important holiday here. Until then, enjoy these pictures of our premature Norwegian Easter egg hunt:

Yesterday Dr. Braam (our in-house Dentist for 3 weeks) left Botshabelo. Since our Dentistry project is now over and I have stopped teaching 1st grade, my duties are about to change this coming Monday. I am hoping to start working more intimately with the village. Here is a cute picture of Dr. Braam:

Ever since Daphne and I started working with the Dentist, the villagers have started to get to know us. This is special, because the people in the village are especially weary of visitors. Usually the visitors ignore the villagers because the village is sort of dangerous. Many people have serious issues with alcoholism and there is a high rate of assault. Daph and I weren't even allowed to go in the village without an escort... Now, things have changed and we wonder around the village quiet often to do different odd jobs. This past week we have been going in and assisting people with feeding their dogs. The villagers aren't the best pet owners because of their limited resources, so we go and feed their pets and make sure the living conditions are acceptable. If the animals are in a poor condition then we report it to the SPCA and they get picked up. It's a strange job because it requires a certain level of assertion that is incredibly uncomfortable for Daphne and I. It makes me wonder about cultural differences concerning pet ownership. Am I just stomping around enforcing my Western expectations of pet care onto these poor, unsuspecting villagers? Is that appropriate? Sometimes I will literally be standing 2 inches away from someones face yelling, WHEN YOU GET YOUR PENSION MONEY YOU WILL BUY ONE BAG OF DOG FOOD OR I AM SEIZING YOUR PET! Part of me wants to consider rethinking my approach because it's terribly abrasive (South African confrontation is like this, though). I think for the 1st time in my life my loud voice and natural bossiness is finally doing some good! Anyways, speaking of pets... Daphne and I caught three kittens this week. We decided that each of us in the house would be in charge of a cat. I named mine Waffles, Daph named hers Puppy and Niels named his Diesel. We think Diesel is an ugly name so we have been calling his cat Gasoline in hopes that he'll change the name. This only irritates him.

Daphne only has one more month here and it makes me really sad to think of her leaving. As I type this, we are sitting at a restaurant in Magaliesburg using the free wifi and she's speaking really loudly in Dutch to her friends on her phone. Sometimes when Daph is really sleepy, she'll talk to me in Dutch and it's so cute... because I don't know Dutch and I'll just stare at her, waiting for a translation. Her English is really funny! The way she explains things is adorable. This morning she asked me, "Will you live in the bed forever?" instead of, "When are you getting out of bed?". When we say goodnight she says, "Ok bye" instead of "goodnight". Two weeks ago she got a terrible spider bite and she had to get a shot in her butt and kept telling people she got a shot in her "bump" (she meant to say bum). When she likes something she says it's 'horny'. As an example, she eats these egg-shaped chocolates with marshmallow and it's her favorite so she calls them her 'horny eggs'. When she's exhausted she says, "I am too tired for the world". When she's sad she says, "I am desperate". Anytime she says a long sentence she ends it with, "you know what I am meaning?". I can't wait to go to Amsterdam and visit her.

Enjoy these random photos:

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Miss and love you all,
Christy

‘The opposite of scarcity is enough’

Here is a lesson on gratitude.

Someone Facebook messaged me asking if living in a rural African township was hard because the people don’t have what “we” have and live differently than “we” live (I am interested in who “we” is supposed to be). Well, some people have enough, some people have excess, and some people are hardly getting their basic needs met. Just like in 1^st world countries. Poverty and excess are universal, of course. Take Austin for example – on the west side of I-35 there is a nice bustling metropolis and on the east side there is extreme poverty. Living in Magaliesburg is truly no different than living in any other city.

So, this got me thinking about an interesting thought process…

Having more = shame, guilt

And of course. -

Not having enough = shame, embarrassment

Man! No matter what you have, we are just taught to feel shameful. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Because I’m thinking, that’s so stupid.

Should I feel shame for having parents when other kids are orphaned? No. By being grateful for my own parents, I honor the absence of theirs. Should I feel guilty that I am in good health when others are suffering from illness? No, I show gratitude for my health by spreading knowledge on good health practices. I have enough and oftentimes I have excess. But, I do not feel guilty or shameful. Just gratitude. You know, shame is a truly debilitating emotion. Shame perpetuates or creates opportunities to get emotionally stuck. Always be aware of when you feel shameful and always remember to be grateful. Of course, I think that when we live comfortably, it’s sometimes really hard to remember to be grateful. Brene Brown (my social work hero) talks about something called ‘practicing gratitude’. All that means is voicing your gratitude. Try voicing your gratitude today! Haha, I knowwww this seems so cheesy, but just try. I’ve been doing it with the kids here at Botshabelo. When someone feels like they have less than or when someone feels guilty about having more than, we practice gratitude.  This sort of exercise makes people more emotionally aware and present. I know it may seem basic, but we are not the haves and have-nots. We are all just humans.

Alright, so I have had a wonderful past week. My professor came into town and we traveled around to Pretoria and Haartbeespoort. We visited the beautiful lake at Haartbeespoort, went to an elephant sanctuary, and slept at a fancy guesthouse in Pretoria. It was a fantastic 2-day vacation! Daphne, my little Dutch sweetie pie who I have come to love so much, even got to travel with us. Before we left on our trip we had to go to a funeral in the village. A sweet old grandpa had passed away. Here are some pictures of the visit:

Getting ready for the funeral. We have to wear long skirts and cover our hair. I think we look like potato farmers... so trendy.

Meerkat eating at the elephant sanctuary.

Right before we left for the funeral. That's Tammy my professor on the far left, Pauline, me, Frieda, and Daphs.

Posing for tourist photos at the elephant sanctuary.

Haartbeespoort

Rescued elephant from the sanctuary.

The lake.

Lazy Daphs

Fancy guesthouse

Our flat tire :(

More fancy guesthouse. I met a crazy Pakistani sports reporter at those tables.

Changin tires

Anyways, I also got some invaluable time processing my experiences with my professor. She kept reminding me that it might be hard for me to go back home because people won’t understand some of my experiences. I kept telling her, No! My friends are so amazing they will understand everything!

Yeah, well, I worry now that she may be right. This week a man died in the village. I was catching stray kittens with Daphne when some villagers found his body so we arrived a little late to the scene. When we got to the scene the big crowd had mostly died down. - You see, when someone gives birth or dies at Botshabelo, EVERYONE has to be there (even children). Life and death are one of the same… we celebrate and mourn in very similar ways! We just gather. A baby is born, we gather outside the house. A man dies, we gather outside the house. It’s so cool. - Ok, anyways, so Daph and I got there and the man was lying on the floor with a blanket covering his face (but we could see everything else). He had been dead for about 24 hours they think, so he had already turned rigamortis. It was odd coming upon this scene because there was something strangely peaceful about it. His wife was crying on the steps of the house, so Daph and I went to hug her and give our condolences as we waited for the police. When the police arrived we watched them check out the scene and inspect the body. The man’s face was covered in blood and his skin was a dull gray. Daph and I just stood at the window and watched. I knew then what my professor was talking about. I will never forget that strange afternoon. The memory isn’t necessarily sad or scary… just… unfamiliar.

What an interesting week it's been. I miss you all!

Christy

Rest & Relaxation...?!?!

Hello loved ones!

Ok, so most of the posts I've written so far are a little intense and I decided that this week's post was going to be called 'The Silly Post'. Unfortunately, because my professor is in town, we're just too busy and I can't put the time in to make a fun/silly post. The silly post was going to have silly pictures and silly stories, but that will take some work so it will have to wait! Today I'm just going to post some fun pictures of me and my housemates engaging in some rest and relaxation.

This past weekend I went to swim and layout at a four star hotel with Daphne. I drank some vodka limeades and read Daph's funny magazines from Holland. Now I know all the famous royalty of the Netherlands! It was really nice to do some self-care and be away and relax. We really got rejuvenated lounging by the pool. Here are some pictures of the hotel:

This past weekend we also went to an amazing party. There's this guy, Alfred, who grew up at Botshabelo and now he works for the family and we have gotten pretty close. He's the one that picked me up at the airport! His girlfriend, Annmarie, had her 30th birthday at this awesome venue in Hekport (just a few kilometers away from Magaliesburg). He invited us and we got to spend an evening with some locals. This group of friends is especially progressive here in South Africa because with them blacks and whites exist and live amongst each other in a healthy way. This is so cool because they are the children of Apartheid and they're living in peace with one another. Anyways, we had such a good time! Enjoy these goofy pictures:

^^^ That's Daphne and I above. Niel's is the one in the black and red Hawaiian shirt making weird faces. Alfred is the one in the nice red button-down. Annmarie is the one in the black dress with the Heineken. Also, my lovely necklace was donated to me by someone at the party because I wasn't wearing any red and the party theme was red and black. I didn't exactly choose it, ha!

Sorry this post is short! I'll make a post of the safari pictures later this weekend.

Love you all,
Christy