Hi Everyone,

It has been a whirlwind here the last little bit! There is only a week and a half left of instruction before we enter our exam period, which will take up most of November (they get three weeks for finals here - THREE WEEKS! At home we only get one). So I am in the midst of a school work overload - writing papers and getting my portfolio ready for my art exhibition. There just aren't enough hours in the day - such is life I guess.
Anyway ... Last weekend I went back down to Durban, and this time with a purpose other than just visiting Shannon and soaking up the Durban night life. I left late on Friday, and haven't been feeling very well, so I just let myself into Shannon's room and crashed. Saturday afternoon Shannon, the other Durbs girls and I went to Agape - a AIDS orphanage A bit north
of Durban, to volunteer. Basically we just visited, brought toys and games, and played with the kids. Shannon, et all had been there once before with RAG - the collegiate community service organization common within the UKZN system (2 of the RAG girls, Norma and Linda, actually came with us), but this was my first time. It was an overwhelming experience.

The kids at Agape range between 3 (ish) and 17. All of their parents have either dies because of AIDS, or are too sick to take care of them themselves. Some of the children are infected as well. At the moment they are living in a cramped little cement building, one kitchen, and I think
two bedrooms jam packed with bunk beds. They had a larger place, but it burnt down, so the are living in the shoe box while a larger place in being built. The kids, though dirty, barefoot, and otherwise impoverished - seemed happy. Most don't speak English. but they were excited to see us, especially the little ones. We painted their faces (they painted a few of ours), danced, I gave a piggyback ride or two, and played the "fishing game" (Shannon's Idea). Shannon hid behind a blue sheet, while the kids (holding a makeshift fishing pole) dropped their line behind the sheet and Shannon put either a small toy or sweet (eSweetie as the kids kept shouting) on the end of their line. It was just a more entertaining way of giving out the things we had brought for them. One little boy, around 4 years old, got a whistle - he started blowing away like crazy and doing
this rhythmic hopping kicking dance (I held his hand and joined him). Later Norma and Linda told up that he was mimicking the moves of the adult men here when the go on strike - where he learned that we have no idea. We could only stay a few hours, though I think we all would have stayed longer if we could. I just wonder, what happens to these kids when they turn 18 and are too old to stay? What resources will that have? What choices will they make? What kind of people will the grow into? I don't think anyone has these answers. As Shannon said, places like Agape are more about immediate survival - they don't exactly have the luxury of a long term plan.

We were on our way home when Linda invited us to her brother's best friend's wedding. It was in a township outside of Durban and they were holding the traditional Zulu portion and Linda thought we would enjoy seeing it. We agreed. Typically, Zulu families will hold the "white wedding" or Christian ceremony first, and then follow with the Zulu ceremony. A Zulu ceremony is held at either the bride or groom's family home (usually the groom's), consists of lots of singing, the exchange of blankets (the bride brings blankets to her new husband's family, to please
them and ease her transition into their home - the groom's family will have previously exchanged either cows or an agreed upon sum of money for the right to marry the bride), and a braai. The atmosphere is very noisy and joyful - it made our ceremonies back home seem reserved and snooty. We wanted to blend in and just observe from the side lines, but since we were
the only white people there - we ended up being a bit of a spectacle. We were, greeted, hugged (I got kissed on the lips by a drunk old woman) and generally welcomed. When it came time to eat, men and women ate off of two different platters, with two different cuts of meat (a cow they had slaughtered earlier) - you can guess which platter held the nicer cut. The food was very hearty, lots of bread, beans, potato-y stuff, either cow or goat innards, and cow and goat meat ... I ate mostly bread. =)

The guests were very curious about us, and why were were there, understandable so - we were crashing a wedding after all. They were really enthusiastic about sharing and explaining. Almost too enthusiastic at times. It was interesting to see how people live, and to be a part of such
an intimate familial ritual. But it was sad as well, or maybe it was just a big dose of reality. It is startling how polarized South African society is in terms of class, the divide between the rich and poor is astounding, and often follows racial and ethnic lines - there is barely a middle class. We ended up spending a good deal of our time playing with the the little kids (it is amazing and refreshing how color blind children are - what happens along the way? Where does that go?). They tried to follow us when we were leaving. They ran into the street, it made me really nervous.
I tried to herd them back toward the sidewalk and a group of adults, when one little girl wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, and wouldn't let go. I couldn't pry her off for the life om my. Finally her grandmother came to my rescue - and we were off, exhausted and
a bit more enlightened. The whole day was a cultural overload.

Other than that no news is good news. It is strange that I only have a little more than a month here. This town, my friends here, my day to day life, all feel so normal - going back home is going to be a shock. It is the beginning of summer now - spring is somewhat nonexistent. So we are teeter tottering between scorching heat and thunderstorms. The Jacaranda trees ( a non-native species introduced by the British) are in full bloom. There is purple every where you look - either peppering the skyline or carpeting the ground. Purple blossoms fall like snow. They make a stark contrast to the barbed wire that decorate most of the buildings and fences, but even that seems normal now. Strange ...

Cheers!
Lauren