We are here in the Ndbele Village of Mapoch. Our flight out of London was delayed due to weather - not a shocker, I know. The ten and a half hour flight was uneventful. South Africa is absolutely amazing. The people here in Mapoch are so open, warm, and friendly. Although the electricity regularly goes out every evening for about three hours, we can survive because as of yet - no snakes! There are currently 281 Ndbele that live here in Mapoch.
The students are currently on holiday, so Colleen teaches them lessons in the morning and afternoon. The students range from age 3 to 18! They are sooooo eager to learn, and they are grateful for any amount of time, help, and attention given to them. Their English is good. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our Ndbele or Afrikaans. We are constantly slaughtering their names,but they just laugh and patiently say it again and again and again....
Monica spent her first full day at a free clinic. She and some counselors from the clinic have started free HIV testing here in the village. Their status remains confidential, and the people are grateful for any and all medical advice.
We have also started learning how to do beadwork, the traditional craft of the women of the Ndbele. It takes patience, which thankfully the Go-Go's (or grandmothers) have. They, in return, get free English lessons. They still speak Afrikaans, a complicated language that is a combination of German, Dutch, and French.
We cannot begin to fill you in on all that we have seen and learned thus far. The Internet connection here is available only for today because it has to be connected via cellphone. Unfortunately, our cell phones do not work out here. So, we had to borrow for now. We will be in KwaZulu-Natal next week, where we will have Internet connection. So, please just hang in there and we will send pictures and more stories next week! We just wanted to touch base for now. Peace out.