Ok, I have been trying to think of what exactly I want to say about last weeks experiences and speakers for the last couple of nights. I just don't know exactly what to say. I feel like last week was an amazing experience and I have learned so much for last week but I don't feel like it has all sunk in yet. There was so much that happened last week. I feel like I just can’t grasp all that happened. It seemed like it went by so fast. So, I will try and hit some of the highlights or things that stuck out. Last Tuesday we saw a group called Siyaya. They were amazing. They sing and dance and do performances around HIV and AIDS. They are actually going on a tour of the US and are going to be in Minneapolis from July 1 through July 6. I would recommend them to anyone. That same day we went to an HIV support group at the JL Zwane center. It was interesting to sit in on their group and hear their stories. It is really amazing how they have overcome the stigma of speaking out about HIV/AIDS. They asked us a lot of questions about the US and the HIV situation back home and what we know about HIV/AIDS. It was pretty cool that they asked us a lot of questions because it seemed like they were interested in us and why we were there. Also, they gave us the opportunity to ask question to the group. This really made me feel welcome into the group and really accepted to be there.
Wednesday we ended up going to a lady name Pricilla's house and made some sandwich for her and her 11 kids. We also brought her kids some toys. The cost of the meal we made was about 210 Rand, which converted into dollars would be 30 dollars. That is crazy to feed 12 people one meal over here is 30 dollars. Sometimes back home that is the cost of one of my meals. I just feel like this is something tough to grasp and is going to affect me the most when I get back home and go out to eat. The kids really liked the toys we brought them. They were so excited and used them right away. We went outside and played with them. It was so great to see the whole family smile and have fun and not worry about things for an hour. They were so grateful for the little we did. It was tough to leave because we all wanted to do so much more. We even talked about trying to help her out more but don't exactly know how. Hopefully we will be able to figure something out. It was great to see Pricilla and her kids laugh, smile and have fun. That afternoon we went back to the JL Zwane center and worked with the kids there in the after school program. This program is for the kids that go to the local schools to help them with their homework and just have fun with them before they have to go home. We helped them with their homework and played games with them. It was so much fun and great. The kids even invited us over to sit by them while they were eating. It was so cool to just sit and have fun with them and have them just relax and have fun for a bit with out having them dealing with what they have to deal with everyday. Some of them don't realize the hardships they are going through but they really don't have anything to compare it too. But was a lot of fun to help those kids out for a couple of hours to have fun.
On Thursday, we ended up going to visit some refugees that were forced out of their homes from xenophobic attacks. It was so interesting to see that with being forced from their homes that they were will still high spirited an were just really accepting for what they have. We sat around and talked with them and hung out with their kids. They kids had really great spirits and were having a good time with us. I got hugs from about 4 kids that day for just hanging and playing with them. It was such a great experience to hang out with them , play with the kids and hear the stories of the people that this happened to. This is because all of this is currently happening right now here in South Africa. It is crazy that these people are getting run out of there home because they are foriegners and are not from South Africa. The South African people think that these people are taking their jobs and so they feel the need to run them out of town. It is just really interesting to see this and experience this first hand. After this we went back to the JL Zwane center to work with the afterschool program. So, it was another day working with the kids on homework. It was a fun time once again. The kids are just amazing. They have a lot of fun and are so willing to learn. They are just so eager to learn, have fun and interact with people. It is so amazing these kids have a great insight on life and we can learn so much from them. They just have fun with what they have. I mean some of them just play with tops, metal rods with wheels on the bottom, reading an old book and some other toys that we wouldn't even think of. I think that I learned a lot from these kids and the experience of working with them and I think they were super excited of having us there to help out. I am sure the instructors were excited to have more help as well. It was definitely alot of fun and a great experience.
On Friday, we went to a school that works with kids that are mentally and physically handicapped. First off, when we walked through the school all the kids were excited to see us. They gave us high-fives, peace signs and thumbs up. I felt like I was kind of like a celebritiy because the kids just flocked to us. It was amazing to see these kids faces just light up. So we introduced ourselves and why we were there. Then their choir sang for us. It was a lot of fun. They had amazing voices. They were so vibrant and full of life. After this whole introduction, we went to different places to clean up and help out with the school. TJ, Brian and I went to clean up the basketball court. There was a crap ton of glass on the court. So we decided to sweep the court and put it in a bag. After we got the whole court cleaned up we got to play a little bit with the kids on the court. It was so exciting to see their faces light up even more since we were playing with them. After all this happened, they feed us. I was amazed that they feed us because of the resources they have. When we were leaving all of the kids wanted to take pictures with us. One of the kids even asked me if I would just pose and she would take a picture of me with her phone. It was so amazing to see these kids light up and smile and have fun. It just seems like a lot of people really are excited for the little things in life and that is something I really need to learn. I feel like this would be something that a lot of people could take away from the people here. People would probably a lot happy in life. So, this is something that I am definitely going to take away. Well, that is it for tonight. Next blog, I will try and touch on the speakers and my experiences shark-diving. Cheers.
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