Molo

Molo Everybody,
I hope this finds you well. So on Thursday I received a case of my own and had the chance to attempt to go out on a home visit. At first I was scared to death, but as the day passed and a few phone calls that needed to be made were done…I felt much better. Home visits are always trying as homes are not always visible, numbered, or the homes themselves have just seemed to pick themselves up and moved somewhere. From the experiences I have had there are some days where I feel like you are spending more time asking where this house number is than really doing home visits. The home visit I attempted today was interesting. The two women I went out with today Tando and Timbakazee were asking directions for a township we needed to get too, they asked this young boy (7 or 8 y.o.a.) he was traveling the same place we needed to get too! What a coincidence! Tando told him that we would give him a ride...and he gets in the car. My first thoughts are like didn’t this child’s parents teach him anything. This child, Leon was so nice, we dropped him off and then he ran after us to tell us where in the house was in the township. He joined us again in the car for this adventure. We could not find the house we needed to find and we once again dropped Lean off. As he was getting out Tando reminded him that he should not get into a car with strangers because he could be kidnapped…wonder if he thought about that before he got in the car with us???
This weekend Katie, Justin and I went to Cintsa (Buccaneers Backpacking) for the weekend! It was so nice to get out and do something. Uli gave us a ride on Friday evening and we had the opportunity to attend our first braai (grilling in America) in SA! The food was delicious they had lamb, chicken, pork, potatoes, bread, ect. Saturday was more of a gloomy day, it was rainy and cloudy. When it stopped raining we went on the beach and explored. As Justin found some hermit crabs and anomies that he shared with us. On his hunt he also found an octopus!! I have a picture of this but it is difficult to see as the octopus disguised itself. The beach was beautiful as you can tell by the pictures I have posted! Saturday evening Buccaneers had a traditional Xhosa dinner for us! It was the best meal and evening I have had since I have been here and it was quite the experience. Katie and I ended up getting seated by a man named Peter and he was a riot!! He is originally from Maulta, and gave us and geography lesson with beer bottles, cups, and spoons. He was also explaining to us that he was on holiday in search for his third wife. He was informing us that he has all the “qualities” needed to be a wonderful husband such as: teaching geography, knowing astronomy (to charm the ladies, as he preformed this for Katie and I), knitting, and having a baby face. The “qualities” Peter was looking for in his third wife was to be forty years younger than him, understand the game cricket, be American, and know where Maulta is. Katie and I did not quite meet his standards, we both are ok with this The world is quite small, and just how small. We met some individuals from Minnesota at Buccaneers, but not only were they from Minnesota one of the ladies went to the same high school as Katie! How bazaar. Sunday was bright and sunny we all went horse back riding on the beach and the scenery was beautiful. We also had a short time to lay on the beach and relax which was perfect for me as I didn’t have the chance to burn!!!
There are also a few things that I have wanted to mention but just have not had the time. So here I go.
*Children here to not sit in car seats, I don’t even know if they have car seats here. I gasp every time I see a child standing in front seat of the car or just sitting on someone’s lap. Obviously this is some what different than the states.
*The weather here is beautiful; as it is summer here, last Monday it was 98 degrees. This type of weather is normal for February as well. But I don’t believe I have mentioned that there is no air conditioning where Katie and I live, where we work or the vehicles we ride in. Just the window and the breeze, and if there is no breeze we get a little sweatier than we want!! If there is a breeze it is beautiful, we have the windows open 24/7 and do not have the screens that we have at home so sometimes we have mosquitoes sleeping with us. We have what Marianna calls burglar bars. These bars are on our windows so basically if someone wants in, it is quite difficult. What a wonderful preventative!!
*I have also found out there are no mandated reporters here in SA. YIKES!
*I have also had the chance to have some corn on the cob from a village! I was going to pass but Tando said, “Amber you need to explore and experience this” so I bought one! It was delicious and I would have another one at some point. Tando and Timbakazz showed me how they were cooked, as there is a few dozen that is cooked in a big barrel and then sold to individuals!

My experiences have been wonderful here in SA. I hope everyone is doing well in the states. Take care!!