The first week

Hey everyone!
I know I haven't written in a while but that's cos I don't have internet at the kibbutz...and I can't bother to get everyone into town every day and to walk alone is not safe....but anyways, you can expect to hear from me once a week. But before I start, I'd like to thank you all for your comments and emails, I have just spent an hour in the net cafe, reading them all!!

So here we go... Today is Saturady and I'm in Cape Town, took a train this morning at 4.30am (the only train going from Worcester to CT), which means I had to get up at 3 o'clock this morning...but what am I doing..I should start with my arrival at the kibbutz on Monday...

After taking a trip to the mall near the hostel in Cape Town to get things like a South African sim card, an adapter that fits (my travel adapter is evidently NOT made for RSA...found that out when I was gonna do the nebuliser at the hostel. Fortunately it also runs on batteries which I had recharged in Germany before I left so it was all good.) and whatever else was needed, we finally headed off to Worcester, where we arrived after a two-hour car drive. Did anyone ever say Worcester was "near" Cape Town..?! Well, it must have been some Aussie, cos the guys "down under" have quite a different understanding of distances (as I had to learn the hard way..!). My point is, Worcester is in the sticks, man! We are the volunteers furthest away from Cape Town and we're lucky if the coordinators bother to come by once while we're here...
Anyways. we got there, got taken to our house, which is a tiny wooden house for 5 volunteers to live in. Two rooms, a sink, a bathroom and a lounge, which is also the entrance area. Basic, but alright. The thing was so, we are six volunteers. Dorren, a german girl had arrived a week before us and Marie, a girl from Ireland had already stayed for 3 months. Then I arrived with Angi, Sarah and Kate from England. So one of us had to stay with a teacher from the primary school in the flats nearby the kibbutz. No biggie, really, exept for the fact that this is a township we're talking about and while the kibbutz itself is quite safe, if you are a stranger, white and a female it would simply be suicide to walk around (especially after dark) in the streets outside the kibbutz area.
So the question was solved rather quickly who would move into the flat until Marie leaves and who do you think it was...? Right, I was the lucky one. Well, I guess I have to say I kinda volunteered since Kate&Sarah had come here together and they wanted to stay close to each other an Angi said she was scared. So, I went.
It's actually alright, just a bit annoying to walk over to the kibbutz early in the morning where I do my nebs and stuff, take a shower before the girls get up. The first time I was escorted to the flat, where I share a room with Vera, the teacher and her mum. Very basic living, we brush our teeth over the bath tub, the bathroom itself doesn't have a door and ther's no hot water. But I only sleep there anyways. Well, I have been walking over to the flat on my own cos I just hated for everyone to make a fuzz and it's cool. I'm starting to get to know the people so I hope I'll be fine. Plus, Marie left today so I'm moving into her room on the kibbutz property anyways. So too late to be worried, guys..hehe!
But back to the story. we got there, were shown a round a little bit and then basically left alone. That was the case for three days and it really started to annoy me cos I guess I expected them to have some serious work for us. Well, there goes the South African time frame I still have to get used to. They wanted for us to chill abit, getting to know each other..all that crap... ;)
So on Wednesday, Sarah and I just went into the creshe, which is kinda like a kindergarden....and can you believe it: kids actually like me! And I like them! It was so much fun to run around and play with them, although they only speak africaans. but at that age, ther's not really a language barrier, cos they watch you so closely. And they touch. A lot more that European kids I think so I soon had kids all over me, screaming to stick my tongue out (for the hundreths time..!) so they can see (and grab!!) my piercing, dirty little hands in my hair and ears and snot wiped all over my clothes...nice!
So after the creshe I was ready for lunch (which always consist of pumpkin, either rice, pasta or potatoes and a piece of greasy meat. so if you're lucky like Doreen, who is a vegetarian and doesn't like pumpkin, you're pretty much screwed..hehe) and a nap. The heat (mid 30s) is getting to me as well, since we're not on the coast, the wind comes from the desert and is just hot. So I'm drinking a lot, taking calcium tablets as well as salt tablets cos after the drama it the Nullabor Plain I really don't want to get dehydrated! And, i quit the candy and added some fruit so I'm actually living quite healthy. Next week Im gonna try to start going to the gym cos I can't exercise here. During the day it is way to hot to run and when it cools down I can't walk around on my own. Shouldn't really do it during the day either but I just can't stand being around people all the time. I have wondered though, what was going through my mind when I paid about 2000 GBP to stay three months in a poor country, where it's bloody hot, I can't walk around on my own with my mp3 to listen to some tunes while I sort my head out cos I might just get shot any minute. But I know that's not really fair. It's still getting to me, though.
Anyways, stop the whinging and back to the story.
After the creshe, we met the group of YWAMs , which is a christian group (Youth With A Mission) who is working with the street kids from the kibbutz as well. They are christians, but they are actually quite cool. They're all about my age and they are from all over the United States. So every evening they do some activity, like drama, testimony, prayers and stuff. I told them straight out I was an atheist but they are cool with it. Not so the street kids, they can't believe I"m not one of God's children and when I told them I believed in myself they said me that Satan's gonna get me. Oh well. we still get along. ;)
On Wednesdays is the compulsory devotion thingy where everyone gathers in the hall for prayers and songs. Cool enough, the songs are actually quite fun.

I'm just thinking, maybe I should tell you all abit about the kibbutz before I start writing more about this last week. Well, it was built about 10 years ago in a township called Roodeval, the worst and most violent township in Worcester, where two gangs, the BFK (Born Free Kids) and teh CTS (Cape Town Scorpions) were having constant warfares. It all started with some religious people who wanted the killing to end. so the kibbutz is in the middle of the border to the gangs' territories. Which explains why it is so dangerous outside of teh Kibbutz itself. At the kibbutz, we have a girls' and a boys' house and teh kids who live there either don't have any parents or the parents live on the street themselves. Most of them are about 8-18 years old but they all look a lot younger, due to the drugs they have been taking. They have been in foster homes, orphantages and jail and TB (tuberculosis) is quite common. Every week a nurse comes and does HIV tests.
but then there are lots of kids who come around just during the day, for example there are about 140 kids at the creshe. And only 3 women who work there. So every day two of us volunteers go and help out. The way the women interact with the kids is also quite rough, they always yell and smack the kids around, even when they are just playing or screaming. No huggs, laughs or cuddles. Same at school, it's just all about discipline. So we try to kinda balance that a bit.
The kids who are coming around for the day are living in the flats close by, I hope I get to take some pictures to show you..it's awful and I can't imagine what it's like to grow up there. The area in the center of the blocks, where the kids are supposed to play is covered with broken glass and rocks, there is garbage everywhere. Quite shocking even if you have seen pictures on the news. And at the moment, I am living amongst those people.

But back to the story (which I know, is gettingwaaay to long....)
So yesterday i went to the primary school which is just across the road to observe some teaching and maybe assist a little bit, like Kate and Angi had done the day before. So Kate went to look for "her teacher" while I went to talk to andre, the principal to introduce myself and to see where I am needed. Couldn't find him but I ran into Jordan, another guy who was appearantly in charge cos he just took me with him to find something to do for me. And he did.
You know guys, at the TEFL course in Oxford, they told us that we would start assisting teachers, doing it all step by step and that we wouldn't be put up in front of a class and expected to teach out of the blue.
Well, let me tell you: That's exactly what happened to me yesterday.

Jordan found indeed a class but unfortunately, there was no teacher. He said, " just keep them occupied for a few minutes, tell them a bit about yourself. I'll be back in a bit and ask them quesetions about it." Said that he left and nerver returned.
So I was standing in front of about 25 ten-year olds who were starting to get bored and thought starting a paper ball fight would be a great welcome for the stupid german girl...
But somehow I managed to get them back into their seats, and since they do understand a bit of engish I told them about myself, hoping that Jordan would show up sometime soon but when that didn't happen I just copied some of the things I learned at the TEFL course (I AM SO GLAD I WENT THERE! THANKS TO OUR TUTOR IONA AND ALL THE OTHER STUDENTS WHOSE IDEAS I COULD STEAL!!) and did the past and teh present tense. Then the bell rang and I realised that I was still alive.
During the break i tallked to a teacher next door and she was nice enough to let me borrow some english book so within two minutes I planned the next lesson: family members and a listening?pronounciation exercise. that worked well, exept for the fact that the kids just refused to read out loud so I read the text to them, explaining new vocabulary, asking them questions about the context and drilling pronounciation. Hey, they even raised they hand when they knew something, hehe!
Third period I realised that I get different studets every period because they move class rooms. So I kinda mixed the things from lesson 1 and 2 and I almost felt like I was getting a bit of structure here...worked great, it was actually fun and I didn't hear the bell ring. Since the students are drilled to obey the teacher, no one got up or said anything so i was a bit startled when the next group of students came in...
So great day at the school even though after the adrenaline rush lost its power, i was quite exhausted, put of course, proud as hell to not have drowned...;)

Since this post is getting awefully long i will make things short...

health: good, better, the best I have felt since Australia! If I did a rating like Jaan on ascale from 1 to 10 (OBVIOUSLY like he said, hehehe..) I would give it at least an 8.2 which is pretty damn good! I can't belive how fast things have improved and I'm pretty sure it can't be the new antibiotic I 'm taking (sorry doc, haha..) cos I felt better within hours of being in the hostel in Cape Town. I hardly cough during the day, only in the mornings but after the nebs I'm all good. I don't even need nebs in the evening, just a bit of AD and some exercise (which i will work on this coming week..!) SO I can def. say that physically I feel tops!
Mentally..different story. It's still a big culture shock for me and I need to get used to a lot of things, like peoples mind-sets which is a challenge I have definitely underestimated. I hate the fact that I can't walk around on my own without considering being shot any minute. The role of the woman is appearantly a lot less dominat than what it is in Europe and the kids def. lack respect for others.
the girls seem to feel all sorry for them but I guess I just don't have any sympathy in general. Yeah, they have a tough life but I just think "quit whinging, get over it, get your arse up and make the best of it". The girls (when i say that I always refer to Kate/Sarah/Angie) buy them loads of stuff and believ every word the boys tell them. and many times they are just full of shit and to be honest, they have survived on the streets for many years, so they are absolute pros in manipulating people. Sometimes it's so obvious but the girls still skip their lunch just so they can give it away which i find a bit absurd considering that we have paid for food & accomodation. I think we are here to work and help them out in other ways, not buying them materialistic shit and give them a picture of the rich european girls who can just afford to give them all our money. But enough of it all....more next time!

I have tried to add another link with pictures, following Jaan's instructuions (again!) so If we are luck you should be able to click on "pics" and you'll get to my photo page. Not that many pictures yet but it's a start and I am hoping to add some more soon. It's just a bit difficult here and I don't wanna offend anyone. So give me a few more weeks to get to know people better and you will get to see where I (and some others) live.

Sorry for this long post guys..I promise I will try to get on the net twice a week so post will be more fun to read and not such long stories!

And thanks again for all the mail, keep writing, makes me feel missed, hehe!

all the best to you guys, i feel sorry for everyone freezing in germany..I have had my first sunburn, hahah!