Nic's Adventures in South Africa

2010-04-27T08:04:00.001+01:00

Ok, so I’ll just start off from where I left yesterday…

The day after arriving back at the Aviva house, a few of us went to Greenpoint market which is a craft market near to the new World Cup Stadium. Bought a few wee souvenirs, and then went for a walk along the coast to the Waterfront before heading home.

That night we had booked a leaving dinner for me at a gorgeous restaurant called Moyo, situated in the winelands. The restaurant is outdoors, and as soon as you walk through the door, it’s like walking through an enchanted forest. There are lanterns and lights everywhere, an area under a large gazebo with tables and chairs for dining on, musicians playing, and women singing. We were lucky enough to book one of the ‘treetop tables’! As the name suggests, the table was built into the trees, so we were high up, and it was light by lots of little lights. Blankets were hanging over the back of your chair for when it gets chilly, and you have a designated waiter to meet your every whim. The meal itself is a buffet, and there are around 10 different food stations to choose from. It’s all traditional African food, and it’s safe to say that by the end of the meal we were all stuffed to the gunnels. Really need to go on a diet when I get home, because I’ve been piling on the pounds here as the food is just too yummy! Had a really lovely ‘leaving’ evening, but, of course I didn’t actually leave the next day!

Got confirmation that my flight was officially cancelled around midday on the 19th, and wasn’t told what else I was supposed to do, so I felt in a bit of a muddle. A few other people in the house were in a bit of a funk too, so we decided to go to Cavendish Mall to try and buy happy things to cheer us up. Trailed around the whole of the mall, and couldn’t find anything to buy, which didn’t lift our mood at all, so me and one of the girls decided to go home, rent a movie, and get drunk!

This plan was put to the sidelines though, when walking back from the bottle store, Angie and me spot a little jack russel puppy zig-zagging across the lower main road in Obs, and almost being hit by a few cars. We were standing watching her for about five minutes, trying to decide what we should do, when a guy comes up to us and asks “Is she your dog?” She isn’t, but we ask him if there’s a number we can call to get us rescued. He tells us about the SPCA, and then runs across, lifts up the puppy and plops her into Angie’s arms. After all that we couldn’t really put her down and leave her, so we took her back to the house and locked her in the front yard. I’ve never seen the moods of so many people change so quickly, like they did as soon as the puppy arrived before. Everyone was so happy, and playing with the puppy and laughing. It was just what we needed! Phoned Kim, our house mum, and she said the SPCA was closed for the day, so we’d have to keep the puppy for the night! We had a fun evening playing with her, and feeding her, as she was starving! Two of the girls stayed up with her through the night as she was crying. Felt quite bad for them, as I didn’t hear a thing, so I slept right through the night! Kim called the SPCA in the morning, and it turns out a family had called them 2 minutes before, reporting a lost jack russel puppy. They came and collected ‘Lizzie’, as we’d named her, within an hour, and then the house was back to being fairly quiet again!

After the puppy departed, I headed downtown with Angie and we hit up a few more markets, Long Street, and the South African Museum. That night we went to Pancho’s, a local Mexican restaurant and had seriously good food and lots of Margaritas.

On Wednesday it was reported that UK airspace was opened again, and after trying to get through to Emirates all day, Kim finally called me in the evening saying that I had a place on a flight on the 1st May! At the time that seemed like a lifetime away, but of course, it’s flying by now.

Wednesday was also the day that I moved from the little house in Observatory, where I had lived for the past 7 and a half weeks, to Aviva’s other house in Cape Town, situated in Table View. This house is gorgeous, close to the beach and the mall, and in a much quieter area. The Obs house was getting a bit crazy as people were waiting on flights, and arriving and departing and finishing projects and hanging around, and there was a funny atmosphere as most people were ready to go home, so I decided it would be a nice change to hang out in Table view for a while. The girl that I’m closest to here was also moving to Table View as she’s starting the penguin project now, so it made sense to move with her and play over here until I go home. I’m loving the house, it’s so chilled and you’re not falling over people and other people’s things like you do in Obs. At Obs you would eat out all the time, and you were never in the house, except to sleep, whereas here there is very little to do in the area, so you cook every night, and hang out in the living room, chatting, drinking wine and watching movies. It’s a good way to end my trip I think!

Have spent the past few days here visiting a couple of malls, walking down to the beach, cooking, baking cookies and making pancakes, and chilling outside by the pool. The weather has been lovely, which makes all the difference in this area.

I’ve been doing a few days at a children’s home here called Home of Hope, which I think I mentioned in an earlier update. The project is lovely, there are only 9 babies, and some older children, although we only care for the babies. It’s run by a South African couple, who converted their home into a safe haven for abandoned and abused babies. It’s been interesting seeing how the project is run, and what they do for the children. Working there on a daily basis feels very similar to the work I was doing at the Barnardo’s project, so Lisa, I see why you suggested that I didn’t do Home of Home as a main project here. I’m back there tomorrow and Thursday. Two of the babies have Tracheostomy tubes, which are tubes in their airway that they breathe through. I’ve never encountered this before, so it was interesting to learn how to suction it to remove the build up of fluid, and make sure that the babies can breathe properly. Haven’t learned how to change it though, but maybe I’ll get to watch that over the next few days.

Last night almost everyone from the house went down to the beach for some sundowner cocktails, and then we hopped down to the beach at 6pm to watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen in my life. Watching the colours of the sky change around the gorgeous Table Mountain is just breathtaking. I’m really going to miss not seeing that mountain every day. We have so many conversations about it- “Oh, look how clear it is today, would be a good day to climb it” “Look how covered the mountain is today! Wonder if it will clear up later?” “Look how pretty the mountain looks!” and it goes on and on. It’s a spectacular sight, and one that you should definitely see if you get the chance. After the sunset we went back to the bar and had more cocktails and too many shots. We were home and in bed by 10:30pm!

So that leads us to today. Not quite sure what I’m upto today, although it’s a gorgeous day again so maybe a walk along the beach, or hang out by the pool and read. Back on project tomorrow and Thursday, and then we’re going out dancing on Friday night. My flight leaves at 18:10 on Saturday, and I arrive back in Glasgow at 12:35 on Sunday. Not sure if I’ll update again before I arrive home, so if I don’t, I’ll see you all very soon!

xxx

2010-04-26T09:53:00.002+01:00

This is going to be a really long update so I’ll apologise in advance!!

I’ll start with my last shift at Bap, which was on the 9th April (seems like a lifetime ago now!) I really wanted to make my last shift as fun as possible, so I bought some face paints and snacks for the babies. We had the ‘bad’ shift of sisi’s, and also the other girl I was on shift with didn’t really want to be there so the first morning was kind of rough. But I was doing my best to make the most of being with the babies, and just tried to tune out everything else.

I brought the face paints out in the afternoon, and we all had so much fun with them. The babies looked so confused when we were painting them, and some even tried to eat the paintbrush as we were putting it on to their faces! It was hilarious to watch their expressions change when we showed them their reflections in a mirror. They stared at themselves with such a sense of wonder! The sisi’s joined in with painting some of the kids, which was lovely, as before that they hadn’t really participated in anything we had done with the kids. The sisi’s also painted each other’s faces, and one painted a South African flag on my cheek. Since they had painted S.A flags on a few of the babies, I decided that it was only fair to do a Scottish flag on a boy called Odwa. He looked so cute!

The next day was my last day at Bap. In the morning I brought out cookies, crisps and juice for the babies and we had a morning full of dancing. Saying goodbye was heartbreaking. I was getting picked up at 2pm, so had to say goodbye at nap time. I put the babies down in their cots, and had a few minutes of cuddle time with each of them. The kids just hug and kiss you like it’s any other bed time, but it’s hard saying goodbye to them, and not knowing what’s going to happen to them now that you’re leaving. It feels like there will be noone there to look after them anymore, but of course, I was just one of many volunteers and more will follow me and love the children just the same. A few babies were in hospital and I didn’t get to say goodbye to them.

That night was spent drinking wine out the back yard with some of the girls, and then we headed to a Jamaican restaurant for dinner.

On the 11th April I started my 7 day tour up the Garden Route. I was on a bus with 7 other people, and there was also another bus running with 10 people. The first day was relaxing, and we stopped at a place called Hermanus (it’s where everyone goes to whale watch during the winter), and a brewery/vineyard for more wine tasting. It was roasting hot outside, so it was lovely to sit in the gorgeous vineyard sipping wine for an hour or so. We then had a long drive to Cape Aghulas, which is the most southern point of South Africa, and is where the Indian and the Atlantic ocean meet.

The next day was a scorcher, at 35 degrees. We spent the morning at a 43 degree hot water mineral spa. We chilled there for a couple of hours, sunbathing, having lunch, and jumping between the hot and cold pools. Saw our first wild snake, the Cape Python, and were surrounded by 7 peacocks while having lunch! We then went to the Cango Caves, which are caves that are thousands of years old. Had an hour long tour inside the caves and they are just stunning. Mr. Boyles geography lessons came flooding back to me as we were told about all of the rock formations!

The Wednesday of the tour is probably the day that I’m most likely to remember forever, and possibly the one that I’m most likely to want to forget! Of course, as you all know by now, it was the day that I decided it would be fun to jump 216m off of a bridge! Me and two other girls from my bus had decided to do the jump, and as were approaching the bridge to drive across it, we warned our tour guide to tell us when to close our eyes as we didn’t want to see the drop before we payed for our ticket!! (Clearly we were all dead set on doing the jump!). We drove across with our hands over our eyes, then ran and bought our tickets and got harnessed up without looking at the bridge once. The bridge is situated across a wide valley, and is used for vehicles only. The bungee platform is below the ‘road’ part of the bridge, and is slap bang in the middle, so of course we had to walk under the road to get to the platform. The walk across was almost as scary as the jump itself! You walk across a metal bridge, which shakes and you can see through! Looking down and seeing the sheer drop below you definitely makes your heart skip a few beats. There were two Irish guys walking infront of us who weren’t even doing the bungee jump, who were completely freaking out just walking to the platform! When we got to the platform I was a mixture of dead scared and really pumped up. They play really loud house tunes, and the guys working there are dancing around while they’re harnessing everyone and pulling the ropes up, so it’s a really fun, adrenaline boosting atmosphere, but at the same time you’re fully aware that very soon you’re going to be plunging off a very high bridge!

I was the second last person to jump (they decide the order that people jump in), so I had the pleasure of watching everyone else tumble and then come back up either crying or saying that it was amazing! I think this has to do with what happened next, because I think the excitement had wore off (I had been hanging around for an hour and a half watching everyone else jump). The put some cushioned mat things around my ankles, strapped a rope to them and around my feet, and then I hopped over to the edge of the platform.

“5…4…3…2…1…Bungee!!”

And…I froze. Haha. Completely froze and just shouted “Can’t do it!”. Of course, the guys were having none of it. I couldn’t tell you what they said to me after that, but the next thing I knew they were counting again, and when they said “Bungee!” I’m really not sure if I jumped or they pushed me, although I think it’s a mixture of both! I let out a massive scream, and then looked around me. The view is incredible..you’re falling into a valley filled with trees and sheer cliff faces, with a river flowing below you. The feeling of freefalling is complete exhilaration, mixed with complete terror! Like the skydive, it’s so hard to put into words, although that night while sitting around the campfire at the hostel, it was all everyone could talk about. After free falling, you rebound 3 times, which is pretty cool as you bounce up and down like a yo-yo. You’re swinging around from side to side, up and down, and are never quite sure what you’re doing or where you’re going. The fun feeling doesn’t last though, as a few seconds later you are left dangling upside down in thin air for what feels like forever. This part is horrific. The blood is rushing to your head, your body is twisting in all directions and you can’t straighten yourself up, and you can feel your feet moving inside the mats around your ankles, which makes you think that at any moment you’re going to slip right out of them and plummet! Of course you don’t, but it’s a horrible feeling. I think it takes around 4 minutes for the guy to come down on his little swing seat and hook you up to him and start pulling you up. By this point I was shaking like a leaf and the guy was chatting complete rubbish to me for the whole way up to keep me distracted! I don’t really remember being pulled up, but when you reach the platform they leave you dangling in thin air again while they’re hooking and unhooking things, which is frankly complete torture! Eventually my feet were back on solid concrete, and although I was still shaking like a leaf I managed to pose for a few pictures and have a wee dance with one of the guys! The adrenaline buzz after the jump is amazing. So much bigger than after the skydive, and it lasted all night. Despite being the scariest thing I’ve ever done, I’m so pleased that I done it!

Before the jump, we had visited an ostrich farm in the ostrich capital of the world, and a wildlife ranch. At the ranch, I had the amazing opportunity to go into the white tiger cub enclosure for 15 minutes. White tigers are so rare now, and I’m pretty sure there are none left in the wild. I was in with 3 six month old cubs, with gorgeous white fur and huge light blue eyes. The cubs are so playful, and love to suck your fingers, as if they are suckling. The ranch are part of a breeding program for cheetahs, tigers, and lions, as these species are all becoming more and more scarce in the wild. It seemed like a really worthwhile project, although the cubs are hand reared and so used to human contact now.

The next day we went ziplining through a forest. This was a lot of fun, and it was strangely relaxing to just zip through the air, through the trees and over waterfalls. Headed to Jeffery’s Bay, the surfing capital of South Africa. Spent some time on the beach, but it wasn’t very warm so we gave up and went for lunch. We then drove to what was the nicest accommodation during the whole trip! We arrived at a lovely forest area, with a huge river, log chalets and mud huts. I stayed in one of the chalets with 5 other people. Me and some of the girls spent the afternoon canoeing in the river. Have never laughed as much as I did during those few hours. We were trying to paddle against the current and kept landing in the reeds and getting covered in plants and insects, and capsizing, and it was just hilarious.

We were up at 5am the next morning for our game drive at Addo park! Had a 5 hr game drive, where we see Kudu (antelopes), warthogs, tortoise, ostrich, jackal, zebra, buffalo, meerkats and tonnes of elephants, which were by far my favourite! Didn’t see any big cats, but we weren’t expecting to as they only have 10 lions and one leopard. After the park we headed to Port Elizabeth, one of the other cities in S.A. Didn’t do much here except dinner and some walks.

On the last proper day of the tour we visited an elephant sanctuary for orphaned and abandoned elephants! They had 6 elephants in total, who will all be released into a game reserve when they reach maturity. We got to walk with and feed the elephants, and then ride them. Riding the elephant feels really weird as you can feel all of it’s spine underneath you and you wobble from side to side as it walks. They are such beautiful animals though, and this was probably the highlight of the tour for me.

The next day was spent driving back to Cape Town. Arrived back at the Aviva house and found out about a lot of drama that I missed! It’s never a quiet life in that house. Really enjoyed by tour, and actually loved moving from hostel to hostel every night and chatting it up with different people and learning their stories. It’s so easy to talk to people here, because everyone has a story to tell.

I’ll leave it there for now, and do another update tomorrow on the last week!

xxx

Stuck in S.A!

2010-04-23T08:19:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been weeks since I've updated. Life here has been pretty busy- after my last shift at Bap I went straight on my 7 day tour, and then since I got back on Saturday I was trying to catch up with everyone before I left and we had a big leaving dinner on Sunday. All that was in vain though, because my flights were cancelled and I'm here in Cape Town for a while longer! Guess you really have to watch what you wish for, since I kept saying that I didn't want to leave!! I have a flight booked for 1st May, so I guess I'll see you all then!

I'm so happy to be here for a little bit longer. I've moved from the house I was staying in, to the other Aviva house in the Table View area which is pretty close to the beach. This house is gorgeous and so relaxed compared to my house, which was always busy and you were falling over people all of the time. Decided to move because there is less to do in this area, so I can't spend as much money! It's lovely just chilling out with wine and movies every night instead of feeling like you have to go out!

I'm going to try and do a big update over the next few days. I'm going to join one of the other projects tomorrow for a few days until I leave. It's called Home of Hope, and it's for abandoned, orphaned and abused babies too, but it's on a much smaller scale than Bap. Lisa done this project when she was in S.A, and I'm so excited to go.

I'm off to make pancakes for breakfast now, and then we're heading to the beach for the day! The weather has turned much cooler now though, so I'll be needing a cardi or something!!

Speak soon

xxx

2010-04-09T07:35:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone, just a quick update here.

Sorry I've been so quiet, I was sick again when I came off shift on Tuesday, this time with a stomach bug! Spend the day either in the toilet or in bed, and the doctor had a great time giving me an injection in my bum!

Since I'd wasted another day off, I've been making the most of every minute, and therefore haven't had time to update here!

I'm just about to go on my last shift at Baphumelele and it's breaking my heart. Have bought some goodies for the babies and printed out photographs for the sisi's. I can feel that there will be a lot of tears over the next few days. :(

Leave for my Cape to Addo tour on Sunday, and get back from that on the 17th. We've planned a big leaving night for me on the 18th which I'm so excited about, and then it's home time. Sorry guys, I love you all but I'm so not ready to come home.

So this is really just a note to say sorry I haven't updated, and I doubt I'll have time to update again before I get home.

Speak to you all soon

Lots of love

xxx

2010-04-02T08:33:00.002+01:00

The measles have officially gone! The rash was completely gone on Tuesday which was a big relief!

Last weekend was really quiet since I wasn't allowed to go anywhere. Two of the girls cooked dinner for everyone on Friday night which was lovely, and then we all sat down to watch District 9, but I was knackered so only watched the first half hour or so. Saturday was another quiet day, although I was naughty and sneaked out to Pick n Pay the local supermarket for some supplies of chocolate and juice!

I got to go on shift on Sunday which I was so pleased about. The sisi's were so friendly with us when we arrived at the babyhouse. They were giving us cuddles and chatting away. It was the first time they've been like that with us, and it was really nice. One of the kids, Lelam, said my name during the morning. He's the first kid to have said it here, and it was so cute!

Just before lunch we went to a Sunday School Service in Bap. There was a female pastor who was so much fun, she was all "Hallelujah! God loves you!" I loved it, and the service was full of positive messages for the kids. She spoke about how god loves them all, that they're all important, about the family they have at Bap, and feeling grateful for having a bed and food. It's so important that the children hear positive messages like that, and are reassured that they are loved and valued. We had to leave the service early though as it was lunch time for the babies.

The sisi's were so much fun over this shift. Every evening they put on music and were singing and dancing. The babies love to dance and they have so much fun with it. One other boy, Mbali learned my name on Sunday too. I love hearing them say it. I got some good videos of the sisi's singing and dancing, and we also had a few photoshoots with the sisi's, which they found hilarious. They love getting their pictures taken, and I'm going to print out some and give them the pictures on my last shift.

Two more of our babies are in hospital this week, one with really bad diarrhea and one with T.B. My heart breaks every time I hear that another baby is sick.

The older kids were off school this week, so we often had them coming into the babyhouse too. Most of the babies have older siblings at Bap, and it's lovely to see them come into the babyhouse and play with and cuddle their brothers and sisters. The babies light up when they see their older siblings, and we got some pictures of a few 'families'.

Tuesday was pretty chilly for Cape Town, and when we went down to the babyhouse in the morning the children were bundled up as if it was zero degrees. It's pretty funny to see them all going around in bug jumpers and odd shoes (the babies normally don't wear shoes).

One sisi said to me this shift "Don't forget us when you go back to your country. We always remember you and we are thankful". She doesn't have to worry, I'll never forget them.

On Wednesday morning when we were driving back from shift we noticed that Table Mountain was completely cloud free, and since it was a gorgeous day we decided to abandon our plans for the day and hike the mountain! By the time we got showers and breakfast, we didn't get to the trail until 12:50pm. That was probably a mistake as it meant we were hiking during the hottest part of the day!

THe hike itself is pretty tough. You're climbing up and over pretty big rocks the whole way, and it's kind of steep the whole way up. At some points I felt so sick and dizzy because it was so hot and I guess I wasn't fully recovered from the measles. I munched some chocolate though and all was good again. Because it was so warm we were basically walking for a few minutes then having a few seconds rest, the whole way up. When you get about three quarters of the way up you're in the shade and it gets quite chilly. You have clouds right above your head and we saw a rainbow which was gorgeous. It's funny, because you keep coming around a huge rock and thinking you must be nearly at the top, and then you see there is still loads more to climb.

Reaching the top was an incredible feeling and we were all feeling pretty proud of ourselves. The view is amazing, you can see the whole of Cape Town, and right out across the ocean. After a long photoshoot, we celebrated by getting some Savannahs (cider) and beer, and muffins! It's so chilly at the top and very windy! The cable car down was a terrifying experience and I'd be quite happy never doing that again! Haha. We were so knackered when we got home that we just had dinner and all went to bed. An early night was good though as Angie and myself had a big day planned for yesterday...

We were going SHARK CAGE DIVING!! We were supposed to be picked up at 9:45am, but they were over an hour late and there was loads of traffic on the way there, so we were super late by the time we arrived. You're supposed to get lunch and have a briefing before you go on the boat, but as soon as we hopped off of the bus they were like "Sorry guys, you need to go on the boat right now because the rest of the group have been waiting ages!" Aaahh! Me and Angie grabbed a bowl of macaroni and scoffed it on the way to the boat, and then had a mini freak out when we were setting off, haha! It wasn't that bad, but we just felt like we'd had no time to kind of comprehend what we were actually doing.

Pretty much as soon as the guys had attached the cage to the boat, a shark apppeared. It's so crazy seeing a great white just swimming around the boat. The first group got their wet suits on and went into the cage, and me and the two girls I was with went to the top of the boat where you get an awesome view. After a while they asked for the second group to get ready, so we went down to get our suits. Wiggling into a wetsuit is hilarious, and as soon as you put the hood up and your goggles on it feels really claustrophobic and kind of hard to breath.

I was the first from our group into the cage. You sit on the edge and basically walk your feet down the front of the cage and the when your body is in the water you hold onto the bars at the top. As soon as the captain sees a shark approaching he shouts "DOWN, DOWN!" and you pull yourself under water and cling onto a red bar inside the cage for dear life. Your first climpse of a great white under water is incredible. I really don't know how to describe the feeling. We all came up for air and were like "did you see that? Oh my god!! ". At the start we were up and down a lot, and it gets quite stressful when you're down and then you come up for air and the guys shouting at you "DOWN, DOWN" and you're just like "OK, but I need to breathe first!" One of times we were down, a shark swam right towards my face with it's mouth open. I could have counted it's teeth it was that close to me! I came up for air and just laughed for around 5 minutes. Me and Angie just kept laughing at how crazy it all was. I'd say our group was in the cage for close to an hour. We had a lot of hanging around in between sharks appearing, and had fun singing "here sharky, sharky, sharky" and "fish are friends, not food!". We saw around 4 sharks in the cage I think, and of course we saw the same ones multiple times too. There are a few times when you go underwater and you just can't see the shark though, and other times when it's a bit too far away so all you see is it's shadow. At one point when we were up for air we saw a fin coming straigh towards us, and it was really close by, but when we went down the shark looked much farther away. I guess the water totally messes up your perception.

We eventually got hauled out of the cage to let the last group in. They had the best sharks by far! At one point they had three sharks around. One was around 4 metres, and a fattie. He was so big it was crazy to watch from the top of the boat. The other two were smaller, but really active. They were pushing their heads out of the water to catch the bait that the guys through out, and one of them caught it and tried to swim off with it! The captain ahd a hard job trying to keep hold of the rope that the bait is attached to. One shark started to chew the fenders at the side of the cage! At that point the people in the cage were like "Ok, I want out now!".

I'm so glad I went diving. I really don't have the words to explain it properly. Great whites are amazing, and although it is scary at points, it's a fantastic type of scary. I bought the dvd and we've watched it twice already. I also got some decent videos from my own camera.

Today we're thinking of hitting the South African Museum, and maybe the beach, before going to Marco's African Place for dinner, and then Tiger Tiger (a club) later tonight. We're back on shift tomorrow, and since Sunday is Easter, we're going to buy some eggs for the babies today to take with us. After this shift I only have half a shift left!! So sad.

Let me know how you're all getting on!

Lots of love

xxx

Measles update below this one!

2010-03-26T14:11:00.000Z

Ok, so now that the measles up date is out of the way I’ll do a wee bit about my most recent shift.

When we arrived the kids were outside playing, which was good since they didn’t get outside much on the last shift. We were outside for most of that day, and then on the next few days we were only really outside for an hour or so. It’s been really cloudy in the mornings lately, and pretty chilly for here.

The babies weren’t as sick this week which was so nice to see. We only really have two babies who are very ill, one with measles and one with worms. Some of the other kids had high temperatures and vomiting, but it was much less than the last shift. So generally they were much happier and jumping around and playing lots. We sang lots of songs with them this shift. They love ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’, ‘the wheels on the bus’, ‘I love you, you love me’, and some Xhosa songs which we’re slowly learning although we have no idea what they mean!

I finally know all of the babies names without hesitating over any which I’m so pleased with! Last shift I knew them all, but would sometimes stumble over a few, but this week I nailed them all. Very happy with that!

Found out that one of our little babies, Amanda, who is so tiny and who we’re trying to teach to walk right now is actually 1 year 7 months old! Apparently she had really bad lung problems when she was little which have resulted in her being so small. It’s so sad, but she’s very happy now, and I think she’ll develop just fine, albeit at a slower rate than normal. She’s very close to walking which is exciting. One of our boys, Unathi, is also so close to walking. I really hope I get to see them take some steps.

Our lazy boy, Imange, was at the hospital the other day and he has to get an operation on his ears, and I’m guessing it’s grommets. I’m pretty sure that affects your balance as well, so maybe that’s part of the reason why he’s not walking yet! I doubt he’ll get the operation while I’m here, but I’d love to see what difference it makes to him. Oh! We also heard him say a proper word for the first time, which was so exciting! We often just sing all of the children’s names, as they love it. Me and one of the other volunteers were in the baby room when they were waiting to be bathed, and we were singing the name s of the babies that were their, and Nikita and Asakhe, two of the boys repeat what you say. We sang ‘Asakhe’, and Imange repeated it! It was such a lovely moment, but of course he didn’t repeat it again!

This shift was pretty uneventful, it was basically lots of playing, and singing and loving the kids. Our days start at 7am, when we go down and make the baby’s bottles for the day. We go back to the flat for breakfast, and then head back to the babyhouse. We have a few hours of play time, and then the volunteers dish out the lunch and sort out the water bottles. The kids get lunch, and we feed the little ones. We do the dishes, and the babies are put to bed for their nap. The volunteers then have lunch, and have a few hours break while the babies are sleeping. This is when we normally work with the teenage girl, but she had appointments this week, so we had nothing to do. I was feeling rubbish all week so I slept during this time. We go back down to the babyhouse at 3pm, and have some more playtime before dinner. Dinner time works the same wau as lunch, and then we normally sing some songs and play a bit more before bath time. Bath time with the older kids is hard to watch the first time. The babies are all stripped and put in one big shower together. The little ones are bathed individually in another room, and we dress them and put nappies on. It’s then bottle time, teeth brushing, and bed!

Bed time is one of my favourite parts of the day! I go round each bed and say goodnight to each baby. They love getting goodnight kisses (probably the reason why I’m sick! None of the other girls on my shift kiss the kids), and the ones that talk all shout “good night!” it’s very cute. It makes me leave with a huge smile on my face every night, and I think it’s so important that they receive that individual attention every night, since it’s not often that they’re properly treated as an individual.

We also saw the boy who moved to the cluster homes last week and he is so happy now. He was walking around with a little swagger just like the older boys, and just smiling away. We have a few other kids in the babyhouse who really need to move on to the cluster homes soon. It’s obvious that they are far too old for the babyhouse now, and they often revert back to being ‘a baby’ just because that’s what they’re surrounded with. I hope they get moved on soon.

So that’s basically it for that shift. I’m now stuck in the house until Sunday, when hopefully I’m be going on shift, and my Monday/Tuesday my rash should have disappeared and I won’t be contagious anymore!

Realised this morning that I only have two blocks of days of left!  How gutting is that? I still have so much that I want to do, so I’m going to sit down later and plan out the rest of my time. I only have three shifts left at Bap which I’m so sad about. Then it’s my Cape to Addo tour, and then home! I miss you all, but I’m sorry, I really don’t want to leave here!

xx

Oh, I've uploaded some photos to Facebook so go have a look!

Measles!

2010-03-26T08:45:00.002Z

So as I said in my last post, I've been feeling pretty sick for the past week. I've had a fever, have been really congested, sore muscles, headaches, sore throat...basically just a cold. So I'd been taking cold and flu tablets, codine, and paracetamol and just getting on with everything because it was just a cold. Or so I thought...

After updating yesterday I jumped in the shower and noticed a rash over my stomach and chest. Got out, went to the mirror and saw that it was all over my stomach, chest, forehead, and moving up my neck. Got dressed, and showed it to another girl staying here and the first thing she asked was "have you had measles?" No, but I had the MMR jag, so it can't be measles? Showed our house mum and she said it looked exactly like measles and phoned the doctor for me straight away. I got an appointment for a few hours later, and my the time I went to the doctors the rash had came out a bit more.

The doctor here is so good. He took a full history, and did a full examination. As soon as I said that I'd been working with babies with measles, the look on his face pretty much told me what I needed to know. My temperature is running at 38 degrees, which isn't too bad, but it's still a little high. He checked the rash, and then said "Well, that's it lady".

Seems that there is a different strain of measles going around here, which is why the MMR hasn't immunised me against it. The hospitals are full of kids with measles right now, and pretty much all of the children at Bap have had it. We have one little baby, Someleze, who is really sick with it right now.

The rash looks different to the measles we get at home. It's tiny little dots which are under the skin. My rash isn't too bad though, although it's still spreading. It's just started to get itchy though, and it's also on the palms of my hands which is fun.

The doctor said I was to be quarantined until the rash goes away, but in a house with 20 other people, that's pretty much impossible. Our house mum has decided that since everyone has already been exposed as they've been around me all week, that there's nothing much that she can do. Everything has to be bleached though until I'm better.

I'm really not that bothered about having them. At home I'd be hanging around feeling sorry for myself, but here it's just like "Oh well, it's another African experience!" The rash should be gone in 4 days, and then it's back to life as normal. They're hoping I can still go on shift on Sunday, since all of the kids have been exposed already, and the people I'm on shift with have been around me all of the time too. I really don't want to have to miss a shift, so fingers crossed I'm allowed to go!

I'm going to type up my update about my last shift now and post that later.

Speak soon

xxx

2010-03-25T10:00:00.002Z

Hey everyone, how are you all? I'm still full of the cold, but keeping myself drugged up so that I can get on with all of the exciting things to do over here!

Those of you on Facebook already know that on Friday I went Skydiving! Best thing ever! We were originally booked to leave at 2:30pm, but they called that morning and asked us to be there for 2:30pm, so we left at 1:30pm. The traffic was a nightmare getting there, because they're building bus lanes all over the city for the world cup. When we finally arrived we were told it would be about an hours wait! Sat down and had a coke and started to feel pretty nervous. I went with an English woman Sue, who is 60 years old! Very impressed by her, she's a scream. We got called at 3:30pm, and as soon as I'd stepped in the harness the nerves disappeared. Myself, Sue, the two guys we were jumping with, the two cameramen and the pilot squashed into a tiny plane and we were off!

The flight lasts about 20 minutes before you reach the correct altitude. You can see the whole of Cape Town from the plane and it's just gorgeous. You sit inbetween the legs of the guy you're jumping with, and every so often he'll tap you on the back and try to tell you things but the plane is so noisy that you can't hear anything. As soon as you start getting ready to jump it all goes so quickly. You move so that you're sitting on the guy's knee, and he connects the harnesses. The camera man opens the door and a rush of air goes through the plane. He steps out and hangs on the outside of the plane, and since I was jumping first, me and my guy shuffle over to the door and I swing my feet out and hook them under the plane. You then put your head back, and try to smile for the camera without looking really windswept!

Then you simply fall out of the plane...We tumbled once and then you just lie flat, put your legs back and your arms out and enjoy the ride. I really wish I could explain the feeling, but I don't have the words. We were free falling for around 30 seconds, messing around and posing for the camera, and just trying to take it all in. You're going so fast, and it's so noisy, and so so exhilerating. I've never felt anything like it. As soon as the parachute opens, you're pulled up to a standing position and it all goes quiet. It's so silent, and all I kept saying was "Wow, wow, wow!". The views are incredible, and floating through the air is an awesome feeling. I got to operate the parachute a little, and we flew over to Sue and waved and spoke to her for a second. After around 4 minutes you come in for landing. I had a perfect landing- standing on both feet!

I bought the DVD and it's amazing, I can't wait to show everyone! My camera man got some amazing shots, and I watch it back and think "I can't believe I jumped out of a plane!"

We were absolutely buzzing when we got home, and stuck the dvd's in straight away! After we'd bored everyone in the house with them we went out to Obz cafe for dinner, as a new girl had arrived that day! The adrenaline buzz lasted a while, though I was exhausted come bed time. A perfect day though!

Saturday I took two of the new girls into Cape Town for a wander around. It's crazy because a few weeks ago I didn't know where anything was, and had to ask how to get everywhere, and now when new people come in I'm like "Yeah I'll take you into the city and show you around, and show you how to work the minibuses!" It's very funny.

This weekend was the Cape Town Festival. We went to Long Street at 8pm for the parade which was fun. It was basically celebrating the diversity of Cape Town. Lots of nice costumes, singing, dancing and very cute children. We all went to Dubliners after (this is becoming a weekly thing I think). Me and Anja weren't drinking because we were on so many medications because we were both full of the cold and had been feverish. We didn't dance much, but spent a lot of time chatting and getting to know the new girls which was fun. We headed home at 1:30pm, and passed a police car and a couple of ambulances at the McDonalds around the corner from us! Fun times, and exactly why we don't walk around at night.

Sunday was Robben Island. The weather was pretty poor in the morning, really cloudy, but by the time we were leaving the island the sun came out and it was lovely. Robben Island, for those of you who may not know, holds the old Maximum Security Prison, and is where Nelson Mandela served the majority of his sentence.

You get the ferry over there, which takes around 30 mins, and when you arrive you jump on a bus for a tour of the island. You see the 'home' of one black man who was forced to live on the island, in solitary confinement for years, with the very occasional visits from his children and wife. You then pass the leper cemetary, and the lime quarry. Prisoners were forced to work in the lime quarry, and prisoners like Mandela would sit in a cave on their lunch break (the same cave that they also used as a toilet) to get out of the burning sun, and teach each other things by writing in the sand, and also discuss their visions of a better South Africa.

A pile of rocks sits at the entrance to the quarry. A few years ago, Mandela and other ex political prisoners went back to the island, and when at the quarry, Mandela wandered to the entrance and placed a rock there. Every one else followed suit, and now the rocks lay there undisturbed, all different shapes, sizes and colours, and stand there as a monument to the new 'rainbow' nation that is South Africa.

Ex prisoners and staff live on the island. It's so baren and windy, I couldn't imagine living there. There's nothing between that island and the South pole, so it can get pretty cold!

We were given a tour of the prison by an ex political prisoner called Sparks. He was in the prison for around 20 years I think, and was convicted for 'terrorism'. He told us about day to day life in the prison. He spoke about how it felt coming back to the island, and stated that at first it was very difficult to face, but now he sees it as a kind of therapy. He feels that the world needs to know the story of what went on there, and that because there was a lot of international help, he wants to say thank you to the world. He spoke about how they are not angry about what happened to them, that they are friends with their old prison guards now, and that there is no point in holding grudges because that goes against the peace and freedom which they fought so hard for. It takes special people to forgive like they have.

We saw Nelson Mandela's cell, which like all of the other cells is small, bare and would have been freezing and stinking.

It was a very emotional, inspirational day, and I've really only told you all the basics. I recommend going there if you're ever in South Africa!

Sunday was also Human Rights day. From what I know, it commemorates the day in 1960 when 69 black people were killed during a peaceful protest against having to carry pass books. Basically, black people had to carry pass books everywhere with them, and if they didn't have them they would get fined or put in jail. A peaceful protest was organised against them, but the police opened fire, and killed 69 people. Completely heartbreaking.

That takes us to Monday, which was a national holiday and the start of our shift. I'm gonna log off for now, because I just finished shift this morning and am in desperate need of a shower (the house was too crazy to get one this morning).

We have a braai tonight, and then I'm shark cage diving tomorrow. AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! I'm so terrified about this, and actually have no idea why I'm doing it, other than the fact that I wanted to say 'yes' to everything on this trip!

So if I don't get chomped by a shark I will update again tomorrow evening or on Saturday! Lots of love, hope you're all well. Leave me some more comments, you've all been pretty quiet lately!

xxx

2010-03-18T15:22:00.002Z

Hey guys!

Our Braai was cancelled tonight because quite a few people are sick, so I have a free evening! They were going to leave us at Bap and pick us up tomorrow morning as normal, but we had ran out of food since we thought we were leaving tonight, so we had to come home! It's so weird because now all of the volunteers are in the house at the one time, whereas you're normally only in the house with the people you're on shift with. We're one bed short, so the one and only boy in the house is having to sleep on the couch for the night.

So really, I only have my shift at Bap to write about for now. So many of the babies were ill again. They were burning up with fevers, vomiting and diarrhea. When they're like this all they want to do is be held and sleep, so we spent a lot of the time with two or three babies on our laps. The other girls I'm on shift with saw a worm crawling from one of the babies, and one of the German volunteers thought he might have worms too. Yuck! I caught a cold this shift so I'm feeling pretty rubbish, but it's nothing compared to what the babies are going through. It completely makes you realise that the little illnesses we might catch and complain about really are nothing in comparison.

One of our boys, Inga, was moved to the cluster homes yesterday which is awesome. The cluster homes are where the older children at Bap stay. They have around 10 children in each home, aged between 4 and 18. They're supposed to resemble a 'real family home', and have 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. The kids have to help out with chores. It's a pretty good idea, as it gives the children a sense of having a family, rather than just being another child in a home with 150 other children. But yeah, Inga moved into cluster 4, which is really good, as you could tell he was too old for the babyhouse and wasn't being stimulated enough.

On our first day on shift a local artist came in to paint one of the walls. She drew a massive tree with different birds and insects in the boys room, and we helped to paint it. It looks amazing and is so colourful. We painted it while the kids were sleeping, and when they woke up they were dragging us into the room and pointing at the wall. It was very exciting.

The weather was pretty rubbish the past three days. It was so windy, so the kids were inside the whole time, except this morning when we were able to go out. It makes such a difference to them, they're so much happier when they're not stuck in the babyhouse all day.

To those of you who gave me money for the babies, I've decided to use it to buy new toothbrushes and cups etc for the babies at Bap. At first I had decided to give the money to one of the other projects who need the money more, but our babies really need new toothbrushes and cups so I changed my mind. It's so hard to decide how to use the money, as you can't just give it to Bap, as the project receives a lot of money from different people but you can't see how the money is used. You also can't buy toys for the babies, as the 'good' toys only get brought out when there are visitors. The other project that I considered giving the money to think they're going to shut down in a few years because they don't have enough money. It's such a sad situation, and it's difficult knowing that Bap gets so much money, but not knowing where it goes. Elton John gives money to Bap (although there are rumours that he stopped it) and he's playing in Cape Town next week, so maybe he'll drop in! That would be pretty cool.

I think that's pretty much all I have to talk about for now. Tonight we're just getting some take away and Anja, a girl who was here over Christmas, went home, and has came back again for 9 weeks, is going to show us her pictures from last time she was here.

Got a pretty busy weekend ahead. It's the Cape Town carnival all weekend, and we've booked to go to Robben Island on Sunday. Think we're also going to check out a market on Sunday morning. And then it's back to Bap on Monday! Really need to start watching my money though, I haven't checked my bank balance since I arrived, and now I'm scared to! It's tricky though, because I just want to do everything I possibly can while I'm over here.

I might try and upload some pictures now, but not sure how that will work out.

Nic

xxx

2010-03-15T18:23:00.004Z

There's another new update below this one guys!

Today was the Winelands tour. We left at a very early 8:30am and headed to the first Wine Tasting in Waterford. It felt just like we were in France, driving through the vineyards and then sitting in a gorgeous setting in the sunshine. This was by far the best tasting we had all day. We tried a total of 10 wines, and 3 chocolates. We had a laugh pretending that we knew what we were doing by looking at the colours, swirling the wine about, sniffing it and then tasting it. We drank most of it though, instead of spitting it out! The chocolates were so yummy but since it was so warm today we didn't buy any as they would have just melted!

We then headed to Franzhoek, a lovely little area in the winelands for lunch. Had a very tasty Haloumi salad and chilled for a bit in the shade. Oh, actually before lunch we drove to a cheetah sanctuary, where I paid R100 (£10) to pet a cheetah! They're so beautiful, and pretty big. My cheetah, Enigma, was pretty lazy and had plonked himself in the shade between a bush and the fence, so it was pretty hard to pet him properly. I could really only reach his back! He was very cute and I got some good pictures taken.

After lunch we went to the next wine tasting at Rickety Bridge. We only tried around 5 wines here, but they had a really nice desert wine. You could also taste biscuits with different chutneys, jams and vinegars which are made on the farm. The red onion jam and the smoked balsamic were amazing.

We didn't realise the time, and saw that we were running really late, so we rushed to the next place, Fairview to try cheese and wines. We got there 20 mins before the wine tasting stopped, so we only got to try 2 wines. I tried all of the cheeses, even the blue cheese! Didn't care for that too much though. They had a sweet chilli one that was very good. They have goats on the farm, and they use their milk to make a lot of the cheese.

So, I guess I should be a wine connoisseur now, but I'm really not. I found it difficult to smell the different aromas, but I have developed a taste for a good Shiraz. Was an awesome day though. So warm and not a cloud in the sky. We were with two people from the other Aviva house and they were a good laugh.

We stopped in to see the other Aviva House in Table View, and I'm so jealous. It's much nicer than our house in Obs! We're having a volunteer braai on Thursday, and they're usually held at the Table View house. But, because there are only 4 volunteers there just now, we're having it at our house. Don't know where everyone will sleep though as pretty much every bed is full!

I'm back on shift in the morning, and we're having a house meeting at 8am because there have been all sorts of drama lately in the house. It's like being in the big brother house sometimes! No privacy, and lots of gossip and drama. I'm liking being in the house so much more than I thought I would though.

Hope you're all good! Leave me some more comments, I'm loving reading them all.

Miss you all, but not Scottish life! If you could all just move out here then that would be awesome :) I'm just sitting in my favourite haunt, Cocoa Cha chi, having a Chai latte and trying to catch up on facebook and emails! You all update Facebook far too often though so I'm never going to catch up, haha.

Speak soon

xxx

2010-03-14T18:21:00.000Z

Howzit!

I find it so funny that life here feels so natural. I’ve not felt as relaxed or stress free in such a long time! I love getting up and going around the corner for a smoothie and breakfast and then going out for the day. Of course, that’s only on my days off. Days at Bap are much different, and not very relaxing!!

Anyway, I’ll start from last Tuesday. I went with a couple of people to Cavendish shopping centre, and then to the cinema there to see Alice in Wonderland 3d. I loved the film, but was so disappointed that you can’t get sweet popcorn here! The South Africans seem to prefer savory popcorn. Yuck! After doing my grocery shopping for Bap, myself and two other people from the house decided to go to Stones (a local bar). It was so quiet, mainly because everyone was in the pub downstairs watching the football. It was good though as I hadn’t been out with those people before. Had a few giggles, mainly at some sleazy guys who wouldn’t leave one of the girls alone! Got home around 12:30 and went straight to bed as I had to get up for my shift at 7am!

On the way to Bap on Wednesday we stopped into visit one of the other children’s home projects. It was SO different to Bap. So clean and organised, and each child has their own sets of clothes and a lovely bed and their own toys. The children at Bap don’t have anything that they can call their own, which is very sad, but I think it has a lot to do with the nature of the home as children come in and out of their more often. For example, some of our babies will be taken away from their alcoholic parents, and then when the parents are clean they get the babies back. Anyway, the other project was very different, and the main room looked pretty similar to nurseries back home. It’s a much nicer project, however the babies at Bap need volunteers much more. The sisi’s at Bap generally don’t give the children loads of affection, or spend time playing with them, so it’s really valuable to have volunteers there, as the children then receive so much love and are stimulated more than they would be normally.

This shift was pretty tough. Quite a few of the babies have stomach bugs right now, and the others are really fussy, just wanting cuddles and to sleep if they’re not crying. The sisi’s that were on shift with us are a difficult bunch to work with. We all say that there are a good shift of sisi’s and a bad shift. It’s not that they’re necessarily ‘bad’, but they’re lazier than the other shift, and the volunteers have to remind them to do certain things, such as changing nappies outwith the specific nappy changing slot. It’s frustrating to work with, to say the least! But I don’t want to write too much about that side of things here. The weather was pretty poor this week too, we had some rain and it was chilly compared to last week, so the babies spend a lot of time indoors, which also makes them fussy. Two of our tiny babies are pretty sick just now with the measles, and I was vomited on for the first time here when feeding Baby Gift his bottle! And I also ended up with poo on my shorts. Minging, but there’s plenty more of that to come, I’m sure.
I brought some balls and bubbles for the babies to play with. They absolutely loved the bubbles, and shout “yay” everytime you blow them. We were able to get one of the new babies playing with the bubbles, and another new baby playing with the balls, which is a huge thing, as up until then it was hard to interact with them, and difficult to encourage them to take part in play time as they were so scared and confused. Seeing them laughing and playing which so lovely to watch. They’ve both lost their mums, so to suddenly be put into a home with 30 odd other babies and lots of strange people must be terrifying for them!

On Saturday I was booked to go Skydiving after being picked up from Bap, but it was cancelled due to the weather! I’ll hopefully get to go soon, and will keep you posted! I’ve been talking to one of the girls here who has done the shark cage diving, and I think I might do it! It’s crazy as before I came here I was adamant that I wouldn’t as I was terrified at the thought of it, but now that I’m here I’m just like “yeah, bring it on!”.

Since I couldn’t go skydiving, I went to the Waterfront again. Had a wander around the shops and bought a couple of things. We then went for a cup of tea, and saw a fight in the middle of the bookshop! Felt like I was back in Glasgow when I saw that! There are always live musicians playing outside at the Waterfront, so we hung about watching them while we waited on our taxi home.

After a really nice dinner at Cocoa Cha Chi (the cafe around the corner, where we spend most of our time and money!) we got dolled up for our first big night out in Cape Town. We started out in a bar called Cape to Cuba, had a few cocktails and were given free shots of chocolate tequila! We then wandered up to Dubliners, an Irish bar, which was pretty cool. They have live bands playing, and it was so busy. We stayed there and had a few drinks and danced a bit. One of the things I love about going out here is that everyone just dances wherever and whenever they feel like it. There’s none of the only dancing on a dancefloor at a club stuff that goes on at home. Dubliners got really busy so we headed to Zula for a bit, although the guys there were pretty full on and wouldn’t leave us alone, so we went back to Dubliners. South African guys love to dance around you, which is fine, but they can be a little too hands on, so you just have to tell them to stop and it’s all good. Stumbled back to the house at around 4:30am.

This morning (Sunday) we had breakfast at Cocoa Cha Chi’s (again), and then after trying umpteen times to get mum on the phone, I gave up and heading to Seapoint to meet the other girls. There’s a large outdoor swimming pool there right next to the ocean, and we had a wee swim and lay in the sun for a few hours. I’m now sporting a very burnt bum! It’s the only spot I got burnt as well. When we’d had enough of taking advantage of the sun- today was the first really hot day since Monday, we headed to Camps Bay for some drinks. It was so busy there, but we squeezed into a bar, got some nice outdoor seats and watched the sunset with a bottle of wine. We then moved onto a restaurant and had some good food. The food here is so yummy, I’ve not had anything that I didn’t like yet! And you’ll all be pleased to know that I’m becoming much less fussy about food while I’m here! I’m trying everything that I can, and liking much more than I thought I would.

We were supposed to head back to Dubliners tonight to see a band, but we’re knackered so it’s a night in for us all. I’m just about to head to bed, and I’ll go to Cocoa Cha Chi’s in the morning/evening and upload this. I’m sure I had more things that I wanted to say, but it’s so easy to lose track of ‘real life’ while you’re here. I’m going on a Winelands tour tomorrow (drinking wine at 11am in the sun? Not sure that’s a great idea really!), and then I’m back on shift on Tuesday. Time goes by so quickly here, and you completely lose track of what day it is. I did remember that today’s Mother’s Day though!

Well, I’m tired and I think everyone else is in bed so I need to sneak in without wakening anyone up.

Night,

Nic xxx

It's another long one guys, sorry!

2010-03-09T07:37:00.002Z

Okay, so onto my second day at Bap! A few of the children seemed sicker today, they all had very chesty coughs and a few were running temperatures. They were all very good though, and were more responsive to us, since our faces were a bit more familiar. You can’t sit down in the babyhouse without at least three children trying to sit on your knee. It’s not uncommon to have a baby on each knee, one in between your legs and one hanging onto your back! They’re all so affectionate.

I’m trying hard to remember all of the babies names, but they’re all Xhosa (the language spoken in the township) names, which makes them a bit trickier to learn. The sisi’s are helping though. There are 4 bedrooms for the babies, and they’re teaching us the names on room at a time, and obviously you pick up names just by playing with the children .

We have one boy called Imange, who the sisi’s refer to as ‘lazy boy’. He tends to sit all day and just watch everyone else, and not try to crawl, walk or play, and if you move him he just cries. Today I had him walking holding my fingers, and playing with toy bricks. He was so responsive, and was laughing instead of crying. It’s the tiny little things like that, that make this trip feel worthwhile.

Volunteers have a 3 hour break during the day while the babies sleep. Apparently other volunteers use this time to sleep, but I found it too long and boring. Myself and the girls I’m on shift with spoke to the volunteer coordinator about using this time more efficiently, and after speaking to the woman who runs Bap it was decided that we’ll work with 2 teenage girls who need to get ready to go back to school.

I also managed to get my first patch of sunburn today after sitting outside for only 20 mins on my lunch break! The sun is so strong here you have to be extra vigilant with the suncream.

Our third shift was on Saturday. We went down for our shift at 7am as normal, but when we got down the door was still locked. It opened 5 mins later, and the sisi’s and babies were still all sleeping. We were told by one of the sisi’s “It’s still night time”, and asked to come back down an hour later. Noone told us that we start later on the weekend!! Could have done with the extra sleep that morning too, as we were all shattered-the 12 hour shifts in the boiling heat take it out on you!

A new girl, aged 2 started today. Her mother’s very ill, and there’s no one else to look after her. The poor wee soul looks terrified and it’s so sad to see. It must be very scary to be put into that situation without knowing why you’re not with your family anymore.

We started working with the teenage girls today and it went so well. Jessica, who is 16 is so keen to learn and get back to school. She’s been out of school since last June, and at Bap for around 4 months. They’re having trouble finding her a school since the local schools are Xhosa speaking, and Jessica speaks English and Afrikaans. The other girl is only 13 and has never been in school. We played Uno with them, and then I worked with Jessica, doing some maths and some reading. She is clever, and it’s nice to see a child who really wants to learn and wants to be in school. She kept asking if we could do more, and didn’t want us to finish. She was even happy to get homework!

Saturdays seem pretty laid back in the babyhouse. During the week our 2 year olds go to a crèche until 3pm, but at the weekend we have all of the babies for the whole day. The sisi’s seemed to want to relax, so we sang and played with the children. They love having people to play with them and really thrive on one on one interaction. It’s so lovely to see them responding more and more to you as the days go on. We have a few babies under 6 months old, who tend to get left in their cots or in a baby chair, so I’ve been trying to get them out as much as possible for cuddles and tummy time. It’s hard for the sisi’s to do everything for the children as they have a lot of responsibility and a lot to do. I’m learning more names everyday, and more about the children’s personalities. They are all simply adorable and I love them already.

So that was the end of our first shift! I feel it all went well, although we’re still learning the routines and what our places in the home are. Three days on is definitely enough though, I was exhausted by the end of it.

On Sunday morning we got picked up from Bap at 8:45 and went back to the house in Obs. I went down the street and grabbed some breakfast, and then I was picked up just after 10am by Moira and Ian from Erskine! They took me to an area of Cape Town I haven’t seen yet, called the Big Bay area (I think!). We went for a walk along the beach and it was gorgeous. The temp yesterday reached about 41 degrees, so paddling in the ocean was lovely.

We then went for cocktails in a bar called Moyo on the beach. The bar has tables in a pool of water, so you can sit with your feet dangling in the water. It’s an African themed bar, and the waitresses paint your face in a kind of tribal desgn if you like. I had mine done, and they painted a lovely flower design from my temple to my cheek bone. We then went to the Bayside shopping centre and I went to Mr Price which is kind of like Primark, and got some more shorts.

Moira and Ian then took me to their daughter’s house. The house was so pretty, and she has a pool which was nice and cool! We spend the afternoon dipping in and out of the pool to cool down and then had a braai (bbq). It was nice to see some friendly faces from home, and I had a lovely day!

Sunday night was so warm, the air was thick and sticky and no one could sleep. Some girls took their mattresses outside to sleep as it was a little cooler out there. About ten mins after they settled outside the heavens opened and it poured with rain. I was lying in bed and jumped up when I heard them all scream! The rain only lasted around 5 mins, but there was a lightning storm too. We were hoping that would have cleared the air, but it didn’t.

Today (Monday) we had our Cape Peninsula tour. We started off by driving up the coast of C.T. We stopped off at Houts Bay, and went on a boat ride to Seal Island. There were hundreds of seals there! The boat ride was nice, as we got a sea breeze which cooled us down tonnes. We then drove around Chapmans Peak and got some awesome pictures of the view. We stopped off in Simontown for some lunch, and then made our way to Boulders Beach to see the African penguins! The penguins are so cute, and were all just standing on the beach trying to find somewhere to keep cool. They’re much smaller than the penguins we’re used to seeing in the zoo! After the penguins we drove to Cape Point national park. The park has baboons and ostriches roaming around. We saw 5 baboons attacking someones car, and also two ostriches close to the beach. We walked up to a lighthouse at Cape Point, and the walk took around 20 mins. I wouldn’t advise doing that in the 36 degree heat! We were a hot sticky mess by the time we reached the bottom again. It’s so hard to look slightly attractive here when it’s so warm. Don’t think I’ve ever had so many showers in one day before!

Anyway, after Cape Point we went to the Cape of Good Hope which is the most Southern-Western point in Africa. We got lots of pictures at the sign telling you this, and then moved a wee bit along to the beach. The water there is so clear and cool, it was lovely to walk through and cool down. I got sunburned today, although it’s really patchy so it must have just been where I missed by cream!

Phew! What a story. Tonight I’m just chilling in the house and chatting to some of the girls.

So far, I really love Cape Town. The lifestyle here is so laid back and relaxed. Noone worries about anything, and if someone says they’ll pick you up at some time, you can expect them around half an hour later!

The food is delicious, so fresh and tasty. It’s pretty cheap to eat out too. I’ve been going out for breakfast most mornings when I’m in Obs. There’s a place nearby that do really good smoothies, so we all go there a lot. There’s a supermarket just up the road where we do our shopping. We need to take food to Bap with us as it’s not safe to go out when you’re there.

I’m going to sign off now. I think I'm going shopping today for food for Bap, and some clothes, and going to see Alice in Wonderland at the pictures.

Miss you all, and I'll update again soon. I'm on shift from tomorrow until Saturday morning.

Lots of love

xxx

First Week!

2010-03-08T16:41:00.002Z

I've now been in Cape Town for a whole week! Sorry I haven't updated yet, I've been so busy and tired, and the internet has been the last thing on my mind.

It's currently around 36 degrees, and such a beautiful day! I'm sitting in a gorgeous little cafe just round from our house having a muffin and smoothie, it's awesome. Anyway, I'll start with my flight and work my way towards today. Sorry if some things don't make any sense, I'm knackered! Also, this is going to be long, so bear with me!

My flights were fine, I didn't sleep much but managed to watch a few movies. I watched Up in Air, An Education, Where the Wild Things Are and The Time Travellers Wife! The wait in Dubai wasn't too bad, there are loads of shops, and after I grabbed something to eat I curled up on a chair and dozed and read.

It was 32 degrees when I landed in Cape Town- much different to the snow I left in Bathgate! It was pretty windy though, and I've learned that it's always windy here, especially at night! There are a mixture of British, Canadian, Dutch and Norwegian people in the house just now, so it's a good mixture of nationalities. People come and go all the time though, so it's hard to keep up with who's around at any given time. There are 6 beds to a room, and you basically just take whatever bed is free!

The area I'm staying in feels pretty safe. You can't walk about at night on your own, but during the day it's fine to go out to the shops and cafes alone. On the first night I got some chinese and went to bed, but didn't sleep well as the wind was horrendous!

On Tuesday I had my cultural tour. We started off at the District 6 museum, which is in one of the areas where black people were forced out of their homes in 1966, and the areas were then demolished. It was so sad to read about. The area is now being redeveloped, but it's still pretty sparce. We then went to one of the townships called Langa, and went to a project where they make and teach people how to do pottery. It's basically to help people in the townships learn skills and get into employment. We drove around and saw different parts of the township. We saw 'smilies' being cooked on bbq's on the street. Smilies are basically sheeps head that have been cooked, and after the lips have burned away, it looks like the head is smiling! Minging!

We then went to the 2nd biggest township in S.A called Khayelitisha, which is where my project is based. We visited an educare centre (a children's nursery), which was so inspiring! It was set up by a woman called Gloria who started out just looking after local children, and then developed the centre. Parents pay R100 a month which is pretty much 10pound! The children were so well behaved, nothing like the nurseries at home. We then visited Africa's smallest B&B in the township, and had a Savannah Dry in the local tavern.

We then went looking for a celebration marking 100 days to the world cup, but when we eventually found it they were packing up! Myself and another girl then got a minibus into town. Minibuses are a cross between taxi's and buses, and you basically hail one down going in your chosen direction, squeeze yourself in, pass your R5 (50p) to the driver and shout out where you want to go. The drivers are crazy! We went to a market selling African crafts etc, and then had a cocktail in a nice bar. Drinks are very cheap here!

We then went back to the house and gathered a group together to go to Mama Africas. Mama Africas is an African themed restaurant which has a live African band playing. It was pretty cool, although we weren't all that impressed with the food. Sorry Lisa, I know you loved it! We then went back to the house and sat outside chatting and drinking for a while before going to bed. Think the lack of sleep caught up with me this night as I ended up getting locked in one of the toilets in the house (noone told me not to lock the doors!), and brushed my teeth with Savlon instead of toothpaste- yuck!

On Wednesday I went to Bap for my training. The volunteer coordinator there went as an Aviva volunteer in 2005/2006 and never left! She seemed pretty impressed with my background in working with children and wants me to work one on one with a few of the kids. There are around 37 babies, and our job is to help the sisi's (caregivers), and play with and stimulate the babies.

After training I went to the Waterfront, which is basically a pretty posh area in C.T. There's a shopping centre with Gucci, YSL, Prada etc and loads of restaurants. Had a wander around but it was too hot, so went back to the house.

Went to dinner that night to the place I'm currently sitting in, with 2 Norwegian girls. The food is so yummy here, and there's an outdoor area with a fountain which is lovely to sit at. We then ended up going out to a pool bar down the road called Stones. It's a very laid back bar, and we all had a good night. Ended up getting home at 2:20am, which wasn't a great idea since I had to get up at 7am the next day for my shift!

Thursday was my first shift at Bap! The flat we stay in is very basic, with dorm beds, a kitchen/living room area, and a minging shower. There's only a microwave too so you can't cook much! We also apparently have mice and bed bugs, although I've not seen any evidence of these yet. The babies at Bap are so gorgeous, and all they want is love and affection. It breaks my heart that I can't give them all of the love that they deserve. During our shift I make the bottles, feed the babies, help with bath time and changing them, sing songs, play with the children, and give them lots of cuddles and kisses. Most of our babies are pretty sick just now. The majority have HIV/Aids, and there is also measles going around which is making them very ill. I got a little upset at bedtime when I had to leave the babies and they were lying in their cots crying and wanting cuddles, as it's very sad to think that they don't have a family there for them, but they are well cared for and have everything that they need really. There's nothing to do in Bap at night time, so after your shift you basically have dinner and then go to bed. I'm on shift with two Dutch girls.

I have to go now as it's starting to get dark and I need to get home, but I'll try and finish this update tomorrow before I go back on shift on Wednesday. Hope you're all well, and leave me a comment to let me know you're reading and with any news! :)

Lots of love

xxx

The Final Countdown...

2010-02-27T21:34:00.003Z

I leave tomorrow!! How crazy is that?

My case is packed, and I'm now sitting in bed hoping to have an early night. We're leaving around 9am in the morning so I need to get up pretty early.

My flight details are:

Glasgow to Dubai: Leave at 13:05 Arrive at 00:25, Flight no: EK028

Dubai to Cape Town: Leave at 08:35, Arrive at 16:15, Flight no: EK770

Cape Town are only two hours ahead, so there should be no jet lag which is awesome. I'm hoping to sleep on the flights though, as I'll need to stay awake during my stop at Dubai.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now. Will update when I arrive!

xxx

A bit about Bap

2010-02-01T22:49:00.001Z

It's crazy to think I leave at the end of the month! I've already pretty much packed my case, and only have a few more things I need to buy and then I'm sorted and ready to go.

I thought I'd post a wee bit of info about the project that I'll be doing in S.A, since some of you might not know what exactly I'll be doing when I'm over there.

I'll be volunteering in a children's home called Baphumelele which is in a township called Khayelitsha.

"Baphumelele houses approximately 150 children ranging in age from new born to 18 years. (volunteers work mainly with the 0-5 years age group) and provides a safe haven and loving home for these children who would otherwise face a life on the streets. Baphumelele does not discriminate against children on age or medical grounds, accepting all children who are in need."

"Baphumelele aims to provide orphans with a stable, loving and permanent home. It also serves as a place of safety for children in crisis 24 hours a day. Children are sometimes brought to Baphumelele by the police or social services as a temporary place of refuge for a few days or a few weeks; others have been in Baphumelele's care for years. Consequently the number of children staying at Baphumelele is always fluctuating, but tends to fall somewhere between 140 and 160 children."- Aviva

I'll be working on a three days on/three days off shift pattern, which means I'll have plenty of time to explore Cape Town. Aviva organise a cultural tour, a peninsula tour and a winelands tour. I have the cultural tour the day after I arrive.

Volunteers stay in Aviva accommodation. On my days off I'll be staying in the volunteer house in the Observatory region of Cape Town, and the rest of the time I'll be staying at Bap. The volunteer house looks nice. It has a communal living room, kitchen and outdoor area, and the beds are in a dormitory. It'll be weird sharing with other people, but I'm looking forward to seeing how I cope with it!

Only 27 days to go!

xxx