Close Your Eyes and I'll Kiss You... Tomorrow I'll Miss You...

So we have arrived home safe and sound. I already told you guys all about leaving the orphanage, so all we had to do from there was leave Africa. Our last day was fun. We decided to head to the beach and go out for dinner. However, Jen changed her plans. She wasn't feeling well so she left the beach and skipped on dinner. I, however, nicely burnt my stomach (the only day I burn and its the day I'm jumping on the plane to go home). But, Jen had it worse. She decided to start throwing up five hours before our flight. So I got to pack up the remainder of her stuff, force as many liquids as I could on her and rush off to the airport. There we got a wheelchair for her to get her to the plane. Isn't that sweet, we got to end our trip just how we started it... with Jen needing a wheelchair and a pukebag. Fun Fun. So, Jen and I got on the plane... we took off... Jen decided to recline her seat and try to get some sleep. There was our second hurdle of the night. The interesting Dutch couple behind us. Jen put her seat back and ended up with whip lash. The lady behind her had grabbed her chair and shook it until it was back up right. Jen was feeling horrible so she just gave me a look like "what just happened?". So I told her to try again while I watched the lady out of the corner of my eye to see what was going on. The exact same thing happened. So I turned around, gave her a big smile, and asked for her permission, pretty much, for Jen to put her chair back. She was a very grumpy old women with an even grumpier husband. She told me she didn't speak English (In English) and so I turned to her husband. I explained that Jen was very sick and was wondering if she could put her chair back a little (since the man in front of her had his chair back and the lady behind her had her chair back, it only made sense). He replied, "My wife is sick too," with a smirk (looking like he didn't believe me, which shouldn't have mattered anyways, she should be allowed to put her seat back whether she's sick or not. We weren't asking for special treatment.) Then his wife hit him on the arm and told him to ignore me. So they both leaned back and pretended to sleep (in their reclined chairs). I tried to get their attention a couple more times before giving up. So Jen and I discussed our options. I couldn't switch with her, because the man was sitting behind me, and I wanted to put my chair back too anyways. So I turned around and tried to get their attention one more time. By now they weren't pretending to sleep anymore, they were both wide awake, so it was easy to make eye contact. I got the ladies attention and asked her very politely, still with a big smile on my face, if they minded switching with Jen and I. Then Jen could put her seat back without it bothering this women. She gave me a really annoyed look and then said "Just put the seat back, but only this much (and held up her hands to show about half a foot)." We decided that was the best offer we were going to get so we took it. I just can't believe how selfcentered some people can be. And how polite you have to be back to them, while they treat you like crap, just to get permission for something they don't really have a say over in the first place. I was a little annoyed, to say the least. But I will never know the circumstances that lead to that incident. So I shouldn't judge. I don't know anything about the couple, I might have just caught them on a bad day. And I hope that whenever I get caught on a bad day that people will still have some patience with me. So hopefully things looked up for them.


So we survived the flight to Amsterdam. Jen was feeling better by then, and the plane food hadn't been that appetizing, so we went and bought some pizza. We had a 5 or 6 hour delay, don't remember. But by the time we were getting on our flight to Minneapolis, I wasn't feeling so hot either. I just had a sore throat though. But it was one of those sore throats that it feels bruised and so you can't swallow anything, not even your own spit. It was probably from the planes air conditioning. Air on planes is always so stale and dry. Anyways, about 3 hours in to our plane ride home I started to feel worse. I got a migrane (so I put my sunglasses on even though the cabin lights were out, I think people thought I was a little strange), and my throat was worse, I had an ear ache (both ears), and all my joints were aching, especially my lower back and hips and knees, I had hot flashes, and cold flashes, and sensitive skin. But Jen got the flight attendant to bring me two advil, so by the time we landed I atleast felt funcitonal again. The problem was, my right ear wouldn't pop. So we landed in Minneapolis.. and it has popped a little but not completely. Then we got on our plane to Winnipeg and it wouldn't really pop on the way up or down. So I've had a pretty decent ear ache since then. However, my ear did finally pop on Friday. And I'm still recovering from this cold, but feeling better everyday. What did I really expect going from 30C to -30C?

But all is good now. Jen and I landed safely, with our families waiting to pick us up. It was great to see everybody. I headed home, and showed my family the thousands of pictures that I have of the children. I probably told them a thousand stories to match the photos. I couldn't stop talking about the children. It was so hard to leave them, and I thought that it would be easier now that I'm home, but it's not. I see now, what a lasting impact those 26 children have had on my life.

It was such a great experience. I have to thank everyone, again, for all the support I got. Whether you were just reading my blog and staying interested in what I was doing, or whether you were praying for Jen and myself, or whether you supported me financially. All of that had such a huge impact on my trip, and on the success of my trip. I just want to thank you one more time. The trip really wouldn't have been the same with out you all. So Thank You.

*This is Jen taking a quick nap between flights. (It was nice to actually lay down to sleep)

I Lied... Please Forgive Me

Okay.. I am writing again... and I am not in Winnipeg. I decided to post one more blog before I head home tomorrow. Jen and I just left the orphanage for the last time a couple hours ago. But before I get to that I will just tell you about our shift first.

It was a good last shift. Our first day, Ed (from Aviva) drove us to Masigcine. We couldn't go in the fifteen passenger like we usually do because the minibuses are on strike, and since our bus looks like a minibus, apparently it wasn't safe. So the police were stopping any buses from going in to townships. But Ed drove us, and then he interviewed us for a video he's putting together for the Aviva website I believe. So that was kind of cool, felt important, yet I'm kind of camera shy as well. Then Saturday was a blast. We had a Valentine's Day Party/Birthday Party. It was one of Michelle's friends birthdays so Jen and I decorated the play room with a poster that the kids and I had made. Along with balloons and another poster covered in hearts the the kids and I had made as well. Jen and I decided to have a big celebration for Valentine's Day as well. We made all the kids cards in the shape of hearts out of construction paper and made them all pretty. Then we stuffed them full of chocolate and candy. So we took the cards down and had all the kids sit down and wait for us to call their names. It was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. The kids got so excited when their name got called. And Michelle took pictures of them with the card and candy, and all the kids clapped for each child. It was so adorable. We also got all the Sisis a can of coke and some Lindtt chocolates for Valentine's Day. I think they were pretty excited about that too. It's funny how such a little thing goes such a long way here. People really appreciate things here, so it makes it that much more fun to do things for people. Kind of a selfish few but it's true haha. It's just so rewarding to see the kids and the Sisis faces when you go out of your way for them. And they deserve it. So that brings us to today... Jen and I just spent time with the kids today. No big plans particularly.. just get in our last bit of time before saying goodbye. We did go to KFC and picked up chicken for all the children and Sisis for lunch. That was fun. They all love KFC so it was a nice treat. It was Michelle's day off, but she came in to give us a lift to KFC. That was great, because otherwise we wouldn't have been able to have the little lunch party. I told Zubenathi and Lucinda that we were having KFC for lunch today. But I told them to keep it a secret. It was so funny. Lucinda even pinky sweared. I didn't know kids did that over here as well. It was so cute though. All day the two of them would come up to me and say "Mama, we're having chicken... Mama KFC." and then go "SHHHH.. it's a secret." It was too adorable.

So usually we would leave Masigcine tomorrow morning but we went out for supper with Michael and Hilda tonight instead. Just to end off our trip and wrap everything up. It was a great dinner. Really nice to get to spend some time with the people that helped make it possible for us to be at Masigcine. But it was much harder to leave the orphanage then I expected. I knewit would be hard, I love those kids, but I think my heart actually broke. I'm not much of a crier, but I couldn't stop the tears running down my cheeks. So much for the make up I put on for dinner haha. Anyways, I might have been okay if it wasn't for Zubenathi. We took a big group picture right before we left. Jen and I ran up stairs to change for dinner, so we were all dressed up, with make up on, and clean hair haha. The kids never see us like that. So when I walked in to the play room, where we were having the picture Zubenathi stopped me. He said "Mama, where are you going? Are you going shopping?" and Jen and I had decided not to tell the children we were leaving (which I'll explain our logic in a moment). So I said "We're going for dinner, to eat." and he respond "That's it." all the while sounding a little panicked. It just made me break. I couldn't tell him that I was leaving for good, but I couldn't lie to him. All I could do was pick him and start to cry. I'm not a crying person but it wasn't in my control. Anyways, Jen and I had decided not to tell the kids we were leaving because we figured it would be easier on them. We are at Masi three days a week and then off three days a week. So they are used to us coming and going. We figured that this time we would leave and then they wouldn't exactly know when to expect us back, but the days would go on and they would get side tracked with other things and not really notice. However, Michael and Hilda had the Sisis tell the children so they could sing us a fair well song. It ended up being a much better plan then ours. We didn't have the guts to tell the kids, but this way they knew, and then it didn't feel like we were deceiving them. But I was already a wreck by then. Not crying per se, just tears constantly streaming down my face in silence. The goodbye song and dance made it a lot harder. Also, since some of the kids are older they understood what was going on. A couple of them started to cry. It was really hard. Since we're the first international volunteers they are not used to people moving in to their lives on such a permanent basis and then leaving suddenly. I felt bad for Lucinda. She just got to the orphanage about a month ago. I think she took it the hardest because she was taken away from her parents because of neglect. It doesn't seem like she was used to having an adult interact with her, and take interest in her, and play with her. So I gave her a kiss and she smiled, but was still crying. Zain and Masithandaze looked a little devasted too. I'm sure I looked more devastated however, so that might be way they were getting upset. The sisis were so hard ot say goodbye too as well. We've grown to love them, they are such amazing people. And I don't think they knew we were leaving us soon as we were either. So it looks like it caught them off gaurd a little (we have little communication problems, I told some of them this was our last shift and they were shocked because they thought we were here for 6 months, not 6 weeks). So they started crying as well. It was pretty much the hardest thing I've had to do.

Anyways... enough of that. I guess I'm just going to have to come back! That's my new plan haha. Guess I better get home and get a job then.

But yeah, otherwise we went out for supper with Hilda and Michael tonight. Which was a lovely way to spend our last night. We went to the revolving restaurant and got a great view of Cape Town. Just gorgeous.

And now we have one day left and fly home tomorrow night. So I will see you all when I get home. I just have to say this was a great experience for me. I can't express how grateful I am very the support I got. I just want to thank everyone for your prayers, your emotional support, and your financial support. All of that was so vital in making this all a success. So thank you so much.

*The picture above is of all the kids (minus Sipho who is hiding behind me when it was taken, and Banele who was out for the weekend) on our last day.

My Last Day Off :(

So this is the last time I will write to you from South Africa. The next time I leave a post I will be back in Winnipeg. I have some mixed feelings when I say that. This whole experience has been amazing. It's hard to leave a place that has opened your eyes to so many things. But I'm very excited to see what impact this trip will have on my life back home.

So let's see. What have I been up to? I don't feel like this shift has been as eventful as the past one, but still a fun one. Jen and I managed to lock ourselves out of our room... on a Sunday. Which means no one has the key to let us back in. Not exactly sure how we did it still. But we went in to our room for a break around 10:30, and that was fine. Then at 12:30 we went to grab some lunch and couldn't open the door. So we tried any key we could find in the orphanage and finally gave up and called Michelle. We felt pretty bad though because it's her day off and she was having a lunch with some friends. So we told her to wait until she was done lunch, but she ended up coming before it was done anyways. Oops. Thanks Michelle!

I also let the kids listen to my IPOD this shift. I can't remember if I mentioned that in any of my other blogs. But last week I let three of the boys listen to my IPOD. The ones that Jen and I took shopping for school uniforms. I'm sure you probably know the song "Hallelujahs" by Jeff Buckley (I believe that's who it's by). Anyways, it was on the radio when we went shopping (only by some UK Idol I think) and the boys started singing along to the chorus part- that is jsut hallelujah 8 times in a row- really pretty song though. So I knew that I had it on my IPOD so I took the boys aside and let them listen to it. Anyways, I kind of forget that jsut because I can't really talk to the kids doesn't mean they can't all talk to each other. So it was supper time and the boys ran back to the living room to pray and by the time I put my IPOD back in my room and came back down, all the older boys were all pointing to their ears and asking if they could listen. So this shift I brought it out, knowing it would probably be a complete catastrophe. But it actually went well. I let two kids listen at a time, and let one kid look through my IPOD for a new song. And then every 20 seconds or so I would tell the kids all to give the ear phones or IPOD to someone knew. And who ever had the IPOD had to sit on my lap so I could supervise the songs being chosen and make sure they didn't break the IPOD. The 36 hours flight home would be a long one without music I think. So it all went well. When the kids got grabby I would take the IPOD away until they settled down again. They seem to listen a lot better to me when I have something they want. Funny how that works eh?

Otherwise, the big highlight of the shift was probably celebrating Zubenathi and Zain's birthday. They both had birthdays since Jen and I have arrived in Africa but we were off shift for both of them. So we decided to have our own little birthday party for them. It was a lot of fun. We took the two boys on a walk to Shoprite (we've done this with some of the other kids as well). But we walked over and let them pick out a treat and a drink to share. We ended up all getting ice cream and sitting out on the bench and figuring out the messiest way to eat the ice cream. The two boys won. They actually pulled the ice cream out of the cone and tried to get it in their mouths. I'm not sure if they realized at first that the cone was edible. Anyways, I got some really good pictures of the boys covered in ice cream... their faces from ear to ear and the hands up to their elbows. We got back to Masi and rushed them in to the bathrooms to hide the evidence from the other children. I think the kids are smarter than that however. But that's okay, because this shift Jen and I are buying them all KFC. So it will even out. And we also made them valentines day cards (you know when you fold construction paper in half and cut out a half heart so that when it opens its a full heart- yeah we did that) and we put a little chocolate in each one. So I think the kids will like that. We also got the Sisis all some chocolate and a coke. So it will be a fun shift for us I'm sure.

Anyways, I think that's all for now. I will write again, however, when I get home to tell you how the trip wrapped up. Thanks for reading so far guys. I really appreciate the support.

*The picture above is of a bunch of the children crowding around to listen to my IPOD

A Quick Apology

So first, I will try to post something new tomorrow. I have a lot more stories to tell. But I don't quite have the time right now. However, I was just skimming over some of my other posts and I have to make a quick apology. Apparently I haven't been proof reading my posts. So my apologies that most of them are in broken English. I swear English is my first langauge... actually my only language. I'll hopefully get to go over those tomorrow as well and fix them up a little. Please don't judge me, haha.

Anyways, hope everything is going well. Everything is awesome on this end. I'm getting sad that I am coming home soon. It's going to be so hard to leave. But I am missing you all.

Busy Busy

So this past week has been fantastic! We finished our fifth shift at Masigcine, and it was a very eventful shift. I'll try to keep it short though. We arrived on Sunday, so all the kids were home all day.. no school. Jen and I were fairly tired so the day seemed a little long. But it was nice too see all the kids. We don't get to see the older kids as much anymore. Anyways, on Monday we got to visit the primary school. That was pretty fun. It's right across the street, but we have never been in side. So Michelle took us over and we did a little tour and then went to Anale, Kwanale, and Zubenathi's grade 1 class. The kids were all outside on a break so we got to talk to them for a minute. Not sure why I said talking, I actually meant we stood there and gave all the children high fives and such. I noticed, while we were there, that the three boys were pretty much the only kids in their class that didn't have uniforms. Right now Masigcine has 8 children in primary school, but only 5 uniforms for the kids. They have a few more pieces to the uniforms but they are too large for the 3 youngest boys. So Jen and I decided to do a little shopping trip and buy some new clothes. Definitely the high light of the shift. After school, Michelle, Jen and myself took the three boys to PEP. It's the store where you can buy school uniforms. The boys were so excited. They don't get to ride in a car very often, so that was exciting for them. And then once in the store they were dancing around and singing along to the music. They carried around their new shirts, and shorts, and socks while we tried the shoes on them. It was a fun little outing. When we got back to Masi the three boys did a fashion show for us. They put on all their new clothes and showed them off to the Sisis and other school kids and us. They were very proud. We also did a trip to the clinic. Xoleseka (better known as Colleen) has an ear infection and nose infection, so we took him to get checked out. That was an experience! Interesting though. The poor guy had to get some shots and get weighed and such. Actually, he didn't want to sit on the scale so i had to hold him, stand on the scale, and then get weighed all by myself. Fun. The last exciting little chore of the shift was cleaning out the crawl space. They have a storage space under the stairs for all the extra food. However, some little creepy crawlies decided to feast on them. So Jen and I got the privilege of getting rid of them. We got to take each item out at a time to see if there were bugs inside. And mean while the bugs dispersed around us and started climbing up the walls, and up our legs, and up the curtains... and it was so gross. But we got it done.

Anyways, those were the high lights from our shift. It was a pretty good one. Oh yeah, the orphanage also got pets! We now have two bunny rabbits that live in a cage in the back yard. So many of the kids are afraid of animals because they don't get the chance to see them very often. So the orphanage is hoping that having rabbits will help the kid out. They are pretty cute.

So, now for the past three days. They have been pretty eventful too, but I'll try to keep it short. First day, Katie, Alyssa, Jen and myself climbed Table Top mountain... both ways! We decided not to be lazy and actually do the hike up to the top. Then we planned on buying lunch and taking the cable car down. I thought it would be more of a leisurely tourist hike. It was not! It was a 4 km hike of home made rock stairs the entire way. Too make things worse, the wind was enough to blow you off the mountain (no exageration, apparently it actaully wasn't all that safe for us to climb that day, however we saw other hikers). Then we reached the top and realized that since the wind was so strong, the cable car was closed for the day... which also meant that the restaurant was closed. No lunch for us... but we did get another hike! So we hiked our way down. Which was a little easier on the lungs... but brutal on the knees. After we finally got down from our 8 km mountain hike we decided to treat ourselves. We headed straight to the mall... got a cinnabon cinnamon bun and then went to a movie. Probably the nicest movie theatre chairs I have ever sat in. And we got drinks and popcorn and watched the movie (a new release even) all for under 5 dollars Canadian. Not bad eh? The next day we did a little tour. We went to Pat's house. Pat is an 83 year old author, and very interesting individual. I can't so her justice writing about her on here but I'll try to do a quick summary. She wrote the book "A Lion in My Bedroom" and it's about a little bit of her life. Mainly when she owned a lion I believe. Anyways, she has sold the movie rights to her book which is pretty neat I thought. So we had lunch there with her, and some people that work at her house. Then we got to do a tour of her house. She has approximately 35 dogs (saved from shelters), some baboons, a chimp, some monkeys, some peacocks, etc. It was pretty cool. Today we decided to go to Muizenburg. We heard the water is warmer there, and one of the girls is doing a surf school there as her project, so we went for a visit. It's 34 degrees today, so a good day for the beach. However, once we got there it was actually fairly windy. Still had a good time though.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I have so much more to say actually, but I'm trying to sum it up in something that you will actually have time to read. Hope everything is going well will all of you. See you in like 10 days! Weird.

*This photo is of the boys giving us a fashion show after we went shopping at PEP.