So today we had orientation. There is another volunteer house, which is obviously more so the "main" house, but so there was this huge other group of volunteers here that we got to meet. That was the best part probably.
There is this thing called "African time", and it basically is that you take the day as it comes, schedules really aren't that important, and it is acceptable for people to show up even hours late. I had known about it before even coming here, but between African time and bad organization, orientation really dragged . . .
We were brought to the other house by one of the staff members, right on time. After waiting for a while, we had were welcomed by Tim, the program director of Dreams to Reality. There are some volunteers here who really aren't crazy about him. I'm trying not to let them taint my opinions, but it can be a little difficult. After our welcoming we knew that we were going to check out all of the placement locations, but we must have waited at least an hour for the vans to come pick us up.
Seeing all of the placements was really kind of sad . . . Those shed-like communities I had described in my last post are actually the townships that we are volunteering in. It's pretty dodgy there. Our vans didn't have any seat belts, or even enough seats for all of us, but it did have a tv that played U.S. music videos from like three years ago-- we all thought it was really bizarre. We stopped at the first child care center and heard all kinds of cries of, "TEACHA!!" All of the kids were so excited to have us there. We had to go through a big gate and back between some of the shed-like buildings to get to the small two room daycare. A lot of the kids ran out, leapt into our arms, and then wanted to be passed around between all of us. One thing that was really sad to me, was how seeing them was comparable to going to the zoo . . . We went to each center for about 5-10 minutes, everyone had their cameras pulled out, and it really was like going to some sort of exhibit. I have my good camera locked up in my suitcase, but had brought a regular point and shoot camera with me. But, my memory cards I have here aren't formatted right for that camera, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing for any photos right now. I'm sure I would have treated the centers like an exhibit as well, but having the opportunity to just interact with the kids and notice how the interactions functioned, I was more glad than not that my camera wasn't working . . . The kids definitely enjoy playing with the cameras and seeing their images though, so their interpretation of the situation is much different, and they absolutely love it. At other centers we were greeted as "Auntie" or "Oncle" instead of "Teacha". Everywhere they were just so happy to see us. For us, it was an opportunity to see all of the placements and to decide where we would like to to work regularly.
To put into perspective the economic status these kids all live with, we were told about how it costs $10 a year for the kids to go to one of the main centers. Because of that, most kids in the neighborhood can't afford to go there, and of the kids going there, about 60% of their parents still aren't able to pay it, but the center can't just kick them out either. To us, $10 is nothing. You can go out for one meal and spilt spend that, but these families here are in such poverty that they can't even spare that expense over the span of a whole year.
I thought that I would be spending a lot more time volunteering here, but for our own safety we're only able to volunteer at the child centers from nine to noon. At noon, all of the gangs within the townships come out and cause trouble. Because its for our safety, I understand, but I had really wanted to do more . . . The sport and surfing programs run a few more hours after mine ends, so I'd really like to do those too if I can. It also gets dark here around 6pm, so we're recommended to be into the house pretty early. We can go out in groups afterwards, but it's not as safe. So I'm really going to have a lot more downtime than I had expected. I have some books on my iPad, but will never take it with me to read out on the beach or anywhere, so I invested in some books today . . .
We eventually made it to the train station to go into Cape Town, where we waited for a long time. The ride itself is about forty minutes. Dreams to Reality (DTR) got us third class tickets, so for that forty minutes we were literally stood body to body, all crammed into the train. It eventually got hot, and just so uncomfortable. In Cape Town, people were able to get cell phones if they wanted, able to change some money, and then we all went to lunch. At every single stop, it just took much more time than was necessary. We had started at 9am, but weren't back until after 5pm.
Tonight was spaghetti night. Luckily, all of my food during the week is paid for. Unfortunately though, we live off of all carbs and peanut butter . . . Breakfast is toast or cereal, lunch is sandwiches, and dinner is better, but still carb based. There is also some fruit that we get every few days, but with 22 of us in the house, it goes fast. It's fine for right now, but all of the people who've been here for two weeks or more are so sick of it. A few of us went out and bought some fruits and veggies after we got back from orientation . . .
I'm honestly probably just really tired still from all of the traveling the last couple of days, but my spirits are definitely much lower than they had been at this time yesterday. I think that once we start actually volunteering tomorrow, it will be a lot better. But right now I don't feel like I've been that productive, practically live in fear, and am having trouble converting my European money, which is making it difficult to do much of anything-- so I'm really just frustrated in general . . .
Some things to look forward to though . . . The three day safari here sounds amazing! We'll go to all kinds of sanctuaries for different animals that we'll get to feed and pet, go zip lining, go bungee jumping off the tallest recreational spot in the world, at 350 meters, and then go on the actual safari. We'll definitely be hiking Table Mountain, as well as some of the many other mountains in the area. And then there is some talk of cage diving with sharks. The bungee jumping is questionable, but I would really like to do as much else as possible.
Tomorrow is the first day of volunteering! I'm excited but nervous. After volunteering, I am ideally going to go to this cafe here to get online to write that five page field study paper that I had wanted to accomplish on the way here . . .
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