Khotso, Pula, Nala

Updates from Underberg!!!

Saturday

Telise and I moved out of the Pile Inn Bed and Breakfast and moved into Clouds of Hope cottage # 11. It’s really convenient living on the Clouds property now, which makes the commute to work every day just about 1 minute. It’s also quite nice to walk outside of your front door everyday and get ambushed by a million hugs from the kids! They are all so adorable and so sweet. After we moved in on Saturday we went and hiked the mountain that is right behind the orphanage grounds, it’s called “the place of echoes” (I forgot the Zulu name for it). We saw tons of geckos and lizards while we were climbing and then had a nice lunch at the top on a big boulder. After our hike we walked into the town of Underberg to run to the grocery store and to hang out at this local café called “The Lemon Tree.” We’ve already become regulars here, it’s such a great place to hang out, write post cards, read, type up our ISPs, and drink delicious smoothies while enjoying the back patio. Town is just about a mile from the orphanage, but it is a really nice walk through the forest, we’ve ended up coming into town just about every day since we arrived. When we got back to the orphanage we set up a movie for all of the kids to watch in the lounge of the big house and then passed out from a long day!

Sunday

The next morning, Sunday, was also quite an adventurous day! Telise and I signed up to travel the Sani Pass (a long stretch of winding roads that crosses over into Lesotho). We left around 9:30 a.m. and traveled by 4x4 about 50 km until we reached the very top. At the top is where “The Highest Pub in Africa” is located so we stopped there for lunch and drinks. Afterwards we visited a traditional Lesotho village where the Basotho people live. The other people in our car were in quite a bit of shock when we arrived and kept talking about how poor these people must be. This was a bit awkward, especially since Telise and I have lived in similar villages throughout the course of our rural home stays, which makes us realize just how lucky we are to have the opportunities that we’ve had throughout this program. Lesotho is called the “Kingdom in the Sky,” and the Lesotho people are known as the “People of the Blanket” because everyone is always wrapped up in big wool blankets to stay warm. We saw lots of shepherds who are dressed especially warm…and one Afrikaans lady in our car kept talking about how scary they looked…which was also awkward…especially since the lady lives in Johannesburg and there are way scarier things going on over there…But it was a really cool experience. We also got to go into one lady’s round house to learn a little bit more about their culture. The traditional greeting that the Basotho people say is “Khotso, Pula, Nala,” which means that you wish that person peace, rain, and prosperity. Then we tasted some Basotho beer…it was a sour taste that reminded me of the traditional Zulu dish, Maas (which is just soured milk and mealy meal), and THEN we tasted some homemade fresh bread…it was so delicious…I thought steam bread was good….but this gave it a run for its money that’s for sure. We all bought a few more pieces and then headed back to Underberg. It was a long day of driving on the side of steep cliffs but it was so much fun, and a really awesome opportunity to have while we are staying out here in the Drakensberg Mountains.

P.S. I apologize in advance, I thought I would be able to upload updates daily but I have no cell phone reception out here on the orphanage grounds, so I can only post once I’m in town and have a bit more service in my modem!

This past week has gone by waayyy too fast! Telise and I have been busy working in the manager’s office that was recently redone. The manager is a really nice man who lives on the orphanage grounds with his wife and daughter in one of the cottages. He’s very soft spoken and has two little Jack Russell terriers that follow him around all day long. One of the dogs, Lilly, snuck into the playgroup with the little kids today and come out covered in pink marker…it looks like she got attacked by the kids. We’ve been working on re-filing the children’s documents and report cards, which is also where we have been gathering the majority of our data. We spend most mornings collecting our data and doing some small jobs around the orphanage whenever we’re asked to. At times it can get depressing reading the kids files and seeing into their unhappy pasts…many of the children lost their parents due to AIDS, or were simply abandoned after they were born. One girl was dumped in a garbage can after birth until a police officer found her in a plastic bag still attached to the placenta. Many of the other children have been physically or sexually abused by other family members that were supposed to be looking after them, or the kids ended up in households to raise themselves.

In the afternoon we head back to our cottage for lunch, play with the kids outside for a while and then walk the mile into town to get some work done on the Internet. On Tuesday nights we are invited to eat dinner with Gogo Abi in the big house with about 10 other children living there. It’s great to get some more Zulu cooking when we can…and it was a really great way for us to bond with some of the older kids as well. Gogo Abi is really one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. It’s great just to be around her…I don’t think she ever really gets tired, she’s always in her white tennis shoes running from place to place and still caring for small children as young as 2 in addition to all of the other children she has adopted from babies and are now in their late teens. You would never guess that’s she’s actually 76 years old…she drives a big 4x4 pick-up truck to take the kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon. She’s so witty she always keeps everyone laughing and smiling!

Alrighty, well that’s all I’m going to post for now…hopefully I will get a chance to upload pictures at some point…I’ll work on that for the next post!

Sala Kahle

Alyssa