Lakes Hotel And Conference Centre Benoni

... and catch a flight to Botswana the next morning. One of my new teammates and I decided to share a room in Joburg. There is a very nice hotel right on the airport grounds. I was definitely anxious about what awaited me in the weeks to come. As we made our way down to the lobby to meet another teammate for dinner, I could see eyes following me. So the fun begins! Before I left the states, many people joked that I would come back ...

... in time. Afterwards, I lie down and fall asleep. My knee is painful and tired, it was already a long day. It is dark when I wake up and no hubby. I think: hubby + internet in lobby = hubby in lobby. But no, he went for a walk. The security guard told him to be careful. Didn't we agree on NOT going out in the dark on our own? We do not want to wait for the girls' sms and are at the airport too early WITH the bubbles. Annie is rolled out in a wheelchair (she ...

... I trained myself to get around as locals do when I'm in a new location (no taxi). Because there was enough time, I thought about taking local transportation from the airport to the downtown train station. However, when I inquired at the Information Center about buses, I was dissuaded. "Well, it is not very safe," one lady rolled her eyes. "Especially you look different. People would know you are not from here, then you become an easy target." Another lady looked ...

... made me want to learn more about it all, though. It's really impressive to see how far South Africa came in such a short period of time, and it made me really embarrassed, actually, of how inadequate the U.S. has been (and still is) at getting over its racism (and other forms of bigotry, too, I guess). This is not to say that South Africa is all peaceful and loving now, or that I really am in any position to make these sorts of assessments (I was only there for a day ...

... time. Why? As if a wounded 13 year old was a threat to armed, adult policemen...it was cold blooded murder. Although Hector Pieterson was not the only student that met a tragic and sudden ending of life that day, his death symbolizes the brutality of the day and the efforts of the students. The chain of events would eventually be seen as the turning point in the liberation struggle. The next hours and days saw students fight running battles with the police in what became known as ...

. . Click on the flag to go read my Swaziland pod. (under the map) (can't miss it)

... course we can't prove it. The boys were quite vicious, which only makes me suspect they have something to hide. I don't have the patience for them, they aren't kids anymore, and I'm not going to coddle them. They have to learn to be decent adults, and the more they get away with it the less good it does them. Certainly it goes against the KH philosophy of teaching these young adults to be independent and able to function in society. Sigh. So I'm a little ...

On Tuesday Ann came to visit. She brought some supplies for KH, which was nice of her. We also got free lunch at Lakeside - bonus!! I think Ann is scoping the place out for a visit by Graeme and Lavinia from PT. Wednesday saw me in the creche and Katie in the library. Monsters are getting a bit better. Not a lot happened on Thursday. I was in the library, and somehow I got loads of bites during the night. However my foot is nearly healed, thank the Lord!

... called Mom Ester, and took a group of the kids to a separate room to do a 'lesson' with them. Terri also took a group and allocated me and Katie groups of 4 each. I took Ronalda, Mathis, Chaney, and Sandra. Katie had Bradley, Salim, Siyabonga, and ???????. Of course, the group members are constantly getting up and becoming honorary members of the other group. 4-5 year olds just can't stay in one place for very long and also like to show their masterpieces to anything that moves ...

... they say, "Yes, but what is your language?" I reply by saying I live in England, which is where English comes from. Some of them reply that English comes from America, which makes me laugh. In a frustrated kind of way... I suppose I will have to get used to being the only person in the Village that can only speak one language. Some of the kids can speak four or five! I went to see Ralph afterwards (he's the Village manager, also a volunteer of 3 years), just to ...