Safaris, bowling, bumper cars and beaches

We had the weekend off last week.. which I have to admit, made me feel quite guilty.. but anyway 4 dutch girls and I drove up north for about 4 hours and stayed at a backpackers lodge. During which we went to a SAFARI!!!! for 12 hours!!!! and a boat cruise! I've attached pictures so you can enjoy the madness with me :)
I never expected to do any of this when I got here and I just feel so blessed :)
ALSOOO... I would like to update you on the recent events at Mother of Peace
Firstly, in appreciation of the hard work the house mothers have been doing for the children... (they run the household of about 6-9 children).. we took them out for a surprise night of bowling and bumper cars! they had sooo much fun. We hope to make it a monthly thing.. to create something out of the norm you know? Something they can look forward to and bond over!
Anyway it was so much fun because you could feel their excitement :) In the bus all the way there they were singing and hooting and laughing heartly.. it was really nice. And they made so much ruckus while bowling.. like cheering after every person bowled and running to give everyone hugs, the other bowlers were flabergasted to say the least. By the end of the night they too were hooting :) Also most of the housemothers just held the ball in 2 hands and threw it down the lane :) many loud thumps were heard in the funland that night
Like I said... soooo much fun :)
ANDDD.. because school's STILL out due the the strike, we took the older kids to the beach! They had a great time too! The Indian Ocean is one powerful mass of water I can tell you that. But the kids had a ball and so did I :)
I have a happy story which comes with that too!
Here at Mother of Peace we have 1 set of triplets. 1 of which is slightly mentally and physically disabled, but he is very sweet. Anyway we were told that it was best if he didn't go with the group to the beach and so we were prepared to leave without him. But there were delays and when he got out of daycare (he's 10) he saw his brother and sister in the bus with a bunch of other kids his age and he ran over. He was standing right in front of me when we told him he couldn't go and I could see him tear up.. it was so heartbreaking because he knew they were going to leave without him and his sadness was so raw you know? I can't think of the word to describe it. Anyway, Byron (the guy in charge of us) told me that if I wanted, I could ask him housemother if he could go and to tell her that I'd take care of him.. which I did and he got to go! You should have seen him.. he was sooo happy at the beach. The waves grazing his feet made his eyes light up, it was very gratifying.
On a lighter note, because I'm here with 6 dutch girls, my diet consists of cheese, bread, salad and pasta... :) talk about packing on the pounds! haha and in retaliation, I cooked chinese food for them and it was a big hit!
Oh and there's an 18month old boy here that shouts "ma" everytime I come around, its sooo cute!
Also.. I think its safe to say that my dutch has improved leaps and bounds since I've come here.. and my zulu has too :) its crazy what you can learn when you step out of your bubble of home
oh and I don't remember if i've already said this, but the stars here are amazing... I can't even count the number of stars in the sky.. and I can see the milky way soo clearly.. its completely mind blowing
OH AND before I forget I just want to mention something that I've noticed.
I was talking to this really intelligent 9 year old at MOP the other day and she told me about her family and how that since she's been here they don't see her anymore... and I was thinking about it and I realised that these kids are here because they weren't safe where they were, but I get the impression that this girl and I assume other children here feel as if they haven't been rescued, but rather taken from their families. She gave me the impression that she didn't understand why she had to leave her family because she was the victim as opposed to the perpetrator being taken away from her. and I completely empathesise because it makes no sense to me too...
anyway I don't want to end on that note so I will tell you a cultural observation I made!
"JUST NOW"
In Singapore, "just now" means before
In Britain, "just now" means now
In South Africa, "just now" means after
go figure!

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