Our time here is almost finished. We leave for Cape Town International in less than two hours for our flight to London. It has been a truly blessed time for us here and we have added a lifetime of memories that we will always cherish.
At Etafeni yesterday there was graduation for four groups of young adults who have completed the Fit For Life Fit For Work program. One of the groups was made up of the young people with whom I worked for the first two weeks. They wore caps and gowns and green hoodsa and were dressed so nicely. They were proud of themselves and I was so proud of them that I could not stop smiling. I have only known them for three weeks, but in that time I have become very close to some of them. I have exchanged e-mail and Facebook info with those who are on the net. The ceremony for graduation was joyful. There was lots of singing, some of which appeared to be spontaneous, though I could be wrong about that as much of the proceedings were conducted in Xhosa so it is possible someone may have said "Let's sing" in Xhosa and I would have been none the wiser. Whatever the case, seeing and hearing the singing was kind of a magic moment for me and I videoed much of it on my digital camera. I took many pictures of "my" graduates and some of the others and have assured Deborah that I would e-mail them to her. Speaking of pictures, during the weeks we have been here, I have taken around 970 pictures. I guess I will have a time of it when I get home going through them and organizing them.
Dianne's people at Carehaven gave her a big sendoff yesterday. Dianne will probably let you know more about it but she is fighting off a cold and is resting at the hotel. The ladies with whom she worked and the staff at Carehaven wrote some beautiful words about Dianne. She feels so affirmed by her efforts at Carehaven. The fact that Dianne kicked ass with her placement and made such an impression on clients and staff comes as no surprise to me. I am married to an amazing woman, thank God.
We chose to spend our last night at the V & A Waterfront Hotel. Had we stayed at Homebase 2, we would have needed to clear our room by 8:00 this morning and occupied ourselves until transport to the airport. We decided the choice between sleeping on twice as wide as a diving board bed and a king bed was not difficult to make, so we chose comfort. We are so grateful we did. The hotel is allowing us to stay until we leave for the airport at 3:15. This is a great hotel and we recommend it to anyone who comes to Cape Town.
Last night many of the volunteers had dinner together at Marco's African Restaurant. Many of us are leaving and there are some who were with us last night who will stay. We are somewhat eclectic as far as age goes. I think the age range last night was 18-66. We took lots of pictures and got lots of hugs when it was time to say goodbye. We have forged some lifelong friendships with many wonderful young people who have so generously given of their time and talent in South Africa. Dianne, Juanita, and I are old enough to be their parents and have been treated as their friends. A lot of us have become Facebook friends. We have told them they have a place to stay if they ever visit San Francisco. We have already planned for Erin to stay with us at the end of September. Erin is a U of Washington grad who goes to all the football games. The Huskies play Stanford on Sept. 26th and we are going to the game with Erin. As an added bonus, she gets a tour of Rodeo. Does life get any better than that? By the way, while we were eating, a woman who was also a patron at the restaurant asked me what kind of a tour group we were. I guess she may have been curious about the obvious age differences in our group. I am still curious as to why she chose to ask me. Could it be my hair's lack of pigment? Anyhow, when I told her we were all volunteers who had been working in townships she thanked me and the group for coming to South Africa and giving our time. What a nice little perk.
Some things we did not tell you about Cape Town. It is a dangerous city after dark so anytime we were out after dark (not often for us) we took a cab, even if it as to Mels or Woolworths which are only about a quarter of a mile from Homebase 2. It can be dangerous during the daylight hours too. Two weeks ago, Juanita and Bettina walked in on an armed robbery in progress at the 7-11 store at 4:00 pm. They were not injured and not robbed, but were somewhat shaken. Our friend Jen was almost mugged in broad daylight before we arrived. She pointed out the corner where it happened. It was downtown on a Saturday. She just kept on saying "No" and pushing the potential muggers' hands away. Perhaps not the wisest thing to do, but for her it worked. Perhaps the fact that Jen is 6"1" tall worked in her favor. One of our drivers told us Johannesburg is more dangerous. Kept this bit of info until the end so family would not worry. We never felt in danger, but were constantly vigilant. This past week when we ate at Mbozi's Meats, some young boys stole all the potato chips from the tables at which we were to sit before we arrived.
Well friends, is time to bid you all adieu from Cape Town. The next post will be from Rodeo. Until then be well.
Art
At Etafeni yesterday there was graduation for four groups of young adults who have completed the Fit For Life Fit For Work program. One of the groups was made up of the young people with whom I worked for the first two weeks. They wore caps and gowns and green hoodsa and were dressed so nicely. They were proud of themselves and I was so proud of them that I could not stop smiling. I have only known them for three weeks, but in that time I have become very close to some of them. I have exchanged e-mail and Facebook info with those who are on the net. The ceremony for graduation was joyful. There was lots of singing, some of which appeared to be spontaneous, though I could be wrong about that as much of the proceedings were conducted in Xhosa so it is possible someone may have said "Let's sing" in Xhosa and I would have been none the wiser. Whatever the case, seeing and hearing the singing was kind of a magic moment for me and I videoed much of it on my digital camera. I took many pictures of "my" graduates and some of the others and have assured Deborah that I would e-mail them to her. Speaking of pictures, during the weeks we have been here, I have taken around 970 pictures. I guess I will have a time of it when I get home going through them and organizing them.
Dianne's people at Carehaven gave her a big sendoff yesterday. Dianne will probably let you know more about it but she is fighting off a cold and is resting at the hotel. The ladies with whom she worked and the staff at Carehaven wrote some beautiful words about Dianne. She feels so affirmed by her efforts at Carehaven. The fact that Dianne kicked ass with her placement and made such an impression on clients and staff comes as no surprise to me. I am married to an amazing woman, thank God.
We chose to spend our last night at the V & A Waterfront Hotel. Had we stayed at Homebase 2, we would have needed to clear our room by 8:00 this morning and occupied ourselves until transport to the airport. We decided the choice between sleeping on twice as wide as a diving board bed and a king bed was not difficult to make, so we chose comfort. We are so grateful we did. The hotel is allowing us to stay until we leave for the airport at 3:15. This is a great hotel and we recommend it to anyone who comes to Cape Town.
Last night many of the volunteers had dinner together at Marco's African Restaurant. Many of us are leaving and there are some who were with us last night who will stay. We are somewhat eclectic as far as age goes. I think the age range last night was 18-66. We took lots of pictures and got lots of hugs when it was time to say goodbye. We have forged some lifelong friendships with many wonderful young people who have so generously given of their time and talent in South Africa. Dianne, Juanita, and I are old enough to be their parents and have been treated as their friends. A lot of us have become Facebook friends. We have told them they have a place to stay if they ever visit San Francisco. We have already planned for Erin to stay with us at the end of September. Erin is a U of Washington grad who goes to all the football games. The Huskies play Stanford on Sept. 26th and we are going to the game with Erin. As an added bonus, she gets a tour of Rodeo. Does life get any better than that? By the way, while we were eating, a woman who was also a patron at the restaurant asked me what kind of a tour group we were. I guess she may have been curious about the obvious age differences in our group. I am still curious as to why she chose to ask me. Could it be my hair's lack of pigment? Anyhow, when I told her we were all volunteers who had been working in townships she thanked me and the group for coming to South Africa and giving our time. What a nice little perk.
Some things we did not tell you about Cape Town. It is a dangerous city after dark so anytime we were out after dark (not often for us) we took a cab, even if it as to Mels or Woolworths which are only about a quarter of a mile from Homebase 2. It can be dangerous during the daylight hours too. Two weeks ago, Juanita and Bettina walked in on an armed robbery in progress at the 7-11 store at 4:00 pm. They were not injured and not robbed, but were somewhat shaken. Our friend Jen was almost mugged in broad daylight before we arrived. She pointed out the corner where it happened. It was downtown on a Saturday. She just kept on saying "No" and pushing the potential muggers' hands away. Perhaps not the wisest thing to do, but for her it worked. Perhaps the fact that Jen is 6"1" tall worked in her favor. One of our drivers told us Johannesburg is more dangerous. Kept this bit of info until the end so family would not worry. We never felt in danger, but were constantly vigilant. This past week when we ate at Mbozi's Meats, some young boys stole all the potato chips from the tables at which we were to sit before we arrived.
Well friends, is time to bid you all adieu from Cape Town. The next post will be from Rodeo. Until then be well.
Art
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