Search This Blog

Monday 19 April 2010

Exploring Jo'burg

Hello. Sorry to all who I promised I would skype or keep more in touch with, but as of the moment internet access is only at the Oasis Hub, and not at the house, but we are being very kindly given a internet stick soon so hopefully I will be able to keep more in touch and add a few cheeky photos (we’re not strictly supposed to as it uses up the bandwidth).

This week has been quite exciting in a few ways, we’ve had some firsts and dramas, but all have been amusing! Me and Beth got very lost one day last week coming back from the local shops (no idea how) and so got a lovely tour of Cosmo City- the place is pretty big! On Wednesday, we decided to go for a drive and get an ice-cream and managed to do pretty much a grand tour of Johannesburg, which is quite a feat, and then at McD’s a massive bug landed on the car but Trevor (in his superman cape) managed to remove it- getting lost does seem to become a bit of a habit for us, but it’s easily done here! Happy days. . Then later in the week I was on my own in the house when a mouse shot across the living room floor, and I have to admit I screamed like a little girl and again, Trevor had to step in to save the day. In hindsight it was ‘tres amusant’, but scary at the time! So we’ve all been very wary of rustling this week, but hopefully we’ll be pest free for a while.

On Sunday, there was a thunder storm and we lost electricity for a good few hours, which is always funny, and then on the way back from evening church I realised I’d left the car lights on and so we had to jump start the car- possibly one of the funniest moments yet I think as we all took it fairly lightly and were helped by people in the car park at the time- so it was only a little embarrassing for me. Oops.
Work wise, we’ve had a chance to talk about and see some of the projects, and we’re continuing to see the rest this week. I helped out in the very busy clinic that runs 2 mornings a week at the Hub, helping Chantel with child immunisations and we saw some pre-schools in the community and we also worked alongside the Bridge the Gap students (school leavers aged 18-25). So we’re all pretty excited as to the next things we can do with Oasis, including the work in preschools where we have to dress up as a bumblebee, an ant, a caterpillar/butterfly and a little girl- the kitchen table is currently covered in material bits and craft stuff.  We went into pre-schools this morning also, and the children were just wonderful and amazing- so cute and friendly and lots of babies for me to cuddle! We played and sang with them, and generally had a great time.

I’m sure there are a million more stories I could tell, but that’s all I think I can fit in for the moment.
P.S- Weather here is gorgeous- I have faint but real tan lines!
Love, Laura. x

Saturday 10 April 2010

Sawubona

Hello all- Sawubona.

Thought I'd do a quick update, as this is the first time I've seen my computer in a few days, to say that I arrived safely and all is well. :)
We arrive on Wednesday (I think, days get very mixed up) after having a grand total of about 3 hours sleep and went straight to the GAT house in Cosmo City. Our house is basic but nice and we're working on it- fairly light and animal bins have already made it in! We've spent this week just meeting the team (they're all lovely) and learning the history and touring some of Jo'burg and then next week we'll get stuck into all the Oasis projects. So I feel like a little bit of a tourist at the moment, but I'm loving it, and its sunny! 

The kids around Cosmo are so friendly and our house is invaded quite a lot of the time, and the whole community spirit here is great, even though it's still a poor area. We've seen some but not all of greater Jo'burg but already we've seen such differences between the rich area and the townships like Diepsloot, right next to each other. It's so sad to see. So please pray for all the team at Oasis and our GAT team and for me, and I'll try update when I have a little more news! 

Hope everyone is well and safe and love to all. x