Little did I know, I would be surprised as well on this day! (Thanks Blom & Nancy) When we got there, the kids were outside playing. We joined in, and after they sang to us for a while, we taught them to play “Duck Duck Goose.” When it was time to eat, we went in but I didn’t see any soup. Marnelle, our host, told me that we weren’t serving soup. In fact, the money we donated as a project (thanks to YOU supporters!!) went to provide a better meal for them and we too would be eating with them. Nancy prepared traditional Xhosa dishes for us to try and explained each to us before we served ourselves. Another surprise was around the corner as a mother of one of the children came in wearing traditional clothing, and Nancy explained the clothing and how marriage works/difference in dress. If you know me, you know I love this kind of thing! I love knowing the “local” customs and being in the mix.
I thought my ears weren’t processing well when someone mentioned beer. Behold, there was another surprise around the corner. Nancy walked us through the community and we went over to learn about the beer made and drank in the community. Also, if you know me, you know how I feel about beer too! The mom who came in her traditional dress went with us and demonstrated how this beer drinking is done when you visit a family (What a cool mom, right?!?!). When you visit a family, beer is offered to you. She kneeled down on both knees and sipped from the bucket. Yep, bucket….community bucket. Well, some of you know how I feel about drinking after people…..None of us actually tried the beer. I think we were all waiting on another to initiate, and then we lost our chance (next time...). We moved on to the shack behind this house. In this shack, the beer is made so we watched a woman go through some of the steps.
Unfortunately our time was up when we left the shack as we had other places to be next. This event will go down as one of my all time favorite South Africa memories from all the years.
The kids at this place are all so adorable! One of my friends had donated a couple bags of toddler sized t-shirts from her company. This wasn’t initially on the list of items needed so it was wonderful that she thought of this because we donated them to the crèche. The sizes were perfect for these kids. Thanks Heather! You can support her by shopping for fun kids’ gifts online at http://www.nurseryrhymetease.com/nursery_rhyme_tease_books.html.
For more information on Cargo of Dreams and to watch a video on how they convert containers into schools and medical clinics, please visit www.cargoofdreams.org.
Here are pictures from the day -- again, they are out of order and I'm too tired to rearrange. =)
pumpkin
tripe stew
samp
outside the beer shack. I like this picture because you can see the train going by in the background. My friend Luba and I rode the train to Cape Town during my 3rd week, something I always wanted to do. It wasn't Amtrak but I loved it more.
The shack where the beer is made
the "brewmaster" making beer
what men do best....(j/k guys)
the beer -- I prefer mine in a bottle
nap time
I loved this boy in the Ghana shirt...soooo cute!
lining up to wash hands before lunch
games & songs
Nancy + our team
serving lunch
a few of the cute t-shirts donated by Heather--get on her website and buy some!
