The day started at 5 AM, **cough** let me try this again 5:00 AM! There. My mom woke up excited for the market, which woke me up and it just happened to be 5:00 AM (we need to be up at 6:30 AM...just saying). So now that I am awake I can't go back to sleep and I go online. I talk to my best friend because you know you can talk to your best friend even when it's 12 AM for her (Hi Jen <3 ).
We leave the house around 7 and head to....duh duh duh daaaa duh daaaa THE MARKET. Okay the market has to be one of our favourite things in Pretoria. This is our third time going to the market. We do our final shopping and know exactly what we need and where it is (bread, cheese, coffee, breakfast, samosas) (The Bread Gypsy, Kamilla's Farm, That OCD cafe, good food stand, and heaven). We leave that market at around 8:40 and head home.
When we got home everyone slept but me. Instead I played with a little boy called Acorn. His parents come every Saturday to clean the house, and this week they brought him. We coloured, I made him a friendship bracelet, piggy back rides were had, tickle fights were fought, and we built a fort So yeah I basically had the best morning in the history of mornings.
Tinta came around 12. We were going to take the train to Johannesburg. We started off walking to were the taxis where. It was about a 15 minute walk, not far. We took a taxi all together to Hatfeild, where the train stations are. We had to walk a little further to get to the train station. During the walk we passed the Canadian High Commission. It was a short walk and soon enough we were on the train. The train passed through country side heading to the other big city.
The train is one of the first steps the government is taking to connect Johannesburg and Pretoria into one big city. Mainly because The two names of the cities are Africaun names. Africauns are originally Dutch people, and their language sounds like a mixture between Dutch and German. 16 years ago Africauns ruled everything in South Africa and Native African people were still considered slaves. The road names are all changing as well. A big change might happen to South Africa in May, when the election is taking place. A party that is famous for white discrimination is running in the election. They are promising to swipe out all Africaun people if they get elected.
We get to Johannesburg in about 20 minutes. When we get there we start walking to Nelson Mandela Square. Johannesburg seems to have a lot of money. New skyscrapers are being built, and every other car is a golden bugatti.
We walk to the mall and sit down at the first restaurant we come to called Europa. I ordered a mint-coffee milkshake, and a pesto dish. After we ate we walked around the mall. In doing so I found the most beautiful flowy dress ever. I had seen a picture of a dress just like it months before and had fallen in love with it. Now it sat right there and I wanted it. It was 550 rend which is 55 dollars Canadian. We walked away, but I knew if I remembered it in and hour and still wanted it we would probably go back (as horrible as that sounds).
We walked through the mall out onto a square where a Nelson Mandela statue was being photographed by tourists after tourists. I went and sat on the steps and people watched. I examined their clothes, how they acted, who they were with. I noticed something, I noticed a gap. That if you walked, 5 minutes away there would be someone lying on the street dying from hunger. But they don't see it, the rich don't see the poor. They choose not to. Their Gucci glasses are near sighted, they are so consumed in what they have in who they are that they can't see the poor, and they choose this. They choose to be consumed. But the poor see the rich, the poor are not consumed in themselves, nor what they have. They see the gap placed by money, not by how far away they are physically. Physically they are right there, by their feet. But do the rich look down? No. Never.
We were about to go when I mentioned the dress again. So we walked back the whole time I am jumping and getting very very excited for this dress. We get to the store, I get in the change room, I put it on. The world stops. It snaps, the string in my head snaps. I can see now, I can see it all now. I can see how little my dress is worth. I feel sick, completely sick in this dress. That I thought for so long that material items made me happy, that I could slip the dress on and I would be happy for eternity. News Flash Katie material items hold evaporating wealth. In a couple days the worth of that dress to me would mean nothing. While the people around me mean everything, and that isn't an evaporating wealth, that is golden, not like the golden bugattis not like that, no. Not like the skyscrapers, or fancy glasses, never. No a different kind of golden, the kind that people die for. The kind sane people risk their lives for, that kind of golden.
I walked out of the store. I walked out without the dress, like I had realised I had no phone. But this time I did not cry, this time the evaporating wealth didn't cause condensation. Done. I was done with wealth, I was done with shopping, I was done with tears, and I was done with my Gucci Glasses.
We got the train back to Pretoria, and Paul drove us home from the train station. I crashed once we got home.
-Z
Saturday, 16 November 2013
Friday, 15 November 2013
Day 16
Today was our last day at the project. We left the house at 9 AM in a rush. Paul and Aly had a meeting in town so we were working at the project with the ladies without them. We finished organising the equipment and finished making shelving for the soap. We had lunch around 2 PM. After lunch we talked about our visit and how much we have learned from these lovely ladies. We each talked about the trip, and I mentioned how much love they had shown us, I also cried a little bit. Whenever we saw these ladies even when we first met them they all gave us huge bear hugs. I am honoured to have met them. I know most won't be able to read this, but I want to say thank you again, for showing me how to except and love strangers that come into your world not knowing you or who you are but having the capability to love them anyhow.
After lunch we made our last batch of soap with the ladies. I made friendship bracelets for some of them and would run in when I had finished one and tie it around someone's arm and run back out. We had to say our final goodbyes which was very hard to do. I have become so very close to these woman I am truly sad right now. They mean so much to me. We had joked about our last day for so long, now it is here and no one is laughing about Queen adopting me or how we are never leaving. Or how I am going to trade nail polish for the babies. No one was joking, it was sad, and hard.
We got home around 4. Mom and Josh walked to the mall, but I stayed in blogging. I am in the office with Ale right now writing and uploading photos. I am tired, and my eyes sting, I need a shower. But I needed to get all this written, I needed to get this day out. It was special, I hope you can understand how close I am to these people and how much today hurt, but you don't have to, I don't expect you to.
So I am going to crash into a pile of dirty clothes now. I am going to miss my girls. My Chanel Girl, and Precious, and Francina. I wish upon the stars tonight, I wish with all my might, that I will hug them again and see their beautiful faces one more time.
-Z
After lunch we made our last batch of soap with the ladies. I made friendship bracelets for some of them and would run in when I had finished one and tie it around someone's arm and run back out. We had to say our final goodbyes which was very hard to do. I have become so very close to these woman I am truly sad right now. They mean so much to me. We had joked about our last day for so long, now it is here and no one is laughing about Queen adopting me or how we are never leaving. Or how I am going to trade nail polish for the babies. No one was joking, it was sad, and hard.
We got home around 4. Mom and Josh walked to the mall, but I stayed in blogging. I am in the office with Ale right now writing and uploading photos. I am tired, and my eyes sting, I need a shower. But I needed to get all this written, I needed to get this day out. It was special, I hope you can understand how close I am to these people and how much today hurt, but you don't have to, I don't expect you to.
So I am going to crash into a pile of dirty clothes now. I am going to miss my girls. My Chanel Girl, and Precious, and Francina. I wish upon the stars tonight, I wish with all my might, that I will hug them again and see their beautiful faces one more time.
-Z
Day 15
I slept in till around 9:30 (which is sleeping in to me now). We had met a goat farmer at the market a week ago and had arranged to visit her farm, where she makes soap, and her husband makes cheese. It was a short drive out of the city and soon enough we were in the blessed country.
Their farm is absolutely gorgeous is reminded me of a grape vineyard in Tuscany, just the way it was so beautifully landscaped. We had a tour of her goats and got to see some of her other animals. She also has horses and pigs (piglets were the cutest things ever...Oh My Word).
We sat down and had a lovely lunch with some of her husbands cheeses, which are absolutely divine. We had a lovely talk and afterwards started to make soap. We showed her a few tricks of soap making and it was an amazing day.
It felt so good to be in the country again, we all really needed to breath for a bit. We drove home with goat's milk and felt completely at home.
That evening we walked to the mall and got groceries. I was sunburnt, smelling of goats, and couldn't have been happier.
-Z
Day 14
We left the house around 9 AM and headed on our way to the project again. We had cleaned the production room and moved some of the equipment in, but there was still a lot more work to do. We started by organising, and making more shelves for the soap. Around 12 we were ready to make soap. While they were setting up the production room to make a batch of soap me, Aly, and my mom went to the classrooms to see if I could read some of the kids a story.
We were walking to the classroom when kids started running at us giving us hugs. Aly got the kids calmed down a little, and they all sat down to listen. They were in two rows when I started reading. I read them "Oh The Places You'll Go" and a Robert Munch book call "Good Food". I would turn the book around every now and then and they would go "wow!". I had to stop because the bell rung for recess to be over and they had to go back to class. Now throughout these two books they had moved right in. I had kids all around me, behind in front, nestled in by my side. I was surrounded, which I didn't mind at all I loved it. But when I went to get up they started hugging me and I fell right back down. I was being road-blocked by little children and hugs, My. Favourite. Way. To. Be. Road-blocked. Ever. I managed to get up while still hugging these children and as I start to walk away a little boy hands me my backpack...I was so in love with these kids that I forgot my backpack, and I am so so so so thankful to that little boy for remembering, and giving me back my backpack. He is a sweetheart. I gave him a big hug and walked back to the production room. With every step my heart broke leaving those kids and those hugs.
We finished making soap. The batch turned out very well. We packed up and went home. Tinta usually gets dropped off but we were planning to go out for supper so she came home with us. We got changed, and I had a quick cold shower, and we were on our way. We ended up going to a Sea food restaurant. The waitress HATED us. See we started off on the patio under the roof, then we decided that the bugs were too bad so we asked to go out on the deck, so we moved. We had ordered our drinks and our food when the wind started to pick up, the sky turned black, and the lighting had already started hours ago. So we moved, without telling our waiter. Eventually she found us (I feel horrible) and our meal was amazing.
-Z
We were walking to the classroom when kids started running at us giving us hugs. Aly got the kids calmed down a little, and they all sat down to listen. They were in two rows when I started reading. I read them "Oh The Places You'll Go" and a Robert Munch book call "Good Food". I would turn the book around every now and then and they would go "wow!". I had to stop because the bell rung for recess to be over and they had to go back to class. Now throughout these two books they had moved right in. I had kids all around me, behind in front, nestled in by my side. I was surrounded, which I didn't mind at all I loved it. But when I went to get up they started hugging me and I fell right back down. I was being road-blocked by little children and hugs, My. Favourite. Way. To. Be. Road-blocked. Ever. I managed to get up while still hugging these children and as I start to walk away a little boy hands me my backpack...I was so in love with these kids that I forgot my backpack, and I am so so so so thankful to that little boy for remembering, and giving me back my backpack. He is a sweetheart. I gave him a big hug and walked back to the production room. With every step my heart broke leaving those kids and those hugs.
We finished making soap. The batch turned out very well. We packed up and went home. Tinta usually gets dropped off but we were planning to go out for supper so she came home with us. We got changed, and I had a quick cold shower, and we were on our way. We ended up going to a Sea food restaurant. The waitress HATED us. See we started off on the patio under the roof, then we decided that the bugs were too bad so we asked to go out on the deck, so we moved. We had ordered our drinks and our food when the wind started to pick up, the sky turned black, and the lighting had already started hours ago. So we moved, without telling our waiter. Eventually she found us (I feel horrible) and our meal was amazing.
-Z
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