Another day full of adventures on Thursday! It was meant to be only 2 hours of school from 8 to 10 due to a teacher’s prayer meeting. As we approached the school a wee bit late at 8:15, who should we see but Tobeca and Mavis, the Lunch Lady, leaving the school! Which meant that the kids in R-1 were all alone!! Sure enough, when Tai and Abigail and I walked in to children rising and saying “Good morning Teacher”, these precious 5-6 year olds were all alone. After an initial (first) panic, I asked them to sing a song for us. Then I was on my own. Now what? We did the alphabet song and flashcard animals and such and I thought I was doing quite well – UNTIL one by one, THEY STARTED CRYING! Panicking, virgin teacher Nancy ran to Auntie Judy and beseeched her for help. A bit of outside playtime and “freeform” drawing got us through the crisis. (But another alone day tomorrow has me terrified). After school, we visited the preschool where Abigail and Kathy were happily interacting with the most adorable children and my heart sang when their lovely teacher Capsai led them singing Nkosi Sikelele Afrika! Next up – cleaning the Community Center – which reinforces why Nancy is Not a Good Cleaner. Ladies from the community helped us sweep and mop and then apply a coat of a most ingenious “polish” – vegetable oil added to water. The word was that that After School Children arrived EARLY – and we came back to controlled (mostly) chaos of coloring – for Kathy’s Preschool Décor project and “independent art projects” . Because we have a date at the sangoma, we “dismissed” them early, at 4 p.m. But then, the best laid plans. . . the sangoma was caught in traffic (culture clash!) and was running late. So we decided to have her join us for dinner first – she arrived and we carefully chose her seat for her – she politely sat and then said “But I can’t stay” – oh well – because she had patients. Sort of a sangoma ER. Another wonderfully tiring day full of blue skies, breezes, and the quiet tranquility of the countryside. We love it here with all our new umhlobos.
Message of the Day: Sometimes a smile is all the Xhosa you need.
By Nancy
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