280811, Sunday goodness

The happy baby Capri

The young musical genius baby Capri

More cute babas...
Mom and baby Sunday chillin...
The two willing posers...

Another way to transport your shopping

All right, where to start, seems to have missed out on some writing a couple of days this week… Mostly working on the laptop to prepare some photos for the stock library.  Seriously need to get a form of income around here…  Actually, Friday night I couldn’t sleep and was thinking what I can do, so I’m going to make a Coffee Bay calendar to sell to the tourists…pray that is a very good idea!

 Otherwise I’ve been talking to some people around about the idea of getting a crafts thing going, there is a lot of interest.  Some people have even come to me about their ideas and things they want to do.  Some of the locals who don’t really have jobs and perhaps even have skills to teach other people and is not in it for the money.  That’s exactly the kind of people I want to work with.  Anyway, it’s still going to be a long time before anything concrete, but definitely the need for sowing machines, preferably hand-operated (not electricity) is big.

 Yesterday’s teaching with the NGO was one of the best teaching days so far.  For the first time in 3 months it felt like I was starting to connect to some of those kids and like they actually learnt something at the end of the class.  I did have to send my two regular troublemakers out after some fuss and felt bad to do it, cause they didn’t appear to really want to go, I think they were surprised that I actually made them go (I was surprised myself). I told them they’re welcome to join us again next time if they’ve decided that they actually do want to learn English after all…  So we’ll see. 

 In any case, after that episode the class went brilliantly.   Last night I met a Xhosa man from here, who is a teacher in Johannesburg.  He also said that in time, the kids who really want to learn, will still be there, while a lot of others have come and gone and the real progress and relationship will be with the ones who stick.  That’s exactly what’s happening I think.  Cause we have a lot of kids on the program who stop coming, we get new ones and soon they also quit.  Their circumstances are sometimes hard to get to the school and some just come because they have nothing else to do, but yes, there are those who really want to learn and that’s good enough reason to not give up on them.

 I had a very good evening yesterday.  It’s becoming my habit to go over to the other side on Saturday afternoons to check if some rugby is happening on TV, then I can watch with a bunch of local people, who I can kind of call my Coffee Bay rainbow family…people from here, there and anywhere, who has made this place their home.  And everyone get along with each other.  So, like last week, I went to the pizza place with a view and got my weekly big beer, a Black Label quart for 20bucks and watched rugby with the boys.  I am usually the only girl around…which makes me quite special and I can’t complain about that.  Last week my ‘landlord’ from the campsite and his wife came around after the game and bought me pizza, thank you, yum! 

 Yesterday, there wasn’t any significant game going on in the afternoon, so I went to the guys at Jah Drum just below the pizza place and took my djembe drum along.  That’s really cool, cause I get to play with them and they’re pretty good, so hopefully I’ll also improve my drumming skills over time, getting quite into that now!  Here also I’m the only girl, so I get lots of attention!  And the guys are really sweet, I am totally lucky.  Last night they made a lamb dish with potatoes and other veggies (they’re also a little restaurant) and presented me with a free plate of food!  Yo, thanks guys…that was the best food I had in quite a while….and that pizza last week was also a winner!

 Later we went over to Bomvu Backpackers and joined the happy tunes and of course, I love a good boogie moment…  One of my bead mamas and her baby, strapped to the back, was also there and I danced with them and couldn’t stop laughing for the little one on her mother’s back, with her arms in the air and her little body moving to the music!  Why didn’t I have my camera there for that moment!

 Today was also a lovely Sunday.  Got up relatively early and walked over to the other side to meet my friends as we were planning to take a little drive to Mapuzi river mouth.  At first they weren’t home, so I walked down to say hi to the bead mamas.  On my way there I noticed 2 dogs playing, a black dog and another one who looked a lot like Mydog (Who has been missing for about two months and I gave up ever seeing him again).  I just walked past them, but then I turned and saw the one dog following me and I looked again and saw that hey!!! It really was Mydog!!!  I couldn’t believe it!  I’m so happy he’s back.  He looks a little bit neglected the poor thing and walks like he’s got sore paws, but I’m sure he’ll be okay.  I wish I could bring him with me to the caravan and feed him and love him, but can’t really expect that from my ‘landlord’ can I?

 

So, Mydog walked with me and then young Josh (little boy from the one backpackers) came running up to me looking for a playmate.  It started raining just at that point so we looked for a little shelter next to the road under the leaves of  some kind of a tropical sort of tree and sat there and waited for the rain to stop which wasn’t too long luckily.  Soon Asefika came down too and the two boys posed for some pictures like 2 professional little models, too cute.  One or two of the mamas also came to chat with us. 

 After that, I drove with the guys to Mapuzi, (which is really beautiful and a place where I definitely have to go and explore more and walk around and take pictures) sitting on the back of the bakkie and pretending to be on holiday, excellent!

 When we got back I went over to my lovely friend Sarah and baby Capri to play and chat and hold the little puppies.  Snooks also came around to hang with the girls and it turned out to be one of those blissful Sundays where love is all around and cares are forgotten and one can just appreciate the beautiful world that we live in and be thankful for all the good things that we’ve got.  Thank You Lord!