A Hand to Hold

I am now settled down in Mamre, where two other volunteers and I have been volunteering in a Grade R classroom at the only school in town. The students only speak a little bit of English and ask questions like "What is your mother's name?" but they make up for the language barrier with their adorableness. I think they are used to having volunteers in the midst because they have shouted, "Teacher! Teacher!" ever since day one to get our attention.

My host mother is a great woman, who reminds me of my mom in some ways (like how she doesn't want to leave the house when it's too cold). She knows everyone in Mamre, mostly because she grew up here and many generations of her family still live here. Still, it's endearing when we walk down the street and she greets everyone we pass with "Morning!" She is a part of all these committees for the town and is often apologizing for having to run off to a meeting. She showed us around Mamre, which consists of small colorful houses, a school, a church, a few conveniences stories, a library, lots and lots of dogs, and a few horses.

So far my days have consisted of goign to the school in the morning and reading/watching tv in the afternoons. I've already gone through 1.5 of the two books that I brought, but I can at least exchange with the other volunteers. This past weekend we went to Simon's Town to see the penguins and hiked Table Mountain, which has incredible views from the top. Future weekends include a safari and possibly a bungy jump (world's highest = to jump or not to jump?).

Since there are three of us volunteering in one classroom with a student teacher and a teacher, I'm not sure how much of an impact I've had so far. (One volunteer in our program we met had an entire 7th grade class to himself, so the experience with the program varies a lot.) However, during recess, two kids will immediately grab my hand and won't let go the entire time while we run around the playground. Sometimes I haven't even met the kids who grab my hand, but that doesn't really matter. Even though these kids all come from different backgrounds, there's something universal about just wanting attention. So, even if I can't speak any sentences in Afrikaans, I can certainly hold their hands and be here for them.