I'm Alive. Not In A Ditch Somewhere

I apologize for taking so long to post to the blog. I actually haven't had access to the internet for the past week. Trust me, I went through internet withdrawal. Internet is back and so are the blog posts.

Last week was a very successful week. Monday we were supposed to go to a high school to do our presentation. Alas, due to transportation issues we were unable to go. I was ready to write Monday off as a failure. That was until a guy came in who was at my welcome party on Saturday. We chatted about the weekend and everything. I thought he was here to see Sifiso or someone. It was then that he said that Sifiso told him that he could come in and get help with applying to universities. I didn't even know this kid was in high school. I told him that of course we could help him out and had him pull up a seat next to my laptop. I went over our packet with him very briefly. He let me know that he didn't have copies of certificates and other necessary items so he'd have to finish the application later. He did know that he wanted to study education to become a teacher at the University of South Africa. This is great news that he already knew what he wanted to do. I know I didn't when I was his age. I was thinking about becoming a sports agent. Anyway, we went to the website and saw that the application deadline was in 3 days! I printed it off for him, gave him the info that he needed from the internet and he went on his way. The system was working! Neville, getting motivated by seeing this kid, decided that it was time that he go and get his degree. He had me print off an application for him. Double whammy!

Tuesday we had our first village visit for the other section of our program. This part is 18-30 year olds character development and job searching skills. The group consisted of about 15 women. I led the session with Sifiso doing a quick back track after each section. We sat in a circle and I tried my best to lecture. Included in the presentation were a few activities to help them understand and provide some movement. Some were paying attention and taking notes. I did lose some to boredom, though. Oh well. I had a great time presenting and hopefully this will help some of them get a job. Neville took some photos on his phone so I'll get them later and post them here.

Wednesday we went to a high school for another presentation. It was a short 30 minute presentation like the others. It went well but I am finding trouble communication with the teenagers. I would think that younger people would understand English better than older but I'm finding the opposite here. I ask them questions and they never understand. And trust me, I'm not mumbling. That is why Sifiso is there, though. I am seeing an improvement in Sifiso's presentation skills as well. Before he seemed nervous. Now he appears more comfortable and knows his stuff. This is comforting since he will be taking over once I leave.

Thursday's work day was a failure. We drove 45 mins to a village high school only to arrive when they were dismissing for the holiday weekend. In the evening, I did get a call from Lwazi saying this his cousin was coming over and to be home since he was at work. I met her and she was a college student at the University of Zululand. She is a bright communications major that wants to become a journalist. Her visit was to interview Lwazi about Child Care. The two of us chatted for a few hours while we waited for Lwazi to return from work. We talked about her classes, America, Joburg, books and lots of other things. She spoke English well so I was easily able to joke around with her. It's these one on one conversations getting to know people that I really enjoy.

Too keep this post from becoming too long, I'll post about my weekend in 2nd post. Here are some pics from my welcome party and the week.