Catch up!

Wednesday, Shopping for everything under the sun!

Today after school Ali and I took a trip up to Nelspruit to buy ….well, to buy pretty much everything! We need a new fridge from the cottage, a new TV for the house, new fans for the cabins, new umbrellas for the pool, and a new nervous system for Ali after so much shopping! It was unbelievably hot, and I was pretty much dying, I dont believe it could possibly get hotter, I was just awful! Compounded by the fact that we went in the bakkie which has no air con bar the open windows, I swear, I was like a dog with my head out the window the whole way there! It was a fun day though, we had a look round all the shops and had a fancy lunch at Woolworths. We picked our fridge and everything in the wholesale shop, where I was accosted by one of the staff who asked if he could walk with me, and then asked me for my wattsapp address. I am too nice! I should have told him to bugger off, but alas, I have the backbone or something very back boneless, so endured the awkwardness until he got the hint when I started really concentrating on the nutritional information of baked beans haha! I cant believe how long we were out for, it was an actual mission to get it all done! When we went to get our second load of groceries at the Spar, one of us had to stay with the bakkie because we had the canopy off and all our new goodies inside which anyone would pinch, so when it was my turn to guard, I was watching the car guards and my gosh I felt so sorry for them! A lot of people were just down right rude to them, others let them help with all their heavy bags and then tipped nothing! After the fourth or fifth person who gave this poor guy nothing, I went and gave him R2O, even though I was guarding my own car. He was so appreciative and thankful it broke my heart! But other than that, it was a good day! All the jobs are done and we are all fully equipped!

Thursday, New faces and Birthday parties!

Hello! So, today I awoke at the crack of 5am, bright and early! I was super organised this morning and had all my jobs done by 6 3Oam. Ultra organised Rosie a go a go! Unfortunately Ali had a terrible night and has pains in her foot so when Wendy arrived this morning with her kids Bailion, Oscar, and Savannah, I rode with her on Danny and Duncan. Or Seabiscuit and Secreteriat as I like to call them, ironically because these two horses would plod away from a nucleur explosion, aint nothing putting a fire in their stride! Haha, but it was a lovely ride this morning, infact that whole day was wonderful, the weather was perfect! Warm enough to wear a vest all day, but not too hot or cold, wonderful! We even managed to get the horses to race each other along the gallops, which is awesome, there is no better start to the day than galloping along in front of the mountains! After, I turned up to school a bit late due to the ride to find Sara’s mother and friends all there! It was Sara’s birthday today and while we obviously had the usual celebrations ready, her mother had brought a huge cake, treats and presents for her daughter. It was so sweet, and the mum, Christine, said she wanted to do it because this would be the last birthday when she was with all her friends before starting big school in January. Sara looked like perfection, she was the cutest thing ever, dressed all in white with a green 192Os headband on, and little black heels! She looked like a Disney princess! So so so so soooooooo cute! And my gosh, she would not take those shiny new shoes off for love nor money! She stomped around at play time and her heels sunk into the grass to the point where she could barely walk but that did not stop her one bit! Her cousin Siyabonga was also the picture of adorableness! I am so used to him coming to school in essentially what can only be deemed rags, but was dressed today in smart jeans, shirt and tie! He looked like a little manager! It was so cute! Although, as soon as the adults left he ran straight up to me and yelled “maaaaaaaam tiiiie OFF!”, safe to say he was not a fan of the new look!

Sara <3

It was such a lovely day, Sara received a new baby doll and a cooking set which she was deliriously happy with, it was so nice to see her face. She really is the sweetest child there is, and she really deserved a special day! My only quandary about the whole thing was how green with envy the other children were. Some had the faces of sour milk and barely smiled at all, even though usually when they get cake or sweeties of any kind they are manically happy, today they seemed very aware of this being for Sara, and many of them quite visibly disliked the attention being on her. It is sad to see that when people have so little, they can be terribly jealous of ANYONE getting even a little bit more than them. And it is so confusing because they all love to share. If anyone brings in something special like biscuits, crisps, or chocolate, they will hand out everything they have, leaving themselves with one solitary confectionery. The other day patience was so proud of her chocolate biscuits, but the poor thing gave out every single one, including one for me, and when Charlotte asked for her very last biscuit she was crushed but went to give her it before I said Charlotte could have mine. Patience subsequently wanted then to give me her last biscuit, but I refused, but it is astonishing to see how selfless they can be at such a young age. And yet, today, there seemed to be no joy at Sara having a special day. Very odd indeed!

The cutest Siyabonga and Sara ever!

When the adults left after the party, the kids suddenly lit up. Until then, they had kept a very safe distance from me, barely spoke and did little smiling, and then, when it was just me, they came alive! Sara came and sat on my knee and showed me proudly everything in her new cooking set. We had a lovely day of playing with the dolls and having outdoor recreation time! After school I was kind of exhausted so watched a film until the horses had to be done. I was very lazy today indeed. And of course, our other news! We have a new volunteer today! We actually thought she wasnt going to turn up because we did not hear from her until 7pm, and she did not arrive until 9pm. She arrived with her family who are staying the night also in the cottage before heading off tomorrow. She will join us at the stables tomorrow at 7am for her first real day and look at the farm, but from what I saw, she seemed like a lovely girl, really friendly! And now I have my new friend on the farm! If she is anything like our last German volunteer Uli, she will do great! But anyway! I have done a lot of catch up blogging tonight and it is already 1Opm! I must sleep or I will look like the walking dead! Lekker Slaap all! Xxxxx

Oupa with his Grandad on his school bus! Loving the VW wheels haha