OK, so what can I say
about this week, other than wow? I dont know how many of my Yelow
Mongoose fans know, but last week Ali and I decided to finally do our
bathtub pothole photoshoot. And without a doubt, this has exploded
far beyond what we ever expected. I mean, we all thought it would be
a great way of giving us a laugh in a bad situation, and the local
town a giggle. These roads are so bad and we have had so many fatal
accidents occur because of them and they have stilll not been fixed,
it is so bad that if you dont laugh then you will cry. And all we
thought thi was ever going to be was a bit of comfort and comedy in a
dark situation. But, now, the reaction, the discussions, the media
buzz around the pictures we took Is insane! It has gona so far as to
be in almost every newspaper around the country, there are two
feature magazine articles being planned, radio interviews have been
had, I have been caricatured in a cartoon by one of the top
cartoonists in the country, and on top of all this, the volume of
comments is staggering. I really cant believe it!
As most of you know, I
am not the most graceful individual, and while I have to say, my
performance on the radio shows was definitely better than I expected
(I managed not to curse, swear, or make a fool of myself in the panic
of speaking live) but I wish I had come up with a better response
when asked what makes me smile, and I said “rubber ducks”. I
could have said so many other things but oh no, rubber ducks is what
makes me smile. Haha, it is literally the first thing that popped
into my head! But anyway, yes, it has been very exciting during my
five minutes of fame in South Africa I have to say ! But I havent
reached diva celebrity status, so it is all good, although I did joke
to Ali's sister Pat that when I stay with her in Johannesburg before
my flight, that I must have the VIP suite now, and all the water must
be chilled to exactly 2 degrees haha.
In other news! We have
got a new volunteer with us! She is called Lisa, and she lives in the
UK but is South African born, and she was here on the farm as one of
the very first volunteers about a year and a half ago! So I think it
has been pretty awesome for her to come and relive the memories of
the farm, and see all the animals. She is very thrilled to be
reunited with her beloved baby cat, Jinx, who has now abandoned my
bed for greener pastures in the back room. But yes, welcome to Lisa,
and I hope you enjoy your 3-4 weeks here on the farm!
Currently, one of the
farm dogs from the area had kind of moved in, his name is Pauly, and
he is the cutest most loving dog there is. He follows me absolutely
everywhere. Even the toilet and when I go for a bath. When I go to
dip my hair in the water and he cant see me, he tries to jump in the
bath tub, so I have to keep talking to him so that he knows I have
not disappeared down the plug hole. I was very happy to have my
little friend, but the little bugger today has gone back home to his
own farm! After almost a week and a half of love, he has deserted me!
How could he! Did our love mean nothing! But I am kind of glad he has
gone, because I cant take him home and I was becoming a little bit
too attached to him.....
School is in excellent
shape though, Ness, our new teaching assistant has been hard at work,
and I have never seen the classroom looking so good! It almost breaks
my heart to think of the mess our future kids are going to create
haha! And we have all their homework books all ready, covered, and
laminated. Plus, Ali has been working none stop on the homework
folders for the kids for weeks now and the filing for them is almost
complete. I still have some exercises to put in their class books,
but we are almost set for the term to start next Wednesday on the
15th. Ali and Lisa went to see all the parents today of
our new kids while I was fetching shavings with Little Marcus.
Apparently it looks like we are going to have 19 kids, which doesnt
sound like a big jump from the 13 we had last year, but my gosh it
will be! Thank goodness we have Ness, because the translations she
can do are going to make this all so much easier for us all, and it
is going to increase the learning of the kids ten fold. Now I can ask
them to draw pictures of their families and homes, I can explain to
them complex exercises that simply demand verbal understanding, so 19
kids may be a handful, but with Ness here, I think it is going to be
awesome! And only 5 days until we begin! I cant wait for the term to
start, I really cant! I miss our kids! Although, it is very scary to
think that Percy and Siyabonga are going to be our top of the class
students. Hopefully they get high off the fact that they know more
than the other kids and start to evolve into the new Charlotte and
Grace's.
The days seem to keep
on getting faster and faster. I dunno why, but I do the animals in
the morning, and before I know it, it is time to do them in the
evening again. Why is time moving so fast! Only 19 more days on the
farm now :( What am I going to do when I get back to England?????? I
have no idea, but most likely freeze to death..... Anyhoo, I am going
to go watch a movie and then head off to bed I think! Lekker Slaap
all! Night night xxxxx
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