Because when you stop and look around, life is pretty amazing...

So I am now a regular at the greatest coffee shop in PE.  I’m sitting here now, on cup number three of pure heaven.  I feel like I’m relapsing.  I was clean!  My headaches stopped and the cravings were almost gone.  Now my fingers are shaking as I sit, and it has taken me 5 minutes to get this far because I keep rewording………

Ah well, such is the life of a caffeine deprived, post grad, African volunteer.

And on to the life of said volunteer:

This week has been full of goodbyes.

School shut down now for the holidays, and I am really missing my kids!  Do all first year teachers feel this way?

I have gotten very close with a couple of graduate interns from Saint Cloud State University.  I know, I know.  More Minnesnowtans in SA.  But they have been really helpful to help me process this whole life I live.   Among many other things, I think the biggest lesson that I have learned from Ella and Danielle is I need to live in the moment.  I need to accept the things that I cannot change, and live a lucid life.  Yolo, I guess.  Last week, the three of us were able to blow doors for a week and head to Knysna; a beautiful coastal city three hours west of PE.  So happy that they came into my life when they did!

 

Blake, the other Masinyusane volunteer from Canada, also left this morning.  When all of the #TIA moments got a bit much, Blake was there, in his deep voice and Canadian accent, and furry, NON-Afrikanner beard, to tell me to shut up and stop being needy.  Not sure who I will make fun of bad haircuts and short shorts with now?

But yesterday was thanksgiving.  At home, I would watch granny cook all morning.  40 or so family members would squeeze in the basement, and we would gorge ourselves with way more food than is necessary.  Then, in 3 hours or so, I would do it all over with the other side of the family.  And it would most likely be snowing, which is pretty neat.  Lots of love.

But, as it happens, South Africa doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving.  Weird? Anyway, somehow my SA family was keen to celebrate with me.  I cooked the meal.

Ya, let’s just all pause and think about that one.  I cooked the Thanksgiving meal. There was no ramen noodles involved, and I cooked the meal.  No turkey in Africa, so we had chicken, stuffing, wild rice, potatoes au gratin, sweet corn, and pumpkin pie.  One of my friends brought waffles, because they are American. J And it was all edible.  Looks like I might get this whole domestic thing someday!
Anyway, life will be different now without some of my support system here.  But I have a very supportive family, who tells me my pumpkin pie is good, even if I forgot it in the oven for an hour longer than it should have been there.  Life is good, because when you stop and look around, life is pretty amazing..