News from South Africa

2011.06.29
The last post was a long time ago. Things in South Africa changed, and
I did not know until today how my stay would continue further..
All started with a dispute with my organization that they said I would
be in South Africa only for travelling purposes and would have no
interest in integrating and working for the community. This made me of
course very angry, because at that time I was still staying on the
farm and it was just a wrong insult for me. The farm was a nice place,
but not comparable to my project and I always wanted to go to there.
Furthermore this blog is read by many people and it gives a little bit
the impression that I would travel a lot, as I mostly pointed out the
weekend trips and the nice sides of my voluntary service.
So this conflict escalated in a way that I was sent to Somerset East
under the supervision of Alexander, another volunteer where I worked
in my actual project.
It was kind of a tough time, as Alexander's living situation was just
a temporary solution in a hostel with one little room and one bed. So
one had to sleep on the floor. It was only two weeks.
After getting up and sometimes no hot water we went to school. The
main perspective in school was the evening course, where students pay
the organization and get computer classes from us volunteers. After
completing all modules they have a graduation.
In the morning we taught different classes as they were available and
supported the school in network issues, timetables or student reports.
After these two weeks we had to move out of the hostel because they
needed the space for their own guests. So we had to look out for a new
accommodation solution. Alex could stay by a friend for a few weeks,
but for me we had to find a long-term solution.
Now I am staying with Leonie, a teacher from my school. And it is
really perfect. I am so welcome and really feel at home. I share my
room with Cleo. Leonie really cares for me in everything she can do
and I am looking forward to stay here.
The last week in school was a little bit hectic, as the school had to
write the reports and there were problems with the excel sheet and the
printer and maybe also some late teachers handing in the marks. But in
the end everything went very well and every student got his report on
Thursday.
This week Tuesday there was the graduation of the evening course with
the organization. Everyone (should have) got his certificates and we
had a nice braai. Braai is the German "Grillen", but with much more
meat and seldom salad. Because the printer didn't work, the
certificated will be handed out on Friday. South Africa.
I had a chat with my organization for my further plans here. It was
told me that I can stay here further because school and host are
really happy with me and there is much potential in the project. I
hope they keep their word, because I love this place and I am very
happy here. People are so friendly and appreciate our work here with
so much respect and openness. It's a great experience.
So far