Yesterday marked the end of our two week orientation
which overwhelmed me at first, but turned out to be so incredibly useful. It
allowed us time to acclimate to this amazing city we get to call home for three
more months. I felt slightly more at ease after our public transportation
exercise, eager to learn more about the history of South Africa after our first
class with Vincent, and I’m really hoping to pick up enough words/phrases in
both Afrikaans and Xhosa so that I am able to carry on basic conversations
during my time here. Yesterday was such a perfect ending to orientation - a few
hours spent in Bo-Kaap exploring and taking pictures and an evening concert at Kirstenbosch.
Today was my first day at Maitland Cottage! Waking up
at 4:45am for a 6:30am start wasn’t nearly as awful as I
expected it to be. It was actually so peaceful getting ready and out of the
house while everyone else was still sleeping. I also got my exercise in, seeing
as Alex and I walked a total of 6.8 miles today!!! The busiest time of day at
the Cottage is from 6:30-9am which also turned out to be the most
overwhelming part of today. The nurses were so incredibly kind and willing to
answer any questions we had, but I felt like they thought we knew more than we
actually did. I recognize that’s part of the learning experience though, and
that sometimes jumping right into situations is the most beneficial way to
expand existing and acquire new information. We spent the second half of the
morning in the playroom area, distributing toys to the children in the wards
and playing with a few individual children outside. It was so powerful seeing
how happy the children were when toy time came along. The girls’ ward had song
time too, and they were filled with such joy and laughter while singing. I
learned that the people that work in the playroom are actually volunteers and
they come in solely to make a difference in the children’s lives. I find myself
noticing people who perform acts of kindness purely out of the goodness of
their heart so much more than I do at home and it’s so refreshing. I already
cannot even imagine how the children at Maitland Cottage feel, but picturing
their lives there without play time breaks my heart. Those people volunteer
their time on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I’m curious to see how Tuesdays (and
the other days of the week) play out. The language barrier also presented more
of a challenge than I expected it to. Communicating with children who speak
very little to no English made me feel so helpless at times; I know there are
other ways to connect with them besides verbal communication, but it’s so hard
to watch them speak full sentences to me without even knowing that I can’t
communicate back in their language. Regardless, I am already beginning to form
bonds with some of the children there and I feel so lucky to be there keeping
them company, hopefully making their day a tiny bit better. The staff members
are welcoming and open and I’m excited to have conversations with them about
their lives. It’s just as important to me to create relationships with the
adults as it is to do so with the children. I already learned so much today, so
I can’t even imagine how much I will have learned by the end of the semester!
I’m looking forward to all the challenging, rewarding, and humbling moments
that I will experience while there.
On the phone with my sister today, she asked how much
I loved it here. I gave her my answer, which included how instantly my mood has
been lifted and how much happier I am in general. She responded with something
along the lines of how when she was here she always felt eager to wake up and
start her day, even with little sleep. I connected to that instantly and
couldn’t describe my feelings any better. No matter how early I have (or
choose) to wake up (which ranges anywhere from 4:30 to 8am), I am
wholeheartedly ready to take on the present day and absorb all that Cape Town
and my co-educators have to offer!
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