Sanbona!

Wow Africa!

What a rush it has been. From Durban we had arrived in Impendle the drive let us get a feel for the dominant geography of the land, mostly rolling hillsides and short dry grass. Everything here is very dry and sometimes you can see smoke from a bush fire off in the distance. The roads in Impendle are dirt and everywhere we went we were stared and waved at. We are staying in a Creche, a preschool that was somewhat converted in order to accomodate us. When we got there things were not quite ready yet but everything worked out. We have a lot more than I expected, I guess that I really wasn't expecting much so it was an interesting surprise. We all share a common room where we sleep and eat, there are two ajoining rooms where there is a fridge, stove and cubbards. The electricity circut is limited so we cannot have all applinces on at once, but I didn't expect any at all. I think that I was expecting to live more in the way that they do but I have come to discover that they think that we should live in a way as much like home as possible. Everyone we meet has a smile and laugh to give, as we practice our limited Zulu, a language that incorporates clicks, tisks and other things I seem to have a hard time to making my tounge do we are constantly corrected. The Zulu handshake is always ready to greet, it is a one pump handshake, then you grab the others thumb, followed by another pump handshake. We have gone to a lot of meetings, greetings and events where I have learned that the people here like to talk a lot, even if it seems like people may not be listening. There seems to be a lot of formalities, introductions, thank yous and so on but the content of these meetings has been for the most part very interesting. Many people are working very hard to help the people of Impendle. We were presented with some of the challenges that the people here face:
-HIV/aids
-illiterecy
-unemployment
-access to basic services
-lack of skills and education
-food security
there are more that I have forgotten. I feel that if we can help the people here with even one of these issues that we have done something good. Yesterday we visited a rural school and helped them get some gardens going. It was hard work, the soil was packed hard and it was very hot but we managed to get a lot done. To counter the hot during the day it is quite cold at night. I am more than glad that I brought the warm clothes that I did, unfortunately not all group members did and we are working on getting some warmer clothes for them. I must now go eat lunch but will write again as soon as I can.