Volunteering!

Molweni!

That means "hello everyone" in Xhosa, which, if you didn't know, is the "click" language in Africa. Today we had a little lesson in Xhosa to help us with our volunteering because most of the kids we work with speak Xhosa as their first languages. Here's a little bit of Xhosa for you all!

There are three types of clicks in Xhosa. C, X, and Q. The "C" makes a click that sounds like "tutt tutt", which is like the sound we make when we're correcting someone or scolding someone. Think "tsk tsk". The "X" makes a side click sound, think of the sound horses make when they run. The "Q" is the poping sound that we make, the straight up click where you make an "o" with your mouth. Here's a basic conversation in Xhosa:

A: Molo sisi! (Hello sister, used to talk to any girl)

B: Ewe, molo sisi! (Hello sister)

A: Kunjani? (How are things?)

B: Ndiphilile, enokosi. Wena? (I'm well, thanks. And you?)

A: Ndiphilile nam, enkosi. (I'm well, also. Thanks.)

The N is kind of silent, the ph makes a "p", so Ndiphilile sounds like "dePILEEleh" and the "ewe" sounds like "ewayy". Okay, that's enough of Xhosa for now.

Here's some info on my volunteering since I haven't said much about it. I'm working for an organization called CHOSA, which organizes volunteers from CIEE to help work at a township called Baphumelele. The place we work is basically an orphanage, but it's called a children's home. The kids are organized into "clusters" of different age groups, and they all live in individual houses within the township. Each cluster has two caregivers that switch of night and day shifts. Theres also a separate house for the babies, who are ADORABLE. It seems to feel more intimate and have a better family-feel than most orphanages, but of course the kids don't have parents. The thing that struck me the most when I first got there was the independence all of the kids have. Even the little toddlers and young kids have free range and walk around on their own all over their little area.

My group of kids are the 14 and 15 year olds. We are basically given free range to do any type of program we want with them throughout the semester. I decided that I wanted to help them publish magazine with cool things we do together. So far we've done haiku's, comic strips, and are going to start on short stories next week. For teenagers, they are really hard to handle. They have trouble listening and focusing, their spelling is atrocious, and it is a constant reminder for them to speak English and not Xhosa. Three members of our group speak no English at all, so the others help us translate. One new boy entered our group last week, he's 16 years old and has never set foot in a school. He doesn't know the alphabet and can't spell his name. These past few weeks I've been working individually with him to help learn the alphabet. I gave him a worksheet to work on over the week, not expecting he would do any of it. But to my delight, he came running into our group the next time we came with the completed work! He was so proud of himself and is SO eager to learn. It is truly wonderful. Unfortunately, because I have a group of 12 other kids, I can't give him as much time as I would like. I've found one of my friends who is willing to be his personal "tutor" and so she will be taking over for me. I'm looking forward to seeing his progress!

Every time I walk into Baphumelele the kids give us the most unreal greetings. I don't know if I'm allowed to put photos or names up quite yet, but I will let you know. Anyway, there are two little boys, about 4 or 5 years old, who are basically my little sidekicks who come running up to me and jump into my arms when I get there. They are SO cute! They come yelling "Jul-LEAH! Jul-LEAH!" (which is how they pronounce my name) and it pretty much melts my heart. The first day I came there one of the kids got the idea in his head that I looked and sounded like Michael Jackson (???) so now a lot of the kids just call me Michael Jackson. Sometimes, to be considerate, they modify it to Janet Jackson, but I never really know what they'll call me next.

Since I can't post photos yet, here's the link to the organization I work with in case any of you want to get a better sense of it or if I haven't explained it quite right:

http://www.chosa.co.za/OngoingPartnerProjects/Baphumelele/tabid/56/Default.aspx

I'm pretty exhausted, it's 9pm here and I just got back for the first time since 2pm and I had early class today, so sorry if I sound a bit out of it! I'm gonna go finish up reading Frankenstein and Little Dorrit before maybe indulging in a TV show or something. Still missing and loving you all, and obviously am still having the time of my life.

Salani kakuhle (the "hl" sound is like the sound that an egg frying sounds, so keep that in mind), which means goodbye, be well,

Jules

P.S. I feel like in Africa things are moving in hyperspeed, while at home time is still going in slow motion. We're already almost on our mid semester break here and everyone else is just about to start their semesters!