Update

In light of the tragic events at the platinum mines in Rustenburg last week, we want to let everyone know that we are doing fine.  In fact, all news that we have received has come from either the internet or friends and family in America.  We have yet to hear any South Africans mention the shootings.  Additionally, Peace Corps hasn’t sent any updates/warnings with respect to the incident.  Last year, during the London riots, Peace Corps emailed us that travel to England was restricted.  Hopefully that illustrates how overly cautious Peace Corps can be.  So in short, we are not affected by the event.  It is obviously a terrible tragedy that illustrates the deep tensions between unions and the South African police, and we can only hope that we have witnessed the last of the violence.

On a more positive note, we are still doing well at site.  Last weekend we met up with a couple friends and finally had a chance to watch some of the Olympics.  We loudly cheered on as the American ladies won the 4x400 gold relay.  We may have started a chant or two of “USA!  USA!” but, fortunately, the South Africans were largely amused by us. 

In continuing the Olympic tradition, the theme of this past week has been sports.  On Thursday, our school was visited by a primary school about 10 miles away and we hosted two games of netball and two games of soccer.  Netball is a distant cousin of basketball:  all passing, no dibbling, no backboards o the hoop and areas on the court restricted to certain players.  It is exciting to watch and kids were very fired up with cheers.  Whenever we scored a basket, all of the kids rushed the court.  After the netball it was the boys’ turn to play soccer.  Sports for children are virtually nonexistent in rural areas like ours, so this was a very exciting day for the kids.

This past weekend, our community hosted another soccer tournament.  The entry fee was considerably higher than the tournament in June, so unfortunately the primary school boys were unable to play.  Despite the absence of the boys playing the part of Cinderella, the tournament was still a lot of fun and provided much-needed entertainment to the community.

To sum it all up, despite the terrible incident at the mine last week, we are entirely safe and still doing very well. 

P.S. Our new goal is to post once a week.  Sizobona (we will see).

The Dooleys Vacation in Africa

Sara’s parents came to visit for about two and a half weeks, and we all had quite the vacation.  After picking them up from the airport in Joberg, we rented a car and drove to our site in KZN.  It was Matt’s first time driving on the left side of the road, but he did a great job (after the first couple of hours, which were a little scary).  The school term was ending, but Sara’s parents were able to see our school and meet our kids.  The teachers surprised us by putting on a huge braii (bbq).  They made tons of food and really made Steve and Cindy feel welcome.  After stuffing ourselves with meat, we then enjoyed a number of our students performing traditional dances for us.

After leaving our site, we drove to St. Lucia, which is a small town on the ocean.  We took a boat ride our first night and saw some crocodiles and tons of hippos.  The next day we went on a game drive (safari), which was fabulous.  Even though it rained on and off throughout the day, we saw plenty of animals.  Two of the highlights were seeing lions and later rhinos right next to the road.  Our guide said we were very lucky to be so close to the lions.  We also saw zebras, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, warthogs and a hyena.

After a few days in St. Lucia, we drove to the Drakensberg Mountains.  They are beautiful!  It was a little cold, but we got really lucky with the weather considering it’s winter here.  We did a lot of hiking during the day and played many games of cards at night.

Next, we drove back to Joberg and flew to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, which were, in a word, incredible.  The falls were beautiful on both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides, and we now fully appreciate why they are one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  While in the neighbourhood, we took a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana.  We were on a river boat in the morning and did a game drive in the afternoon.  Chobe was amazing and we saw tons of animals.  One of the highlights was seeing elephants swim across the river to an island.  We had never seen elephants swim before, and it was definitely a memorable experience.

After Zambia (and a short jaunt into Zimbabwe to see the falls from the other side), we flew back to South Africa and spent the last night with Sara’s parents in Pretoria.  The backpackers where we usually stay also runs a guesthouse, so we were able to show them where we stay when we’re in Pretoria (and where we lived for over a month while waiting for our site change).  It was the 4^th of July, and the backpackers had organized an American-themed trivia night.  There were quite a few other Peace Corps volunteers in Pretoria, so there were many Americans playing trivia.  And....our team won!  Our prize included a case of Dr. Pepper and poptarts (things very hard to come by in South Africa).  Sara’s parents flew back to America the next day (well, over the next 2 days!).  It was an extraordinary vacation, and we hope they enjoyed it was much as we did!

Soccer Tournament

This past weekend there was a soccer tournament that Matt helped organize.  It was more successful and entertaining than we could have imagined.  As some of you may not know, soccer is the only sport for many South Africans.  Rugby and cricket are popular among the white population, but in our corner of the country soccer is the be-all and end-all of sports.  Young boys are kicking balls, rocks, rolled-up plastic bags (basically anything) from the time they can walk.  In short, soccer is kind of a big deal here.

Ten teams entered the tournament, and with the nominal entrance fees and some donations we were able to buy medals for 1^st and 2^nd places, refreshments, and we had a little money left over for prizes.  We were also fortunate to borrow a sound system from the church (if you play House music, they will come). 

              

The highlight of the tournament came during the second game.  Our boys at the primary school formed a team.  Prior to the tournament, everyone hoped to play them in the first round.  When we asked people whether our boys had a chance, everyone laughed.  Before their match (against a team of high schoolers and men in their early 20s) they appeared out of place.  The other team was going through organized warm-up drills.  The boys milled around joking with each other.  The men all wore cleats.  The boys were barefoot. 

But after the first ten minutes something strange happened.  Everyone in the crowd of about 200 collectively realized that the men had not yet scored and if the boys managed to remain tied at the end of the game, they would have a chance in the shoot-out.  Halftime came and the game was still a scoreless tie.  During the 2^nd half everyone was on their feet cheering loudly for the boys.  Then with about 10 minutes left, it happened.  They boys scored.  50 people rushed the field.  Then 5 minutes later it happened again.  This time 100 people rushed the field to celebrate the boys’ 2-0 lead.  The boy who had scored both goals was hoisted onto people’s shoulders.  Some of the men on the other team lied down on the ground looked ashamed and dejected.  One of the primary school teachers collapsed on the ground to mock them.  The game ended a few minutes later and people rushed the field again. 

Even though the boys had only made it to the next round, they had instantaneously become the true champions of the tournament.  Nobody cared when they were blown out in their next match because that one victory had ensured success for the entire tournament.  And no subsequent games would match the drama until the end of the championship itself (which remarkably went to 14 rounds in the shoot-out).  Mthoko, the 13 year-old who scored both of the boys’ goals, was awarded a medal for Young Player of the Tournament.  He proudly wore it to school on Monday and when we told him (for the 20^th time) that we were so proud of him, he guaranteed 1^st place next time.  Sizobona.  We will see.

As for everything else, life is still good here.  The school term ends next week and the children are now writing exams, so things are pretty slow.  Sara’s parents arrive next Tuesday, and we are eagerly looking forward to sharing our site with them and then travelling for a couple weeks.  This weekend we will be in Pretoria and we will definitely be posting pictures from the tournament on facebook.

I Know You Are But What Am I?

                If you read our “recent” post, then you know how things were going 6 weeks ago.  Now let’s get caught up to speed.  We are now at the beginning of one of the coldest months of the year, but so far so good because it hasn’t been too bad yet.  We were recently talking about the fact that this time last year we had already been emotionally crushed by winter.  But every day that we wake up to see the sun, we know it is one less day of brutal coldness.

                As for the month of May, we have nothing exceptional to report.  Things are still going well at the primary school.  We received a couple boxes of donated books, and one of Sara’s 6^th graders has taken on the role of librarian with adorable enthusiasm.  At the high school, Matt has started a history club that is slowly growing in popularity, but with the second term ending soon he won’t have any more meetings until mid-July.

                Next week there will be a big community soccer tournament that we are helping organize.  If things go well, and it’s looking like they will, we should have some good photos to share online. 

                Our home has cemented its reputation among local kids as the place to be.  We recently had 15 kids hanging out after school.  It’s amusing to see what the kids perceive as “luxuries” in our home.  At various times, we have found kids mesmerized by Matt’s razor, a 2” by 3” camping mirror, Sara’s cheap Target wristwatch, and running water in our bathtub.  Not to mention our ipods, camera and laptop, all of which carry hypnotic powers.  As for our laptop, you wouldn’t believe which movie provides the most entertainment and garners the most requests . . . . Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.  It’s disturbing how well we can now quote the movie from memory.

                Well that pretty much captures what’s going on these days in our world.  Sara’s parents arrive in two weeks, and we’re very excited to both share our experience with them and then to go on vacation. 

                We should probably promise to be better about blogging in the future, but we hate breaking promises so we don’t want to set ourselves up for failure.  Hope all is well, but it’s time I stop handwriting this blog post – Pee-Wee is about to find out there’s no basement in the Alamo. . . . 

We Suck at Blogging

Umm....yeah. So we actually wrote this blog a month ago but never posted it (and we thought we were bad at blogging then). Anyway, this should fill you in up to a month ago. We promise to blog again later this week updating you on the last month. Sorry! ................................................................................................................................

 So as the title of this blog post should indicate, we recognize our failure to update this blog in over a month. And, so much has happened in this past month that it’s impossible to adequately summarize in one post. But we will try nonetheless. A month ago we went to Pretoria for a week of training. This was our midway training and it was a great chance to catch up with all our friends in our training class. One of the highlights of the week in Pretoria was that we went to our first rugby game. We got to see a Super 14 match (which is the elite league that features the top teams in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand). The team from Pretoria thrashed the defending league champs from Australia, so it was a great experience. Now we just need to go to a soccer match to experience the other major sport in South Africa. Cricket is also big here, but no thanks. At the end of training we went to the half marathon that we’d been fundraising for. It was a lot of fun and there were about 75 PCV’s (peace corps volunteers) at the race. Together we booked all the beds in a Backpackers (hostel), and after the race we were treated to a huge feast that was prepared by a dozen PCV’s who didn’t run or walk in the race. As for the race itself, Matt got first place among all volunteers ..... who were not in shape to run it. He crossed the finish line in a blazing 3:05. Sara finished an entire hour earlier. The best part about the weekend is the fact that as a group, all PCV’s raised over $20,000. This money will send two disadvantaged children to one of the best schools in Southern Africa and will pay all their expenses from grades 7 until 12. Thank you everyone who supported us, and it’s nice to be a part of something that will truly make a positive and tangible impact in the lives of two children.

After the race weekend, we travelled with our friends Will and Rachael to Cape Town for a little over a week. Cape Town was, in a word, awesome. We went to Table Mountain the first day in the city, and the views were breathtaking. Then we spent a couple nights in wine country and spent a full day wine-tasting at various vineyards. Later in the week we had the sobering experience of visiting Robben Island, and we were fortunate to have a tour guide who had actually spent seven years on the island as a political prisoner. All throughout the week we enjoyed delicious foods, including the best Mexican food we’ve found in South Africa on Easter Sunday. Perhaps the best part of Cape Town was just the feeling of being in a city with a vibrant culture. We often commented to each other that Cape Town felt like a mix between San Diego and San Francisco. All in all, it was a great trip and we are so glad we went.

Now we’ve been back at site for a little less than three weeks. The second term is underway at school, and we are back in the swing of things. Recently, we have befriended an eighth grader whose mom works at the hospital. Her name is Wandy and she comes to our house basically every day. If she wasn’t such a great kid it would probably be annoying, but fortunately we enjoy her company. April 27th is a national holiday commemorating the 1994 elections, so we are now relaxing and having the benefit of a nice long weekend.

Cobra

As Matt said over the weekend, “our home has become a Dave & Busters.” People (mainly kids) stop by for help with homework, to eat snacks, watch movies on the laptop, play UNO, read our magazines and even ask for legal assistance. Although it can get annoying from time to time, it’s fun for the most part. The high school closed yesterday for the term break and the primary school is closed today for Human Rights Day (in recognition of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, when peaceful protesters were killed, leading to international sanctions against South Africa), so it should be a quiet day.

In other news, we saw a cobra with its neck expanded to form the hood in our yard yesterday. We almost walked right by it without noticing. Instead of being properly freaked out, we ran inside to grab our camera. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), we were unable to find it again when we went back out. Also, Sara saw a large family of baboons on her run yesterday. Usually, our animal viewing is limited to cows and goats (which are everywhere!).

Friday we leave for Pretoria for a week of training. Saturday the 24th marks the one year anniversary of our swearing-in as volunteers, which is hard to believe. So next week is our midpoint training. After training, we leave for a 3-day weekend for the half-marathon, and then we have a week of travelling in Cape Town. In other words, our next three weeks should be, in a word, awesome.

Life

We have been very busy lately and apologize for not updating our blog. We apologize to our loyal readers and hopefully this post will bring us all up to date. For starters, we are still teaching Reading at the Primary School. We are falling into a routine with the kids in Grades 4-7 and loving every minute of it. Well, nearly every minute.

A couple of weeks from now is the end of Term 1, and there will be a two week break. We will be spending our break in Pretoria (for a week of training and our mid-service doctors’ appointments), then off to the half marathon and finally a week in Cape Town. So as we’re wine tasting, relaxing by the beach or strolling through the markets, we’ll be thinking of you guys!

Two doors down from our house are numerous houses where teachers stay during the week. One of the high school teachers has a daughter and son who we spend a lot of time playing with. The girl is 9 and one of the best students in Matt’s Grade 4 class. Her brother Junior is in Grade R (kindergarten) but he’s only 3. The primary school principal permits him to attend Grade R as a courtesy to the high school teacher. 2-3 afternoons per week we play ball or Frisbee with them, and it’s gotten to the point where Junior runs screaming into Sara’s arms when we see him in the morning at school.

Matt’s chess club has also been very successful. It’s for the boys at the high school and it meets every Wednesday afternoon and Saturdays when Matt is at site. Today, they had a tournament and it was a big hit. About 25 boys participated. All of the boys who play are boarders who come from bigger towns. So, the next step is to try to involve some of the boys who live in the local community.

Sara has been busy with her three girls clubs. Currently, she is holding girls clubs for the high school boarding students (grades 8-12), but she is thinking about starting a fourth club for the local grade seven girls. The problem is finding a time to meet since many of them live very far from school. The purpose of the clubs is to teach life skills and also just to be (hopefully) a female role model. The girls have SO many questions about love and relationships, so that’s been our main topic thus far. We’ll eventually discuss topics such as self-esteem, dealing with parents, peer pressure and premarital sex as well.

We’ve also been busy helping students with homework. High school students are asking us for help more and more, and it’s not unusual for us to get a knock (or several) on our door requesting our assistance. We have made it clear that while we can help with English and Life Orientation homework, they do not want to ask us for help with physics.

So all in all, life is still good here on the mountain. We are slowly coming to terms with the fact that winter is coming once again, but at least we know that we won’t have water dripping on us during the nights! We will try to be better about updating our blog in the future, and we hope all is well with all of you.