Day six:
Well today was another good day. We went to Kuyasa again today, but we didn’t start as early as we did yesterday so we weren’t up as early. We woke up at around 9:30 this morning so that we could go to the Spar, pronounced “Spur,” so that I could get cash and Drew could get some water. After the Spar run we headed to Kuyasa. Upon arriving we were immediately put to work painting some patches that were just put in on the walls. That wasn’t too bad of a job because the spots that they wanted painting were not too large. We finished most of them until we ran into a bit of trouble because the others were too high. We didn’t have a ladder at that point, so we set out looking for one. Everyone we asked said to look for Pastor Wilson, Pastor Wilson is basically the handyman of Kuyasa. Well we figured that he was in the devo that they have in the mornings and so we decided to wait for him. And we waited… And waited… And waited some more. Finally we were tired of sitting around, and decided to go looking for some other things to do. Well right when we got up to go, the devo broke. So we went in and looked for Pastor Wilson again. When we still couldn’t find him, we went and found Jenny. She said that she didn’t know where he was, but would ask him about the ladder when he got back. In the meantime, she said that we could sweep the outside of the building so that another group could come in and paint. So we did that. We did that until around lunch time and then went and got our sandwiches. We decided that we were not going to miss lunch a second day, so we did it early and out of sight. After lunch we were told that the only ladder that Kuyasa had was being used by the painters. So we were going to have to share it with them. Well they were currently using it, so we waited… And we waited some more… Finally at around 2:00 someone came and said that Mamma was looking for us.
Helping with Lunch:
Now Mamma is a very large black woman with a loud black woman voice. She kind of waddles around the kitchen making sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to do. She is definitely the queen be in the kitchen, but she is a very nice lady. So she come over to us, takes us by the hand, and leads us into the kitchen. She grabs a back of apples, a big knife, and says to get to cutting. So we cut about thirty some odd apples into fourths. One we were done, Mamma again led us by the hand to where they serve the food to the kids. I was given the job of marking the kids as they got their food and keep track of them. I found that it is a very good way of doing a food line. When the kids come up to get food I mark their hand, they then get to go get food. If a kid comes back through to get food and their hand is marked, then we know not to give them more. It is a way of making sure that everybody gets some and is a good way of making sure nobody cheats the system. So once that was done, Mamma thanked us for helping and sent us back to paint the walls. At that point Goo Goo found mu and asked if we would help with soccer practice. We said yes but we would need to clean the paint brushes first. We went back to get the paint brushes and there was Pastor Wilson!!! After looking for him all afternoon he was there, and with a ladder. So we decided to finish what we could and then go help Goo Goo. Drew climbed up the ladder and got to work with the roller while I held the paint. Once that was done, we told Pastor Wilson that we were supposed to help Goo Goo so that we could go ahead and clean the brushes and not have to paint more. Unfortunately he did not have anything to clean them with so we left them and he said that he would do it when he got the supplies. We headed over to the netball court to help with girls’ soccer. After about ten minutes, Daniel walked up and asked if we still wanted to help with his soccer practice. We said yes, and left with him to go to practice.
Soccer Practice:
The field that the boys use is across from Kiamude, the village/suburb that Kuyasa is located in. However, in order to drive to it you have to circle around through another neighborhood. Once we did that, we parked in the middle of the open field. Daniel was telling us the there are four Kuyasa teams. There is an elementary, middle school, high school, and adult team. He also mentioned that it is very hard to find a place to practice/play. The field that we were one only recently became available. That was because the field technically belongs to the neighborhood of Clareview (I thing that is what it is called) and that is a colored neighborhood. That was the second time that I had heard that reference and so I started to process that a bit. Form what I gather; South Africa is primarily split into three ethnic groups. You have whites, colored or brown people, and you have the blacks. The blacks are the dark brown people and the others are lighter brown. As far as I know, there aren’t any other differences. However, brown people may have slightly better living conditions than black people. Also the brown people don’t like the brown people. I found that really interesting. Also Daniel said that racism is still very strong in South Africa. I just thought I would share that little tid bit, now back to the story. So Daniel got all the guys together and he took role. He made a role sheet before the first practice so that he knew who he had and what they wanted to play. I thought it was a really good idea because Daniel doesn’t speak Afrikaans. He needs a way of having a little bit of order at practices. Also the teams coach from last year was there and he said that he was going to help. His name is Simba. Yes that is right, Simba. Right when I heard that the “Lion King” song started playing in my song, and I started singing it under my breath. So after seeing who was there, Daniel got the team to do some warm ups and stretches. He then went right into the first drill. This was a real simple passing and shooting drill. Next He set up another drill that had the guys shooting a ball at a goalie. Another thing I have learned is that they don’t call them goalies, they call them keepers. I must say that I like “keeper” I think it is just because of how they people say it with their accent. Anyway after practice had been going for an hour or so and the drills had broken down completely (it is hard to keep kids doing drill no matter what culture you are in), Daniel got the guys together and had them break up into six teams. He then had three small mini games going together where the winner would rotate to face a new opponent. It was some good fun and a good way to end the practice. At that time the field was filling up and it was time to head out before the brown people came and took the field away from us. So we ended practice with a prayer and headed back to Kuyasa to pick up the car.
Dinner:
Once back at the house Drew and I washed our hands and changed our clothes to head out to the Spar. On a side note, when painting never wear something good. Even if you are extremely careful you will get paint on you, so it is a good way to mess up some good clothes. I lot a pair of shorts and a pair of track tights, and those were good track tights. Anyway after the Spar we headed back to the house and made dinner. I had a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. We determined that after having meals prepared for us the last few days, we were spoiled. Once done with dinner, I watched a little bit of a movie and then checked emails. I also took a nice hot shower, and had a nice hot shave. I love a hot shave. Well now it is off to bed because we are supposed to be at SCAS tomorrow to help with a soccer camp. That starts at 7:30. I have a feeling I will need the sleep. So until next time, this is Ryan Dillon signing off.
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