Friends

Yesterday was a bit rough, but ended well.  As you may know, my Christmas package from my family got lost by the post office here.  Well, where I thought a story had ended, it in fact had not.  I got an e-mail from my mom 2 days ago saying the US post office had tracked the package down and said it was at my local post office! yay!!!  I got so excited and made plans to sneak out during work yesterday to go pick it up. 

When Jess and I arrived however, we did not find Christmas, but merely more nonsense at the post office.  The man I spoke with informed me that the package had arrived on the 18th of December.  I visited this location at least twice after this date asking about this package and they assured me it was not there.  In December they gave me a customer service number to call because they had not received it yet.  This customer service line told me that package was not even in South Africa yet, so I assumed it had been lost or stolen.  Now this man was telling me they had had it since the 18th!  This itself was upsetting.  More so though, was their policy of return after 21 days.  Since they had had it since the 18th of December the package had already been shipped back out.  I hope it arrives safely back to my mother and that I never have to go to the post office again!

Gall Bladder

This week has been filled with two things:
1. ToC Gen Skillz refresher.  Some curriculum development guys have been sent from Cape Town to work with our remaining coaches on Generation Skillz curriculum and any changes that have been made in preparation for the RCT.  It's been fun having more Americans around, learning more about the curriculum, and getting time out of the office.

2. Me bedridden.  I woke up Saturday night with a pain in my gut and promptly received a fever.  The Fever left me Sunday evening, but the pain persisted.  By Tuesday morning it was too bad.  I couldn't stand up and I couldn't sleep so Jess took me to the hospital.  Turned out that I had a Gall Bladder infections - whatever your gall bladder is.  They put me on some nice pain medication in the hospital, stuck me with too many needles for my liking, took an x-ray, and ultra-sound, let me sleep an hour (finally!!!) and sent me home with a bunch of pills.  Now I am on a healthy diet of pain medication and antibiotics.  Still pain...hopefully that ends soon.

New Year

Not much to report from this side.  We have been in the office for a week now.  There hasn't been much to do however.  I have been getting things ready for a Training of Coaches next week, but other than that it has been a lot of Tv.  Shuffle has come into the office to keep me company a couple times. 

The other big news was that we finally decided on the 4 coaches we would be extending contracts for.  Due to the RCT, it was decided that we needed to keep some of the older, more experienced coaches for quality purposes.  We finally had the meeting yesterday after 2 months of dramatic build-up and decided to keep Nowie, VIP, Sphokie, and Zoe.  Hopefully the CPC positions will be ok'd soon so that VIP and Nowie will move up and create 2 more openings....wishful thinking.

Dolphins

Yesterday I went to the beach and saw Dolphins!!!  It was so cool.  I just watched them swim - in a huge group - down the coast and back.  They got pretty close to shore.  So beautiful.

Mavela

Earlier this week I went to hang out with Theo and he ended up taking me to this tavern by his house in Zwide.  The place was called Mavela Tavern and is this small establishment with a pool table and TVs inside and a large patio filled with picnic tables.  The music of choice is jazz and the tables are all filled with people happily drinking their beer, cider, or brandy.  I did drink shots of brandy from a measuring cup.

I took a seat with his friends when we arrived on a container used to transport bottles - these makeshift chairs are a norm in any township establishment with drinking it seems.  The first few minutes I was there I was sitting on one of the far ends of the room so I could see everyone.  Slowly, every person turned to look at me.  One guy came up to me and said, "1994….2012….it has been 18 years, and finally, for the first time, I am seeing a white person drinking in my hood." 

Over the course of the night I made friends with Theo's friends and plenty of people came up to me to make sure I was enjoying myself, seemingly satisfied if I was satisfied with my experience.  One of Theo's good friend's mom owns the Tavern so he would come around and replace our drinks every once in a while and gave us a whole pack of Hunters Extreme when we tried to leave. 

Eventually I left.  I ate some food and sobered up before driving home.  This was my first time out casually in public in the townships.  Also, my first time walking around in the streets.  I spend all my time it seems in this part of the city, but I am rarely in the community - either in the office, the car, Shoprite, or schools.  This was definitely a new experience and I really enjoyed myself - even though Theo's mom kept calling to make sure I was safe.  I hope to do this more.

New Years Eve

This New Years was more exciting than last years...and that's saying a lot - sorry Mom, Dick Clark, and our living room…

I went out with Will, Theo, Ashley, Shuffle, and her girlfriend Mhamha.  We started at our place and had a few drinks before heading to Eyethu.  Now Eyethu was a madhouse!  It seemed everyone was going there.  We went pretty early in the hopes of beating the queue for the bar, but failed at that.  After waiting around for 20 minutes and still being at least 50 feet from the bar, Will, Theo, and I decided to bounce.  We went into central where we found a bar with lounge chairs outside open, and a bartender ready to serve.  It was much more at my speed. 

We met some guys who loved Will.  They were busy dancing (and good at it) so Will was admiring them and they tried teaching - turns out this was not to be.  They were funny though.  We just chilled for a while before leaving about 40 minutes to midnight.  I guess it's pretty common around the townships that people leave whatever they are doing and go home to spend midnight with their families in their homes.  This is nice, but maybe unrealistic elsewhere when everyone is drinking and usually have to drive.  Will and I don't have our families here so we went to Theo and Ashley's house and met their parents and had champagne at midnight while kids in the neighborhood lit off fireworks.  It was really nice.  It's so warm here that we just sat outside for a good 15 minutes and watched the sky.  It was a nice New Years.  

 When we were done we headed back out to Captains in Summerstrand and finished off the night there.

Christmas in Port Elizabeth

So Christmas this year was a tad strange for me.  My housemates either went home or met up with family.  I, too, could have found some fellow interns to meet and spend the holiday with, or travel elsewhere, but partly due to laziness, and partly to interest, I decided to stay in PE.  What followed was an unforgettable Christmas.

First off, it was green.  Christmas in the summer...I will never get used to that.  People were interested to hear if I was homesick, and in truth I was, but the fact that nothing felt like Christmas as I knew it made it a whole lot easier.  I did buy some cocoa so I would drink hot chocolate at night to feel a bit like home.

I woke up on Christmas morning around 9:30.  My parents will tell you that this NEVER happens.  For some reason I am always up by 7:00 every Christmas...habits from childhood I guess, but I still love Christmas morning.  So...late start, I called Chika and she told me she'd give me a call when I should head over.  I saw Theo quickly in the morning and he again invited me to dinner with his family, but I was excited to spend the day with my girl Chika!

I relaxed for a good part of the day, reading, watched a movie, ate lunch...my Christmas package from home has yet to arrive to the day felt like any other.  Chika called around 3 and I went, by her directions, to her aunts house.  They had spent the morning making various salads and were firing up the braai when I arrived. 

We had sausage, beef, and a few different salads - tuna noodle, coleslaw, mixed greens, curry noodle - for dinner.  I was so full I couldn't finish my plate.  It was really tasty and her family was so nice.  The little girls especially were really loving on me.

After a bit of family time we made the rounds to pick up some girls to go to Eyethu.  Eyethu, for those who don't remember, is a club.  "A club?"  you might say….on Christmas?  Yes.  Christmas day is one of the biggest clubbing days in South Africa.  Everyone goes out.  So Chika and I dropped her mom at home before picking up Nelly and going to Bobsy's to get her and Nowie.

At Bobsy's house we parked the car, said hello and were given more plates of food.  The potato salad and meat looked so good we ate again.  With full stomachs we went to Eyethu.  The club was starting to fill as we arrived, but the dance floor was more-or-less vacant, save the few people who just love to dance and never leave the floor.  We bought our drinks and settled in.  Within the next few hours the place got filled to the maximum.  The police shut it down at 1:30 for fire-code violations.  It seems that the front door just takes money and lets people in until its too packed and then, no matter the time, just closes. 

Interesting stories from the night involve two people. 

1. This dude sitting at the table next to us grabbed me at one point and pulled me out on the dance floor and tried to dance with me.  I obliged for a second before pulling away.  Any man wearing a bucket hat (a major fashion trend here) is not really my type.  He later tried to take a picture with me, I told him no as he point to his friend with the camera phone.  Later he kept telling me that he thought he was in love with me...drunky.
2. This woman who tried to hit on me the other night when I was out with Theo and Ashley hit on me again!
1. She introduced me to her girlfriend and then said, "I don't want things to be weird between us just because I have a girlfriend."
2. I was there with Chika and I think she thought we were a couple because she kept saying "Phakama is my friend." (Phakama being Chika's real name).
3. Later, Theo came and I was talking to him and she grabbed me arm and tried to pull me away.

3. Last story of interest involved a bathroom run.  The toilet paper for the bathroom is kept on a line at the bar.  You go and take some if you want and then go to the stall - which has no doors.  I had just pushed my way through the now packed club to the bar to grab some toilet paper and was heading back towards the bathrooms.  Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind.  I just stopped and whirled around ready to slap whoever it was - it wouldn't be my first time.  It was just Theo however.  He was lucky.  Later in the bathroom a rather large woman stood in front of me while I peed so that the guys who might walk through unnecessarily wouldn't see me - also, wouldn't be the first time.

So after Eyethu got closed Theo, Nelly, Chika, Bobsy, and I went to Parliament street and went to a bar for a couple hours.  Exhausted, we went home around 4.  A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!