So today is exactly 3 weeks since arriving at my project and Friday will be exactly 1 month since I left  England. I know I said it in my last blog but I seriously feel like I've been away for a lot longer than this. I've officially been away from home longer than I ever have before and I'm honestly coping really well. 

On Sunday 21st September the unthinkable happened... (little bit of dramatic tension there) Amy Claire Schofield finished a book!!! 

UNBELIEVABLE ... I know

For those of you who know me properly you will understand that this is not only a miracle but a massive achievement. I started reading the first night I arrived so 3 weeks ago and finished last night, I only read before bed but I was so excited at the thought of actually finishing a book that I read quite a lot yesterday. To make my parents even prouder I have already started my second book (I'm 5% the way through that) Hold back the tears mum there's more to come. 

Since being in South Africa I have done two lots of washing, the only two lots of washing I have ever done in my whole life. No doubt mums definitely crying now, I can't help being the cleverest most domesticated daughter ever. 

The past week has been really good but also extremely tiring. Most days I start at 5am and finish at around 9pm. Although we are on duty all the time we aren't working every minute of the day. However, last Monday and Tuesday I was. On Monday myself, Linsey and one of the house others took two of the children to their hospital appointments in one of the big hospitals in Johannesburg. It was definitely a lot nicer and cleaner than south rand which is our local one. We waited with them all morning and then we were asked to take some other children to their counseling appointments straight after. We had to catch the bus back from Joburg with the kids, sounds easy doesn't it.. Well it's not!! We then arrived home and started helping with homework and all the evening duties. Tuesday was pretty much the same. 

Two of the children at the home have got mumps which means they cannot live in the cottages as it is contagious. Myself and Linsey have been looking after them in nurse Jennie's cottage. (Fingered crossed we don't get it too). One the the girls from st Mary's cannot go to school at the moment as she is dependent on oxygen and the machine is too big and heavy to lug around with her, we have been asked that everyone morning one of us entertains her for a few hours, either painting, drawing, making bracelets or writing. So we now feel their is more structure and routine to our days but when we need to assist the children to their appointments the structure falls out the window, but that's fine! 

A few of the kids were in a school show this week and we went to watch it on Friday. I didn't really know what to expect but it was phenomenal! The show opened which none other than 'The circle of life' in true African style. There was lots of singing and dancing and all the kids did a brilliant job. (Still got nothing on WAGS though :P) 

The children had been asking me all week when we can next do loom bands. On Saturday I got out the last packets I had and they all went mad (feeding time at the zoo) but it was great fun and they've all got wrists full of them now. 

I'm becoming extremely good at snake, due to my beautiful new Nokia brick phone. It passes hours in hospital waiting rooms. 

We are getting to know the children a lot better and the banter has began which makes living here a whole lot funnier. I feel really at home here already after only 3 weeks. The weather is starting to get really hot although we did have a massive storm on Saturday night. We have booked our first holiday to Durban for the end of October with Melissa and Erin so we are all looking forward to that. 

That's pretty much all for the time being. Lots of love from South Africa. 

First blog from SA

Hello hello, after being in South Africa for over two weeks and now settled into my project nicely it's about time I update my blog.   

I don't really know where to start. It's been a crazy 19 days here is SA. I can't believe I arrived home from Slovakia exactly a month ago today so much has happened in between and I feel as if I have been away from home for ages. 

I'll start from the beginning. We flew from Heathrow to Doha then from Doha to Johannesburg where we were met by our host Ian and Yvonne. Myself and the other 31 South African volunteers along with the 6 Swazi vols all stayed in a backpackers in Joburg for 5 days. The first full day we visited the Children's Memorial Institute. We had a very interesting talk from Ashraf who is a pediatric professor, he spoke to us about HIV and AIDS and its affect on South Africa. We were then put groups and spent the day working in the institute. There are many NGO's that run within the building all doing remarkable things for the children of Johannesburg. The first day I was put with Erica and we had to sort through medical files. The second morning I was in a pre school with 2/3 year olds. They were so excitable and all they wanted to do was hug us and play with my hair. If you ever want dreadlocks I highly recommend them. That afternoon we visited Constitution Hill which is the old prison in Johannesburg. Finding out more about the segregation and seeing how it was implemented was horrid but at the same time very interesting. Winnie Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi had both served time in this prison and Nelson Mandela had been held there before being taken to Robben Island. Some of it was just chilling, the humiliation and torture that they encountered was indescribable. The next day we had talks from Ian and Yvonne about SA and just more info about living here. We also had a lovely speech by Sean Rogers who spoke but kulcha (culture) and how we must be mindful and empathetic, however, we also must remember that we carry our own baggage when it comes to customs and traditions. Day 4 in Joburg we meet Chris Trott who is the Consul General for the foreign and commonwealth office. He did an amazing talk about his transition from being a Project Trust volunteers in Egypt many years ago to now. He has visited 97 countries in his life and has so many brilliant stories which are beyond amazing. 

On Monday 1st September, we all departed to our projects. Some flew, some got buses but myself and Linsey were picked up as our project is only 20minutes out of Joburg. When we arrived we were told that we wouldn't be sharing a room, let alone in the same cottage (st Mary's children's home is split into 5 cottages with a house mother and about 10 children in each) We were initially a bit anxious after finding out the children spend all their time in their own cottages we were really worried we wouldn't see each other and felt kind of lonely. I got shown my room which is really nice although apparently I may be moved once another room is ready, so my room still has all of the girls stuff in but I've put up my pictures now to make it feel more homely. I was introduced to my house mother, Mumma Bessie who is married to uncle Raman, they have a son called Matthew and they have adopted the sweetest little girl who is now 8months old. (She is seriously adorable) All of the kids here are great and have been really welcoming. I'm not going to go through each day since being at my project as I'm sure most of you are pretty bored by this point. But most days I have started work at 5am and pretty much finish around 8/9pm. We basically get up and have breakfast with the kids, kind of getting used to maize now :/ help get the kids ready for school and make sure the cottage is clean before they leave. We then see what needs to be done around the home. Two of the cottages have been moving so we have helped with that and also spent Friday helping out the homes nurse (nurse Jennie) the kids arrive home around 3pm and we have occasionally been on the bus run to collect them all. We have lunch at 3pm (breakfast at 5:30am then lunch at 3pm is killing me) then it's homework time which is our main job. The kids love that I have a mini white board with me. We spend most of last weekend in A&E with one of the kids who feel off the trampoline and hurt her nose (luckily it wasn't broken). Lets just say I really appreciate the NHS now. South African health care isn't quite as nice as Warwick hospital. You sit in the waiting room and can see all the people coming in from the ambulances... Not something I'd like to see again in all honesty. However she was fine and all is good. I have also taken the children to their counseling session in Joburg and had to catch a bus back to Rosettenville which was quite an experience, about 6million people get on a bus at once, there is no need for for seat belts or hand holds because if the bus crashed no one will move an inch as it's so cramped. 

I know there is a mixture of emotions in this blog and many positives and negatives however myself and Linsey are having a brilliant time and feel very comfortable at the home now. Today was our first day off in like 19days so we met with Melissa and Erin who are volunteers near us. We went shopping and had Nandos. Tomorrow we are planning to go to a market in Johannesburg which will hopefully a bit more cultured than Nandos. 

LOVING LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA!!