Long Weekend = Family

This long weekend equaled family.

Not just my parents, brother and Griffey...

But friends who are family too!

Arriving at church this morning, our family saved us seats and my little cousin squeezed my hand as she whispered, "I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're back!" Of course, she did not stop talking and giggling with me all through mass...couldn't stop the girl...didn't really want to either...And when she and her big brother leaned back, reached behind us and held my brother's hand during the Lord's prayer...absolute sweetness...

My cousins and I are silly crazy girls (and guys...although the girls may be sillier). We love getting together, talking crazy silly talk and making the little kids cry...It's a normal family thing. The oldest ones tease the littlest ones senselessly, trying to see how far we can get before they crack! (Yeah, we're "mean"!)

I tell you all this because, I totally wasn't trying to be mean when I made my friend's daughter cry last night! I was with my girlfriend, her hubby and their two sweet little girls. I should mention up front that they are Chinese (it's pertinent information to the story). So the adults are having sushi and, "E", the 3 year old is having chicken terriyaki, rice and some veggies. She was not eating her rice so I say, "What kind of Chinese little girl are you?" And with that, E turns to her mom and starts crying. Like massive sobs! Between cries, she says to her mom, "Auntie LuckyCdnGirl called me Chinese!"

Too funny! She had no clue. And we finally got out of her that she was Canadian... Amazing. 

So back to our famjam this aft. When emails went around two weeks ago about the location

Excitement at the start of the Hunt!

and what everyone was bringing, I decided we needed to have a good old fashioned egg hunt! It had been a long time since we'd put any effort into it. So my little Bean (our youngest cousin, who is 11 going on 21) and I packed the pastel coloured eggs with delicious chocolate eggs and had a photo shoot with Griffey at my house, before brining them to the fam jam. I asked my mom and one of the aunts to hide the eggs outside so that all the "kids" could participate. It was so fun! And although some people were surprisingly a little more competitive than expected but it was super fun! And in the end we all shared the copious amounts of chocolate!

And then off to my friend's house where she was hosting her family..."K" and I go WAY back, like WAY..."K" and I were in first grade together! Crazy right?! There are other connections, her big bro and I were lifeguards together...well, not really at the same time, more like my friends in "lifeguard school" had mega crushes on her bro. haha! Anyway, this aft we ate a delicious Easter dinner (oh just hours after my late lunch with the Filipino fam!) and there may have also been a "showing" of my videos of Africa... We laughed and sang... Okay, so I had made up this song with my girlfriend's son. It is sung to the tune of "Do you want to build a snowman?" from the movie Frozen. Except for fun, I sing, "Do you know any Jamaicans? Do you eat Jamaican food?" And it's funny because K and her fam are from Jamaica, and when I sang that song to her son, he said he didn't know any Jamaicans...

That's the second kid this weekend whose mind I blew! 

with my sweet Lola (grandma)

Anyway - all this to say - it has been a lovely, relaxed Easter weekend full of amazingly delicious food, family and friends who are family. Thanks guys! It's been so fun! (Ummm, it has been SO fun except for the Raptors and Jays losses...What's up guys?!)

 

Last Post about Africa...for now...Johannesburg!

View of Johannesburg from the Apartheid Museum

On our way home we had an eight hour layover in Johannesburg. I could not fathom sitting around the airport for that long…there’s only so much shopping (gasp) and eating (double gasp) I could do!

I did some research (of course) and decided a MUST SEE for me would be the Apartheid Museum…but I had to act fast!

Soccer City - one of the locations for the 2010 World Cup

Our flight was to land at 2pm. The museum was only open until 5pm. Between getting through immigration and finding the train to take me into town, there was no time to lose!

Of course things never turn up as they are planned. Before I knew it, it was 3:30pm. I found the (Gau)train and the next one didn’t leave for Sandton for another half an hour! Not acceptable.

 

So long story short – I found myself getting into a car with a guy named Thabiso. He seemed like a nice enough guy…right? I see my “actuary” friends shaking their heads at me. Come on now, I was careful. I am always careful of the strangers I meet!

So Thabiso is driving me to the museum. We start chatting. I get him to tell me a little about himself. He is a South African through and through, born and bred in Soweto…The same Soweto that Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu called home?! Well that did it – Thabiso was now taking me to the museum, waiting for me then taking me on a visit to Soweto!

The Apartheid Museum was heavy. I’m not sure why I thought I could go to the museum then hang out in Mandela Square, shop and eat…The museum provided a lot of written and visual information – mini videos and lots of photos. It was a lot to absorb, but I’m glad I took the time. I would definitely recommend the museum to anyone who happens to find themself in Johannesburg.

After a whirlwind lesson in Apartheid – I jumped back into the car with Thabiso and we were off to Soweto. I’m not sure I had in my mind what it looked like, but the first thing I noticed was “family.” There were children all over the street, not because they were wandering around aimlessly, poor without shoes or whatever you see on tv. No. The kids were playing happily with their friends with no worry of strangers scooping them up – there was a strong sense of community, everyone looking out for each other.

Thabiso took me to see the Hector Pieterson museum…He was the first young child to be killed by police who exchanged gunfire with students during the student uprisings in Soweto It was June 16, 1976. Hector was only 13 years old. Today June 16 is National Youth Day in South Africa; a day to honour young people.

We then went down Vilakazi street til we reached the cross street Orlando. At 8115 Orland St West stands Nelson Mandela’s home. It is now a museum. Since I was after 5pm and it was closed, I didn’t get to go in, but I did get to see what the street and neighbourhood were like. There were lots of touristy little shops set up and down Vilakazi St but there were lots of locals out and about. In fact Thabiso’s Dad is one of the local shopkeepers!

Just down the street from the Mandela House, at the corner of Bacela St is Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s House. The family moved in in 1975. He does not currently live here but it is inhabited by members of his family. This makes Vilakazi street the only one in the world that was inhabited by two Nobel Laureates!

On our way back to the airport, Thabiso drove me through a bit of Jo’burg so I could see what it was like. Maybe it was the combination of the growing darkness and the unfamiliar and desolate areas, but it did seem a little scary. Actually, Thabiso rolled up my window because he said it wasn’t as safe in Jo’burg as it was in Soweto.

So there it is – short and sweet, four hours in Johannesburg. There’s still so much more to see and do – just another reason to return to South Africa!

Saying Good bye

Life music at Bull and Bush
(if you watched the No. 1 Ladies' Detective tv show, it was was the location for
the Go Go Handsome Gentleman's Club)

I’m writing from the comfort of my kitchen table.

The tv is on for background noise;

Griffey is sleeping at my feet;

And the heat is on in the house;

How quickly things change and yet Botswana me seems so long ago.

It’s been 48 hours since I’ve been home.

Enough time for it to sink in that I’m no longer in Africa.

I’ve had the pleasure of arriving to a home decorated with a welcome home sign and banner, to a treat bowl filled with fruit and goodies for me (and Griffey), and potted spring flowers all over the house! (Thank you Stokes family!)

I’ve run into neighbours, received “welcome home” text messages and phone calls from friends, enjoyed dim sum with the family and enjoyed Dad’s home cooking.

The week before I left Botswana I looked forward to being home-

Everything about home – my family, my dog, my house, my car, my space, Toronto food, etc. etc.

In this excitement I forgot about having to say goodbye to my life and the people who had become part of my life in Africa. Here are a few good bye’s…

With Winnie, our housekeeper

A few days before leaving I told Belé (our office man) that I was going home on Saturday.

He just stood there not understanding.

He thought I was just going home for a visit.

No, I had to explain, I was going home for good…

In the days following that, Belé was seen sticking his head in our office, as if to make sure, I was still there…like I didn’t leave early or anything.

We shared a moment one afternoon where he took my picture with his cell phone camera.

Then he told me how he was going to show my picture to his mom, and tell her all about me and share the chocolate that I gave him with her.

Funny thing is…due to circumstance and timing, we never got to say goodbye.

On Saturday morning I woke up in a sweat.

I was terrified knowing that my housemates would be out and that I was the only one that was going to be in the house and that I needed to let Winnie, our housekeeper in…

It was only 7:30am.

Phew. I had time.

Winnie had a lot of work to do that Saturday morning because both Junior and I were leaving and two new people were moving into our rooms that evening!

When Winnie later knocked on my door to say good morning, I invited her in telling her I had something for her.

I opened my closet door to reveal a stack of clothing and a couple pairs of shoes for her and her family (Winnie has three children and travels 1 hour each way to get to our Casa Maria three times a week).

She literally fell into my arms giving me a gigantic hug.

Winnie asked about my family and if I had siblings.

with Curtis, our garden/pool boy

She said she would pray for my family and send us blessings.

She also asked for my information and that she would borrow her sister’s telephone to “What’sApp” me…

Later, before leaving the house, I asked the boys to take a photo of Winnie and I by the pool.

She put one arm around me and placed the other on my chest.

I’m not entirely certain what this meant, but I’m thinking it’s something from her tribe…a respect thing.

Whatever it was, it was sweet and I will remember her kindness.

Saying good bye to one of my client counterparts was surprisingly sweet.

Matlapeng led our group from the local side, along with Kaelo and Boa.

Matlapeng and Kaelo were both educators in their past lives and Boa is a young Batswana who was educated abroad. The three of them were a fabulous team to work with, fresh ideas and lots of healthy discussion, both amongst themselves and with our team as well.

In saying good bye, Matlapeng held my hands in his, looked me in the eyes and said, “I am grateful to have met you.”

I am still thinking about these words today.

I am grateful to have met you.

What did I do? What did I say?

Have others impacted my life in the same way?

Who am I grateful to have met?

I should tell them…

Life is short.

I am grateful to have spent almost ten weeks in Africa.

But my life is here at home, waiting for me to jump in and get going…

I’m still in a bit of a fog…but slowly acclimatizing.

I’ve got one more blog in mind about my time in Johannesburg (we had an eight hour layover).

I’ll share that with you next time.