I’m very
very sorry for writing so irregularly in the last weeks! I always have the best
intentions to finally write a new post but then I just don’t find the time to
actually do it … but I promise to be on the mend! That’s why I decided to write
one “South African lesson” per week from now on. There are so many things here
that already became completely normal for me so that I don’t even
think about mentioning them in my posts. But I’m sure that for you many of
these things wouldn’t be se self-evident and so they’re maybe worth their own
posts.
To bring
you up-to-date concerning my work at the moment I can tell you that quite some
things changed for me. My project partner Stella, from who I wasn’t separated for
more than one day in the last eight months, is already back in Germany since
one week now. For me that means that I am living and working on my own now as
the only international volunteer at Cotlands. After having done everything
together for such a long time it is quite strange to be on my own now and of
course it was much more fun together especially for enduring exhausting or also
boring working days. But I will just see it as a challenge to do all this on my
own now!
In my last
posts I already complained a little bit about not having too much work to do at
Cotlands for the moment but that also got better now as I am doing the same
work on my own now so that I am quite busy now. I still do a lot of office
work, in the last weeks I also had to help a lot with sorting store rooms and
in the afternoons I still do the homework supervision at St Mary’s children’s
home. Here I am now especially trying to help a 12-year-old boy that can’t read
or write which was only recognized some weeks ago. Even the pronunciation of
the single letters is still quite a challenge for him – and for me teaching him
is actually quite a challenge too! For the moment I am making an own letter
memory with him to introduce him to the alphabet and first words in a playful
way.
Furthermore
the children now plan to start a children’s home soccer team and want to play
against other homes. So we are sometimes practising with everyone and playing
some matches which is also for me a lot of fun because some of the children are
quite good!
This week I
also represented Cotlands at the “Citizen’s Golf Day”. Right next to hole 4
Louisa and me, luckily I was allowed to bring some help because otherwise I
would have had to sit there on my own all day long, had our little Cotlands
stand with a big box for donations and some prizes for our raffle. Everyone
that wanted to play the hole had to – more or less voluntarily - listen to our
Cotlands promotion and in the end we were quite satisfied with the collected
donations and happy about our first caddy tour!
For now I
think that’s all, but as I promised: You will hear from me soon!
