Stellenbosch

So. I'll document what we've done most recently, and then go back.
We arrived in Stellenbosch on Tuesday. The weather has been terrible (they say the worst storm in years) so we haven't been able to mix the cement to actually build anything. We met the homeowner, though; she's a really sweet woman named Notemba with a 4 year old son. We've spent a lot of time playing with the kids of the township (which is called Mfuleni)...they love cameras and soccer and dancing. It's amazing how we can get through the language barrier with things like that. There are maybe two kids that speak English whom I've met (there are more adults who can) AND Xhosa AND Afrikaans. CRAZY. I keep thinking about how much I wish that Americans were required to learn languages as kids, but then everything's in English anyways so it would more often than not wear off when they're older.
So this is exciting: we have houses, and house points. Like in Harry Potter. I'm in House 1, with two leaders - Jean Luc and Jason. Brothers, South African, in university. Beautiful. :D My group is the group they stuck all the vegetarians in, funnily enough. There are three South African girls, Sarah, Kelly, and Tasha, who attend Stellenbosch University, Mykaila, a British woman named Fiona (with whom I've already had an intense discussion on religion and Buddhism), a British man named John, a South African guy named Jovi (like Bon Jovi; I thought of Hannah B, Abby, and Allison B), and a new South African woman whose name I haven't learned yet.
We steal each others' flags. I haven't seen our flag since the first hour or so we had it. We're in possession House #2's flag now I think.

Okay. I'll go back to Monday. On Monday we went to the orphanage. It was moving. Some people took the experience really hard, some not so much. Some people felt angry. Lori sat us down during class on Tuesday and asked us how we felt about it. Meh. I'm not a huge fan of having a therapist on the trip. Nothing against her, she's a wonderful woman...I just think I'm better off without all these questions. Anyway. The woman who started the orphanage, Rosie, was super sweet. She told us her story, about how she didn't have enough money to feed her own kids when she found a baby on her porch, took it in, and fed it as well. The police found her soon after, giving her another baby who needed a home because they'd heard that she took in babies. Thus. An orphanage was started. There is a house for AIDS and TB patients, which was scary. I couldn't spend a lot of time in there. Also, I was sick at the time, and I didn't want to make anyone there any worse. There is a daycare for kids with parents, and a school. There's a house for babies! We got to hold the babies...they were from 0-3 years I think. Super duper sweet. Mykaila especially bonded with one. There was a special room, with like a mail slot for babies. Mothers who want to abandon their babies would stick the baby through the slot and it would land in a little carriage and everything, and there is a sensor that would tell them immediately that there's a baby in there. So the baby wouldn't end up on the side of the road.
Okay. Yeah. Also there was a little drum session of all the kids, and it was beautiful. A little boy came running up to me and tugged on my sweatshirt, holding out his arms to be picked up. I picked him up and we danced and took photos. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
Mykaila mentioned that she met a boy during the drum session that was 15, her age, and until recently, my age. It blew my mind. How is it even fair that he was born in to those circumstances and we were born into ours? I wish I wish I wish I wish I could take him into my family...I wish I could take all of them...how did things even get this bad?
After the orphanage, we drove back in this taxi called the Boogie Bus. It was my FAVORITE CAR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. It's literally a VW bus decorated to be a party bus. The driver was working on getting his liqour license so it would be a party bus in time for the 2010 World Cup which is going to take place in South Africa. Amazing.
I wrote some postcards. Need to journal. I've been drawing lots. I'm glad I brought my sketchpad.
Thinking out things for the mural...except I don't think I should think about it. I THINK ABOUT LOTS.
It's freezing here. Like 40. EW. I wonder what it's like at home.
We're for sure going to be building and mixing cement tomorrow. Exciting!

Okay, I have to get to bed, even though it's only 8 pm. I'm exhausted.
Love!