actually beginning to make a difference...

Today was great. Finally for my community service class i actually got to do something and it was awesome. We were approached by this organization called the Ubantu Crisis Center located in a township nearby called Edendale who heard we had a large group of volunteers. The crisis center is an orphanage mostly for girls ages 5-17 and 3 boys whom have had traumatic experiences in their life leaving them without a home.

Right when we got there we were greeted by hugs, and everyone introduced themselves. It was hard to understand every body's name but i am getting better. After we had a tour and were broken into small groups of about 7 or 8 girls and 3ish college students. We played some games and i really racked my knowledge for old camp games you can play without a lot of words. Duck Duck Goose was a hit and then it turned into a dance party.

After we took a walk about 2 miles to the top of a big hill in the township where you can see everything from. I had a permanent 6 year old girl on my back who was the cutest thing in the world, Lunga, who ended up falling asleep on the way home. We walked in small groups (my group played a lot of follow the leader) and then some of the girls who spoke English explained to me where their church and school was from on top of the mountain. It was very cool. For the first time my Zulu class came in handy and i realized i know more than i think i do. i was able to have basic conversations about how hot and sweaty i was, how many brothers and sisters i have, along with what kind of food i like to eat. i know, impressive.

After we walked back to the center and played some silly games and i learned a few silly Zulu songs one included a line the equivilent to "stick your butt out" but it was a lot of fun. When we got back onto the bus to leave, my new friend Lunga decided to break down in tears and throw a fit, i don't think she understood that i was coming back. The whole way back all of the other kids from my class made fun of me for making a little girl cry, but i swear, it wasn't my fault. I can't wait to go back.