Gonna be honest about it, I have mixed feelings about my project so far. Let's begin with the more negative aspects and end with the positive ones. That way the positive feelings stay strongest in memory.
The boys here are, as expected and predicted, in a bad shape. Not necessarily physically, but emotionally. This makes them very unpredictable, which is pretty hard to deal with. One moment they're kind, the next moment they're going on a rampage. Punishments are rare too, since most of the staff members believe in giving love. I agree with them partially, but most of you will know my full opinion on this.
They also show very much interest in valuable stuff, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. Therefore I have all my valuables locked up in the staff office, so that I'm sure they're safe. The boys want to know the price of every piece of clothing you're wearing, and what size it is.... Enough said about that.
Though I'm in a country where many people speak Afrikaans (which is a lot like Dutch) and English, the people here speak mostly Zulu. The boys and staff speak to each other in Zulu, even when Jack and I are next to them. Thanks.
Okay to be fair, the province I'm staying in is called Kwa Zulu Natal, I might have been a tiny bit naïve...
I'm trying to learn the language though. The clicking sounds are by far the hardest to do. Since the boys teach me words all the time, I decided to write them down (phonetically).
The food here is alright, but there's not much variety. Take (old) bread with butter, rice, curry, hamburger/chicken and mix that in any way you like and there's almost every meal I've had so far. Most of the boys are on a holiday now (to their parents, foster parents, other family), but a few are staying here, which is probably the reason why we've had chips twice this week. In the week I've been here I've had exactly one orange.
Jack and I could of course buy our own food, but so far we rarely do that, because the boys show interest in food as well...
The accommodation is, compared to what I expected, HUGE. The boys have their own building where they sleep. It has a TV-lounge (a room with an old television + DVD player and some chairs), football table and a gym (most of the equipment is broken, but alright)
There's a special building where we eat. Furthermore the accommodation includes: staff members' houses, a football/rugby field, a (secured) pool, a basketball field, a library (which is barely used), and a church that is attached to the building I'm staying in.
Ah yes, my "house". Basically it is my room, Jack's room, a bathroom, a shower and a living room. When I first arrived in my room I thought it looked like prison, but once I packed out all my stuff it already looked better. The living room has four couches (of which one is broken), and a television with four channels. I don't use the bathroom to fresh up very often, since I have my own sink in my room. Next to that, the bathtub is yellow (they bought it white). I must say the toilet is pretty clean though. The shower could be cleaner, but I'm really glad it works.
The location is beautiful. We are just a small bridge away from the beach! In the evening you see lots of ships in the sea, waiting to continue their trip to Durban. They're like houses on the sea! Also the night sky is stunning (I spent three days looking for star signs I know, before I realised that I'm at the other end of the world...)
Also there are monkeys running around at Boys Town, which at first I found very exiting but now it's common.
I have a new (local) phone number, on which you can reach me: +27745145703
So let me summarise. This project is going to be a giant challenge for me, but I won't give up so easily. I will have to put lots and lots of time and mostly patience in it if I want to succeed, but I'm going to do the best I can.
Just hold on to the good things, they will drag you through the bad things.
Tom
