"You must write a new blog!" Yeah, great, but I kind of need inspiration for that. So, being the good person that I am, I meditated for 3 days and nights (please don't take this too seriously), and here's the result.
As it gets warmer and warmer here - more and more days reach 30+ degrees Celsius - it is strange to realize that winter is coming to The Netherlands. With winter comes the Dutch tradition Sinterklaas which I, very unfortunately, won't be celebrating this year. (For the non-Dutch people, here's a link wherein Sinterklaas is explained: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas )
Next to that, during Christmas and New Years there won't be any snow... However, to make up for the lack of snow (and because it's nice to hang out with other volunteers) I will be celebrating Christmas and New Years in Cape Town with a bunch of other volunteers.
Needless to say that I'm really looking forward to this! Said it anyway
Also, coming Thursday till Monday I'll be in Durban with a small group of volunteers to party and have a break from my project :)
Which brings me to my project itself.
Shortly after I arrived (which is a pretty long time ago already, time flies by) I got warnings and predictions from several staff members that during the 4th term the boys would be the worst to deal with. They said this is because the boys will go back to their homes after their exams. Either forever, or for a holiday. Now I hear you thinking: How does that relate to them being worse? Well, most of the boys don't want to go home, which is why they get even more rebellious.
And I can't deny it: the predictions have come true. Mostly the older boys behave even worse, where sometimes I couldn't even imagine that would be possible.
Luckily, in the past few days and in the coming week most of the biggest troublemakers got sent home and will be sent home. What's left is a group almost entirely consisting of laaities (slang, meaning smaller kids) and they're not too hard to deal with. Even better: they listen to me.
I've been working pretty hard to create a better bond with the laaities and I'm really glad to say that it seems to be paying off. When I lend them the football, they bring it back. When they've got a problem, they're willing to talk about it. Yesterday one of them even came to me for a hug, which made me quite proud.
A few weeks ago this all was the complete opposite (they ran off with the football and such, so let alone them coming to me for hugs). Last Saturday I had such a good day that I felt the need to post it on Facebook. Which was the first time I did that in all the days I've been here, so I guess that says a lot.
Last Friday I took my iPad out of the safe and went on Skype in Beach Bums (the local pub where they already know what I want to drink when I arrive). I chatted with my parents, my grandparents and Nick, which made me feel really good.
Oh yeah, I also got the question: "I've seen the pictures on Facebook of your trip to Coffee Bay, but where's the story?"
The thing is, that I don't write all my experiences, so I have stories left to tell when I'm back in The Netherlands. And I already have quite some stories to tell
So please be patient, I'm not gonna keep all my stories hidden forever ;)
That's it for this time. I have no idea when I'll write again, so just keep an eye on Facebook!
Tom
