Hey there! So after a long series of events, we made it to South Africa on Friday, May 20th. We missed our connecting flight and so the fastest way for them to get us here was to send us to London for a 13 hours layover. Not to miss an opportunity, Matt and I bought a couple of tube tickets and rode into the center of London for a day of sightseeing. We went to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, King's Cross stationa dn some other touristy places. We were still running on no sleep though so after 5 or 6 hours we were super tired and went back to airport and waited a while longer and got on our flight. After landing in Johannesburg we found out our bags didn't make it and so traveled to Welkom empty handed. We spent the next few days re-wearing the clothes on our backs and on Monday my bag arrived but Matt is still missing his, so you can all be praying that it is found because everything is in there.
We visited the hospital on Monday, but Dr. Nhiwitiwa wasn't there so we called him and were told to come in to work on Wednesday so that is the plan. While we were there, the sisters (nurses) found out and were American and got real interested in us real fast. Matt was proposed to while I was told that I was "too young to have left my parents" Yeesh! I need to grow a beard. The hospital is certainly like nothing you would find in the states, and its a public hospital so tons of people go there and the wait is huge. We are more qualified medically than anyone there besides the doctors so we should be able to do a lot and help out. I really look forward to it!
Instead of being in the hospital for the last few days then, we have been working on construction at the Village. The other group here has been working on the next children's home while Matt and I have been helping convert our container into a veritable bachelor pad. So far we have tiled it and put in a bathroom, with a kitchen and living room to come. I really enjoy spending time with the kids. The Niehoff's, Brian and Lois are the family we are staying with at Restoring Hope and their kids are Liam (3) and Lindie (1). The girls at the Village are Monica (4) and Lerato (9). And as of yesterday there is now a three week old baby girl whose name I can't pronounce, let alone spell.
Life in South Africa is certainly different. The first lesson I learned is encompassed by the baggage incident- think of the way you expect things to go. Now think of the opposite. That's how things work in Africa. American food and snacks are a real novelty here and all the food tastes slightly different and generally worse. But they do have Narjies (pronounced Nar-kees) which are like oranges but superior in every way. They are infinitely easier to peel and taste less sour. They are my new favorite snack and they are super cheap.
Well it looks like I've already written a paperback novel but I'll be posting periodic updates throughout the summer and letting you all know how things are going here. In short though, I love it!
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