As promised, here are a few other stories from my week and, of course, more pictures. Today, I went to a grocery store called Pick n Pay with Br. Dominic, who happens to be the current designated shopper of the group. I was able to get a few snacks for my room as well. It was more difficult than I anticipated to find things I am used to, like pretzels or granola bars haha. But, I did manage to find things I do like. It’s funny seeing completely new brands for things that turn out to be familiar to you. The only recognizable brands I have seen are Coke, Pepsi, and Lays.
It is about 5:00 pm here and I am writing this before I have dinner and head to mass for 6:00. I have not been to mass here at Our Lady of Mercy, which is the parish attached to the house. I am looking forward to it. I hear the Bishop will be here tonight and tomorrow as well. There will be a Portuguese Festival tomorrow here at the parish which will include a mass and, as I am told, tons of amazing Portuguese food. I am very excited to be part of that tomorrow.
Yesterday, I introduced spikeball to the people at St. Martins, and maybe even South Africa as a whole! I normally don't like giving free advertising, but Spikeball as a company deserves all the recognition it can get. From dealing with Spikeball in the past, I can say that it is an outstanding company that cares about its customers and making sure they are satisfied with the equipment it produces. Spikeball has gone even further in generously donating a set for me to give to the St. Martin community here in South Africa. The workers at the site had never heard of it before, so I enjoyed explaining the rules and watching them get the hang of it, which really didn’t take too long. They immediately fell in love with the game and were pretty good at keeping the ball up and spiking it. I wanted to first introduce the game to the workers so that they can eventually help me teach the children in Zulu, which the kids are much more comfortable speaking. It made me so happy to be able to share something I love to do from my home country with people of South Africa. I hope their are many more spikeball memories to come here in Springs.
Yesterday, I introduced spikeball to the people at St. Martins, and maybe even South Africa as a whole! I normally don't like giving free advertising, but Spikeball as a company deserves all the recognition it can get. From dealing with Spikeball in the past, I can say that it is an outstanding company that cares about its customers and making sure they are satisfied with the equipment it produces. Spikeball has gone even further in generously donating a set for me to give to the St. Martin community here in South Africa. The workers at the site had never heard of it before, so I enjoyed explaining the rules and watching them get the hang of it, which really didn’t take too long. They immediately fell in love with the game and were pretty good at keeping the ball up and spiking it. I wanted to first introduce the game to the workers so that they can eventually help me teach the children in Zulu, which the kids are much more comfortable speaking. It made me so happy to be able to share something I love to do from my home country with people of South Africa. I hope their are many more spikeball memories to come here in Springs.
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| Explaining the game amongst themselves in Zulu |
Every so often, the workers at St. Martins need to go into town to buy supplies or have equipment fixed. I have made the trip into town with them a few times now and it is always interesting. On the way back, we usually stop at a local ‘Fish and Chips’ shop that has really good fried food. Everything sold there is able to be fried. They have samoosas, which are like empanadas, South African style Russian sausages, fish, french fries, and many other things that I am not familiar with yet. A signature of the shop is to douse all your fried food in vinegar, spices, and salt before wrapping it all in paper, similar to how a deli wraps meat. When you open the paper, your food is all mixed together soaking up everything that was added to it. I know, it is one of the most unhealthy piles of food I have ever seen, but it is so delicious.
I figured I would also share a few pictures that I have taken over the past week that capture the scenery here in South Africa.
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| This is the way the sky looks most of the time. It doesn't get very cloudy. |
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| You can see in the distance a soccer game is going on |
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| Small clinic on the outskirts of a nearby community |
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| This is the house cat whose name I forget because it is Zulu. Don't worry, though, he is very friendly despite those green eyes. |
JW
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