Bafana Bafana

I have officially realized that my time here in South Africa is rapidly dwindling. I took a good look at my calendar and realized that I have exactly two weeks to finish my project, write my paper, venture around Durban, and say goodbye to everyone. It makes me sad to think that I have to leave a place that I have grown so close to in just a short time. However, I am looking forward to returning home to a familiar and comfortable environment. Plus, it will be Christmas time, meaning family, friends, and food.
Last week I continued to work on my practicum with the Down Syndrome Association. I visited a school for special education and helped out in a classroom. When the teacher asked what famous people come from the United States, the top two answers were Michael Jackson and Barack Obama. Obviously the students were up on their contemporary news. Later in the week I walked through a therapy center in the township of Phoenix. I was extremely impressed by what the center had to offer as far as multidisciplinary healthcare goes, but disappointed when I learned that it is the only such center in the entire province of KwaZulu Natal.
This weekend was relatively relaxed, which is what I wanted for going into these next two hectic weeks. On Saturday, I visited my Cato Manor family one last time. Once again I felt right at home hanging out on the plastic covered couches and watching Usher music videos. Unfortunately my older brother, Mino, was working overtime on Saturday so I did not get a chance to see him. Luckily he called me today to at least say goodbye over the phone. It was extremely difficult to say goodbye to my Mama for good. There were definitely tears shed.
After my farewell I went over to a friend’s house to watch the Bafana Bafana soccer game. “Bafana Bafana” actually means “Boys Boys” in Zulu, but it is the name of the South African national soccer team. The game was against Japan and was relatively uneventful with a final score of 0-0. Silly soccer. To celebrate the boring game we naturally had a braii like true South Africans. We went to this awesome “buy and braii” where you buy all the meat you want and then grill it on a provided barbeque. You all sit around the platter of meat and scavenge over it like starving dogs. Braii’s may be one of the top things that I will miss the most about crazy South Africa.
Sunday was a relatively uneventful day. I had planned on taking a surfing lesson but apparently the waves were not big enough. I tried letting the instructors know that despite my outstanding physique and incredibly good looks, I probably would not be riding any 10 foot waves at my first lesson so they should just take me out. It didn’t work. So instead I went to a local market and spent dollars like they were pennies on wonderful items, such as paintings, jewelry, and slingshots. I spent the rest of the day taking cat naps and working on my project. Needless to say, Sunday was a pretty solid day.
And now it is Monday. I’m sitting in our school room trying to convince myself to work on my paper. Hopefully when I write next I’ll have a more positive outlook on the progress of my paper. Wish me luck!