The Hectic Day: Women's Weekend Part 1

The Hectic Day
Thursday August 8, 2013

I’ve noticed that the students here use the term “hectic” rather liberally, often in the same contexts in which we would say “crazy”, “intense”,  “wild” or “ridiculous”. Anytime I hear it, I’m reminded of the scene from Back to the Future when Doc Brown comments on Marty’s use of the word “heavy” and asks if there is anything wrong with gravity in the future.

Anyway, Thursday, the day of our departure for a long weekend vac(ation) was – in every sense of the word – hectic.

I got up early to pack and research directions for the trip. A bit later I bustled over to Eden Grove to pick up a package from our international office. Of course, the physical package wasn’t there, only a retrieval slip that I had to take to the post office, pay R18, and provide proof of ID. Somewhere in there I had class.

Because the post office took so long, I was late to lunch, where I had to scarf down some food before running off to the Community Engagement Office for my first day of Community Engagement!

I was tired and frazzled with crumbs of toast still clinging to my clothes when I board the RUCE shuttle. Katie and Lauren were already thankfully on the bus, confirming that I was where I was supposed to be. A few more people boarded and off we went into the township. The bus was hot and the roads were extremely bumpy, which made for a nauseating journey to the various community engagement venues. We stopped here and there letting a few volunteers out at a time. The last stop was Jabez – an HIV/AIDs clinic.

The building was tiny and FULL of children. A lot of them just stared at us as we came through the door and signed in. The rest of them fixated on their plastic plates of food. They were eating a meal that reminded me of grits and chili.

A few volunteers had been there before but this was my first day at the cramped clinic tucked away in the hills. I followed the lead of the veterans and went into the kitchen next to the main room of the building. We stood around feeling super helpful and fulfilled in our volunteering assignment for about 15 minutes, not knowing what to do, where to go, where to look, how to help.

As more children arrived we were assigned food duty. I scraped the “grits” like substance out of a giant pot on the stove, while Lauren scooped out the noodles/beef/sauce/chili. We were told over and over again that our portions were to small and when we increased the number of scoops we were told they were too big. Glad I could help…

When pretty much all the children had arrived and eaten we sat in a circle with them. There were kids of all different ages. Preschooler/ Kindergartener age all the way up to I’d guess the equivalent of fifth grade in the states. Most of them spoke Xhosa and not much English. One of the other volunteers spoke Xhosa and told them instructions. We practiced saying “Hello” “How are you” “I’m fine and you” “Fine. Thanks” over and over again around the circle. We did Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes. Then a spelling game, followed by a trivia game that included math, spelling, geography, South African history.

We were in three groups for the trivia game, with about 2 volunteers in each group. As each question was asked I would watch the entire group swivel their tiny perfect heads to either me or Katie, expectantly waiting for the answer. My group was comprised of mostly young kids so we struggled with a lot of the questions, but they were all so enthusiastic and earnest. They wanted to win and they really wanted to learn. But with such a high speed game it was hard to really “teach” anything.

Part way through the game a tiny little girl named Alice installed herself on my lap. Between questions she played with my hair, tried to take off my ring, wanted to see my cell phone, and just stared into my face. She was sweet, and clever, and mischievous, and surprisingly good at geography!

Time flew by, and when the shuttle arrived to pick us up we were swarmed with hugs and high fives. Parting with all of them really pulled at my heart strings. I’m glad I get to go back every week.

The bus ride back took about half an hour. I disembarked and got right back to business. I had to go pick up the car with Gillian and refill my water jug for the trip.

At AVIS in town, a quick walk from campus, we ran into Sean and Jennah who were there to pick up their car as well. They had ordered an automatic van for the trip with all the other Boston College students. They had a slightly different itinerary than us but we were all ending up in PE eventually. Unfortunately, AVIS had made a mistake. There were no automatic vans available. No one from BC knew how to drive stick. I felt really bad that their weekend plans were going to shreds. They had also had a lot of confusion booking their hostel. Everything worked out in the end, but I know the anxiety of sudden changing plans all too well, and working everything out can’t have been fun.

There were no problems with our car, but we left the AVIS office a lot later than I would have liked. The AVIS guy did all of our paperwork no problem while Gillian filled up our water jug, and then he just handed me the keys to an adorable silver VW. Just like that!

Please understand, I’ve never rented a car before. You can’t in the US until you’re 25 anyway. There was something so strange about a stranger handing me keys to a shiny car, bidding me well, then walking away. I wanted to be like, “Are you sure?!”

Next challenge…getting the car back to campus. The first moments of my first time driving a car on the wrong side of a road on the wrong side of the car, would consist of navigating a packed and busy parking lot in Grahamstown…Sure. Ain’t no thang.

what?

I talked to myself the entire time I was driving. God bless Gillian for sticking with me haha. First of all the lay out of this VW was weird to begin with which took some getting used to, but overall the driving came really naturally. We clumsily made our way back to campus, parked, and then ran off to get our respective suitcases. Trying to figure out how the trunk opened was an adventure in and of itself. No further comments. We looked rull dumb.

By five we were packed and off to go pick up Jes – our wonderful super cool awesome South African friend! Jes is in my Drama 2 class and my Phys 2 Prac. When she heard we were going bungee jumping she got really excited and told us she lived like 40 minutes from the bungee bridge and asked up to come stay with her. We gave her a lift home in exchange for lodging. Honestly, I think we got the better end of the deal. It was such a dream come true to have a new friend invite us over. That’s how you really get to experience a new place and here we were about to do it!

It was a loooooong drive on the N2 out to The Crags, where Jes lives, and it was gradually getting darker…oh and raining. It was raining. In the dark. On the wrong side of the road. FUN!

(Historically, anytime I have significant driving to do, it POURS. Good to know this holds true across the globe. So comforting)

The roads were fairly easy to navigate. Though the roads wounds all up and over the hills, the drive was pretty much a straight shot. There were no lights to speak of anywhere though save those of the other cars, which were quick to pass me and leave me once again in the pitch black darkness.

Driving tip: In South Africa you keep to the left, pass on the right. People will ride your tail like no one’s business. Let them just go around. Look out for random speed bumps. Speed limit signs are few and far between, but people disregard them anyway. 100-120 kmph was about where I stayed for the highway driving.

We bantered and girl talked for the entire drive. Gillian Jes and I talked about the drama department and the Grahamstown Arts Festival and other drama things for a long time. SORRY CAITIE! We interrogated Jes about her boyfriend and life in South Africa.

In about 2 hours we were in PE, but Jes’ house is about 1.5 hours on the other side of PE so we kept driving, and driving. Somewhere along the journey, Jes announced we were driving across the bridge that we would jump off the next day. Gillian and I shrieked  the whole way across the bridge, unearthly, ungodly, unrepeartable noises of excitement, anticipation, and nerves. SORYY CAITIE!

Finally, Jes told me to make an abrupt left turn onto a dirt road. In my exhaustion I had a moment of fear in which I had to reassure myself Jes wasn’t the axe murdering type. We passed by a barn and a lot of scrap metal, arriving at a large log house, a beacon of light and warmth after hours in the rain on the highway. We parked and then we were greated by at least 3 dogs as we climbed out of the car. It was barely raining anymore. From behind me, I heard Caitie say “Guys! Do me a favor…do yourselves a favor and look up. Just look up right now”

Following her instructions I was greeted with a mesmerizing glittering view of the most stars I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Not a cloud in sight, just a magical dusting of thousands of stars in unrecognizable constellations. I wish I had stood there longer gazing upwards at the beauty of it all, but my autopilot snapped on and I was determined to finally get inside the house.

I just have to say, it was so good to be home. We walked through a sliding glass door to a cosy house that reminded me of my uncle’s house in Pennsylvania. A large kitchen with an island to our right. A workshop table covered in model airplanes and biplanes o our right. An old wooden piano. Giant fluffy couches facing a few tvs. Jes’ dad was seated in one of the couches watching some kind of action movie, which he paused to greet his oldest daughter.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be around parents. For the last month I’ve been surrounded by peers, staff, professors, waiters, shopkeepers, etc., but no parents. This kind kind man welcomed 3 random American girls into his home. We sat at the island and chatted over DELICIOUS vegetable soup, chocolate coconut biscuits, and cappuccinos. Nothing could have been more perfect.

We stayed up late talking and playing with Jes’ cats. She has a mischievous kitten that we were all obsessed with. When bedtime came Gillian and I took the two luxuriously fluffy sofas and Caitie settled on a mattress between us. It was very chilly, but had all the comforts of a classic slumber party. Plus the kitten settled under the blankets with me for most of the night <3

jes' living room