"In just a little bit"

So it is already Thursday night, and we have no idea where the week has gone...nor really what have we done/accomplished during it. The problem is that we need translators for our Poverty Alleviation Project in the village, but our translators are at school until 5:00pm, and then have chores to do. So right now we're at a stand-still on the village project (although if you read the blog below you will see that we did put in ample time mapping the village, and got ridiculously sun burned which has now turned into a tan--YES!--and we don’t feel sooo white).

So today...hmm...what did we do all day long? Let us tell you: we walked around the mall of course! That's right...before it was open even! We wanted to get the ball rolling on our own personal endeavours: yoga & soccer...so we needed to buy yoga mats and cones for soccer practice. But the way things work around here is that if you are going out, you go oooouuuuuttt. The bagillion errands must all be run. So this morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn (AKA 6:00 am), which we really can't even complain about because everyone here wakes up at 5:30 and we have been sleeping until 9:00 am. We had to wake up so early becaused we had to take someone from the village to the hospital to get his ARVs (AIDS meds). So when we pulled up to the hospital we saw a sign that said: “free HIV testing and treatment.” Pretty much we put two and two together: Government hospital + FREE HIV testing and treatment + Africa = A LOOOOONG wait. My estimation, since we arrived first thing in the morning and all: 3 hours. Ha...everyone knows what happens when you make assumptions, however...

So we dropped off village dude and then got dropped off ourselves at the mall at 7:30 am. But the funny thing about that is, the shops in the mall don’t even open until 9:00. Lucky for us (and because we're so smart) we brought a book just for the occasion (we had a feeling that going to the mall and leaving at 6:30 am didn’t quite match up). We asked our driver about how long he thought we would have at the mall. His response: “in just a little bit.”

Cultural competency lesson #1: turns out "in just a little bit" in South Africa actually translates to 7 hours.


So prior to our knowledge of this South Africanism, and going with our 3 hour assumption, and taking into account that we were there for an hour and a half before it opened, hence we had an hour and a half to get everything done, we bought groceries. Meat. Yogurt. The goods. Then we got the yoga mats and such, and lugged all of it around in a over-sized shopping cart. (Seriously, it's the funniest thing at the malls here...they have shopping carts that you can wheel around like at the grocery store)...Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. So you already know the end of this story. 7 hours later, our meat was excreting a mysterious liquid and had turned an unfortunate shade of brown-grey. But we learned an important lesson about buying meat at the mall: DON'T.

Other South Africanisms:
Hoot = Honk (like the sound a car makes)
Naughty = every child
I reckon = not just for hillbillies
Is it? = really?
Neh? = no? (as in, "You're coming over, no?")
Howzit? = How are you? How's it going?
Sharp (pronounced without the “r”) = Got it? Excellent! Sounds good.
See you now = I'll be back in a few minutes (but now that we know more about South African time, this could mean hours from now...)

On a more serious note, we would like to recognize and give accolades to the amazing staff here at Botshabelo. They are over-worked, underpaid, over-stressed, under-staffed, and never get a break. Weekends? Ha! Holidays...what’s that? After being here for almost 3 weeks, we are awed by their total and utter dedication and commitment to their vision, and their unwillingness to let the intense trauma they see everyday, the struggle for funds to feed all of the children, and the sheer exhaustion of being "on" 24/7 bring them down or stand in their way. And when we say they are struggling to feed the kids everyday, we are not exaggerating...it is a daily fight. Partly because they are mindful of where the money comes from, and the energy it brings. Hence no big name endorsements (which have been offered), and no religious zealots that have strings attached to their very hefty “donations.” So that makes what they do here all the more honest, compassionate and with pure intentions. Awe-inspiring, yet at times, incomprehensible, the intensity of the commitment they have made for themselves, their spouses, and their children.