Last night (after I finished my nightly tick check routine) I fell asleep to rain, crickets and frogs competing for my attention. The rain because I was terrified I hadn’t set up my tent right and would wake up in a puddle and the crickets and frogs because they are always incredibly loud and surround me on all sides. Luckily this morning I woke up completely dry—thank you rain fly! I stretched a bit and did the fun dance of changing clothes in a tent. This is my life.
This morning when I woke up I passed two of my teammates cooking our breakfast over the fire. I then made my way into the farmhouse where three women from another team were doing workouts in the main room because there’s no furniture so it’s easier (actually there isn’t furniture anywhere in the house so they could work out anywhere. We all sit on the floor all the time). I walked into the bathroom (that doesn’t have a light and proceeded to wash my face. I noticed a pretty big spider (but not as big as the one my first night! That thing was the size of my hand) hanging at the top of the ceiling and I gave him the stink eye, letting him know that as long as he’s up there he can live. If he tries to visit me he’ll be dead quicker than you can say hello! This is my life.
We are working with two different schools this month leading soccer camps. One school is a 20 minute walk away and the other a 20 minute taxi ride away. The school I’m at doesn’t have a soccer ball so our soccer camp has turned into a field day extravaganza every day. Some wear shoes, some don’t. Some have clean clothes, most don’t. Many have clothes with tears and wears. All have smiles that melt my heart and make running around in the blazing hot sun the highlight of my day. This is my life.
This is my life five days a week. Saturday is our free day. A taxi picks us up at 9:30am and drops us off at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It’s actually voted number three in all of Africa. I can’t really describe how incredible it is. We swim, tan, compete in volleyball tournaments, cry over the deliciousness of slushies, window shop, eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, search for the perfect seashell and smile at the cuteness of little kids playing in the tide pools. The taxi picks us up at 5:30pm and brings us back home sunburnt, exhausted and utterly relaxed. This is my life.
On Sundays we get as prettied up as we can living on a farm and head into town to go to church, then we head back to the farm where we go for walks in the woods, hang out on picnic tables at the local gas station, play games or find ways to get a ride into town for the beach. There’s no internet, no tv, no furniture, no music. Nothing but us and nature. This is my life.
Where we are living was one of the first places affected by the apartheid. One of the schools we work at (the one we walk to) was the first school built in the first created township. There are wood shacks everywhere and kids run around uncared for and unwatched. The parents need to work long hours just to survive and with the kids on summer break the kids are left alone all day. Hence the “soccer camps” we run. It gives them something to do for a few hours a day and we provide them with a snack to tide them over till dinner. This is real poverty. This is their life.
Just down the road—not even far—is where the wealthy live. And I don’t mean somewhat wealthy I mean super wealthy. The houses are huge and overlook the ocean. They have wine bars, fancy restaurants, upscale shopping and plush resorts. These Africans don’t see poverty, only money. This is their life.
And that’s the first thing I’ve noticed about Africa—it is a land of opposites. The poor are unbelievably poor and the wealthy are ridiculously wealthy. The sick are deathbed sick and the healthy are fitter than fit. The natural beauty is incredible with the ocean and mountains but the water is unsafe to drink. The wealthy kids swim in legit Nike swimsuits while the poor kids swim in their underpants. During the day the sun burns the skin and at night the breeze chills to the bone. This is Africa.
And this is my life.
And I couldn’t be happier to serve and live here.
