Simplicity

The past few days have been more then wonderful. My lesson plans are becoming more intricate and my class seems to be really enjoying the activities I have planned. I have also become extremely attached to the children at the orphanage and its heartbreaking to think I will be leaving them in two days. My life here the past two weeks has been a different experience then I could have imagined. Simple is the only word that comes to mind. At the apartment we have an ancient TV, and when I say ancient I mean it. The thing has two antennas which serve no purpose because the only two stations we get are always fuzzy. The TV has only been used twice since I have been here. There is no internet unless you want to take a ten dollar cab ride to a mall. Without the distractions of a cell phone, TV or internet access, activities used to pass the time are simple. Everyone is either reading or journaling at night after we finish our lesson plans. I don’t know about other peoples’ houses but this never happens at my house. Most of the time I’ll watch TV with my computer on my lap. Right now there is nothing better then taking a shower and slipping into bed with my book, I am going to make an effort when I return to America to read every night. Food in the apartment is also more then simple, if that is even possible. We have yet to discover if South Africans use salt and pepper. Bread, pasta and peanut butter are the three main food groups in the kitchen. Grocery shopping happens once a week therefore on Monday and Tuesday there are bananas and apples but they only seem to last until about mid Wednesday (I am guilty of taking a few bananas and hoarding them all week). A simple breakfast of toast, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. Extremely simple compared to my normal meals. But more so then just my life at the apartment, I witness the daily lives of the children at the orphanage. They have one TV which is rarely turned on, only on special occasions I believe. There are no mirrors, no electronics and defiantly no electronic toys. I am almost positive the kids have never seen a gameboy or a wii before. It is fascinating to see how they entertain themselves and the different perspective they have when it comes to fun. My five and three year old cousins were glued to the television and their new cell phone walky-talkies the last time I visited them. It is really something to witness how they entertain themselves without the luxuries American have become so accustomed too…