I realized that my last post was a hot mess. I kind of rambled about whatever came to mind and tried to put them in a logical order. So, after my last post I tried to make mental notes of what I should report back on instead of doing the “ready, go” approach.

If any of you know me well, you know that cats are not my favorite creatures. I find them unpredictable and untrustworthy. I know every one loves their own cat and finds their aloofness cute, but for the most part, they are worth avoiding. Well, my friends, hell has frozen over. I have found love in a kitty. There is this stray cat that is stuck in the Eltasha guesthouse enclosure. We asked Auntie Martha about it and she said “yes, yes we have fences and barbed wire but still the cat gets in. I’m so sorry.”

We first met when the kitty sat on our doorstep for one and a half hours and wouldn’t leave. We would peer through the door crack and there it would be STARING at us. We were naturally terrified and screamed every time. It didn’t want to leave us alone. The cat lovers in the group quickly discovered that the kitty was non-aggressive and very friendly. I was still skeptical. But as it followed me and brushed up against my leg and meowed at my door for the next couple days I succumbed. We named it Nala (like good Americans whose only reference for wild life in Africa is the Lion King) and we are friends. Everywhere we go, Nala goes. Tomorrow we are buying it a toy and some food. This is probably a bad idea.

There is also apparently a black bunny in here too. We agreed with Auntie Martha that we should call it Kwanza because they find the concept of Kwanza absolutely hilarious. There was a bit where we weren’t sure if the bunny existed. Kind of like Kwanza, really.

Thursday we were told that we would be provided food at the health promotion unit before we went off to work. When we arrived there was a very neatly arranged plate of microwavable goods: chicken nuggets, mini hot dogs and fish sticks. Fish sticks. We assumed that our supervisor forgot to tell her administrative workers that we were to be served breakfast until the morning when they scrambled around in the freezer to find anything to put out for us. Then, later, as we were talking to Auntie Martha about what we wanted for breakfast in the mornings we said we wanted to have whatever they typically have for breakfast. She said, okay, I make fish sticks. We just about lost it laughing.

That’s the other thing about food in Africa- you’re not sure when you’re going to get it next. Because they run on the self-proclaimed “Africa time” (about 2 hours behind), a meal is usually pushed back several hours from when you expected it. You might eat at 9 am and then not again until 2 or 3. When we do eat, we eat like we’ll never eat again. I feel like I’ve either been starving or so full and bloated that I have to unbutton the top button of my pants Thanksgiving style.

Hey, today I held a lion cub. Yep, I held it up like it was Simba on Pride Rock. One tried to bite me. It was adorable. The guide just kept rapping his knuckles on the head of the lions every time they tried to bite. A good old knock on the noggin. It was fantastic.  I HELD A LION. ARE YOU HEARING ME? I HELD A LION. For only 18 dollars! 

Next week we start the real work. Right now we are going through the long welcoming process. For now, Africa is like one big party with lion cubs, bon fires and big malls. This coming week I hope to be exposed to some of the health inequities and flaws in the health care system. Our goal is to strengthen the preventative care aspect of the health care system, a level of care that is very poorly developed here. Generally, the South African health care system waits for people to become patients before they address the issues. Once they are patients, they just want a cure, they don’t want a lecture or education on how to prevent it from happening again. It all seems pretty broad right now, but hopefully as I observe different clinics, schools, hospitals in the coming weeks my understanding of the issues will involve more details.

South Africa has been good to me. The people of the Eltasha guesthouse: Mmaphefo, Auntie Martha, Lebo, David, Steve, all are like family already and its only been a week. I can’t imagine how hard it will be to leave in 5 weeks. They have truly made Eltasha a home. I feel comfortable and at ease. They love having both funny and deep conversations with us. We are learning from each other and all of us are growing, I can tell. Welp, that is all for now. Hopefully this post was better than my last!!