So I promised to post more and now I am exercising that promise.
This week has been great! I finished my last exam and now only a paper stands in my way of finishing this semester! In my recovery from exams, I have gone to one of my favorite places in Grahamstown yesterday and today - an drop in center for seniors in the township. I love it! Besides the continuous fact that it is nice to get off campus, every time I go there I laugh, learn new things, and feel like I am in community again. It is great!
This week when Jeremy and I arrived at Entembeni we were greeted with Paper Mache. T
he seniors were making paper mache trays to use in the dining hall. I didn’t know that paper mache could be used for more than middle school art projects, but I was mistaken. It can be rather useful - as I learned from a volunteer from the UK leading the project. You can make all sorts of useful things – dishes, decorations, statues and even chairs and tables! I was amazed. The residents seem to like the activity and it kept us busy both yesterday and today.
On Tuesday, I also got to meet a teenager named Molly. She is the daughter of a woman who does some beading for me named Nomxolo. They are both very kind and help me with my Xhosa – which is rather slow in coming. I was dangerously close to getting a Xhosa
nickname before I was even given a name due to my lack of Xhosa skills. I know the standard greetings and the first work that I learned besides “hello…how are you.., thank you” was “you are welcome” – “wamekelekile”) I said it when the seniors would thank me for bring to them their food and some of them started calling me that. I was saved today, however, when I was given a Xhosa name today! I am hoping that it catches on it is “Nomhle.” The “hl” sound is made in the back of your mouth and is a bit difficult to get, but I think that I have it.
It is nice to have a name, but even better is nice to have a place. I just hope that I can learn their names quickly as well.
This week has been great! I finished my last exam and now only a paper stands in my way of finishing this semester! In my recovery from exams, I have gone to one of my favorite places in Grahamstown yesterday and today - an drop in center for seniors in the township. I love it! Besides the continuous fact that it is nice to get off campus, every time I go there I laugh, learn new things, and feel like I am in community again. It is great!
This week when Jeremy and I arrived at Entembeni we were greeted with Paper Mache. T
he seniors were making paper mache trays to use in the dining hall. I didn’t know that paper mache could be used for more than middle school art projects, but I was mistaken. It can be rather useful - as I learned from a volunteer from the UK leading the project. You can make all sorts of useful things – dishes, decorations, statues and even chairs and tables! I was amazed. The residents seem to like the activity and it kept us busy both yesterday and today.On Tuesday, I also got to meet a teenager named Molly. She is the daughter of a woman who does some beading for me named Nomxolo. They are both very kind and help me with my Xhosa – which is rather slow in coming. I was dangerously close to getting a Xhosa
nickname before I was even given a name due to my lack of Xhosa skills. I know the standard greetings and the first work that I learned besides “hello…how are you.., thank you” was “you are welcome” – “wamekelekile”) I said it when the seniors would thank me for bring to them their food and some of them started calling me that. I was saved today, however, when I was given a Xhosa name today! I am hoping that it catches on it is “Nomhle.” The “hl” sound is made in the back of your mouth and is a bit difficult to get, but I think that I have it.It is nice to have a name, but even better is nice to have a place. I just hope that I can learn their names quickly as well.
2 comments:
Does your Xhosa name have a meaning? Why were you given that particular name?
That is funny that you ask Ruth - it means beauty - but it is a fairly common name. I don't think they gave it to me because of my outside appearance. The woman who gave it to me said that I did a good job of serving them. That corresponds with Xhosa values of a "good wife." Of course my own personal feelings about being a good server are conflicted while I want to be gracious and giving, it is difficult to be a woman in Xhosa culture and often they get dumped on because of their "beauty." Nonetheless, I like serving the older people and am grateful for my name.
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