I'm going to a Lion Park ...

I am officially at 3.5 weeks in South Africa, and my-oh-my has it been an interesting journey thus far!

My projects have taken off at work, and I am usually found running around from about 7:30am until I collapse on the couch in the evening.  Then, somehow, I rouse myself to keep up (or begin?) a social life and out the door I go again. I have begun a regualar practice of salsa dancing on Wednesday nights which seems a bit ludacrious considering I am in Sub-Saharian Africa, but then again, why not?

I have met many many many wonderful people over the past several weeks and continue to be amazed and perplexed by the South African way of immediately welcoming people. I am able to re-connect with my friendly California roots, after a year and a half chill, and am quite enjoying it. I have also joined a small group through the Anglican Church on Tuesdays, a yoga class on Thursdays and a regular practice of long runs on the weekends. Some things stay the same no matter the country.

Today I went with the social workers to Diepsloot, to a township (read: shacks with no running water or electricity) just a few kilometers from the affluent suburb the clinic is located in. Despite all the preparation I received, the disparity was shocking, and reminiscent of my days in Huanuco, Peru. In one shack we found a woman lying on the ground, naked, wrapped in a blanket. She has advanced AIDS and had been discharged from the hospital several times over the past month without proper treatment. She was unable to walk and severely emaciated, so we brought her back to the clinic immediately. Scenes such as these are the ones that stay, begrudgingly, for a long time.

My tasks at hand are, in order of priority: to set up a post-natal clinic, to train the staff on sexual abuse response and to bring sex education/sexual abuse prevention to the neighboring schools. But for now I am interviewing staff and pregnant women to gather info for the post-natal clinic. 

On a lighter note: a fellow BC GSSW intern is coming out this weekend to stay at my place! It will be nice to hear an American accent again, and discuss all things culture-shock. Her supervisor is taking us to the "lion park" on Sunday and while I am not entirely sure where or what this is, I assume it will feel very African. 

And per the very-British-custom, I am due for a cup of "normal" (black) tea before meeting with my supervisor.

Cheers for now!