Where In The World Is Cailie Kafura?: October 2011

Upon my final day of being 18, I would like to reminisce a wee bit for your reading pleasure!

Since we last spoke, here is what I have been up to in the South of Africa!

September 23rd-25th= EARTHDANCE!
This music festival could be equated to a South African 2011 version of Woodstock. An eco-friendly music festival adorned with hippies, meditators, yogists, free spirits, rastafarians, tree-huggers, and druggies. DJ's conducted a dubsteppy-trans music mix to which the gaggle of onlookers praised. Synchronized head-banging undulated to the trippy beat of the bass. It was an awesome experience. Recycled and reused art and decorations lined the walkway of the "market" area; the market boasted schwarmas, organic tea, hippie gear, pizza, ice cream, and even an ATM out of the back of a truck. Tents of the 9,000 attendees overwhelmed the hillside. Our humble abode sat at the top of the hill, with a view of the festival below and the mountains above. For 3 days, the beats beat into our tent--day or night.
Wanting to get into the hippie spirit, we headed to the "Heartspace" one morning and experimented with a yoga class. I must say that this yoga experience could have fit under the category of cult just as easily.
The yoga instructor would have us create poses with our bodies with seemingly mystical names: "Running Cobra, Frolicking Grasshopper, Awkward Lion...." I must admit that I made all of those up, but the point is that accompanying these strangely titled poses were chants in a foreign language (Elvish, perhaps?) that would mean "true identity" or "I am one with nature." As everyone else chanted, I would find some similar sounding phrase and say it with them, halfheartedly... "May the forest be with you!" If this wasn't cringe enough, one lasting traumatizing pose awaited my brainwashed self. Mr. Yoga had us lay on our bellies and stretch our upper body towards the "sun god" and had us perform "The Breath of Fire." We all faced towards the instructor, except for one man who decided that conforming was not his thing. So, he faced the group. The Breath of Fire is a breathing technique that could only be described as high-intensity panting. As he faced us with his head facing the sky and his eyes rolled back to expose only the whites, he panted in the most sexual way possible that left my friends and I chuckling and gobsmacked. At this point, we had reached our cult quota for the day and skedaddled.

September 27th: Happy Birthday Dada!
On this day, I went to my trusty old soup kitchen again! I love it there. The soup kitchen workers, all of whom were once soup kitchenees, have become my best friends! We chop vegetables, make soup, and organize loaves of bread to hand out with the soup to the 80-200 street people. Remember Malakkie who I spoke of in an earlier blog? His wedding day was also on this day! After volunteering at the soup kitchen, I headed over to the church and began setting up for his special service. 50 tea cups, saucers, and spoons later, the service was just about to begin. Malakkie's mother was there with Malakkie's 2 sons and his niece who has cerebral palsy. Father Ian had generously bought this 10-year-old girl a wheelchair. Without it, Malakkie's aging mother would have to carry the girl everywhere. I had the honor of placing her in the wheelchair for the first time. It was so sweet. There she sat in the back of the car with the biggest smile on her face. I picked her up and placed her in her brand new chair with wheels. I wheeled her into the church and brought her right next to Malakkie's mom. The beauty of appreciation was evident, despite our language barrier. The mother pointed to the wheelchair and then put her hands over her heart.
Malakkie's bride walked down the aisle in her beautiful dress and met him at the altar. After holding hands and exchanging I Do's, they kissed and walked hand in hand out of the church, followed by all the wonderful African women uluating after them.

September 29th: Drug Addict Support Group
On this day, I had the eye-opening experience of witnessing a drug addict support group in action. As I have witnessed, poverty in South Africa goes hand in hand with drug abuse. Unfortunately, this results in crack babies, domestic violence, and an ongoing cycle of more poverty.
This group of current and former addicts meets everyday at the soup kitchen to talk of their struggles, obstacles, and achievements. Most of the members spoke in Afrikaans, but the ones who spoke in English told an inspirational story. One man, a former drug addict, said how since he has stopped using drugs and allowed God into his life that he could now provide for his family and make a better life for himself. His pride and gratitude radiated as he spoke of his new life without drugs. For the onlookers on their way to recovery, his story proved the life-changing results of a drug-free lifestyle, which inspired both them and me.

October 2nd: Best Soup Kitchen Day!
Today consisted of my usual soup kitchening routine of preparing the soup and organizing the bread. After serving the mass of people on this unusually hot day, I offered to buy my soup kitchen buddies ice cream. Grace, Vernon, and Malakkie accompanied me to the little ice cream machine where I bought them all a bright pink bubble gum ice cream cone for only 4 rand. That equates to 50 cents! Such a trivial treat that many of us in America would take for granted, yet this same treat brought immense joy to their faces. Vernon exclaimed, "I can't remember the last time I had ice cream!" Following that, Malakkie held up his cone as if to give a toast and said, "Cheers to our best friend from overseas!" We all "clicked" cones and laughed. After relishing in the simple happiness of a cone on a hot day, we hugged and parted ways. Magical day, I say!

October 9th: Whale Watching Day!
After watching the show Whale Wars and seeing the movie The Cove, I have been moved by the majesticality of whales and dolphins. Off the coast of a city called Hermanus, whalesswim up from Antarctica from October to December to have their children! The water runs deep, so the whales come very close to shore. I have only ever witnessed whales on TV; seeing them lift their barnacle-encrusted faces to the air leaves one awestruck by the incredible partnering of gentle and giant. They were beautiful and it convinces me even more now that I want to be a Sea Shepherd. (See Whale Wars!)

October 17th: Daycare ♥!
I walked to the nearby village to volunteer in the creche(daycare) that watches over about 50 kids, aged 1 to 6 years old. Greeted at the gate, I was, by hugs at knee level. "Tanny! Tanny!" being yelled at me from kids whom I had never met before. I would soon learn that "Tanny" means "Auntie" in Afrikaans...precious!
Despite their running noses, I knew that these kids were needing TLC since they were probably lacking it from their parents. We played on the playground until it was time for a story and naptime. I read them the 3 Little Pigs and then it was time for them to try and sleep. Most frustrating task. Ever. 20 of the 23 kids would sleep, but there would always be those few that would not catch onto the objective of naptime and find themselves yelling or tapping on the other kids' heads as they tried to "slaap." Tetris skills came in handy as I attempted to rearrange the few bad apples in hopes of having them slaap, but to no avail. Naptime ended, along with my patience, but we then had playtime again! I was blessed with having the kids play with my hair while others sat on my lap. They would yell "tanny" whenever they wanted me to watch them hula-hoop or monkey across the bars. Once again, I was surrounded by Afrikaans-speaking toddlers, but was able to communicate through the combination of facial expressions and charades. Any child who tried to ask me a question in Afrikaans would tend to result in me answering with a smile and a nod. Pretending seems to work 84% of the time. As my ride came to pick me up, all of my little African babies with their backpacks hugged my legs as I walked out of the gate. :)

October 22nd: MY 19TH!
Although it hasn't happened yet, my birthday is the 22nd! I find it so surreal to believe that my year of 18 has left me!! I am having a small shindig here that will consist of costumes, tea, and desserts!!! It is an incorporation of my love for dressing up, eating dessert, bringing Halloween to SA(!), and hanging with friends that I have had the privilege to meet in my 2 months here!

I hope you enjoyed this blog update! Feel free to comment!!

I love you all and thank you muchly for reading my stories!!!!!!!! ♥

Stay Golden,

Cailie "Tanny" Kafura!