Friday, October 09, 2009

Our first lesson in Xhosa

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. It's a tonal language and is easily identifiable by the clicking sound. Most of the people at Ruliv speak Xhosa and they were excited to teach it to us. Today we got a lesson:



Our first day at the office wrapped up with a braai to wish one of the members of the Monitoring and Evaluation staff, Stuart, farewell. Stuart is headed to a new job in Bangladesh. He said it's "rough living" but he and his wife have lived there before and are excited to go back. They both work in the field of rural development and "aren't at a point in life where they want it easy." So, with some grilled meat, we said "all the best" to Stuart and sent him on his way.

Tomorrow we visit an orphanage and take a visit to a township. We shopped this evening for treats and toys for the 110+ kids, ranging from 6 months to 18 years. Apparently, donors to this particular orphanage have not been as generous due to the uncertain economy. Hopefully with our toys and donation to their operational fund, we can bring a little cheer and relief, even if it's only for a brief time.

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