It has been an exciting last several days. I have had my first South African brie (BBQ)
and said goodbye to the Yascers as they went home. I sat in on my first PTA meeting at the
school and have just gotten a chance to get to know the kids. And boy are they wonderful! It is never a
dull moment and I constantly have a smile on my face. In the school I have been kind of a wanderer.
Ill wander into the grade 2 classroom and help some students with their math
work and help them with their English lessons.
Or ill wander into the grade 1 classroom to read them a story or help
them practice telling the time. I might
wander into grade R (kindergarten) to jump up and down scream and shout and do some arts and
crafts.
After school I get to drive a
carload of kids to their homes. They
live on farms, and in order to get there
we have to do a bit off-roading. The
kids love when I hit a bump and they bounce up into the air (I’m a safe
driver!) All the kids call me Ubhuti,
which is pronounced bootie J
this means brother and is a sign of endearment.
I was kind of taken back on my first day when I was introduced as Ubhuti Maurice, but after I found out the meaning I’ve enjoy my new name.
The brothers are in their bi-yearly Long Retreat. This lasts for about two weeks and is a time
of meditation and centering as the brothers stop talking. I was worried about this originally, but I
have found it very relaxing and have found this to be a time of deep
contemplation and solitude, which has been very much needed. The brothers conclude long retreat this
upcoming Friday. Even though this has been a very nice time to be with them in
presence it will be even nicer to be able to speak with them and get to know
them through verbal communication. But
this process got me thinking; what if whenever you were meeting someone new or
old for that matter, you spent some prolonged amount of time together in
silence. You ate in silence you passed
them by outside in silence you woke up in silence and when to sleep in silence. There is something very powerful about physically sharing a space, even if you aren't talking. I have found
that even though I have not been in verbal communication I feel like I have
become quite acquainted with them.
Well ill leave you with a few photos from last weeks church
service, the brie and the PTA meeting.
-Enjoy
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