Different projects and boring sickness

Hello dear ones,

I haven't been in touch with you for quite a while, which is because nothing really exciting has happened.

Last week, I only worked from Monday to Wednesday because I was sick for the rest of the week. On Monday, I went to the soup kitchen with Laura, where warm meals are served to around 1,000 children every day. It was very exciting to get a glimpse into this project and see something completely different. Of course, there is no need to wear fancy clothes like in school, but it's best to wear the oldest clothes you have because the children climb all over you all day and it's generally dirty and musty there. It also smells quite strong there because the soup kitchen is located in the Katutura township. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos, but I'll have another opportunity to do so. Even though we played with the children from time to time, we spent most of the time at the pots, serving food. When the children arrive, they wash their hands, get a plate, bring it to the persons who wash the dishes when they're done, and then go back directly because there isn't enough space for everyone. During rush hour, the children arrive in quick succession, making it very stressful both at meal distribution and during dishwashing. Due to the large number of children, the portions are unfortunately very small, but you just have to be grateful that they get something at all.

On Tuesday, together with Franka, I went to the school for the visually impaired, which is right next to my old school. There, we had an extensive conversation with the principal about a possible volunteer work, etc. The woman was very nice and was very happy that we were there. After the holidays (from April 3rd), I will work there for two weeks first and then decide if I will stay longer. I'm curious to see how it will be there and, above all, if I will have more to do than in my old project.

On Wednesday, I went to the Norwegians' school with a few of them. It is a special needs school in the south of Windhoek that specializes in mental disabilities. Since the Norwegians will leave at the end of March, this would also have been an option for me. However, I didn't really like this school either because after just one day, I felt that there wasn't much to do. The Norwegians worked there as integration assistants/school companions and were only responsible for one specific child. At lunchtime, I already noticed that I wasn't feeling well, so I went straight to bed at home. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, I got a gastrointestinal infection, which paralyzed me until Friday. Reading was too strenuous, I didn't have a laptop with movies, so I slept a lot and was very bored.

Fortunately, on Saturday, I started feeling better again, so I went shopping in the morning with Franka and Jeannie because we were going to cook in a soup kitchen (a different one from the one described above) the next day. So we went there at 8 o'clock on Sunday morning to cook pasta Bolognese for about 130 children. Fortunately, there was enough food so that all the children were full. In the afternoon, we went for a cozy coffee and shopping.

On Monday, I was at the twins' project because I will probably be filling in for them next week. They work at a preschool and jointly manage a class of 50 children. To my great luck, it is currently the holidays, so there are a lot fewer children. On Monday, there were only about 15, so I feel confident that I can take over the class on my own for a week. The twins only work for 3 hours, one of which is a break, during which you can play and cuddle with the adorable children. I'm curious to see if I will be needed next week and will then tell you how it was.

Yesterday, 5 girls and I went to a batik workshop at Penduka (not the kind of batik we know). Actually, we wanted to do a full-day workshop because the whole process takes several hours, but unfortunately, the woman forgot to let us know that they would close early at 1 pm because the next day is Independence Day. So we only did a half-day workshop and unfortunately didn't use the real technique. Basically, we just painted a piece of fabric, but it was still fun. You can see some results in the photos.

As mentioned, today is Independence Day here, but contrary to our expectations, it is not celebrated on a large scale. So let's see what's going on today. Since the others were out celebrating last night, it's still very quiet here in the house. Only I have been awake for hours 😁

Warm greetings to all of you ❤️