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| The GRS Kim map/wall mural |
Another month (plus) has come and gone, and so must another blog post. October brought the end of cold mornings and the beginning of sweltering afternoons. My skin did some peeling, but now a good base tan with some SPF 30 is allowing a healthy bronze to come in. Much different than the pale winters I'm used to in Lewiston, Maine. We finally got some heaven sent rain this week for about 20 minutes one day and then an hour or two the next, which felt like a miracle. The thick scent of the humidity in the air was a very welcomed change from the usual dry, booger-inducing, dusty air. Not that the dry heat has been unpleasant. There's something earthy and natural about feeling the dust cling to your sweat and dry out when you get home at the end of the day that's actually kindof fulfilling. You can feel the satisfaction of a hard day's work whether or not it was actually labor intensive (of course all of my days are labor intensive...). Anyone who has lived in Arizona, New Mexico or the desert probably knows the feeling.
The month of October, and half of November, was fulfilling in ways other than the feeling of sweat-dried dust. We embarked on the final quarter of our year (October-December) and have begun attacking our final goals as we move towards wrapping up. This includes; planning our final HCT (HIV Counseling and Testing soccer tournament), recruiting new coaches to replace the coaches whose contracts are ending this year, helping coaches whose contracts are ending find good employment opportunities when they leave us, planning a "round table discussion" with GRS coaches and community leaders, publishing the quarter 3 "Kimba Times" (shown below) and starting on the quarter 4 newsletter, and finally finishing the GRS Kimberley wall mural (as shown above)! It's been a hot sweaty mess of a month, in the best way possible, and there only promises to be more as the year comes to a close. We are very excited for it.
I celebrated Movember for the first week (as you can see below) but quickly found out, from our programs coordinator, that my blond hair combined with the blond stache made me look like what we call a "boer" or "boero" a.k.a. the first dutch farmers that came to South Africa and are often racist. I would have kept the stache to try to defy the stereotype, but I have to make first impressions on a daily basis with school principals, soccer players, and kids in schools, so I decided that I didn't want my mustache speaking for me before I could say a word. Who knows though, it may make a second appearance at the end of the month.
Please see the link above this post and consider participating in this fundraiser. Thanks so much again to all of those who have helped make this opportunity possible. I assure you that it's not in vain. I love going to work every day knowing that I have the support from people like you at home. What we are doing here is important and your support makes all of it possible. More to come soon!
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| The "Boero" Stache. I don't see the Dutch farmer in it... |
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Kimba Times; Quarter 3 Cover Page (let me know if you'd like the full PDF)
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| Working on the wall mural whilst representing the U S of A |
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Another amazing trip to Lilydale
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