Molly's semester in South Africa: Memorial Day Braai with my students!

Being that we are in South Africa, there is no such thing as a barbecue…it’s a braai! And being that we are in South Africa, there is no Memorial Day to celebrate here, but I would be at a Memorial Day barbecue if I were home, so I decided to have a braai yesterday for my students here! 18 of my students came to my house and we had a fantastic time!

Charlie, a roommate of mine, who has rented a car for the last month, drove me to the township to meet my students. We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day. Lately it has been chilly and rainy a lot because winter is about to begin, but today was like a summer day…sunny and almost 70 degrees…perfect!!

I have to admit I was a little nervous! Especially when Charlie and I showed up to the school and no transport was there to pick them up like he was supposed to be. Of course, TIA (This is Africa) and nothing ever really starts on time…honestly, but I was just still a little worried. Ironically enough, when the transport got there and all the kids got into the van, it was Charlie’s car that we couldn’t get to start! There are always lots of people walking around in the townships, especially on nice days, and a few who walked by offered to give the car a push because they saw we were struggling. After politely declining a few times, we eventually realized the car could use a push, and three strangers pushed the car into the road and it started up and we drove off. It was pretty funny…it was just a cool moment and we were in such high spirits. The transport followed us home and all the kids entered the K-House!

We had cheese puffs and apples waiting for the students to munch on while the meat cooked…and they devoured the snacks in minutes! Luckily the guys in the house worked the braai, so I didn’t have to worry about that, or touching the meat! When it was ready we made 18 American style hamburgers-bun and all-a rare way to eat it here, and the kids seemed to love them! I enjoyed my veggie burger and it felt almost nothing like memorial day, but it was tons of fun!

The students loved to be in my house and to see where I live and sleep. They all wanted to see my room so of course I showed them. Many of my roommates were away for the weekend but the ones that were here were such a great help and the kids loved to talk and hangout with them as well. At one point Kevin was playing cards with a group of boys at the kitchen table, Christine had paper and colored pencils out and was drawing with some girls in the other room. Corinne and Lauren painted some girls nails (the best alternative we could find to them requesting we do their makeup-never a good idea without asking the parents!), another group of girls were doing Kate’s hair and nails, and I was playing ball and Frisbee outside with some boys. It was very evident that these were fifth and sixth graders, as the girls and boys separate themselves and rarely mingle, but they still had so much fun. My roommates Kate and Jessa made cookies and brownies that we also enjoyed. The kids totally loved it!

As we began to round everyone up to go home things got a little crazy. They didn’t want to leave obviously, but when I finally got them all ready at the door I went to see if the transport was up the street and even though it was 4:15 (4:00 sharp was pickup) he still wasn’t there. At some point in the next fifteen minutes the students set the security alarm off twice, and took just about every last avocado off our avo tree in the backyard! But then the transport showed up, they piled in, and headed back home…leaving the K house quiet.

It was a wonderful time, and I know they had fun, especially because so many of them wrote little thank you notes and drew cards up for me and my housemates. Clean up was easy and hopefully the security people aren’t too upset with us! When all was said and done I was exhausted, they had only been here for two and a half hours and had worn me out, but it was such a great day and I am so glad I had the opportunity to get my students out of the township for a day and show them a little more of my life. I also got to take individual pictures with each student and I will print them out and give one to each of them as a goodbye gift on my last day…Thursday!!

Happy Memorial Day everyone!! Hope your braai is as successful as mine! As much as I wish I was in Sea Isle or at Woodbine, I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world…and I’ll be home in 17 days! Gonna cherish every last second!