Singing

Yesterday after a grey morning of school and drizzling, we headed over to the Seed of Hope to sit in on the staff meeting before the kids started coming. This was our third staff meeting so far and I love them. It starts off with singing, which is amazing. Someone just starts and everyone joins in. Their harmony is effortless and beautiful, and they just sing. There’s no self-conscious mumbling or mouthing of words, and they sing as loud and clear as they can, and no one is a bad singer. Next someone shares a ten minute devotion, and then everyone prays at the same time. Be it in Zulu or English, no one can really tell because it sounds like a beehive mixed with the clicking and hissing that comes with Zulu words. So awesome. And then comes my favourite part of the meeting, HUGGING! Everyone just gets up and hugs each other, which is nice because hey, sometimes you just need a hug. Even if you don’t know that person or only know their name, you hug ‘em. It’s great.

After the staff meeting the kids usually start showing up, squeezing their skinny selves through the bars of the fence or walking off of the road through the gate to the Seed. Yesterday I attracted quite a crowd with my silly faces and hand games and made many friends in the 4-to-5-years-old age range. At 2:30 South African time (which is really whenever they feel like they’re ready to start) Simunye time begins for 3-10-year-olds which I’ve sat in on a couple times and is a total riot. There is also the English class for 11-15-year-olds which the three of us go to sometimes, and yesterday’s class was AH-mazing. Musa, the teacher told us to get in groups of three and we were all going to sing a “gospel” song for the class. If we were in North America and this happened… Well it wouldn’t happen cause 9 out of 10 kids in North America sing like crap and I’m one of them! The kids were magnificent. Their voices are just so naturally strong and full and like I’ve said before, their harmonies will bring you to tears. They have such rhythm that they incorporate as they sing, some just light foot stomps, and some full out coordinated dances. This one kid in particular just got up there and owned the whole show. He opened his mouth and his voice filled the room, deep and proud and sent shivers up my spine. It was so crazy, and now I am mad that half of the people I hear on the radio are employed because they suck compared to 95% of the 12-year-olds down here. After hearing beautiful song after beautiful song in Zulu or English, the Canadians took their turn. We broke it out with a little “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” actions and all, and then finished her off with “Down In My Heart”. Once the kids got over our terrible voices, they liked our actions and joined in on the clapping. It was fun had by all, and hopefully I’ll be able to give you all a demonstration of some of our new African songs when we get back dance moves, clapping, cheering and all!

xo

Alanna

Live Out Loud

Well, we’ve been here for nearly a week and it’s been great! I will admit to sometimes when I felt completely out of place and awkward and thought to myself “WHAT AM I DOING HERE???” After spending two months in Europe this is a culture shock in the biggest way. You have to tip people a few rand everywhere you go, which can be stressful when you have no change. You feel constantly grimy and hot. Other kids make fun of your athletic abilities or lack thereof. But all in all, there are so many things to love about this place!

We’ve been to the Seed of Hope three times now, and I’m really looking forward to spending more time there. The kids are adorable! They’re so smiley and eager to play and talk to you, even though most of the time they can’t speak any English. On our first day we sat in on Simunye time for the younger kids, Simunye meaning “we are together”. It started off with singing, which wasn’t exactly music, mostly just organized hollering on different notes. It was beautiful either way. I made friends with a round faced boy who’s smile is a big as his face who kept on giving me the thumbs up, and trying to say things to me in English that didn’t make sense, like “who’s watch is this?” He was super cute and hilarious, like they all are. We also played on the playground with kids for a solid 2 hours yesterday, a couple of rubber swings and wood pieced together can entertain these kids so easily! They’re so fun and cute and hot and smelly, but great. I’m excited to get to know a few of them over these next couple of months.

Today when we went, we helped our new friend Karen prepare for a year end party for the Live Out Loud group, which is a group of high school students chosen as leaders in their community to be sort of mentored by our new friend Karen, and grow within a group. We set the tables, washed dishes, and served food, which was great, but actually getting to hang out with the students was the best part. We stuffed all eighteen people into three cars and took them to the Galleria Shopping Center to take them for their first time bowling. It being their first time, I assumed that I was going to have a chance to shine athletically. That was not the case. They got really into it, and were surprisingly talented! And let me tell you, bowling with South Africans is a whole lot different than hitting the Deerfoot Mall bowling alley with some buds. Bowling tonight involved jumping, dancing, high-fiving, squealing, rolling on the ground, moon-walking, leap-frogging over the ball return, hugging, and a whole lot of laughter. It was a blast, and they were all so much fun, and very eager to talk to the Canadian girl. A boy even asked if he could marry Lauren. We said we’ll have to think about it. Haha

After bowling, Adam and Lauren went to a youth group while Mum, Dad and I went to help out with the dinner for the kids. It went well and listening to them talk about how the group had changed them was inspiring and made me get a little teary. It’s so cool when people can come together and feel like a family. It made me miss camp a little bit. Mum freaked out when it was time for dessert, because the chocolate sauce was gross and liquidy, but then at the same time really chunky and dry, it kind of looked like dog poop on top of ice cream. If you know my mum, she is a Jedi Master at planning events, and she likes things to be done right, and hey, what’s wrong with that? Bossy yet effective. In the end, the kids were happy with their dessert, and mum didn’t develop any kind of ulcers. The evening ended with pictures, bongos, singing and dancing. I think I’m going to like it here. :)

Halfway Home and All the Way to South Africa

We’ve arrived! After what seemed like days of travel, we have made it to Amanzimtoti, South Africa! We had to navigate cabs trains and cars with our 12 pieces of luggage, but everything and everyone is accounted for and we’re here!

We’re all still a little bit exhausted, because we hardly slept at all on our 10 hour flight from London to Johannesburg. I’m always so overwhelmed on long flights with airplane food and in-flight entertainment and the option of sleep… British Airways also had a fabulous selection of music and I listened to 3 full albums of Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Fleet Foxes. Atta be, British Airways. We had to take a smaller plane from Jo-burg to Durban and then some our friends working at the Seed of Hope came to pick us up and take us to our apartment right on the beach! The drive from Durban to Amanzimtoti was amazing! I’ve discovered that there are so many different kind of beautiful in the world. There is the kind of beautiful that you can see in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, or from the Buffalo Jump at Camp Harmattan, or of the inside of an old cathedral, or of canals and windows with flower boxes… But the kind of beautiful here is different; there are so many trees and plants that I’ve never seen before that cover the ground making the main colour of the land green! There are small hills everywhere and the texture of the land is amazing. And then there is the Indian Ocean and the white sand beaches that surround it that are so beautiful! Our friends say that we’ve got some 30 degree days coming our way soon, so we’ll definitely enjoy our beach lots!

After getting somewhat settled in our apartment, Dad, Lauren, Adam and I wandered down to the beach to dip our feet in the third ocean we’ve visited this year! Pacific during New Years in Hawaii, Atlantic in New York and Oostende, and Indian here in Amanzimtoti (we’re a little bit spoiled)

So I guess for those of you that don’t really know, our purpose for being here in S.A. is to get involved with the day to day operations of the Seed of Hope Community Development which does a lot of amazing things for children and youth in the community of Bhekulwandle. You can check out the website at: http://theseedofhope.org

I honestly have no idea what to expect out of these next couple of months here, and I’m completely out of my element, which excites me a lot. I’ve traded in my leather jacket and boots for flip-flops and shorts, and I’m basically just going to go with the flow and hopefully broaden my mind even further. My days of shopping and cafes are behind me, which surprisingly doesn’t upset me much, because I know I’ll be back in Europe as soon as I get the chance. I think that we were all ready to move on and explore somewhere new again, and I can’t wait to see what amazing adventures come our way in these next two months!

xo

Goodbye to Ghent

Today was our last full day in Europe and I am so sad. As much as I know that South Africa is going to be an amazing experience, I would stay here so much longer if I could! These two months have gone by so fast, and it’s crazy to me that there is only 65 days until I’m home in the freezing cold city that for some reason, I love. This week, Ghent has proved to me just how cool it truly is, with its rad film festival, fun last minute shopping, and charming Flemish restaurants. I LOVE IT ALL. I seriously can’t wait to come back as soon as I get the chance. Ghent is the result of God and 17^th century architects getting together to say “We love you Alanna, you will be happy here.” I’m so sad to leave. We spent our last day packing, making last stops at the grocery store, walking by the canals and downtown, and feeling heavy in our hearts for this city we have grown to love.

This evening we went for dinner at the home of one of dad’s colleagues which was so much fun. Maybe it’s just because I don’t have friends on this continent, but playing with his four children was a blast despite the language barrier. We figured out how to play charades and talk to them that way, and with kids communication is pretty easy. I’ve discovered that there are universal signals kids give you for “hide and seek”, “pick me up and spin me around” and “dance with me”, a signal for piggy backs is simply unnecessary when they can just jump on your back anyways. I expanded my Flemish vocabulary, which is good because before I could only say “slagroom” which means “whipping cream” an important word when ordering lattes, my friend. Now I can count to ten, say the alphabet, and play a weird take on KitKat bar all in Flemish! Their house was awesome, and they had a trampoline, a tree house, a donkey, rabbits, a cat and chickens! There is no way a kid (or mature teen like myself, for that matter) could not have fun there! It was so funny to me how we could become friends without speaking the same language, but with kids it’s easy, especially when Milton Bradley puts out a Dutch version of Twister. So great! It was a fun way to end our time here in Belgium, and we’ll look forward to hosting them in Canada someday.

 I think that I’m getting far too excited about this new relationship with these children. In that department it has been a looooooooooooooong two months. I had a similar experience when grandma and I were on our way home from Spain, and I became friends with a 9-year-old American girl who was also struggling to get a luggage cart. There was two sweet minutes where me and another English speaking girl were equally confused, and equally together. It felt just like real friendship until her Dad helped us both and then wheeled her off to their flight and out of my life forever. I was heartbroken.

I guess that’s what excites me the most about South Africa, is being able to connect with other people and kids and feel a little more at home than we did over here.  I’m also looking forward to thirty degree weather and white sand beaches!!! The tan and freckles are coming back for an encore and I’m overjoyed. It will be nice to get into a routine, and actually accomplish some schoolwork. I’m sitting pretty at an 87% in Bio which is a miracle in itself, and I’m a little bit afraid to touch school and change that. Ha! I’ve decided I want to work extra hard and be finished my classes in December so that I can have time to goof off in January and go on dates with myself while my friends are in school, and do arty, crafty things.

Anyways… wish me luck on school and coping with leaving this glorious continent that I love! I appreciate all of you who have kept up with my blog, because I love writing it! Keep me and my crazy family in your thoughts and prayers as we travel to S. Africa!

xo

Yours from the last time in Ghent,

Alanna

Good Times She Wrote

I haven’t blogged in far too long! I have so many stories, not all of which my grandmother wants me to put on the internet, so I’ll save those for some December coffee dates with you friends when I get home. ;) I will however tell you a few of my fondest memories and laughs of my times sailing the sea with my gramma!

My gramma is awesome. She's game for anything, she parties til 2 a.m., she looks like Angela Lansbury (clever title, eh?), she gets henna tattoos with me, she dances, she laughs at all my jokes, and she shops til she drops. We get along so well, and we have some fun times everywhere we go!

Oh how we danced! There was always music everywhere, and we were spoiled for choice. We danced to Shakira, Lou Bega, Michael Buble and a bunch of Italian stuff we’ve never heard before, but whatever it was we went all out and pretty much owned the show. That might be exaggerating… People move differently over there, the Spanish can dance like no other, and my North American dancing stuck out like a sore thumb. You’ve heard of ‘White Girl Crump’? Yeah, I rock it.

The excursions were a blast too! My favourite was Capri, and if I ever win the lottery I’m gonna move there in a heartbeat. We had perfect weather, so everything was sunny and lovely, and I am in love with fishing towns. Despite the expectations of many, we were able to safely navigate our way around the ports and return to our boat on time, although one day we cut it really close and made it back just as they were starting to take up the planks! We got carried away with all of the great shopping! So fun!

It was great hanging out with my grandma; she’s a really cool lady and a ton of fun and it was so cool that I got the opportunity to go on this trip with her!

After safely navigating our way back to Belgium Steve Martin style by planes, trains and automobiles we were happy to be home. Mum was very proud of us for returning in one piece, and for reorganizing our luggage multiple times so that we could meet all of the weight requirements. We’re pretty much heroes, and now I feel confident that I could totally take a trip by myself someday!

Despite all the amazing places I’ve seen this past week, I still love coming home to Ghent. It has really become a home to us, and I’m sad that this is the last week we’re spending here, on this trip at least. I really can’t wait to comeback someday with friends or family or even by myself. What my parents are starting to realize is that this trip has sparked an interest of traveling in us, and being loving parents, they aren’t sure how they feel about that yet. I have always liked the idea of going away for school, even if it’s not that far. Visiting my older cousins in residence when they were going to school at NUC in Calgary always looked so fun to me, and now that I’ve travelled, I realize what an amazing opportunity it would be to go to school away from home and live in residence and make lifelong friends all over the world.  Such a fun idea! I need to look into English classes at the U of Ghent.

I am still in a passionate romance with Ghent, it has the best vibe of all of the places I’ve been. It’s laid back, but sophisticated and really oriented around education and arts, which I think is alright. There is always something going on, we’ve discovered. We’ve been here for almost two months and we’ve seen music festivals, a literary festival, and a film festival (going on this week! Wee! So excited!) And today we walked in on a surprise stew cook off and architecture showcase! THISCITYISGREATANDIT’SPEOPLEMAKEGOODSTEW!  I’m really excited for the film fest, and maybe it’ll give me street cred if I help out with organizing Abe film fest this year.

I am running out of things to say, so I’ll just say that I’m stoked on living it up during my last week in Belgium, and am even more excited for South Africa next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some moments cruisin’ with my grandma captured on film:

Peace out, Barcelona!

Marseilles is too cute.

BEACH IN OCTOBER! WHUDDUP?

This is where the trip gets a little foggy... ;)

Capri is just lovely. <3

I wanna dive right in

!! Spain!!

 

Hot blonds

 

Grandma charmed the crew like no other.

 

Our waiter!

 

Grandma picking out 8.5 million dollar property

 

Tatooed!

 

xx from Ghent

Just Cruisin'

Well, Grandma Di and I have been sailing the Mediterranean for almost 48 hours, and so far I give the trip two thumbs way up.

After a fun ladies night in Barcelona with Mum, we boarded our ship and began to explore, purchase packages to give us discounts on cocktails, unpack like giddy kids on the first day of camp, and fancy ourselves up for dinner, where we were by far the best dressed ladies around. ;) We have a nice little table for two by the window, and dinner is perfectly timed so that we can watch the sunset. This blog update is a little bit cutting into our partying time, but Mum wanted a little bit of an update, so an update there will be.

Highlights so far: Marseilles was our first excursion on Saturday which was just about the prettiest thing ever. I like the fishing town atmosphere and all of the boats, islands and greenery in contrast with the water is gorgeous. All of the buildings were so colourful, and the church we visited was really different and pretty and not scary and intimidating like a lot of the churches I’ve seen in Europe. During our free time in Marseilles we grabbed a coffee (Lady Di was not impressed with the European size, coffee is probably one of the biggest European culture shocks) and did some shopping in the market! The best part of Marseilles was the fact that we didn’t get lost and that I don’t have to write a blog titled “Can Someone Come Pick Us Up From Costal France Because Our Boat Left Us There” It’s partially a relief because my English teacher would tell me that that’s a really sucky title.

Crew: The crew is so friendly and patient! We’ve befriended a waiter that we call Rang because we can’t pronounce his real name. He calls Grandma “Madame Dianna” and me “Little Baby Alena” partially because he can’t pronounce my name, and partially because I’m pretty sure he was trying to pick me up until I told him I was 15. He’s super great though, as is all of the staff, which must be a real talent, seeing as they’re all from poor countries, and they watch us ‘fat americans’ come and waste so much food, and ask to be waited on hand and foot. I really appreciate these people and the work they do.

Sun: I have a tan in September and I am stoked on it! Today Grandma and I spent the entire day by the pool after sleeping in, reading our books, writing, taking pictures, and soaking up some sun! (Without mentioning names I’ll say that one of us fell asleep numerous times, and the other had to poke them and tell them to stop snoring) I’m loving this sun even more after looking up the Calgary weather… Suckers. ;)

Dressing Up: Di and I do things up right and pretty much show everyone up with our classy dinner outfits. You should see the jewellery Grandma brought along… no wonder her bag weighs over the limit!!! I also successfully wore heels yesterday without any drama! I’m such a lady now!

People Watching: We watch people, and make up stories about who they are and what they’re doing. Some of my favourite people are:

-          Underage Femme Fatale:  This girl is probably 16, but when she puts on her 6 inch heels, red lipstick and tight high-waisted skirt and sneaks away from her parents (yup, I’ve seen her parents) she floats around from bar to bar flirting with men behind the counter and getting them to light her cigarettes and serve her red wine. I would like to write a song about this girl someday.

-          Fun blond with a dud of a husband: We’ve decided that this lady is the coolest person ever, with no taste in men. She is here with two men, but we don’t really know which one she’s with because neither of them show interest in the cute, well-dressed woman she is. We like watching her go to the dance floor and dance by herself until a cute old man who she doesn’t know joins her and sweeps her off her feet while the men she’s with yawn and stare at the drink specials. I hope she finds love someday.

-          Awkward lovers: This couple is strange. The girl is freakishly tall, and big boned, while her man is awkwardly short with a Billy Ray Cyrus hair cut (not the mullet, but the shaggy do that he rocks on Hannah Montana). Watching them dance is especially entertaining.

We are having a RIOT! And we can’t wait for the rest of the week! Wish us luck on our excursion tomorrow!

Xo