Day 16: Macrae, Rebecka, and I performed an original interpretive dance at the Stake Talent Show. We got in touch with our Native American sides and interpreted the song, “Colors of the Wind,” from Pocahontas. The people in the stake didn’t know quite what to do with us, which is understandable, as everyone else who performed is actually talented, and we thought we were at Springville High. Also, a significant portion of the audience though we had actually rehearsed our routine, rather than making it up on the spot. This is particularly insulting because if we had rehearsed, we would have at least have come up with a better opening pose.
Day 18: Aired our newly clean laundry.
Day 19: Group meeting: everyone has an awesome project, except Heather, who hasn’t even started hers.
Day 21: Went to a cleansing ceremony. By that I, naturally, mean that we attended an event put on by Masimanyane in response to the eight women who were murdered in East London about a month ago, where there was singing, praying, singing, and then 20 minute speeches by everyone who ever lived (including some traditional Xhosa chiefs) which lasted FOREVER, then we went to the cleansing ceremony. Basically the cleansing ceremony is a bunch of church leaders from several different denominations who all make some more speeches, then they throw holy water on the site, and then on anyone who wants to be cleansed, or rather, baptized. Then Macrae and Auntie P made it into the newspaper. Then we ate dinner at the prison.
Day 22: Went to a YSA activity. I played with some married couples baby the whole time, which I think is pretty normal at a YSA activity. Also, it made me miss my niece Kate screaming every time I tried to hold her. Also, Babes taught me how to say “Xhosa” correctly, finally.
Day 23: Learned how to make Cooked Sisters at Auntie P’s house. Basically they are balls of dough fried in oil, and then coated in sugar-water syrup, and then rolled in coconut, which I guess is just a long way of saying that, basically, they are delicious bits of the Celestial Kingdom.
Day 24: In church we learned that Eli, from the book of Samuel, was the worst father of all time and he obviously is solely accountable for his sons’ sins, all children of divorced parents are manipulative, and children who don’t get enough attention from their parents are spoiled (I’ll say, being supervised by loving parents who give you everything you need is the worst thing that could happen to you as a child). I wonder what the teacher would think about my attitude towards her lesson, probably that all children that are the youngest of five have no respect for their elders.
Day 25: Went to meet Lisa van Tonder who works for Rural Support Services. She said I can volunteer at organization this summer, which is yay! Also, it is yay! because Rural Support Services is a lot like HELP International, which I love, and I won’t have to be stuck in an office for the entire summer, and I get to travel all over the Eastern Cape.
Day 26: Went to Queenstown with Lisa. Conclusions from excursion: I get along well with Lisa, and the two hour drive from East London to Queenstown did not seem long at all. And South Africa is absolutely breathtaking. I think Alan Paton said it best when he said that, “[the rolling hills] are lovely beyond any singing of it.”
Day 28: Birthday, or rather the death of my teenage years. As such, Macrae, Rebecka, Brandon and I went to La Terrezza to have a nice funerary send off of said teenage years. Jessica Swensen provided the eulogy, which moved everyone to enormous bouts of sobs. Then the waitress totally killed Brandon.
Day 29: Opening day of the World Cup. We all wore every bit of green and gold we had. I had the most, which means that I love South Africa the most. Cornelius said that if BafanaBafana won, everyone had to take a shot of gin. I think that the Lord didn’t let BafanaBafana win because of this. Well, that and the fact that the ref’s are racist (trust me, Julius Malema would agree that it is obvious).
Day 30: USA! USA! USA! Not only will we score, but also we will embarrass your entire nation while doing it. It is the American way.
Day 31: I finally got to give my talk. Rebecka and Macrae say that my public speaking voice sounds like I will one day be in the General Relief Society Presdency. If their prediction comes true, I do not think things bode well for the future of Relief Society.
Day 32: Putting things together for a lit review. It feels like I have spent my entire existence on the Harold B. Lee Library website.
Day 33: It was raining. I took this as an excuse that I don’t have to do anything. As an added point of interest, I have discovered an excellent outfit to ward off the frigid South African winter nights. Step one: put on butterfly leggings and thermal top. Step two: put on fleece onesie that your sister gave to you for Christmas three years ago. Step three: put on fleece jammie pants that you bought at DI and your mom thinks are hideous. Step four: put on enormous rugby-style shirt and tuck it in to jammie pants. Voilà! You have one attractive and warm outfit.
Day 34: Today is Youth Day. Do not confuse this day as a holiday that celebrates the hi-jinks and shenanigans of youth. That would be Halloween. Youth Day celebrates the Soweto youth that protested the mandatory study of Afrikaans in schools during apartheid. I quite agree with them. I wouldn’t want to learn Afrikaans in school either. It’s ugly.
Also. I have never hated Uruguay more, despite the fact that their captain is lovely.
Day 35: Back to work.
Day 36: More work. Then we all went to a tri-ward unofficial church activity at some family’s farm. There were a lot of people there, but I really only talked to three: Jessica, who is nine, Sister Leslie, who I would place at older than nine, and Wesley, who is in my YSA group. Wesley is of Swiss descent, so we discussed Switzerland’s awesome win over Spain with much vigor.
Also. America would come back from two down for the draw. It’s the American way.
Day 37: Day number two of Church Weekend Extravaganza. We went to a Relief Society activity where we crocheted and knitted squares for blankets. I thought I wanted to learn to knit or crochet, but I was wrong. I forgot that I have tried both of these several times before, and hated them every time I have tried. So Sister Zhona and Pia and I put together Father’s day gifts instead. I wasn’t particularly good at that either. I guess I just don’t have Relief Society Talents. I am just not good at needlework, scrapbooking, cooking, or music. Heaven help the General Relief Society Presidency should I ever serve there. The only thing I would bring to the table is my soothing conference voice.
We also went to YSA Karaoke—Best of the 90’s. Also there was some Afrikaans karaoke, which was hilarious.
Day 38: Church. I spent most of my time eating breakfast during Sacrament Meeting (I highly recommend Cadbury’s Local and Lekker: Ouma’s Fudge flavored milk chocolate. It has all the major food groups: milk, and Ouma). Then I went to primary and told the kids stories about Mexico, and had them tell me about the story of Lehi and the Liahona, because I had forgotten it.
Day 39: Work. Laundry. Tanning.
Day 40: Rain. But I went to work anyway, like a real trooper. Then I came home and went on a hunt for more Local and Lekker chocolate. Then we watched the BafanaBafana match. I have never been so sad even though my team won. Oh well Bafana, you did us proud.
Day 41: USA! USA! USA! That’s the American way, my friends.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Nothing Clever Comes to Mind
Day 16: Macrae, Rebecka, and I performed an original interpretive dance at the Stake Talent Show. We got in touch with our Native American sides and interpreted the song, “Colors of the Wind,” from Pocahontas. The people in the stake didn’t know quite what to do with us, which is understandable, as everyone else who performed is actually talented, and we thought we were at Springville High. Also, a significant portion of the audience though we had actually rehearsed our routine, rather than making it up on the spot. This is particularly insulting because if we had rehearsed, we would have at least have come up with a better opening pose.
Day 18: Aired our newly clean laundry.
Day 19: Group meeting: everyone has an awesome project, except Heather, who hasn’t even started hers.
Day 21: Went to a cleansing ceremony. By that I, naturally, mean that we attended an event put on by Masimanyane in response to the eight women who were murdered in East London about a month ago, where there was singing, praying, singing, and then 20 minute speeches by everyone who ever lived (including some traditional Xhosa chiefs) which lasted FOREVER, then we went to the cleansing ceremony. Basically the cleansing ceremony is a bunch of church leaders from several different denominations who all make some more speeches, then they throw holy water on the site, and then on anyone who wants to be cleansed, or rather, baptized. Then Macrae and Auntie P made it into the newspaper. Then we ate dinner at the prison.
Day 22: Went to a YSA activity. I played with some married couples baby the whole time, which I think is pretty normal at a YSA activity. Also, it made me miss my niece Kate screaming every time I tried to hold her. Also, Babes taught me how to say “Xhosa” correctly, finally.
Day 23: Learned how to make Cooked Sisters at Auntie P’s house. Basically they are balls of dough fried in oil, and then coated in sugar-water syrup, and then rolled in coconut, which I guess is just a long way of saying that, basically, they are delicious bits of the Celestial Kingdom.
Day 24: In church we learned that Eli, from the book of Samuel, was the worst father of all time and he obviously is solely accountable for his sons’ sins, all children of divorced parents are manipulative, and children who don’t get enough attention from their parents are spoiled (I’ll say, being supervised by loving parents who give you everything you need is the worst thing that could happen to you as a child). I wonder what the teacher would think about my attitude towards her lesson, probably that all children that are the youngest of five have no respect for their elders.
Day 25: Went to meet Lisa van Tonder who works for Rural Support Services. She said I can volunteer at organization this summer, which is yay! Also, it is yay! because Rural Support Services is a lot like HELP International, which I love, and I won’t have to be stuck in an office for the entire summer, and I get to travel all over the Eastern Cape.
Day 18: Aired our newly clean laundry.
Day 19: Group meeting: everyone has an awesome project, except Heather, who hasn’t even started hers.
Day 21: Went to a cleansing ceremony. By that I, naturally, mean that we attended an event put on by Masimanyane in response to the eight women who were murdered in East London about a month ago, where there was singing, praying, singing, and then 20 minute speeches by everyone who ever lived (including some traditional Xhosa chiefs) which lasted FOREVER, then we went to the cleansing ceremony. Basically the cleansing ceremony is a bunch of church leaders from several different denominations who all make some more speeches, then they throw holy water on the site, and then on anyone who wants to be cleansed, or rather, baptized. Then Macrae and Auntie P made it into the newspaper. Then we ate dinner at the prison.
Day 22: Went to a YSA activity. I played with some married couples baby the whole time, which I think is pretty normal at a YSA activity. Also, it made me miss my niece Kate screaming every time I tried to hold her. Also, Babes taught me how to say “Xhosa” correctly, finally.
Day 23: Learned how to make Cooked Sisters at Auntie P’s house. Basically they are balls of dough fried in oil, and then coated in sugar-water syrup, and then rolled in coconut, which I guess is just a long way of saying that, basically, they are delicious bits of the Celestial Kingdom.
Day 24: In church we learned that Eli, from the book of Samuel, was the worst father of all time and he obviously is solely accountable for his sons’ sins, all children of divorced parents are manipulative, and children who don’t get enough attention from their parents are spoiled (I’ll say, being supervised by loving parents who give you everything you need is the worst thing that could happen to you as a child). I wonder what the teacher would think about my attitude towards her lesson, probably that all children that are the youngest of five have no respect for their elders.
Day 25: Went to meet Lisa van Tonder who works for Rural Support Services. She said I can volunteer at organization this summer, which is yay! Also, it is yay! because Rural Support Services is a lot like HELP International, which I love, and I won’t have to be stuck in an office for the entire summer, and I get to travel all over the Eastern Cape.
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