Things have been pretty crazy these past couple months. Went home for the holidays, which I'm sure most of you were aware of. I had a great time seeing family and friends. It was an awesome trip. Considering how completely opposite my rural South African life is from my American life, I thought it was going to be really weird going back, but it really wasn't all that weird. The first day or two were definitely a bit surreal, but I think that was mostly because I barely slept on the 26 hour journey (or on the two nights prior to departure), making me slightly more zombie-like than normal. But after my brain returned to its normal functionality, it just felt right being back.
Returning to South Africa wasn't terrible either. Walking to the hostel in Pretoria right after arriving there was definitely an "Oh yeah, this place again," moment as I passed houses with intense gates and/or walls topped with razor wire. But I got right back into South Africa mode.
School has been a bit disappointing so far, for several reasons. The government gave the Department of Education a bunch of money a while back, but almost none of it actually made it to the schools. The corruption here is more easily seen than in other places, and is quite disgusting. Government employees drive around in fancy cars and probably have nicer houses than most, while the kids often don't get textbooks or food. For these first three weeks of the school year there has not been school lunch available at my two schools, as the department did not give them money to buy food. Another reason school is disappointing is that at the higher primary school a teacher retired at the end of the school year last year. The school had known for a long time that this was the teacher's plan. In fact, he mentioned to me in our first conversation (Sept 2010) that he was planning to retire in Dec 2011. So when did the principal start to look for the guy's replacement? In January, two days before the students returned, of course. He posted a flyer at the district office and a week later 10 people turned up for interviews. Somebody has been hired, but only in a temporary position because "It takes months for the person to be certified and approved by the district." So why didn't they start looking for the replacement in September of last year? Because that would have been the efficient way to do things, and that is definitely not South Africa's strong suit. My contract is up in August, and I can't wait. I enjoy being here, working with the kids and whatnot, but the incompetence and corruption of the country is definitely getting to me.
But on a lighter note, I'd like to examine the naming practices of this country. In South Africa when it comes to naming your child, anything goes. Seriously, anything. For the past year or so I've been keeping track of my favorite names that I have come across. The list is now up to 35 so I thought it was time to share. These all come from the black South African population. Afrikaaners have some weird ones too, but they're weird in a different, European way, like Yolandi, Dirk, and Jakes. Of course the majority of black South Africans have names from their native language and most of them have cool meanings, like Thabang (means "happiness,") Karabo (means "answer,") Tau (means "lion,") and Paballo (means "cared for.") All four of those names are Sepedi, which in case you forgot is the language spoken in my area. But when it comes to English names that's when things get really interesting. Besides the strange ones I'm going to list there are also a few "old fashioned" names that are prevalent in the younger population, like Rosemary, Sharon, and Edith. But anyway, here are my favorite South African names:
1. Welldone
2. Silence
3. Voice
4. Wonderboy
5. Kleinboy
6. Bigboy (Yes, this one's a nickname, but a lot of kids go by it at school, and yes, they're all slightly larger boys.)
7. Prince
8. Princess
9. Queen (Lots of royalty in this country.)
10. Excellent (How could kids with this name not go far in life? Haha.)
11. Jankie (I have no idea where it comes from or what it means, but I love this one.)
12. Blessing
13. Gratitude
14. Given
15. Computer (His nickname is laptop. Seriously.)
16. Pretty
17. Dankie (Means "thank you" in Afrikaans, but sounds like "donkey.")
18. Offense
19. Brown Bread (This one comes from an old drunk in Mike's village, I'm guessing his parents were big fans of bread.)
20. Witness
21. Siyabonga (means "thank you" in Zulu.)
22. Bright
23. Golden
24. Hercules
25. Knowledge
26. Justice
27. Active
28. Reason
29. Nice
30. Emagnetious (Another one that I have no idea about, but like a lot. I feel like that kid should be a wizard with that name or something.)
31. Nurse (She's a teacher.)
32. Remember
33. Saturday (Awesome.)
34. Lucky
35. Confidence
It's always awesome when someone introduces their self to me with one of these names. Can't you just imagine Hercules and Knowledge meeting for the first time? One's a God and the other is, well, knowledge. BA. Welldone and Voice both work at the same restaurant. I hope they're friends.
Ok, peace out for now.
Later,
Maggie
