Isando! Isando!

from Elliott
We needed to repair the fence surrounding the water tap so Thamsanqa Madikizela, our caretaker, and I gathered the tools and materials necessary for the job. While the work would not be particularly difficult, Thamsanqa speaks very little English and I know 'kancinci Xhosa' - a small amount of Xhosa. The communication barrier can be frustrating but we started the project.

He is typically very serious and rarely smiles at us. It wasn't until that we learned his first name - everyone else calls him by his surname. When Katherine asked his name, he said it straight faced. The 'q' requires a distinctive click sound. She tried to say it to him and got close enough that he grinned from ear to ear.

Thamsanqa began the project showing me how it was done. At one point early one he said in a very determined voice, "Isando. Isando" I had know idea what he was saying so he started pointing at the pile of tools. I started pointing from one to the other waiting to get an affirmative nod. Finally, I got it. "Hammer, Hammer." I repeated the words in Xhosa just to let him know I was trying to learn. He smiled.

Then the next miracle happened - he handed me the hammer while he held the nail. TRUST! This is a major breakthrough! The day went well with me picking up new words along the way.

A couple of days later he was working on a project and needed a tool. He came to me and said, "Hammer" I responded with a shrug, I don't have a "hammer", but I do have an "isando". He laughed!

We are making progress...one Xhosa word at a time! It does confirm for me though people feel valued when we call them by name and learn even a small amount of their heart language.

Inviting the Wrong Pig to Lunch

from Katherine
We save scraps from breakfast and lunch at the Pre School for the pig that belongs to one of our Garden Helpers - Liziwe. The children scrape their plates into the bucket and laugh at me when I say 'oink, oink.'

I took the scraps by Liziwe's house down the road today. When I arrived a pig was on the left side of the road the same place where her pig was the first time I visited her house. So I told the pig I had lunch and he followed me. I went to the door and told Liziwe's son that I had scraps for the pig who was now standing right next to me. And he said, "great but that is the wrong pig."

He then showed me his mom's pig and her 4 new piglets. The wrong pig is still following me at that point. We dumped the scraps out and the right pig was excited and the wrong pig got a bit of PB and J also!

Thank goodness he did not follow me back to the school!