Friday, November 8, 2013

I am having problems uploading pictures to my own blog (go figure).  My daughter Katie is having more luck.

Her blog for this trip is http://thegreenbackpackingadventures.blogspot.ca/.

Em

Thursday, November 7, 2013

We are in Africa

We have not had internet since we left Canada on October 29th.  Tonight we came to a mall close to where we are staying and found an internet cafe without the cafe.  We are busy from morning to evening.  Yesterday was the first time we made soap and it turned out good.

The weather is very nice and getting warmer every day.  Yes, the toilets flush backwards and the cold and hot taps are opposite to home.  I have lots of pictures but I can not up load them now.

We had Monday off and went to the zoo in downtown Pertoria.  It took 6 hours to go through.  We ended up renting a golf cart to finish.

Where we go every day is "to the program" at a school.  It is an all-black school.  The kids hug us every day.  They stand in line.  Very happy, happy, happy kids.  They have nothing.  Not even food!  Two women cook them a hot lunch every school day.  On Friday, 10 kids get a bag of groceries to take home for the weekend.

People get paid once per month and by the 10th they are out of money and food.  Most people make 300 Rand per month which is $150 Canadian.  Food is less here but everything else is the same.
Clothes in this mall are the same price as home.

People are dying every day from AIDs.  On Saturday, there were 20 to 30 funerals.  Five coffins roll into the church and when the service is over they are taken to the graveyard and 5 more coffins roll in until there are no more to bury that day.

The internet cafe is closing.

Sorry it took so long to blog.  We are glad we found this place so we can walk here again.

Em