Kid Stuff

I had my first workday in the SAEP creche yesterday. I am volunteering with three other American students in a creche that has 192 children on the roll, though there are never that many there at once. I entered the creche expecting to be told what I could do to help. The days have so little structure, however, that we couldn't just step in and help with activities, there were no activities to help with. The only evident structure to the afternoon was which times the children were to be outside and when the were to be sent inside.

When we first entered, the kids were all inside eating their snack. As soon as we sat down with them, we were swarmed with curious children. I ended up doing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" with about six kids, then counting to twenty in English repeatedly and doing hand clapping games. I found myself surrounded by seven pairs of big brown eyes and 14 tiny hands all desperate to touch, hug, play with, and understand this peculiar person in their midst.

After about 20 minutes of inside time, the staff herded the kids outside. Despite the language barrier (the kids speak only Xhosa), we taught them "Duck, Duck, Goose". That entertained them for about 20 minutes and, after unsuccessful attempts to do "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "Red Rover", we ended up simply being clobbered by children all trying to hug us and shake our hands and have us swing them around in circles.

By the time we left, the three of us were determined to be prepared next time. We're going to buy art supplies and balls (they have no toys to speak of) and plan activities for the next time we go. We're hoping to learn a few phrases in Xhosa and to teach the kids a few words in English as well, since most of the children we're working with will be starting school next year.

I decided to unwind after this crazy afternoon by going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with some of the girls from my program. Going to the movies here is a different experience from going to movies in the states. Rather than buying tickets, then entering the theater and selecting seats, movie tickets here are sold for specific seats. When you purchase your ticket, you are asked where in the theater you'd like to sit. You have to make sure that you arrange for seats near the people with whom you're watching the show. In addition, many of the movies here are way behind their American release dates. While blockbusters like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Fantastic Four" come out the same time as in the U.S., lower budget films like "In Good Company" and "The Longest Yard" haven't arrived in theaters here yet. The movie was enjoyable, though, and it was nice to have a girls' night out instead of sitting in the house reading articles for class.