Lavender Hill

Let's see.  These are busy days and I am having a difficult time remember what I did when.

Yesterday, Papa Chris (remember him from a few days ago, the Book Store Manager?), well, he called me on my South African phone which I can neither read the text part of nor can I hear the thing ring, but I digress.  Chris called me to say that there was an opening of a library at a local High School.  The books that were filling the library were from his bookstore, and he was pleased and proud to be able to share this with me.

As happens with anything here in South Africa, I walked over to the school from the Beluah Lodge (it is about 1/2 mile, so 10 minute walk) to meet Chris at 2:00.  Come to find out the school was not in Filipe it was in Lavender Hill, and it wasn't a primary school but a High School, and Chris wasn't taking us, but Randall (remember him also from a couple of days ago?) was. 

So different time to leave, different place to go, different person driving us, but what the hey??

:)

Randall was there on time, with a very nice BMW to drive us in.  Do you know what?? It had HEAT!!!!  Seat warmers.  !!!  I don't think the people sitting in the backseat knew this, but I felt that first burst of warmth, and sort of settled in, and thought I had struck the gold bonanza.  A warm tushie .....

But I digress.

Ahem.  Ok, so we were on our way to Lavendar Hill.  I had no idea where we were going. It seemed like Muzinberg (we went there for .... ummmmm ... something or other), a nasty place that has gangs and lots of violence.  Randall kept up a good commentary during the trip.  Native born Cape Town-ian he is, he could tell us all of the politics and gossip and reasons for this and that.  We arrived at the High School after turning only a few wrong turns ...

This is the main building on the campus.  The size of the school is 1,200 students on a day when everyone is there, and 800 on a regular day.  The principal smiled when he said that.

As you can see, it was raining ...

We got to the ceremony late, the students and local dignataries were giving speeches ..


Somewhere on that banner is "Equal Education", which is a popular theme here in South Africa. When I was at the LEAP School this morning, staff asked me if the ceremony was an "Equal Education" event.  I said yes, but really had no idea as to what that meant.

I need to go back and connect with Randall and ask him.  He is the sort of person that I can ask blunt questions of and get honest answers.

Unfortunately, we needed to leave the event before the library Red Ribbon was cut and we got to see the space.  I was really looking forward to that and reasonably disappointed that it didn't work out.  As we got back into Randall's car to drive back to Pinelands, this was the view out of the front window of the car.  Even though we were talking about something as simple and nice as a library, there is the Ever-Present concertina wire surrounding the perimeter of whereever it is you are.  There were also armed security guards.

As we drove back to Pinelands (a 35 minute drive), I just had to give in to the tiredness I was feeling.  I kept trying to have a reasonably intelligent conversation with Randall about his new foundation and health-focused non-profit, then I would stop talking, and before I knew it, my eyes were closed and my brain was saying GIVE IN.  GIVE IN.  DOZE.  And I did.

I woke up about the time we turned into the LEAP School parking lot.  I felt awful and when I got out of the car, apologized profusely to our host that I had dozed off.  He smiled and said it looked as if I needed a good nap.

In talking with Papa Chris today, he said Randall could take us out to see the library one day next week. I would like that.  It would give me a chance to see the results of the work Chris does, plus make my self look a bit more professional with a possible partner in the non-profit world (Randall and his ventures.)

Meanwhile .... I should get some sleep.