Day 24: Butterflies breed friendships

Another great and grateful day to experience the wonders of the Sir Lowry’s township! We split into stations to better serve the three to four hundred children who came running to meet us from the primary school. I manned the arts and crafts center where we made tissue paper butterflies and flowers. Within seconds of setting up the area, I had hundred little boys and girls ready to test their artistic limits. I taught the babies how to make the butterflies by crunching the paper and twisting the pipe cleaners. For each child I helped, I asked them to pick their tissue paper wings by naming each paper color. Interestingly, most of the children under seven could not name their favorite colors. But, I have to remember that English is their second language, and I shouldn’t make rash judgments about their educational background.



Continuing with the butterfly crafting, I twisted the pipe cleaners around their ity bity fingers to represent the animal’s antennas. Honestly, I wish I had filmed every single one of the kids, because their faces were priceless. When they saw how the pipe cleaner formed curves around their fingers, their eyes widened. Judging from their brightened faces, you would think that I had just made the butterflies flap around the room. I further explained that these animals don’t have noses but use their antennas instead to look for food. I completely blew their mind! Hopefully, they walked away from this simple activity with more than a new toy.



Yes, I did fall in love with another South African child. Six-year-old Logan and I met in Ms. Hannie’s house yesterday as he made snoring noises at me. I knew we had to be friends. Today, amongst the hundreds of kids running in eight different directions, Logan jumped on my back. I turned around and shouted his name in excitement. I completely rocked his world when he realized I remembered his name from the day before. Instant friends! From that moment on, Logan hung off some part of my body until I stepped on the bus to leave. Also, he found a pink balloon (or ba-balloon as he called it) that he could not put down. Amazingly, he could blow it up to nearly full size and then pinched the top to create the most annoying sound in the whole world. Since Logan is a little fireball, he loved watching everyone else squeal. Somehow the wretched noise never bothered me. Perhaps, his big brown eyes and sticker covered face made it easier to ignore.



Following a tiring day with the kids, our favorite boys and my roommates made the most random dinner for two of the program directors and our hungry tummies. Oddly, we thought plain noodles, chicken marinated with every sauce and seasoning in our apartment, bread, half-roasted vegetables, and burnt cookies would make a winning combination. Dinner is all about the company, right?

Picture: No pictures yet but here is the national flower!