Monday, March 8, 2010

jump-rope is dangerous.

Last Tuesday, South Africa was abuzz celebrating the 100 Day countdown until the opening of the World Cup.  St. Leo's was no exception; each classroom was assigned a participating team at random (ours was Switzerland, how thrilling-- we talked a lot about cheese and chocolate), and on Tuesday, each class dressed in team colors.  After break, the teachers broke out into festive clothes of their own and with the whole school gathered around the schoolyard, the teachers decided to entertain the kids with some games of their own, one of which was jump-rope.  I wanted to join in and not seem like the awkward volunteer, so Mary-Kate and I kicked off our flip-flops and proceeded to make fools out of ourselves, much to the delight of everybody.
And then, because I didn't wear sneakers and because I wanted to impress everybody with my skills, I left a chunk of my big toe on the schoolyard at St. Leo's.  I came down pretty hard and stubbed my toe badly, but didn't realize anything was seriously wrong until a couple of minutes after I left the game and one of the kids pointed out the blood gushing from my foot.
When all was said and done, I hobbled away with some cuts and bruises.  Now, a week later, I've had to visit a doctor from the parish who recommended that I take some penicillin and perhaps get a small procedure done on my toe to remove the possibility of an ingrown toenail.

It's surprising how debilitating a simple thing like stubbing one's toe can be when I'm on my feet all day teaching or trying to run around and have fun with the boys at St. Theresa's (after their homework is done, of course).

In other news, we've had the pleasure of hosting a couple of guests during the past week.  Brian Strassburger, a former AV who served in the Bronx and then here in South Africa in 2008, is here for ten days.  He now works for the Augustinian Missions Office, and his boss, Father Tony, arrived in South Africa last Thursday.  They're here to play host to a film crew from Visionaries, a PBS television show that profiles various charities and non-profit organizations.  The group has elected to spotlight the Augustinians for a future documentary, focusing primarily on their work with the poor in Philadelphia through ADROP, and the Augustinian mission here in Durban.  It's really exciting, especially for those of us who enjoy public television.
I'm not sure if I'll make it into the final cut, but if I do, I'll be the one hobbling around in the background, with a large bandaged toe.

That being said, I did make it out to a club in Durban on Saturday night with a crowd of friends, sore toe and all.  We had a really good night, and rounded out the party the next morning by grabbing breakfast at Suncoast, a casino on the waterfront in Durban.  Bizarre, but true.  It's been really nice to socialize with Brian-- looking at his photos and hearing stories of another community's experience here in South Africa has made me really appreciate my time here in a new way.
In an ironic twist of fate, following a conversation on the ride home from work today about the lack of criminal activity during his volunteer year, Brian came home to find he'd been robbed.  Though his passport and laptop are safe and sound, it's a little disconcerting that his possessions were stolen from this very property-- but it just means we all have to be a bit more vigilant about things like setting our alarm and keeping our slam door closed.  

We'll all be sad to see Brian go, but in just a few weeks, Pat will be here for our first site visit of the year.  Time really is flying.

Hopefully next time I sit down to write a blog post, I will be sans bandages and I'll have had my five minutes of public TV fame.

1 comment:

  1. oh girl, what a week. please set your alarm and watch that toe! :)

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