Beth and Mark have arrived

Hi!  Beth's here

Beth and Mark arrived yesterday at noon.   We had a leisurely Sunday - walking along the beach, poking around the Sunday market, and eating line fish of the day at the Mediterranean restaurant.  We went to hear Sunday jazz for a bit before we all fell into bed about ten.  (I was amazed they lasted that long.)

Today has been a full day.  Leaving at eight in the morning, Beth went with Jim to the primary school at which we volunteer, while I went to the children's home.  Beth spent most of her morning in the kindergarten room, stepping outside only for recess where she entertained the kids reading Go, Dog, Go.

Aya's Home

Mark and Beth in Aya's studio

In the afternoon, all four of us went back to New Brighton township for an emotionally powerful afternoon.  We started with a visit to the studio of potter Ayanda Mja.  She not only showed us her studio, but her home as well.  Here's a picture of her living room, and one of she with Mark and Beth.

Then we took Mark and Beth to the Red Location Museum for a quick look into some of the people who resisted Apartheid.  One room shows three nooses hanging from the ceiling, representing three men who died after being convicted of treason.

We then stopped in for a repeat visit to the Mamas' backpackers.  We sat and ate buns and homemade apricot jam together.  They started telling a few of their life stories to Mark and Beth - about the three years two of them had personally spent in prison.  One woman had tears slowly running down her cheeks. Then we found out that one of the women was the daughter of one of the three men whose hanging was told in the museum.  She was one year, six months old when it happened.  Brings the stories out of the museum and into raw reality.