Teacher's Pet

I know it's unprofessional to have favorites, but well...I have a favorite.

Her name is LaPenge, she's in my first grade class, and she can most accurately be described as A Hot Mess.

Every day, the first grade girls line up on the benches before practice: excited, bashful, orderly.  And everyday, approximately 15 minutes late, LaPenge comes tearing over the hill - limbs akimbo, backpack undone, hair standing straight on end.  

She never wears her soccer uniform.  She doesn't understand a word I'm saying.  She can't seem to button her shirt correctly, and when she sits...well, it's kind of like watching jello sit - everything just sorta goes everywhere.  

But therein lies LaPenge's charm: she simply doesn't care.

It's a quality we all possess at some point in our lives - we're born into this world perfect, without judgement or defenses.  As we get older, we tend to lose track of our innate sense of self...it gets covered up by our developed egos, we become conscious of the way we look and act..

LaPenge has managed to hold onto this innocence, this uninhibited self, longer than the other girls her age.  While they are posing for the camera, making serious faces, LaPenge is off in the corner, busy contemplating her naval.  

I love her for how oblivious she is, how uncensored.  But the real clincher comes when you call her name and she turns to you, a look of sheer, unadulterated joy plastered across her face.  It makes me laugh out loud, every time.  This girl IS Love - it radiates from her every pore, unsullied and without opposite.  I may be her teacher, but I think there's a lot I can learn from little LaPenge.

I think we might be soul mates.

Pics from Week One

Logan takes a break amongst the willows.

Leisurely Sunday stroll through the farmland surrounding our village.

Garden view out Cindy's kitchen door.

The Munchkins.

South Africa: a week, abridged.

Sorry for the lack of communication so far, everybody - turns out there's no WiFi in bush country. I'm gonna try my darnedest to post on here at least once a week, hopefully more. For now, bear with me as I attempt to condense a ridiculous week into a coherent post...

South Africa. Heavily westernized, but just outside the booming sprawl of Johannesburg lie miles and miles of verdant, rolling fields, not completely unlike the farmlands of the Midwest where I grew up. After a bleary 16 hour flight, we trundled our way three hours via car, climbing to an elevation of 5000 feet and our new home: Memel (pronounced MEEamull).

Memel is a tiny speck of a town, not easily found on the map or the internet (try googling it, seriously). Once heavily ruled by the laws of apartheid, the hangover has been severe - the town remains predominantly white, save for my two roommates, refugees from Zimbabwe who work the same non-profit as me.

The neighboring township, Zamani, is separated from Memel by a small field, it's population totaling roughly 7,000 black Africans. The interaction between whites and blacks is cordial and entirely work related, with many of the black still referring to whites as "boss". Memel, though it may be small, is a strong reflection of much of the Rainbow Nation - although one of the most diverse countries in the world, it remains severely segregated.

So you can imagine the reaction when six strangers blow into town on a sleepy Tuesday morning - one Korean, one Indian, three New Yorkers, a native Vermonter. This first week was mainly about getting acclimated. The creators of the nonprofit, Cindy & Steven, are two very radical beings, completely out of place in their oppressive surroundings. The goal of their non profit, SheWins, is to empower the young girls of Zamani through sports and teamwork - two things they've little knowledge of up until now. Cindy & Steven's eventual goal is to create a fully integrated, harmonically diverse community out of Memel, built on a solid foundation of sustainable principles.

Over dinner our first night in Africa, Cindy asked us what our personal and professional goals were. I'll be teaching soccer, tennis and yoga to girls age 6 thru 15, while also involving myself in all the sustainable methods offered. Personally, well...it's a chance to explore an incredible new place, fully immerse myself in a foreign culture, and contribute to something that will change many people's lives.

If I could sum up the week in a few highlights, it would be: the sheer joy of eating here. Every meal in Memel is cooked as a family, and Cindy's garden is the finest I've ever seen - all organic, built using permacultural methods, and right at tour feet - just walk out the front door and pick your meal.

The Team. Cindy, Steven, Logan, Hillary, Nayeon, Rochelle, and Sophie. Seven very chill people from very different backgrounds, all eager to be here, excited to help, and up for anything.

The day we were introduced to the kids. Standing on stage while 800 mouths cheer you on, 800 pairs of hands applauding the reason you're here, was by far the coolest moment of my life to date. The enthusiasm of the girls was so genuine, so contagious, that i found myself cheering along with them, and the importance of what we're doing here hit me - we're not just teaching these girls sports, we're helping them realize their full potential - that they're strong, capable, equal human beings, boundless in their abilities and rights.

P.S. When I told the assembly I hailed from New York City, I got the greatest response of all. Represent.