After having lived in Applesbosch for the last 2 and 1/2 weeks (a rustic campus which was formerly a school for teachers but had been abandoned for 11 years) we moved on board the Africa Mercy today. What an amazing time driving the 2 hours to Durban and getting 200 or so people moved from land to ship. So much to transport & carry: hundreds of pieces of baggage, dozens of computers, IT stuff, school supplies for the children, boxes and boxes of business papers, the "galley" cooking equipment and supplies, 9 Landrovers, etc, etc, etc. Since arriving we have been very busy getting ourselves and the ship ready for the outreach in Sierra Leone. Neither of has worked this hard, physically, for years. We should have been advised to take the hot yoga classes before we arrived so we would have been physically fit for the work we've been doing. Retirement? I don't think so. The shipyard workers have been working 24/7 to get ship prepared for the sail. Mary has been stripping & waxing floors in the operating rooms on her knees with some of the other nurses & doing all kinds of cleaning. Her team was extremely hot while cleaning because the air conditioner and ventilation was not working. It was finally fixed today when we moved in, which will make sleeping very nice. Kenny has been busy helping IT get the computers moved, cleaned, reprogrammed and reinstalled; along with lots of heavy lifting. He will be a busy Crew Doc, dealing with the crew of 450, plus the 200 or so local, day volunteers & their families in Sierra Leone. We plan to sail, hopefully, soon. There has been an advance team getting patients lined up, so we will likely hit the docks running. We'll post again on the sail, then probably after we get settled in Sierra Leone.
The Sanders
Florence's Wedding
The wedding was beautiful. There was a traditional wedding before the church wedding which is very symbolic. A calabash bowl is packed with a needle & thread to show the wife will take care of the husband's clothes, stitch them & keep the home, a bitter & a sweet cola nut symbolizing marriage has sweet & bitter times. A matt which shows that even in hard times, no money "to buy a bed" you don't leave your husband. These items are wrapped up in the calabash bowl with a white cloth which also symbolizes peace. The cloth is saved as a burial cloth I believe for the mother to symbolize her daughter was married when she dies. This bowl is brought when the husbands family comes to the brides house & knocks at their door & they say they have come to bring peace & they noticed a rose in the garden & wanted to pick it. Then they come in & they are given cold water. Then "false brides" greet the husband's family & they are asked is this the rose you saw & they will say no until the real bride appears. The calabash bowl is something that grows on a tree that is dried out & used for this ceremony. It is carried by a young virgin child on the father's side & given to the bride. I got this info from my day workers & another married woman here & I probably didnt get everything corrert but this is close I think. I love the symbolism & I think it is a wonderful tradition.
Just as you're new to blogging, it took me awhile to figure out how to leave a comment...
ReplyDeleteWish I could share this adventure in reality but will look forward to your posts. Love the beautiful and interesting pictures. By the way, did it take long for the rhinos to move?