Walls and heat

I'm in South Africa!
The trip over was a bit crazy, but thankfully I was able to get to my gate in the Seattle and the Heathrow airport without much trouble.
Stepping out from the customs desk and seeing Nadine, Shaun, and Nadine's friend was such a releif! I had make it, thank God!
My first experience of South Africa was a bit unusual. We drove right from the airport to the house, so I could pull on some pants, and then we were off to a prison tour. I'm afriad my image is skewed since I was in a police car on the way to a prison only an hour after getting off the plane!
The tour was amazing though, we went first to a youth prison, then a maximum security, and last to a medium security. At the youth one, we had three boys come and speak with us after we had a tour, and it was all very serious for me, until I saw a peacok walking a few feet away. I was very excited, but was able to hold myself together... until it jumped on the front of a truck, that was almost too much to bear, as it all seemed so everyday to everyone else standing around me. Then, out of nowhere a young man walked up and splashed an entire bucket of water on the bird, knocking it off the truck! Thankfully I was able to get my hand over my mouth before I burst out laughing!
When we went to the max. security prison, we had three men come and speak with us. One of them had a sentence of 735 years... 735!!! Their stories were touching and a bit hard to bear. Part of me wish very strongly that I could cry, but for some reason I don't cry over things like that anymore, it's as if hearing so many similar stories in the DTES has made me immune to really feeling it. It's too bad, I feel unhuman.
After the max. security, we went to the medium security where the inmates put of a play for us about prison life, and about the life leading to prison life. It was very moving, and very intense. I was astounded that the play was written and all set up by the inmates, and it hurt a bit to see such talent behind bars.
We were taking some grade 11;s on the tour, and a number of them cried during the play. It definitely impacted them a great deal.
So, that was my introduction to SA, and the rest of that day... I slept. On Friday, Nadine and I went with Shaun to Whitbank, a smaller town about an hours drive away, where Shaun anhd his band were doing a show at a retirment part of, get this, two nuns! It was a great deal of fun, and their band was just great! WE spent the night in a hotel there, and came back saturday morning... then i slept.... then we had a braai, which is pretty much the equivilent to a north american barbeque. So much fun, and it was wonderful to meet all my family here, a little surreal too!
Early sunday morning, Nadine and I were driven to Craig's, my mother's cousin and nadine's uncle's house. He took us to Bass Lake, which is infact a quarry, about 20 years old, that is full of water. It was such a nice day! Bass Lake is essentially the place where the Scuba Diving community of Jo-Berg goes when they can't trip the 600km to the coast. A really neat little spot, and I will be sure to put up pictures of it soon!

That essentially sums up what i have been doing so far! I am a little sick, so if you could pray for healing, that would be greatly appriciated! I'll try to write in a few days, and I am sure I will have many more adventures to tell you about!