A Case of the Grouchies

South Africa has one of the largest gaps between rich and poor of any country in the world.  We experienced a piece of that as we went shopping today.  As we left the orphanage we drove through a "township".  These were segregated areas for non-whites that were established during apartheid.  Large groups of people were forcibly settled on small amounts of land with limited services (i.e. electricity, running water, sewage disposal, etc).  Today many people live in these areas, constrained by socioeconomic factors.

Thousands of small homes dot the landscape.

In contrast, the shopping mall was similar to an indoor mall in the US.  Prices at the grocery store were just as high as prices in the US.  The majority of patrons at the mall were white. 

By the way, going shopping was a major success for Dad - he successfully navigated driving on the left side of the road on a major highway!

We went shopping in the morning because Miranda had a doctor's appointment.  When we picked up Miranda in the early afternoon she was outside playing.  She happily came with us but as we were walking away she heard her house mom call "Goodbye".  After seeing her house mom there was no way she wanted to come with us.  So, I carried a kicking, screaming, squirming two year old down the road to the lodge.  She calmed down as we walked and played for awhile in the pot of water.  Then she got fussy and grouchy again.  She looked really sleepy but was having a hard time falling asleep.  She would push away all her toys and books and look miserable.  Finally, she fell asleep.  It was late in the afternoon but she clearly needed a nap.  I only let her sleep an hour and she was grouchy again when I woke her up. 

Miranda stayed for dinner for the first time and I had her help set the table by carrying the silverware, cups, condiments, etc. from the kitchen to the dining room.  She found this to be great fun and would run down the hall to get the next item.  Finally, she was back to her cheerful self!  Dinner was a new adventure as she discovered ketchup. She would dip her French fry in ketchup, suck the ketchup off, then dip the same fry back in the ketchup.  We had to keep re-filling her plate with ketchup.  Most of the food she eats is very bland, so ketchup was a treat!  After dinner she had a great time clearing the table and bringing things back to the kitchen.  All the items she would hand to me, except she would give the plates a little toss.  One ended up on the floor, but did not break :)

After dinner she rode the little motorcycle, chattering the entire time.  She talked non-stop on the way back to her house.  It is a night and day difference between when she is happy and grouchy.