House Sisters

I'm not sure what the view out of your dining room window is, but here is what we saw out of our window today.

Warthogs are so funny looking they just make me laugh :)

One of the things we're learning on this trip is that child-rearing practices and safety standards are definitely different in South Africa.  We went to pick up Miranda this morning around 8am and her house mom had already left (she must get time off on Saturdays) so the older girls were watching the younger ones.  Miranda's favorite house sister is Andiswa  and I believe that Andiswa provides a lot of care for Miranda.  So, we made "arrangements" with Andiswa (I'm guessing that she is 10) on how long we were keeping Miranda.  Andiswa said she would come get Miranda at 11am.

Here is a photo of Miranda's house. 

There are approximately 20 houses at the orphanage, each with 6 children of varying ages.  One section of the property has the girls' houses and the other side is for the boys.

When we brought Miranda to the lodge she was very quiet and lethargic.  I think she missed all the activity and playing with the house sisters (the other days when we went to get Miranda the sisters were in school).  But then she started looking sleepy and fell asleep around 9am.  (I still can't quite figure out when she usually sleeps - Thursday she didn't have a morning nap, Friday she fell asleep at 11am, today was 9am.  Supposedly, she just takes a nap whenever she wants.  I know we let her sleep too long yesterday afternoon because she did NOT want to go to bed last night).

When she woke up she was a little more active and started riding the motorcycle up and down the hall.  She even got going fast enough that she crashed into the wall and fell off.  She started crying when she fell, which was good, because she usually is so quiet and doesn't seem to cry at much.

Then Andiswa came at 11am and played with Miranda.  Miranda was very excited and animated.  She chattered constantly.  Andiswa's English is good enough that she was able to translate for us.  Andiswa was exceeding polite and acted like a little mommy, putting Miranda first as they played.  They rode the motorcycle, played with balloons, built towers out of blocks, played with play-doh, etc.  We also played with bubbles.  After much blowing (and spitting) Miranda learned how to blow bubbles!!  There was a little squabble when Andiswa was on the motorcycle and Miranda wanted to be on it.  Another good sign of normal 2 year old behavior!  Andiswa said that Miranda pointed at the bike and said "MINE".

Andiswa and Miranda ate lunch with us (I never quite understood what the "plan" was but Andiswa seemed happy to be invited.  This was the first meal we've had with Miranda.)  When we sat down I said I would pray.  Andiswa said that Miranda knew how to pray and told her to pray.  Miranda prayed a short prayer but the only part I understood was "amen".  We found a food Miranda doesn't like - apple slices were definitely not a big hit.  However, chicken got gobbled down.   Miranda stuffed at least 5 pieces of chicken breast in her mouth until her cheeks were full!  I told her she needed to chew and swallow before taking more (and thankfully, Andiswa was able to translate that).  We asked Andiswa what Miranda's favorite foods are and she said meat - chicken or beef.  I have a feeling that meat is a special treat here.

Some other girls came to get Andiswa in the early afternoon.  We kept Miranda and she had another nap.  She is the sweetest thing when she falls asleep.  She was looking sleepy so I held her in my lap and read a book.  She just snuggled against me and went to sleep.  When I woke her up she was still very sleepy and wrapped her arms and legs and around me.  She is so fun to cuddle.

Another safety practice that is different here is that car seats are not used.  Miranda has ridden in a car to go to doctor's appointments but has not ridden in a car seat.  Today we took a drive out the dirt road to the end of the orphanage property to start getting Miranda used to the car seat.  We didn't buckle her in, we just had her sit in the seat.  Her eyes were really big and she seemed scared when we got in the car but she didn't make a peep.  She was quite excited when we came back and pulled into the parking area near her house and she could see other kids running around.

When we got back we walked to her house and it was empty.  The other house sisters were playing outside and some kids said the house mom would be back in "10 minutes".  Miranda went over to one of her older house sisters and was with her.  It felt odd but we left her to play with the other kids knowing that the older girls are used to watching the younger.  Miranda's house sisters are quite special and I know she will have a hard time adjusting to not having them.