February 1st - June 2nd
Travel restrictions overcome, PCR test completed, Travel Certificate returned and I was off ...
2 hour flight to France 3 hour layover 9 hours to Joburg and I could breath! Thankfully I met a professional tennis player at Heathrow who was also heading to Johannesburg so he helped me with the transit in France. Once we landed in South Africa and he met up with a friend, I rented a car and drove to a bed and breakfast close to TLC so that I could surprise the kiddies and management the following morning as I was shattered.
So that next morning I packed up a small bag and headed off to surprise everyone! However, it did not go smoothly I forgot just how scary driving could be in South Africa. Up until this trip I had only ever been a passenger and man oh man that was scary enough. Taxi's don't quite understand the rules of the road and most just pay for their lisences without doing the actual test. Over the pot hole roads I drove for about 20 minutes when I got to the intersection that leads to TLC road and the power was out. No traffic lights. So at this point you kind of hold your breath and hope that all the other drivers are on the same brain wave as you and put your foot down and cross the road. Then with that all going smoothly you can breath again. One step closer to my babies and TLC family.
Once I saw the security guard I knew I was home. It felt right. He knows me and my parents very well so he was surprised by my return. He showed me where to park and that was it. I ran into the nursery and surprised most of the managers and met the new babies. However no one at preschool new I had returned so I wondered down and discreatly walked past one of the managers offices. I opened the door, walked in and said I'm home. To my surprise she burst into tears ... I ran over to her hugged her and she said that was just what she needed. what all of them needed something positive within a month of hard and challenging times. We had a short conversation as to how I ended up returning then she asked if I had visited my preschool group yet. I replied, No. I explained I was worried that they wouldn't remember me it had been nearly an entire year since my previous trip ended and they were all still so small when I left. She replied saying that they would never forget me and that I made such a big impact in their little lives. So, having said this she asked to video the reunion. I spotted the kiddies outside their room going for playtime after their nap whilst the preschool teacher was putting their clean tables back inside from their lunch a short time before I arrived. I walked outside and peeped around the corner, not realising the manager hadn't quite got the camera running at this point... but my babies saw me and ... the recognised me! ANNA ANNA ANNA they shouted as they started getting closer to me! The preschool teacher ( someone who i had grown closely with during previous trips) had her back turned to me and was telling the kids to go play as Hannah was on her break and to leave her alone. (Hannah was another volunteer who was their at that period of time) to her disbelieve I shouted her name and she came running ... The kids got to me first but she was shocked, she was so happy to see me.
I explained that I was there on a holiday visa so would be staying close to TLC for just under 90 days as that's all my visa would allow and that I could help out wherever I was needed.
After a couple of weeks back and forth to TLC Children's home I decided to take one of the managers and 2 if his friends to Durban on holiday as they had all really helped me on previous trips. This was just what I needed after 10 months of full on care work working 6 days a week most weeks with the roller coaster of emotions that came with it. During my time as a care worker I had to process 29 of my clients people who i got to know like grandparents pass away from old age and illnesses that we could not control. Mentally this was hard. And although I was on a lovely holiday with incredible people I didn't feel like myself. I felt lost and confused. I didn't understand why, all I knew is I needed to be alone. So after a lovely week and a bit of holidaying I drove back to Johannesburg with them and chilled in a hotel for a few days however it seemed like I was meant to be back in Durban I just had a feeling and so I went.
I booked a ticket and flew down where I uber'd to the cheapest bedsit I could find. Turns out it was the place that I needed to be, the couple who owned it where lovely. The wife was English and she had just returned from England after doing a stint of domicilary care to earn money to take back to her bedsit business. She and her husband and son where lovely and made me feel at home making sure I was safe and well looked after. My friend was down from Joburg taking care of his Gran at the time so we went on days out and explored around town for a few weeks. The place I stayed at was in the prime location ... a 20 minute walk up to the local shopping mall and restuarants and 15 minute walk down to a relaxing beach where surfers loved to go as the waves where incredible. Most mornings I would find myself waking up just before sunrise and walking down to the beach and along the promenade to the local supermarket to get breakfast and relax by the ocean. This was just what I needed. A place to rest, relax and enjoy the outdoors and be at peace. My friend took me to a church he had found that linked with the one we went to in Johannesburg. I met lovely people and became closer to God during this time.
The weeks went fast whilst I was down there enjoying the fresh beach air. It was time for me to go back to Johannesburg to spend time with the kiddies before I had to return to England.
As I wasn't a 'proper' volunteer I stayed offsite so was booking bed and breakfasts in the local communities however, this one was a flop and a big one at that...
It was dirty, scary and extremely unwelcoming, so after speaking to my parents in the UK I decided after 2 nights to go back to Durban by the sea and relax and unwind until I was to come home to England. Many travel restrictions where being put into place during my time in SA and this was quickly becoming real. The South African president decided to extend all visas as it was becoming impossible to travel home with the continuous flight cancellations, So I decided to say goodbye to everyone at TLC and just before lunch time I drove the 6 hours by myself down to Durban (basically one road from Joburg to Durban) I went back to the same bedsit and stayed there for roughly a month. This is when I became very sick! Everytime I would eat I was either sick or had dioreah my lips where swollen and blistered peeling every few days... and little did I know I also had a awful sinus infection. The pain was soo bad that the only option on day 9 of being ill was to get up just before sunrise and walk to the nearest doctors surgery at the mall. I knew that if I waited until the sun was up I would have passed out so this was the only way to get there.
When the admin Lady unlocked the door for the morning patients she saw me there leaning against the wall, she quickly welcomed me in, gave me a chair and told me i'd be the first one to be seen. The Doctors visit went something along the line of ... you've had a reaction to food, you've got a severe sinus infection and are severely dehydrated! If you had come to us tomorrow we would have admitted you to hospital. Go to the shops and drink at least 8 lucuzaids a day to rehydrate and get antibiotics and other medications from the pharmacy. She told me not to fly until the sinus infection had cleared up and then think about heading home to get things sorted in the UK.
So, that is what i did....
Just under 2 weeks and 2 cancelled flights later I got on the flight back to the UK via France to end up in what I class as.... Hotel Hell...
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