Band of Brothers(and Sisters):The Beginning

The Yoyl team of 2011 consists of fourteen strange,unique individuals and one leader. Those joining me on this ridiculous journey are,in alphabetical order,Carmen,Cathryn,Chelsea,Eugene,Jodie,Lisa,Madhvi,Manon,Matt,Matt,Petra,Shaydene and Tooks. Our great and mighty leader goes by the name Grant. On the 17th of December 2010 I took a bus down to Durban where I spent the weekend with Cathryn's family,with the intention of confirming the fact that I did not want to do Yoyl. On the 19th I attended Redemption Point Church where I met the afore said Grant as well as Chelsea and the first Matthew. By the end of the day I was fully determined to return home with a very positive NO. That evening I flew home somewhat unsure,went to sleep undecided and woke up knowing there was no choice but to return to Red Point. The day I left Springs I was positive I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. On the 24th of January,I met the rest of the team and by the end of the week I never wanted to leave. Now,nearly 5 months later,I am already dreading the day I must leave these amazing people who have become a huge part of my life.

Over the next few days or weeks I will introduce you,oh cyber space,to my Band of Brothers and Sisters who have forever changed my life.

Yoyl Team 2011.
From left to right:Carmen,Shaydene,Jodie,Matt D,Tooks,Matt T,Grant,Cathryn,Me,Madhvi,Chelsea,Petra,Lisa.

(: Happy Friday :)

Friday the thirteenth. I love superstitious people. They're such fun to laugh at. This poor,unsuspecting day that falls on the 13th as well as a friday has become a day of fear and dread for such people. In honour of them,and those of us who believe in more than bad luck ladders,we at Salt and Light youth made today Happy Friday. Instead of dressing up as grotesque creatures of the imagination,we adorned ourselves with smiley faces,bright colours and silly grins. I even wrote the word "Happy" in eighteen different languages on my sleeves. Our evening passed without any hint of misfortune or bad luck,despite the fact that my black cat ran in front of several times today. Happy Friday the thirteenth dear cyber space. :) :) :)

Just Keep Walking

Even though my last post ended with me choosing losing my mind over the current crazyness of life,I am fully determined to walk on through it. I have formulated a small list of things to keep me walking on the sane path instead of skipping over to the fields of insanity.

Going to youth;there's is something amazing in worshipping with people as crazy as yourself.

Running through piles of leaves.The sound and feel is almost theraputic.

Taking photos of random objects,such as shoes and eyes.

Tea,especially when I don't have to make it.

Reading New Moon,even though it is highly overrated and doesn't end the way I want it to.

Having smal,random crazy moments,like pulling faces in the mirror or laughing at nothing.

Recalling moments of intense laughter with my non-related relatives,namely Uncle Rob and Aunty Lou

Blogging.

These small,seemingly insignificant things keep me walking on. Walking,walking always walking...

Walking in red

Walking in black

Walking in yellow

Losing My Mind By Enhancing It

"The more we study the more we discover our ignorance." - Percy Bysshe Shelley


Over the past six weeks I have journeyed back to November last year and pulled out my Biology textbooks. The more I study,the less I seem to retain. I am starting to believe that twelve years of school is all any brain can take. Whatever the case,I soldier on in chilly Springs,anticipating either a victory or my demise over the next three weeks. As Margaret Thatcher so wisely states,"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." So I'm still fighting,fighting,fighting. I will either win this battle or it will win me. I will hope for the former no matter how much the latter looms. Losing my mind seems a happy alternative at this point...

Joyfully losing it..

Home is Where...

As my few readers will know,I have been in Pinetown for the past two and a half months. I came back to Springs in April for two months to rewrite my Biology exams. While writing events onto a calender,I made the mistake of writing "home" on the day on which I return to Pinetown. My little sister was quite disgusted and has not let my small,unconscious blunder go.The fact that the day I arrived in Springs is marked with the same word meant little to her.

Where,then,is home? Is it where your family is? Is it where you grew up? Is it where you have the most memories? I have friends in Pinetown who are as close as family. Spending every minute of every day with people does that. I like to believe that I've grown up a little since leaving and I've made more memories in those few months than the whole of last year.

I think home is where the people understand you. It's where they don't question your obsession with polka dots and Chinese babies. It's where they like you even when you're grumpy. It's where they've seen you when you've just woken up. It's where they know your "I can't believe you own that" outfits. It's where a certain look can bring on a hug and a cup of tea. Home is where they've held you when you cry. It's where you have so many inside jokes you could form a new language. It's where you don't have to be polite all the time. Home is where people really know you and,for reasons unknown,still love you.

I firmly believe that Pinetown is as much my home as Springs is and Springs is no less my home than Pinetown is.

A few of my Pinetown "family" members.

My real family in Springs,at a Wild West dress up.

Pictures of things

Dandelion Dew

Pink Flower

Spiderweb

Weathered Dandelion

More Spiderwebs

Webs in the Grass

Yellow Flower

Spider in Disguise

Yet Another Wet Web

Within the Yellow Rose

George Is A Very Strong Man

George. The name of a old man who wears tweed and smokes a pipe. Our small,fat,female jack russel cross corgie. A slang term that means "you mixed the words in your sentence up and sounded like a fool." In Pinetown,amongst my dearest YOYL friends,this third George is a man we are all very well aquainted with. The combination of fatigue,coffee highs and typical teenage giggles have all made this George an old friend. We have even made a wall in honour of his ever present influence. Here are some of our best Georges.

"She has feet all the way down to her hair"-Shaydene,speaking of Rapunzel. Those knots will be tough to work through.

"I will come in the beach bag with you"-Manon,when saying she will join me on the bean bag. In her defense,she is Mauritian.

"Yesterday I had three cups of sugar"-Shaydene,apparently trying to say she had threecups of tea,with five sugars each. Either one explains her mood.

"I did not did it on purpose"-Madhvi,who is also Mauritian.

"We are fish of men"-Chelsea,on the fishermen preach at youth.

"I tried to spitted on her"-Shaydene,who tried to spit water on me.

"Do not be domestic violence!!"-Shaydene to Matt,who was pinching her.

"I better put my phone away before God comes"-Jodie,breaking Grant's no phone rule. What would Jesus think if He returned and you were holding that evil piece of technology?

"Just imagination it"-Shaydene,who is very close friends with George.

"Look whose stick is better than now"-Matt O. Who knows.

"What did Shaydene said?"-Tooks,in asking about Shay's George,makes his own.

"I have knees on my freckles"-Shaydene,who we are beginning to suspect is the feminine version of George.

"Always I say sometimes"-Matt P. And sometimes he makes sense.

"Stop making laugh of me!"-Yours Truly. I blame the effects their teasing has on me for my mistake.

We are not mentally disabled or uneducated. We do think before we speak and we do word our sentences correctly at times. Still,there is no denying the fact that George is indeed a very strong man..