no I don't know what nies are
and I know, haven’t written a thing the last time. I blame the car accident from 2 weeks ago. Don’t panic, I’m fine, if you still want information, you always can call me or send me a text message or just read the other blogs. I’m already known as ‘the mole’ here, because I spread the news by telling the previous volunteers. Now I present to you my last days here ( I cut out the hospital & the long toilet visits)
Thursday the 20th:
Marieke’s birthday
Yep… I’ve got my own cabin. I’m a made man now. A beach buggy of my own is the only thing that still lasts. There’s this little house outside the main house which used to be used by the used servant who was used for cleaning up used towels, used cups & mugs and all kinds of used things. We could use such a servant right now I must say. But look at me when something needs to be cleaned up, just because I live in a servants house, do the dishes, take out the trash, kill cockroaches(is that the right word? Looks a little fishy to me), fight windmills ( I like selling images in which it looks like if I’m doing everything )
No not realy different, quite the same actually, I'm still stealing lines from the British comedy scene.
At this moment I'm giving computerlessons at Molly Blackburn, simple ones, but effective ones. At the beginning they come in and they're jiggling with their mouse on the screen. At the end they know the basic things about word and are able to highlight any letter/word/sentence they want ( which is a real accomplisment) I've added two pictures of a computer lesson (with another let's-worship-Tom moment. believe me, you would have made the same face.)
We (not all of us but instead of explaining who went in our group I'll just say we) went to Plettenberg Baai this weekend and returned through Tsitsikamma on our way back. This was actually the first time I saw something really outside PE and we we're driving through South Africas beautiful landscapes. And I insist on saying that we had chameleons in our backyard.
I greet thee all from a very relaxed position.
I decided to inform you a little bit more about the situation here, instead of saying what I do in the weekends, I'll give you a hunch about the projects I've been doing (I've helped three of 'em now)
I started with the project at the highschool of Gelvandale, which is a coloured school (no I'm not being politically incorrect, becasue of the apartheid it is common here to name people by their colour, pinky-face). This after visiting the black schools (ah ah, can't touch me) Limakaya and Molly Blackburn (the places where the girls were shouting my name)
Chjello!? (pronounce in a Borat way)
I just wanted to quickly post some pictures from my weekend in the township (and a picture of South African Wildlife)
This saturday I went to the township of Uitenhage, to which I was accidentaly invited by a local, Mfundo Plaatjies.
The plan was to walk around and in the evening I went to a party at someones home. (the occasion was a boy who turned one year old, but we turned up late so the kids had already left and were replaced by alcohol)
After this party, went back to Mfundos place (which is not the shack on the picture) and got to know that in Langa ( the district I was in ) they never ever stop the music. If one house stops playing it, than the next one begins and in the morning (it was Sunday) the gospel starts filling the air.
In the end I must say I had a really nice time and there's no way I could cram al those experiences into this writing box.
Kapusta! (I'm sorry, the last days I discovered just how funny cabbage is spelled in Polish)
This last week.... actually was a little weary for me. I'm now helping out the R4L project on the Galvendale High School. The problem is, that the start isn't very promising yet, there's not yet a high level of cooperation to found. But it's getting better and we're getting teachers and the deputy principal on our side. Even the students are saying it's not bad (students not disliking homework classes! Hallelujah! Another soul saved! That's just the project talking through me, I don't know if I would be that keen on homework classes.)
We're just in desperate need of local volunteers, who hopefully will turn up this week.
Also (pronounce in the german way),
now let me tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about my stay so far.
The first days (till wednesday) I actually didn't participated in the project itself. I only got shown around. On tuesday, we went to one of the high schools, Molly Blackburn. Me and two other volunteers (Maaike the 2nd (I'll explain that later) and Elske) and the projectinitiator Marieke with the healthy leg (this will be part of the explanation that will follow later on). Marieke had to go to a meeting and the three of us promised to be good.
We just walked a little through the school, watched the boys play football in their uniforms, the women selling fruit to the children and the small chat groups scattered over the place. Lots of children, 1100 I was made to believe.
So I've only ten minutes to write something and I'm now waisting them on this sentence that should stop any moment now....................... STOP
About my trip: it was completely fool proof. Everything went fine, even if I had told the woman in London I wanted to go to Australia, she would give me a look into the eyes and say: ''what's wrong with you laddy? don't you know you want to go to South Africa?''
on my long flight to Jo'burg I sat next to a woman from Florida and the sweaty feet of the man behind me reminded me of my own, so that delivered me some terrific sleep.
Now, here, (at this moment, at this place not, sorry just to wrob it in) I'm still doing fine. Hehe next saturday I've got a party on the beach with volunteers and students and the saturday after that, I probably got myself invited to some kind of African Party (have the feeling that I'll stand out)
Good day to y'all,
So I've finally decided to write something on my weblog. And I'll do this in English, because a great part of the people who got this site from me don't speak Dutch. The consequence of this will be that the texts might contain a high rate of made-up Anlo-Dutch words. I realize this is not a shame, but it's not a great honor either, so I'm demanding to have the last word on this.
This last week of mine was filled with multiple of goodbyes and confessions of people who were going to miss me. Almost I'm realizing that tomorrow will be the day that I'll be flying to Port Elizabeth. Wednesday was my last day at work as 'chief of fax' and it was a memorable goodbye smoothed up with a little help of Polish wodka.

Naam: Tomasz Piessens
Leeftijd: 23
Was vrijwilliger bij Ready 4 Life van 04 feb 2008 tot 29 mrt 2008
Wil je meer weten over Be More, kijk dan even op hun website www.be-more.nl. Je vindt daar het laatste nieuws, meer informatie over mijn project en je kan er donateur worden!
"Een stevige brug bouwen tussen mensen van verschillende achtergronden, culturen en continenten; hen te inspireren deze brug te bewandelen en een blijvende band te creëren tussen beide kanten.
