Planet Mad

Well, we've just finished our first week of trainings in South Africa, and they all seemed to go well. The most successful were the condom games, but a lot of the more emotive sessions on prejudice and on people's response to HIV were also good - we were lucky to be working with a group of peer educators who had been selected as the best from their regions, and that certainly showed in the questions that they asked and their approach to trainings. Campfires South African style have also been fantastic - singing, clapping, dancing, harmony - all without obvious leadership or direction. We haven't been away from the National Guide Centre (in Jo'burg) since we arrived, apart from two trips to a local shopping mall and a brief stop at Makro to buy resources. As a result, I don't really feel like I've seen South Africa, but that will all change tomorrow, I suspect - we're off to Constitution Hill and the Aparteid Museum. We've been warned to take tissues: it could be an emotional day.

The weather has been great, although the Guides on the training course reckoned that it's really cold. Admittedly it's been clear and frosty at night, but it's been sunny during the day, and temperatures have been quite high in the sun. Certainly I won't be heading back to the UK without a tan (albeit a tan that stops at mid-arm and ankles!)

After this weekend of sight-seeing, we're off to Soweto for some trainings and home hospitality, and then on to Rustenberg (to the north west of Johannesburg) for more trainings and homestay. We've hired a Kombi (minibus) to get around, so that will make life easier. We've also been promised a real South African braai (spelling?!) on our last Friday night here - I can't wait! Let's hope that the next two weeks are as good as this one has been.