Another opportunity to say ‘what a day’- and I think I’ve managed to do all my souvenir shopping as well.
For the morning we were released into Welwichia Flea Market, with strict instructions to always haggle, stay strong, and never pay more than half the asking price. Between us we did end up utilising some pretty imaginative techniques to fend off the vendors, from the classic ‘this is all the money I have on me’ to ‘I can’t buy your family figurine set because I am an orphan’. (Looking at you, Izzie.) We can excuse ourselves for such deceits, however- the number of store owners whose brothers, cousins, or mothers had painted unnaturally similar picture landscapes suggested either a lot of shared relatives or some shady answers, among other questionable assurances. I don’t, for instance, believe the store holder who told me his sister’s name was Lucy, if only because his very persistent handshake indicated pecuniary rather than friendly motives. Nonetheless, the market was very vibrant with so many different knick-knacks all crammed in together, and it was lovely to browse the stalls. No photos, as we were advised against taking in our smartphones, but here are the souvenirs I bought.
Four colourful little hippos, a necklace, and a malachite egg which is now my dragon egg.
Direct from the market we headed to the playing ground for our hockey match against Woodlands International College. The spirit of this game was fantastic. Although we maintained a strong lead throughout, Woodlands fought right through and didn’t let their heads down at all. As Miss Cockayne said, it’s rare to find such a team who will not give up or turn on each other when the play doesn’t go their way. The game against Cornwall Hill was tougher, but this one gave us the chance to practice switching, structure, and our own teamwork.
Beth about to take a shot. The final score was 10-nil.
The netball match saw similarly high scores from our attack, but as it was played back at their school, also meant the team could mingle with Woodlands Students. This was definitely one of the highlights of the day- they were so friendly! The teachers had to pretty much peel us away after the post-match pizza. I definitely feel like this is what we should be doing on our tour; we haven’t come all this way just to play a team then leave again, rather to make friends, share stories, and actually get to know people while we’re in South Africa. (Shoutout to Lesego for her incredibly sweet status about meeting us, we had just as much fun and you guys couldn’t have been nicer.)
Alice on the ball, final score 33-2.
One final note, which may be taken as a reminder to expect the unexpected: Even halfway across the world, some things never leave you. This was on show in Woodlands’ dining hall:
Simultaneous fond memories and war flashbacks. “INTERNET”
As tomorrow is a horribly early start (again), I will sign off now. I’m not complaining though, because tomorrow we are going on a game drive!
So I live 