Babies, Taxies and Lots of Waiting....

We got up at 6am yesterday! Earliest day yet!  Kyllie and Vanessa and I took Piso and Aya to the clinic today for HIV/AIDS test results and immunization vaccinations.   Vanessa had warned me that the way this particular clinic works (they are very rude, especially to blacks) we might be at the clinic all day. I still had no idea, just how long she meant.  I thought a few hours at the most... We left the baby home around 7:30 and walked to the nearest "big street" where we hopped a taxi. That was a new experience....you see, in SA the taxis are more like white busses filled to the brim with people.  They are "kings" of the road, watch out, if you are ever driving in SA they may not stop for you!!!  The taxis will practically stop in the middle of the road to pick you up, so long as they get your business.  The taxi could not take us all of the way to the clinic so once it d ripped us off we had to walk the rest of the way. It was definitely a new experience seeing the poorer side of SA. The stinky, crowded side where people saw you, a white person, and looked at you like "ooo, what is she doing here!?!" We arrived at the clinic just before 8am (the clinic opens at 7:30) and we were not seen until 2pm! We literally spent all day there. Over seven hours of our day just for that! It was crazy. First we had to stand in line. Then we got the ok to sit down on a bench and wait to move up to get our waiting number (yes...we had to wait for our waiting number!!!) They had a strange system. They had two rows of six or seven church pew-like benches.  As they called the first row down everyone moved up a row. So gradually we made it to the front of the other side.  We were handed our number (numbers 192, 193, and 194). After getting our umbels we had to sit in the front row of the other side and wait for them to call our file names. We sat and sat and sat and listened to many many names called, until the lady finally came out and said "those of you who are waiting for injections,mi will not call your name now.  There are too many babies in the back room. I will not call you now, just wait. Do not ask me how long it will be, I do not know." And so we waited, again.  Finally our names were called and we were directed to a different waiting room where we waited to be called up soothe nurses could weigh the babies.  After weighing the babies (Piso, who is 2months was 5.3kg and Aya, who is 4 months, was 7.4kg!)  after that they lined us up in order of number, which had not been used thus far, and we waited some more until the nurse called us in for shots. A very boring, yet somehow tiring day! But praise God! All three of our baby girls' test results came back negative! Even Piso's who's mom was HIV positive! She was given an injection right after both and her mom put her on formula immediately so she never got it from her mom :) a huge blessing! And surprise, usually they don't have money to put the babies on formula (moms milk is cheapest but one main way that HIV is passed on from mom to baby) We were so thankful for that! God is so good!