the end is here

I’m so sorry it’s been so long. The last week and half has been insane, busy and amazing. I apologize for the length of this!

The end of work sites and our community development class
Our last three days at Walk in the Light were amazing. We were able to complete all of our projects. The whole place looks incredibly different. There are now two playgrounds, a sidewalk, a cleared shed, and an awesome rock climbing rock wall. All we were able to accomplish with such limited resources amazes me.

We concluded our time at Walk in the Light in a very special way. Our last day there is one I will never forget. In the morning we put finishing touches on our projects. We went out to a goodbye lunch at a local restaurant called the Crafty Duck. It was delicious and a wonderful time of fellowship. By the time we got back, all the kids had arrived. We played with them and hung out. A few of the people on our team brought a bunch of plain colored t-shirts and decorated them as jerseys for soccer teams. The kids were so excited for them and immediately organized teams and started a game. All the other kids gathered on the sidelines to cheer. It was a really fun afternoon, because our whole group, senior youth and junior youth were all gathered in the same place together having the best time.

In the evening we had our closing service. Bruce, the founder of walk in the light and one of the most giving people you will ever meet wanted to end the day with a communion service in the community. One of the long-term goals for Walk in the Light is to have a community center in Haniville (right now walk in the light is located across the street from Haniville). So we our communion service became a sort of ground breaking for the community center. We took a big wooden cross that the guys had put together and with the help of the senior youth carried it across the street. Bruce wanted the foundation for the center to be Christ. We put the cross up as the sun was setting which made the whole thing just that much cooler. After communion, we all sung songs together. It was pretty emotional as this was the last time we would see these people. I cried so many tears, but I was so happy at the same time. Walk in the Light is such an amazing ministry that is going to do amazing things for the community of Haniville.



The Safari!
Last Friday, we had our last community development class, officially ending the academic part of our semester. I’m happy to report I made out with decent grades all around. Praise the Lord!

Saturday we took off for a three-day African safari. It was incredible. We drove four hours to Imfolzi where we stayed out in the bush. Our campground was not enclosed, so we had to be extremely careful at night as not to be attacked by any wild animals. The safari was amazing. We had a total of 7 two to three hour safaris over the three-day period. Both nights we went out on night safaris, which are so neat. The guide uses a spotlight to find the animals. We got pretty lucky and saw five cheetahs one of the days and two male lions another day. We also saw buffalo, elephants, zebras, giraffes, black and white rhinos, warthogs, hyenas, impala, and nyala. It was fantastic.

Reflections

Today has been such a hard day, it being our last day here. I have already cried many tears and I’m sure I’ll cry more. I’m full of mixed emotions. I’m excited to go home and be reunited with friends and family, but I’m incredibly sad to leave this place I love and the friends I have made here. I have grown so much here. My worldview has been changed and formed. I have seen the face of AIDS and poverty. I made friends with some of the most beautiful people you will ever meet. I have fallen in love with a country and a people and I will never be the same.

I want to thank all of you who have read this and joined me in this journey. I have appreciated your thoughts, prayers, and support so much. I hope to see all of you this summer so I can share my experiences with you in person.

Pictures!

Sala Kahle!

Only a week and a half left....

As many of you know my asthma has been acting up quite a bit the last couple of weeks. I'm happy to report that I doing much better! I went to the clinic last week and after a cortisone injection and breathing treatment, along with some antibiotics I'm able to breathe once again! thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Update on last week!
I think pictures really do the best job here!
here's are pictures of the jungle gym we constructed for the younger kids!

we built this whole thing from scratch! before there was a garden here.

Pictures from Walk in the Light!

Another week has gone by and I promise a detailed post about all the happenings of this past week but I'm gonna post a few pictures for now.

This is a picture from last week. These are a bunch of the kids who come in the afternoon. We had a bunch of chalk so we all went a little crazy and smeared it all over our faces. It was so fun.













working in the hot sun clearing weeds.






















Above: A few of my new friends.



Packing fruit! the bags of fruit are put into food packages and distributed to the community.

a week gone by

So much has happened this last week! I know I mentioned I would update more often once work projects started but the days are so busy and long now. The weekends are really the only time I have to catch up emails and blogging. I've also been using my free time to rest. Ive been having some issues with my asthma this past week which has not been fun. So if you think of it, keep me in your prayers! I want to breathe easily once again!

I'll start on last weekend. We had a day trip to the Drakensberg Mountains on Sunday. We took a 45 minute hike up to see some ancient cave paintings. It was pretty incredible to see something that was painted there thousands of years ago. It was also a beautiful day.

This past week at Walk in the Light has been extremely busy and productive. Monday, we cleared a shed. It was a huge task as the whole thing was packed full of wood and other random things. After some walls and doors are added the shed is going to be used as gym/hang out center for the youth.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning whacking away at knee high grass. We've clear quite a huge area. Let me tell you, using a dull machetes and pitch forks to clear that much grass is quite the task. We've cleared it to build a playground for the kids from Haniville. There's this perfect tree right center of the grassy area that were going to using for tire swings. We've even begun construction on a tree house. I'm really no help in all these construction projects, due to my complete lack of real construction skills, but it's been fun to see the progress and encourage the people with construction skills. Another exciting thing about the playground project is that the senior youth have gotten really involved with the clearing of the grass and building the playground. We're learning in our community develop class about the importance of empowering the people of community by working a long side them.

Tuesday afternoon, we attended the funeral of one of the ladies who died last week. It was a heart breaking and eye opening afternoon. Being at the cemetery was unreal . There were so many graves only feet apart from each other. We were told that the cemetery is running out of room and are forced to dig graves extremely close. There are up to 10 to 15 funerals on saturdays and sundays. It's a painful reality.

Wednesday and Thursday we continued the playground project. We have the start of an awesome tree house. We also got to feed all the kids lunch both days. The afternoons are my favorite part of the day when all the kids come to play!

okay it's super late here so I'm gonna end this, but i'll be sure to put pictures up this week. I miss all of you!

Crazy Intense Week.

This last week has been very busy!

We started our service projects on Tuesday. Our group is split between two work sites, Walk in the Light and Gateway. Both are community organizations that each have several different programs aimed at helping the community. I'm in the group that's working at Walk in the Light. Walk in the Light is located across the street from the Township of Hanibille, with a population of 10,000. Walk in the Light, is a Christian based organization that does basically everything it can to help and assist the people of Hanibille, although have extremely limited resources. They provide food and clothing for the community . One of the main way they the assist the community is to provide transportation for individuals to and from the hospital and clinic as well as home visits. They also perform funerals and assist with the costs invloved. It is estimated that 80 percent of the adult population is HIV infected. So much of Walk in the Light's works includes working with individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Tuesday, we went out to help with transport. Our team of 20 is split up into smaller groups of four. Each day a different group goes out with Rod, one of the directors of Walk in the Light, to transport people to the clinic and to get their pension from the government building. We transported 5 different women, two which were gogos (grannys) who were extremely weak and could not even walk on their own to the van. We later learned that out of the five women, we transported that day, four of them were HIV positive. It seemed so unreal. It was the first time in my life that I had put a face and name to HIV/AIDS. I know i have worked with HIV positive individuals on my previous trips here, but I guess I had never faced the reality of how wide spread and horrible HIV/AIDS is for the people and their community. It's heart breaking, becuase I know that those two gogos don't have much time left could very possibly pass away before we leave in the next three weeks. This week alone two people have died. The funerals are planned for next week. I think this is going to be the hardest part of the service project as we feel so helpless. These people that are dying have families. I'm at a loss.

As apart of Walk in the Light they work to supply food to people in their community. On Wednesday we helped out with this, by packing dried fruit into individual bags. We bagged about 20 buckets of fruit. In the afternoon the senior youth and kids came and we did some activities with them and played a bunch of games. It was really fun to play with and get to know the youth.

Thursday we whacked at grass all morning. They asked us to clear all the weeds and tall grass from the entrance of walk in the Light to the actual building. Probably 1/4 of mile. There was not enough money for gas for the mowers so we used "pushes" or extremely dull machetes. It was physically exhausting , but we were able to whack down quite a bit. In the afternoon the kids and youth came back and we played bucketball and led games and crafts. Working with the kids is definitely going to be my favorite part of the next three weeks.

Today, Friday, we have class all day. Which isn't very exciting. I'm learning so much about community development though! I didn't mention it yet, but we have been working to implement the tools we're learning class with the community. Especially with the senior youth that come.

Ngiyajubula!

I'm so sorry it has been so long! I wish I had a worth while excuse, but honestly I've just been busy. Much has happened though so I will do my to fill you in. This past week and a half has been full of transitions and fun. I think the easiest way will be to make a list.

THE TOP 10 THINGS i think you should know about.

1. Zulu is over! and i survived :) I took my final oral Zulu test tuesday and the written on Wednesaday. Both went very well. There's a pretty good chance I'll be receiving an A in the class which is very exciting, considering how ridiculously hard the class proved to be. . After our final on Wednesday the Zulu class got to embark on our first and last field trip which was lots of fun. Our Zulu teacher took us to a Butterflies of Africa where we got to see all kinds of beautful butterflies. We also went to the Pietermaritzburg Museum as well as the muesum of art. After that our class took Winn, our Zulu instructor out to dinner. It was really fun to celebrate the end of an intensive and challenging five weeks. Here's a picture of the whole class at butterflies for africa :)

2. Now that Zulu is over, were going into the last part of the program which is an community engagement class that includes an intensive service project. Our instructor is a community developer from Kenya. He has worked for the organization World Vision for 14 years. He now works in Kenya as independent consultant for community development. We had our first class today and I really enjoyed it. He took us all outside and had we sat under a tree and discussed aspects of community development. Later he had us all stand up in a circle, then he announced that in 3 minutes there would be a fire in the middle of the circle and we would create it, then he said go. Sure enough our group rush into action and using the sticks and paper close by plus a few matches and created a small fire in 3 minutes. The activity was to demonstrate how a community comes together and how they must work with what they have, just as we worked with the resources and knowledge we had way. . It was a fun activity and definitely unique. Since I've never been in a class where were required to go outside and build a fire. I'm excited for the next month.

3. fall break 08! Last weekend was fall break . Spring break, really but it's of course fall here. A group of 12 of us venture off to Durban (about an hour from PMB) to stay at a backpackers hostel for the weekend. The hostel was incredibly nice with pool and everything. It was also about two miles from the beach front. The street our hostel was on was full of amazing restaurants, even a Mexican one! It was amazing! the restaurant was called taco zulu and after 3 months of no Mexican food our group was in heaven. On Saturday we went to a professional soccer game. the pirates vs. the royals. We cheered for the more popular team, the pirates. We told by several locals that we should cheer for the pirates if we wanted to be safe and be liked. People were a lot nicer to us once they knew who we were cheering for. It was quite an cultural experience as our 20 person group made up the entire white population. The audience gets pretty intense as well. We made friends with a few of the people sitting next to us and i got to practice some of my zulu with them. It was fun to yell out Zulu phases like "woza" the whole time.

We spent quite a bit of time relaxing on the beach which was much needed. We also went to a few different markets. I got a little too much sun, but luckily I didn't get burnt. Overall it was an amazing weekend and a complete blast.

heres a picture of group after the soccer game:


4. It's summer no more. It's turning into fall here which has meant a lot less sun and a lot more rain. Last week we had several thunder-lightening storms. The last couple of days haven't been to bad though and it's still gorgeous here even when it rains.

5. Canopy tour. On thursday, our group went on a canopy tour which was absolutely amazing and breath taking. I zip lined through the forest basically. It was really scary and intense but so fun. I'm not terrified of heights but I don't love them so it was pretty crazy. Here's a picture of my group before we headed out.


6. Only five weeks left. I can not believe how fast time has gone by. Now that we are beginning the last leg of the trip I feel time is going to go by faster then ever and it's completely insane!

7. We had visitors! Last week we had a bunch of american vistors. Five of the people on our team either had their families or friends come visit. It was fun to see people with their families and to have new faces around. It was especially exciting for one of the ladies on our trip. Jenna's boyfriend of two years come visit for the week. Jenna's a senior and was my roommate in Cape Town. Anyway her boyfriend proposed the in the middle of the week! So now their engaged which is extremely exciting. Needlessly to say it was an quite an exciting few days.

8. The monkeys are attacking! Now I'm just thinking up random things to tell you about because I'm running out of important things. Anyway the monkeys we share our home with have gotten quite aggressive recently! They are now chasing after us and making extremely odd hissing-like noises all the time. My theory is they've all gone sugar crazy since they are always sneaking into the dining room and stealing all the sugar packets they can get their hands on.

9. I miss all of you! It's been so long since I've seen any of you. As sad as it's going to be to leave this place, I'm getting really excited about seeing all of you and catching up on life.

10. Have I told you about tea time? I'm not sure if I have. One of things I love most about living at AE is tea time twice a day. We have tea time in the morning at 10:30 and in the afternoon at 4. Usually in the morning we have the most amazing muffins and in the afternoons really yummy cookies. It something I'm going to for sure miss once I'm back in America.

Sorry this is sooo incredibly long!

Let's Play!

So I just got back from visiting a preschool about 25 minutes from where we're staying. It was so fun. i could have stayed there all day. We sung songs with the kids, played around, and ate snack.

We also went to a Muslim elementary school before the preschool. We didn't stay very long, but it was fun to meet them and play games. Here are some pictures from my morning!

Go Sharks!

(I wrote some of this update Saturday night, but our Internet was down all day Sunday and Monday and the power has been out today)

Update on Life:

Hello again. I know I keep promising more updates but quite honestly life isn’t too exciting at the moment. Life has fallen into routine here at African Enterprise Center. It’s pretty much like going to normal school, just in Africa. Okay so it’s pretty different than APU and normal life. I’m learning Zulu and it’s probably the hardest thing ever done academically. When I’m not in class I’m studying or hanging with people playing games and having fun or walking around this crazy place. What I’m trying to say is that one or two posts a week usually sums up the highlights of the week. However, once service projects start up in a few weeks there will be a lot more to report on.

This last weekend was fun and relaxing. We didn’t have class on Friday so the weekend started early. I went to chapel (we have chapel as a group on Mondays and Fridays) in the morning and slept most of the rest of day, because I didn’t feel well. I’m feeling a lot better now, but this weekend was a little rough. Saturday we had a Durban day. We went to the beach in the morning. In the evening we went to a Shark Rugby game. It was cool to take part in a sporting event that’s South African and not something you’d find in the States. It was cultural experience of sorts. The Sharks are a pretty big deal in Durban. They were playing New Zealand. Rugby games are awesome! I had no clue what was going on as far as rules and such but it was really intense. Even after the game was over, my understanding of Rugby is pretty limited, I know that they can only pass backwards and that tackling is allowed and they wear no protective gear. The crowd was amazing and had so much energy. Everyone had flags waving and was cheering like crazy. The Sharks won which made the game even more fun.

Sunday was relaxing. I was still getting over being sick so I slept in and did homework in the afternoon.

til next time,

Julia

Another week has gone by and I apologize once again for my lack of posts. We had Zulu class every day last week and it was quite exhausting. We’ve learned so much! I how know present and past tense, commands, questions, and constructing sentences. I'm still struggling with pronunciation but more practice should help. Our Zulu teacher also teaches at a local middle school and she has writing letters to her students there and they’re going to write back. She said she could even arrange for us to visit her class one day next week. I think it’ll be fun to meet her students.

Since we had Zulu everyday, we didn’t get out at all the last week. Since the mall trips and movie runs are usually made in the afternoon during our class. Although beautiful nature reserves, monkeys, and zebras surround us, I’m really excited for the next trip to town. I’m going a little crazy.

Tonight we’re going to church though. I’m excited. From what I hear it’s a big church and there’s a concert tonight. Last week I attended a church whose Pastor works at the African Enterprise. I loved it. They had like an hour and half of worship. It was really great to worship with such a diverse group of people. Plus there were about 20 babies there and a bunch of kids. I got to play with a few of them after the service.

Although I'm going a little crazy being on campus so much I do love it here. I have found several amazing spots to sit and think and pray. There's so much time for reflection. One of my favorite spots is right next to a waterfall. I could sit there for hours and just read. I love being in nature. I feel the Lord has really blessed us with this place.

I almost forget yesterday we attended drum lessons. It was really fun. We all got to play african djembe drums. I wasn't very good, but I had a good time trying. It was pretty much the highlight of my week.

Sawubona!

That's hello in Zulu. Sorry I haven't updated recently. My Zulu class has been consuming my life lately. The first week was really challenging, because the language is so foreign and different to all of us. It's getting better though. We're getting into writing sentences and conjugating verbs which follows a specific formula so it's easier to catch on to.

Besides Zulu my days are pretty relaxed here. After breakfast (almost) every morning I usually walk the 5km trail right next door to African Enterprise center. It's on a mini game reserve/park that's open to the public. It's a beautiful walk and if your lucky you can spot zebras! I had the good fortune of seeing the lovely animals twice this week. they are such interesting creatures when you see them up close. you can actually get quite close to them. I was probably within 10-15 feet of one today. It's been getting pretty hot here the last week or so. There's no pool here, but there are several rivers and a water hole. The rivers are really fun to climb in. We've created a new sport called rock sliding. which is basically where you slide down the drops in the river. I'll post a picture of it soon to give you an idea.

The zulu kids basically spend the whole week on campus, because we have class in the evenings when the mall and movie runs usually happen. However, on the weekends we get out. Our first weekend here we went to a lion park where not only did we get some amazing close ups of a few lions, but we saw a few elephants as well. It was pretty awesome. We also went to a bird park/reserve where we got to see some pretty awesome birds.

This last weekend we went to Sea World! It was both a marine park and water slide park. In the morning we saw a dolphins and seal show. We spent the afternoon swimming and going down waterslides. I felt like a kid again.

More soon!
Lots of love,
Julia

Life in PMB

Hello! Things are going well here. Life in Pietermaritzburg is a lot different than Cape Town. It’s more relaxed. We’re not always running around. We spend our days at the conference center, which is slightly isolated from the city. Zulu, my only class is 4:30 to 8:30, which leaves my mornings and afternoons open. It’s great though because there really is a lot to do. There is so much to explore and hike. Zebras are all over the place. I haven’t seen one yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Plus there is so much time to read! And if you know me, you know I love reading. I’m trying to use my reading time to become more educated on American politics, a major topic for discussion among my group. I’m also reading up on world issues to figure out what’s happening in the world today. Being here just reminds me of how huge the world and how much I don’t know. My goal is to become a lot less ignorant. I’m hoping to conquer a few novels and classics while I’m at it.

My reading time might be cut back as I get more involved in my Zulu course. The course is proving to be quite challenging for me, but I should be able get through it. I’m excited about the end result though. It will be really useful to be able to converse with the people during our service project. Our last month is going to be spent doing an intensive service project in the community while taking a community development class.

I sent links to my facebook albums so I hope that works. Let me know if it’s still not working.

I have finally made it to Pietermaritzburg! After a four-day road trip we have settled in here at the African Enterprise Conference center where will be staying until we leave on May 1st.

The Campus here is incredible with over 100 acres for us to explore, hike and run around on. We share the campus with about 16 little hungry monkeys who jump at any chance to get into our rooms and eat whatever is available. They're cute but only until one of them breaks into one of our rooms.

We left Cape Town Saturday morning at 4am and begin our road trip to PMB. The trip was good, but a bit long and more sitting than I would have liked. It was kinda like a retreat in the sense that we visited fun place and stayed at nice little hotels. Plus no homework! This was especially nice after all the papers and assignments we had to complete our last week in Cape Town.

On our way to P-burg we made several stops, the first of which was the Cango Caves. The Caves were amazing and huge. We walking through them I felt like I was in the movie National Treasure and looking for treasure. The next day we stopped at an Ostrich farm in which we had the opportunity to sit on an ostrich. We couldn’t ride them because it was really wet outside, but we could sit and get our picture taken. They were too smelly for me, so I decided to feed them and taken their pictures from afar. I did hold a baby one that wasn't smelly.

We drove to Port Elizabeth and stayed the night. We were supposed to have a beach day, but got completely rained out so we had a nap and read in the hotel. The next day we drove to West London and stayed there a night. And Tuesday we arrived here. We were welcome with a huge summer rainstorm which flooded the roads going into the Center, making it impossible for the bus to drive into the center. Instead we used a taxi to shuttle all 40 of us and out luggage to the center. It took quite a while.

I'm living in a cottage type house with 7 other girls. I'm taking 8 credits of Zulu over the next month and a half. We had our first class yesterday and it is going to be a challenge! I'll have to work really hard this next month and a half. Speaking of Zulu, I should go study.

Hamba kahle!

Long awaited pictures!

Here's just a few pictures. You can also go browse my pictures on facebook by going her. just copy and paste the address.
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000271&l=9daea&id=1585860061 http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2000262&l=311f3&id=1585860061




from left to right, my host mother, me, candice(host brother's girlfriend), Tracie (my mom's daughter in-law) and Katherine (Tracie's 10-month old daughter)
Most of the girls in our group.
fish and chips with my host family and Jenna my roommate
it was sooo windy!
petting a cheetah!


I'll be posting an update post about my last couple weeks by tomorrow, hopefully. I made it to Pietermaritzburg safely after a four day road trip. It was sad to leave Cape Town, but i'm excited for what awaits us here.

Highlights since Last Post

We have been so busy! I can not believe another week has gone by. On Monday we had class after which a group of us went to the mall and saw a movie. Tuesday, we went on a field trip to Stellenbosch which is basically wine country. It was beautiful. We learned about an organization that is helping woman farm workers who are exploited by farm owners. It was interesting to learn how the vineyards had effected the community. Especially the workers who used to be paid with wine which led to a high rate of alcoholism. The area also has one of the highest rates of babies born with Fatal Alcohol Syndrome.

Wednesday, we had class once again and later that night went to the Baxter Theater to see the play Mirror, Mirror, a play about South Africa’s history and politics fused with symbolism and humor.

Thursday was the best day by far. We went on a Peninsula tour. Our tour took us to the Cape of Good Hope, the furthest southern western point of Africa. It was breathtaking. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything as beautiful. It was also extremely windy! It actually caused me to lose my footing a few times. We were able to hike down to the point and it was incredible. Pictures can't do it justice.

Friday went to some shops near Cornerstone and shopped around. We found a cute coffee shop that we were able to just relax in.

Saturday we went to Table Mountain! I took the cable car up. The cable car ride made me a bit nervous. Hiking didn't sound appealing at the time. The view from the top was incredible. We were in the middle of clouds! It was fun to walk through clouds.

Sunday Jenna and I hung out a bit. We woke up too late for church. Our host mom later took us to the beach and the waterfront. Later that afternoon we played cards with the other APU kids who live in our neighborhood. That night our host mom took us to her oldest son Jacques's house. We took Chris and Coner, guys from APU who are staying with the family next door along. We played pool and hung out.

Monday we had class then we hiked Lion's Head. Our guide got us a little lost and we ended up hiking like 4 extra miles. We made it eventually. But I definitely got more of a work out then I bargained for. We ended up getting back way later than we hoped as well, but overall the night was fun.

Tuesday, the whole group went to Camp. Cornerstone has a orientation camp every year for 1st year students and the APU group got to go for the afternoon. It was really meeting a bunch of South African students. We got to participate in the talent show.

I better getting working on my homework. I have two group projects and two papers due next week. It's kinda crazy. Pray for me. haha.

This is Africa.

I’m so sorry my updates have been so few! On top of having little time and limited internet, South Africa is in the middle of a huge energy crisis. Meaning that the power is being rationed and can go off at any time. Lately it’s been going off in the morning before class, which is the exact time we get on the internet. So hang in there and be patient! I know I promised pictures, but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make it happen. I’ve tried uploading my pictures at least five times and each time my connection gets lost or it doesn’t work, but I will continue to try. I will however have reliable internet in pietermaritzburg in two weeks so if I can’t get it to work here,I will definitely be able to upload pictures there.

last weekend

Here's a post about this weekend. I know it's Wednesday but better late than never!

Friday night our whole group played action cricket. I’d try to explain the game to you, but I really had no clue what was going on. It was quite entertaining since none of us knew what we were doing. We provided the South Africans with a good laugh. It was fun though. All of us thought we were playing baseball so after we hit the ball we would throw the ball down and run when we were supposed to run with the bat. I was laughing the whole time. It was great.

Saturday was probably the most fun I’ve had since being in SA. Jenna and I went with Jody, the youngest son of our host parents and his girlfriend Candice. We went to a cheetah park where we got to pet adult cheetahs! We then had a picnic at the park, and relaxed in the sun. Later we went to the beach and took pictures. It was such a beautiful beach but sooo windy! It was much too windy to stay. We then went to Joanne’s, my host mother’s daughter’s, house. She has such a beautiful home and lives in a nicer area than my host parents. The house was nicer than many houses I’ve been to in the States. They had satellite tv, a heated pool and everything. We spent the evening there and had bry for dinner. Bry is what they call BBQ and it was delicious. They told us that bry is very popular among South Africans on a Saturday afternoon. Joanne and her husband Wesley have two kids, Luke, who is 7 and Anna who is 5. Joanne’s brother in law and his two girls, Zoe, 8 and Chelea, 7 were also there. After dinner I went inside and played with the kids. I feel like I’m constantly meeting someone new! It was so fun. We were there until like 10. The concept of time is very different here. Jodie told us we were “stopping by” sister’s house for a little while and we stayed for 7 hours. It was really fun though and I didn’t mind staying so long.


Sunday morning we went to Denise’s oldest son’s church. It was an Anglican church, which is very traditional. The service was similar to that of a catholic church. Much more traditional then what I’m used too, but it was good overall. After church we went for lunch at the pier with Denise’s oldest son Jock, his wife and their 10- month old daughter Katherine. She's so cute! Jody and Candice were also there. We had fish and chips and it was so good! It was really fresh and cheap too. We were going to go to the beach after but once again it was too windy. We decided to go to the flea market instead. There wasn’t too much at the market, but Jenna and I were able to get much-needed sunglasses for only 20R (like 3 dollars). After the market we were exhausted. We came home and took a nap. After the nap I spent the afternoon catching up on homework. Later we went to karaoke. It was quite an experience! She told us a week ago that we were going to go to Karaoke on Sunday. In my mind I thought we were going to go to a hole in the wall karaoke bar. I was wrong. We ended up in this really nice sports bar inside of a huge casino. It was apart of huge hotel. Our host mom said it’s where most of the tourists stay. Karaoke was fun, it just wasn’t at all what I was expecting. It was a busy but fun weekend.

Update

sooo i have a post about this weekend that i already wrote but it's on my thumb drive at my house. and i was going to upload pictures but they won't work...

tomorrow, however, I'm going to the Internet cafe where I'll update this blog and get some pictures up. thanks for your patience. Next month we get wireless Internet so my communication will be much better!

pictures are coming!

pictures soon i promise!!!

I'm here!

Hello from South Africa!

I can’t not believe I have been here a week! Actually I can, because we have done so much that it feels like we’ve been here much longer. I love being back in this amazing country, but it’s so different from my previous experiences. A lot has happen in the last week, so I will do my best to catch you up. I promise I will be updating more often in the future. Our schedule has been packed and Internet access is extremely limited. I have also set up a blog that I will be updating frequently so you can keep up with what I’m doing that way.

Let’s start from the beginning………

The group of 37 APU students left the school last Friday the 11th. We flew out of LAX and embarked on our first 10-hour flight to London. We arrived in London for our 6 hour lay over, during which we were able to go out of the airport. We only had a couple hours but we were able to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Although we had a limited time, I really enjoyed walking around and I think got a feel for the city. After our quick exploration of London we boarded another plane for our second 10-hour flight to Johannesburg. Luckily, I was able to sleep most of it. We arrived in Jo-burg on Sunday morning. After loading the bus we headed off to see the surrounding area. We visited Soweto, the town where Nelson Mandela’s former house is. The house is now a museum that we were able to go to and walk around. Next we went to the Apartheid Museum. The museum was very interesting and I learned so much! I could have spent so much more time there.

Sunday evening we settled into a hotel in Jo-burg for the night and begin to recover from jet lag. Monday morning we toured Pretoria, one of the capitals of SA. We visited the parliament buildings before our last plane ride to Cape Town, a two-hour flight. We arrived in Cape Town mid afternoon. We then went to Cornerstone Christian College where we would stay for the next two days. (We’re in Cape Town until Feb. 7th and then we go to Pietermaritzburg until May We’ll be doing a lot of service projects/mission work in Pietermaritzburg). We are taking our classes through Cornerstone Christian College while here. CCC is small Christian college that many local South African students attend. The students are on holiday break since it is summer here, but we are still able to get to know a few of them, as they act as culture mentors for us. Tuesday, we spent the day doing orientation for the program, learning the guidelines, the basics of the program, and where we would stay for our homestays. Wednesday, we moved in with our host families who we will be staying with for the next 3 and half weeks. This was very exciting and I was quite anxious to meet my future family.

My host family is great. They are a retired couple, Denise and Jacob, who have 3 grown children. And very cute grandchildren! ☺ Their youngest child is 27; he lives at home and travels often for work. I’m staying with another girl from APU also and our next-door neighbors are housing two APU students as well. Our host mom takes very good care of us, and is always telling us we don’t eat enough. I promise I eat enough! One thing is for sure; I will never go hungry here!

We live in a middle class neighborhood. I have a whole room to myself, something I wasn’t expecting. The area I live in is pretty developed. My previous experiences in South Africa were in cities where everyone was poor. Here there is much more diversity. There are townships, where everyone lives in houses constructed of plywood and other materials with no electricity and no formal sanitation, but if you drive five minutes away you can find neighborhoods with nice houses where everyone owns a car and has all the basic necessities.

Field Trips and Learning
I never thought I could learn so much in such a short time. One of the things I love most about this study abroad experience is how hands on it is. Whatever we are learning about, we actually have the chance to go and see or talk with a South African about it. We go on field trips every Tuesday and Thursday. This last week we toured the city center of Cape Town, went to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 20 years, and took a tour of the local townships. In Cape Town we learned of what is being done to get ready for the World Cup in 2010 and how they are trying to transform in into a modern city similar to New York. I think they have a long road ahead of them as our tour guide told us that most of the shops currently closed at 5 in the evening. Robben Island was the most interesting place we’ve been so far besides the Apartheid Museum. Our tour guide on the island was a actual political prisoner who was imprisoned on Robben Island for 5 years. It was interesting to hear of his experience and the conditions of the prison. We got to actually see the cell where Nelson Mandela was held. I could not imagine being held there unjustly for such a long period of time. We walked the same route that many of the prisoners walked the day they were released. I can only imagine what that walk must have felt like after being confined for several years.


Honestly I feel so ignorant, I have been here on mission trips twice, yet there was so much that I didn’t know or understand. The Apartheid was so recent (14 years ago) and you can see its ramifications everywhere. Especially in talking with South Africans. So many of my conversations with people come back to something related to the Apartheid or the current situation here. SA is still extremely race conscious and many people still harbor prejudices against races different from their own. Segregation among races definitely exists geographically as there are white townships, colored townships, and black townships, with black townships being the worst (the terms black, colored and white are acceptable here in SA and commonly used. it’s been hard to get used to!). It has been so interesting talking with people about the situation here in a post-Apartheid SA. Everyone has a different view of things. Many of the adults here were directly affected during the Apartheid. In talking with my host parents and their children I have learned so much.

Fun stories and Prayer Requests

Did you that traffic lights are called robots here? Or that here high school is college so whenever I tell people I’m in my first year of college they assume I’m a 19-year-old high school freshman. Last night my host mother complimented me by telling I had nice fat legs. Haha. She really was complimenting me, as the word fat does not have the same negative connotation as it does in the states. I think she was trying to say I had nice muscular legs but the whole encounter is too funny not to share.

As for prayer requests: Pray for continued health and safety. Safety is a huge thing here. Crime is very common, which requires us to be cautious. Everything has been great so far though and I haven’t felt unsafe at all. So it would be great if you could pray for that to continue. Pray that my faith will be strengthened while I’m here and that I will be able to spend time with the Lord daily. Pray that I will be able to complete all my homework! I have so much! Haha.