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.