Where to look for an internship

Internships are a huge part of the college process. They enable us to get real life experience in order to advance our career, but where do we begin? I know that was a question that seemed like many people tended to ask. I am going to give you a few places in which I think you should begin your search for the perfect internship.

1) Go directly to the source. If you know the place you would like to intern at, go to their website. Most companies have a link to different careers on their homepage. This is typically found at the bottom of the website. Many of the ones that I looked at were Disney.com, CBS, Universal, NBC, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and the like. I found it on all of them. With just a few clicks, I'm sure you can find it too.

2) Career networks! The college that I attend has one of these. You can usually specify that you are looking for an internship in the search box, and many internships may come up that you never realized even existed. From smaller companies that you haven't really heard of to ones that you may have just forgot about. Career networks are a great place to look.

3) Monster.com - This can be a very helpful source and many people use it for internships as well as a job search tool. You can put in key words and for the most part this website is self explanatory. If you are having trouble finding the right internship for you, I would recommend going here as well.

4) Finally, Internqueen.com is one that I have used. This one is nice because you can look through all the internships you would like, upload your resume and then have it sent to all of them. You don't have to go through and do each one individually, but you can cut out hours of typing in tedious information, and just do it all at once.

I have used every one of these for internships that I have applied for and I have gotten call backs and internships from them. I highly recommend applying so that you can start getting the training necessary for your future career. Good luck!

We're all in this together. What are we here for?

This video is something that really made me think.

What are we here for? Pause for a second and thing about it.

Are we supposed to chase after the American dream and be successful in the world's eyes?

We all have a purpose, a reason why we are here.

I'm starting to realize that for me, it is not about having the American dream. I think it is time for me to start thinking about what I can do to make others lives better. I get so wrapped up in myself, in what I want. I couldn't tell you a day where my main focus wasn't on me. We have a God that loves us so much. He gave up His own son for us. This is something I can't even fathom. The older I get, the harder it hits me. I don't deserve anything that He has given, his grace, mercy, and love. I don't deserve any of it. Yet He still loves us. In the midst of myself being so selfish, He still loves me. He deserves so much praise. From this day forward, I want to live my whole life as a form of worship. Where I constantly serve others and show the love that He has shown me, to others. Where the money that he has blessed me with, is given to others. I think it is time for me as well as all of us to live our lives in a way where what we are doing is truly loving others.

3

Seeing our staff walk in my door.

Spending some great time talking with Becca.

Getting my car washed and waxed!

3 things, again.

These are for yesterday:

1. Cheering on our football team
2. Watching movies with my friends!
3. Finishing a paper that I was working on.
   

3 things

1. Watching a movie with roommate and friends.
2. Making a happy birthday sign for a friend.
3. Having a one on one conversation with a GREAT friend!
   

3 MORE things that made me happy today!

1. Laughing while playing foosball with a few friends!
2. Finishing a workout with one of my best friends.
3. Watching Survivor!!!!!!!
   

3 things that made me happy today!

1. Watching a 1st grader smile after I helped him finish the book he was reading.
2. Sitting with my RA staff, talking about the different things that we need to do.
3. Eating dinner with close friends that I haven't seen for awhile.
   

Sala kahle.

The Gateway team!

Service sites are now over. We spent a little over 3 weeks working at the Esther house, which is a home for battered women. This experience was a complete blessing and I learned so much from all of it. The first couple days were interesting, and we mainly just played games with them. Odd variations of dodge ball, duck duck goose, and all sorts of active games outside. However, the day that really changed things was when our group decided to do a little Bible study. We had two people from our group share a verse. Most of the women in the home speak Zulu so our translator Sipho helped them understand what we were saying. The Bible study only lasted about 10 minutes when Sipho started sharing her own story. Her story was so crazy, I had no idea what she had been through. When we first met her she had the biggest smile on her face and I am amazed at what God has done in her life. The women in the home all listened to her story and afterwards, she asked if any of them wanted to share their story. A few of them did. After that, we prayed for the women. It was one of the most intense times of prayer ever. We prayed for each of the women and you could feel the Lord there with us.

Jump forward a day and more of the women opened up to us. Instead of it being somewhat gloomy inside, they all had smiles on their faces. Some of them ran out to greet us and they seemed like completely different people from the first few days. It was an amazing transformation. We definitely give God all of the glory because it wasn't anything we did.

The last day came around and all of the women wrote notes for us. They shared how now they had hope because of what we have shared with them and the joy they have seen in us. Many of them weren't Christians before, but we gave them all Bibles and they said that they are trusting in God to turn their lives around. Many of the days we were there, our group seemed to be tired and it didn't feel like we did that much for these women, but somehow God still worked through us and allowed them to see Him in our smiles. Even though we aren't going to get to see whether or not the women really do change their lives around or if they all are going to accept Him into their lives, I have a peace because I know God used us in the time that we were there and that everything that we were supposed to do was done. The seeds that we planted although we won't get to see them fully grown, I know that God is going to do amazing things.

There are so many crazy stories from each individual woman there, but I am not going to write them all down in here, but I'd be more than willing to share them with you later!!

During these service sites, we also went to a feeding scheme and worked at a school. The feeding scheme was only once a week, but the last time we did it was a crazy day as well. We went to the house where we normally start cooking our food, but the people weren't home. So we drove over to the church where we serve it and the woman that we cook with wasn't there either. We decided to go to the church service that was being held there because we couldn't really do anything else for the time being. That church has service every single day, so crazy, but you could tell there was something different about it. There seemed to be so much power in that place. We watched from the back and listened to everyone worshiping God which was a cool site to see.

After the church service, we went outside when finally the woman that helps us prepare the food arrived. She said that one of the girls that normally comes to the feeding scheme, and had come for food the last two weeks we were there past away that day because of asthma. They said she was still in school so she wasn't even out of high school yet. On top of that, one of the other women that normally helps prepare food was in the hospital because she has cancer all over her body. We decided to go to the hospital to pray for her instead of just hanging out there. The hospital was similar to one that I imagine in the army. It was one building with beds all over the place. There was no privacy and everyone seemed to be hurting so much. It was a hard thing to see. The woman we were looking for was all the way in the back corner and it seemed like slow motion trying to get there. We past so many women just lying on their beds looking so defeated. When we got to the woman that we were there to see, we prayed for her and she seemed to have so much hope and trust in God. She said all she needs is the Lord and she truly believed that. Even though she looked like skin and bones, she still trusted in God with everything she has.

Once we left that hospital, tears welled up in my eyes. Everything that happened that day seemed like way too much. We were passing so many shacks on the way back to the church, and I couldn't process anything that was going through my head. When we got back we started serving food to the people that arrived there and before we fed everyone, the food ran out.

I can't imaging living the way that they do and God has blessed me with so much. However, none of them seem to give up and they seem to know that God will provide for them.

In James 2:5 it says, "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"

This verse is so true. All of the people who do not have anything really seem to have so much faith. Even though they are trying to figure out how to get food each and everyday, they seem so content. They have so much to teach me and I don't even know how to soak it all in. So many experiences during these past couple weeks have challenge, broken, and changed me. I am still trying to process everything that happened and I don't really understand any of it.

Yesterday, I took two finals. One for intercultural communications and the other one for Zulu. I am completely done with those two classes and now I only have one left before the semester is over. I can't believe how quickly everything has past and how insane everything has been.

Tomorrow we leave to go stay with a Zulu tribe for a couple days and right after that we go on a 3 day safari. I am pretty excited for it, but it is a hard thing to do after everything we just experienced at the service sites. It feels like we are living in two different worlds.

The following week, we leave for a road trip across South Africa. We are stopping in major cities and along the way we are bungee jumping, riding ostriches, going to different adventure caves and all sorts of things like that. I don't think I'll really have internet for the rest of the trip. After that week we'll arrive in Cape Town. There we will climb Table Mountain go on excursions every other day. Have classes, and do home stays. After that is over we're heading home. It has been an amazing semester so far and I am looking forward to what God has in store for the rest. You guys are in my prayers and I hope you are all doing well. I love you lots and I look forward to seeing all of you when I come back home!!!

So it has been a little over a week and I haven't updated this. Let me just say, a lot has happened.

First off, my Zulu class went away for a night to a beautiful Fairmont hotel on the beach. Definitely a nice place...however 11 people in a room not so nice. We left in the morning and went to a little market place close to the beach before checking into our hotel. A fun day filled with shopping, walking along the beach, and eating at a restaurant on the beach. After that, we went to our hotel and checked in. That was followed by a really nice Italian restaurant which was so good because we don't get it that often here in Africa. There were so many laughs and so many fun memories that day. Then, when we got back to the hotel it was dark, but we wanted to check out the pools that the hotel had. We all changed into our swimsuits and took a "15 minute" hike to a pool that was on the beach. The way down had a waterfall, many steps, and lots of eyes all around. When we finally got to our room for the night, we didn't really get to sleep but it was so fun. The next day was also a lot of fun and at the end of the day of lounging around the pool and drinking super great virgin pina coladas, we headed home. We didn't have much time to re-coupe from being away, although parts of it were very relaxing.

The next morning at 6 a.m. we left for a battlefields tour. Basically it was filled with driving for hours and hours (which was the highlight of the day) and then we got out a random spots in the middle of nowhere, where a cranky old man told us about different battles that happened on the spots we were standing. However, that night we made it to a nice little hotel where they served us this great three course meal and where we got to talk to a man named Reg who is one of the teachers here at school and he is filled with so much wisdom. He basically asked us to ask anything on our minds or whatever we wanted. He knows so much about the Bible, life and is someone I wouldn't mind being like when I get older. He is a great role-model and a cool person to get to spend time with. The next day we did the same thing, lots of driving and more battlefield tours. An interesting weekend, but still fun.

Sunday was church, it was alright this time, but after church was our Sunday FUN DAY! We had a huge slip-n-slide, relay races with teams based on the Chalet we live in and lemonade and watermelon. It was a good time! Our Chalet got 2nd place in the relay race...but next time we'll def. win. The "activities committee" set it up where each Sunday we are having chalet games and based on who wins they will get points and whoever has the most at the end of the semester wins. Fun stuff...

Mon-Wed we had classes 8+ hours each day. It was so draining, but also so good. They flew down a man named Francis from Kenya and he is here for 4 weeks to teach us one of our classes. Let's just say if you put his lectures on DVD's and sold them, he would be rich and famous. His lectures are very insightful and the information is something that I believe everyone should know, but rarely ever do!

Today we started our service sites and that too is also amazing. We got to hang out with kids during recess, visit a kindergarten class, have a tour of an old jail where Ghandi supposedly stayed, and went to a women's shelter and spent time with them and their children. It was a day filled with joy! After all of that, I had a Zulu class as well. Very eventful day!

I know this is a somewhat boring post because there are no pictures and I didn't try to make it sound interesting, I figured I would keep you posted on some of the activities I have been doing. These next couple weeks, the main things we'll be doing is working at the service sites. Besides that, I'm still in Zulu, still taking a few classes, and of course still having lots of fun! I love you guys though and I will see you guys in less then 2 months now!!

Another Post

More goals for Africa that I didn't even think of!!

#11 Go on an African SAFARI!!!!

#12 Live with a legit Zulu tribe for at least 2 nights.

#13 Canopy Tour over the indigenous rain forest -DONE-

#14 Swim with the sharks...or crocodiles.

#15 Serve people here wholeheartedly with all that I am.




We have our service sites for the next four weeks that we are here. The one that I am going to work at is called Gateway! Here is the website if you want to take a look: http://www.projectgateway.co.za/ I'm going to be working there with 6 great people and it is going to be a blast.

Angie Coupe

Hilary Hall

Kristen Capodanno

Jacob Grahm

Sean Fosset

Becca Van Gundy

The thing I am looking forward to the most is working in something called the Esther house and that is a home for women that have been abused. I think it will be a life changing experience and a place where I can practice my Zulu and play board games with people that I never thought I would.

Also, This weekend we went on a canopy tour. There were 8 zip-lines and we got to weave back and forth across a beautiful place. It was a very cool experience especially in South Africa.
This week has been so great, and I got an A on my Zulu test which I didn't expect at all. It was a good surprise. We also have this week off from class or the Zulu people do so we are going to Durban for a night! We get to go on a mini vacation for a bit!! I'm super excited for everything that we are going to be doing still and I am loving here. Thanks all for your prayers and support I miss and love you all.

4th week of classes!

This week has been a very good one. Every day here brings something new and fun. Saturday we went to see the Bushman's paintings. That involved a two hour drive to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, an hour long hike and then a tour of their paintings. The bus ride/hike was so much fun. All of us together probably took over 1000 pictures by the end of the trip. The paintings and all of that weren't that great, but the time we got to spend with one another, and the rocks we got to climb, and waterfalls we got to see were amazing.

Only bummer about that whole trip - I was looking at my camera and I accidentally deleted all of my photos! The ones from the previous week were also deleted because I didn't import them into my computer yet. I tried to figure out how they got deleted so I took another picture and reconfigured the memory card or something rather and it deleted so I figured that's what it was. After that, I Googled how to get them back and they said if it happened don't reconfigure the memory card and don't take any more pictures for the best chance at getting your pictures back. Oops, my bad.

We also had a guys dessert night so all the guys here (13 of us) went out for food/dessert. It was so fun. We went to this little restaurant where we sat outside and two 14-year old girls served us. They were crazy. One of them was running back and forth from the kitchen to our table. She was like the Road Runner and never stopped. It was a good night though and it was fun getting away with just the guys.

Monday we went on a field trip with my Zulu class. We got pen pals when we first started this semester and we have been writing letters back and forth in Zulu to 11th graders that our Zulu teacher also teaches. So today, we got to go to their classroom and meet them. Along with that, they made us different Zulu foods that they eat. Def. not the most appetizing meal ever. I ate some cow tongue, weird yogurt/feta sour cheese thing, and lots of other random foods. It was one of the first times here where I felt like we really got to interact with some of the Zulu people here so it was a ton of fun. They did some dancing for us and we got to talk with our pen pal in person.

This next Saturday we're going on a canopy tour where we get to go on a zip line and what not and I'm super stoked! Only bummer is we have to leave here at 6:45am. There are two groups going at different times, but during sign-ups we were on our Zulu field trip so everyone else took the later time!

One of my favorite things about classes here is every time we go into class they have a water bottle for each of us on our desks and a little bowl of mints! I'm going to miss this when going back to school!

The beach again!

The beach was magnificent!

The water at the beach we went to was a lot colder which I thought was kind of unusual, but it felt so good because of how hot it was today.

We left for Durban early this morning and we stopped at some sweet marketplace where we walked around for almost 2 hours. We all got some sweet African merchandise and picked out Valentine presents for our secret valentine gifts. Loads of fun.

Then we got to the beach which was crazy! A lot was going on the whole time we were there and it kind of seemed like a dark place. A crazy witch doctor with a gun, people that watched our stuff because they wanted to steal it, crazy swimmers that touch people when they shouldn't...you know the whole thing.

It was still a lot of fun, I played my first rugby game which was a lot more fun then I thought it would be! I enjoyed tackling total strangers.

Then we just kind of hung out for awhile. There were some interesting tribal dances happening, lots of little shops, and lots of pictures and lounging around. All in all, another great success here in Africa.

I know I didn't really go that in depth, but I figured I would give you a quick run down of everything we did! Let me know if you want a story! haha! I love you all :)

Field Trip, #2!

Oh, International Communication how crazy you are.

This weekend my Inter. Comm. teacher decided to have us go on a "field trip" (more like a weekend vacation) in order to see more of the Indian culture. The plan was to go to the beach, visit a heavily populated Indian city, have dinner with Indian teenagers and go to an Indian church.

The drive that I thought was supposed to be 45 minutes took us about 5 hours! We stopped multiple times, a car broke down, and other stuff that I don't even understand haha. When we got to the place we were staying a lot of people were super relieved. It was pretty rad though. We split into groups of about five people and we all got our own "cabins." Ours was Amazing. It had a little kitchen and then a bunch of beds in the living room, and it also had one bedroom with a double bed and a sweet bathroom! Cabin #11


THE SHOWER WAS SO COOL! Similar to the one I showed some you guys on one of the episodes of The Price is Right I watched...BUT look at IT!!! Sweet SHOWER! Def. going to get one of these when I'm older...You can listen to the radio, talk on the phone, get a massage, or just pretend to teleport, awesome.



The guys in my room, Eli, Jake, Tony, Brett and ME, ended up sleeping in til about 8:30, so nice! Then we ended up getting breakfast and then got ready to head into that Indian Town. We walked up and down the streets just checking things out and most of us got Ice Cream from the gas station. It was sooo hot! Hello Durban Beach!


Then we went back to our cabin place and got ready for the beach! Finally, something on my list of to-do's while in Africa! Go into the Indian Ocean. BUT, I also realized that later on we'll be on the other side of South Africa so I also added the Atlantic to the list. Both of these oceans I've never actually been in before.

In the Indian Ocean!!!!!!!!!

We got into the ocean, played a game of soccer, but then myself and a few others had to leave because we were on cooking duty for the night. I was able to become a real man though because Eli and I both barbecued for the first time from beginning to end. Definitely a right of passage. . We made chicken, pork and then these South African sausages. We barbecued for a group of about 80 because some Indian teenagers were our guests! We played some random games with them and hung out for the evening.

The next day, we had to wake up at 6:30 because we had to go to an Indian church to learn more about their culture and we also had to eat breakfast before. Of course, the church I went to had no air conditioning and it felt like you were inside of a volcano. It was a good experience though and I really enjoyed watching them during their church service. All of the children were on stage dancing and it was a lot of fun. When it was over we went over to someone's house and they made an Indian meal for a bunch of us. It was authentic Indian food and it had WAY MORE flavor then those things at Trader Joe's.

Then, we went back to our Cabin's and had to pack up. Kind of sad to leave because my temp. roommates and I had a ton of fun, but we were also ready to get back to our real home. Def. a long weekend and a bunch of us were burnt out.

On the way home I got to have a lovely talk with Bianca and it only took 1 hour and 45 minutes this time. When we got back to African Enterprise, it felt like a real home. It felt like we were coming to the place I lived and to a place that I felt comfortable at. A GREAT FEELING. It was a very nice weekend. The highlight for myself was probably getting closer to the group of great people that I am going to be with for the next three months. Home sweet home. :)

This is it...

So, Nothing too exciting has happened these last couple days. Well, I guess that is kind of a lie.

Sunday- I went to church. It was a "charismatic-ish" one, but in my opinion it wasn't that charismatic. It was good though! Worship was more then half of the service and afterwords we went to McDonald's for ice cream just to chat. It was a hot day so it was a lot of fun. Good day. The rest of it was pretty much spent studying for my Zulu test.

We also went under the waterfall to cool off, which then lead to the waterhole to go down the water slide. It was definitley filled with people slipping, a couple leeches, and some good laughs.



Monday- Classes again. Super fun. It was an alright day, I had class most of it and when I didn't have class, I studied. Not too eventful.

Tuesday- Sawubona (Hello) Zulu test. I def. think I studied more then I have in my whole life on this day. However, this day we also visited 2 service sites that we can choose to work at while we are here. One was a preschool with some of the cutest kids ever, and the other was an organization that has a Christian school, a battered women's shelter, and a homeless outreach. If I choose that one, I would help in a classroom in the morning, teaching kids about our lifestyle in America, teach P.E., and also hang out with women later in the day that only really know men that are abusive. They said that the students who chose that last semester became super close to the women and were also fluent (or almost fluent!) in Zulu after because that is all they speak there. It is one that I think I would enjoy working at.

After we visited them, the studying was taken up a notch. I was actually a little bit nervous for our first test. We had to know A LOT of general questions, how to answer them differently, and over 60 verbs.

It went alright, I thought I got a C or something on it, but during our dinner break, our teacher graded it and I ended up getting a 86% which in my opinion is pretty good! Especially when tests are about 20% or so of our grade. It went well and I was definitely pleased with myself.

That is pretty much all that has been happening here. Random people going on walks through the reserve, studying and taking classes, and random game nights/sport playing outside. It is going really well here and I am having lots of fun, and learning a lot! I am loving all the people I am with and I am excited to get to know all of them better.



Hope all is well!

Field Trip!

Today was a good day! Although, everyday that I have been here has been amazing so it's not like it is out of the ordinary.

We went to a place called Birds of Prey where they have a bunch of rescued birds. They also do a bird show similar to something you would see at Marine World. It wasn't the best thing I've ever seen but some of the birds did look rather nifty.

After that we attempted to go to a lion place where you can drive your car through what looks like a zoo exhibit only bigger. In this one, they had 15 lions and it was probably about a few acres big. So you pay for your vehicle and then you drive it around in there for awhile and see the lions. However, after the first group went and saw them and stood like a foot away from the fence they were in, some weird stuff happened and because of it, we never got to go in :( We saw the lions from further away, but we never did see them inside the "cage" or even from the outside really. It was kind of a bummer for some people, but I didn't really care!

After that, we went to a look out of the city that we're in. It was amazing! It was one of the coolest views I have ever seen in my life! So beautiful. We took a whole bunch of group photos and what not and then we headed back to our campus.

Instead of eating dinner here though, a group of us went to a local restaurant similar to our Bj's because some of the girls wanted to get Mexican food or whatever, haha! I decided to tag along so it was 12 girls and Rob and I. We had a ton of fun there! It was probably the highlight of the day. Even though we did so much today, the laughs we had at dinner I think topped it all. On the way back, three of us road in the back of a truck and we couldn't stop laughing. It was the most fun I think possible to have in a ten minute period.

I know this probably wasn't the most exciting post ever, but I figured I would write something before I go to bed. Pray for one of the girls here named Jamie. She got pretty sick today. Some food or something didn't agree with her so it is no bueno. Other then that though, everything is A-okay! I love you all :)

Animals!

Last night we went on a hike through the Game Reserve. Awesome. It's connected to our campus and anytime we go on a run or even just a walk, its the place to go. While we were on that little hike though, we saw zebras and either antelopes or spring bucks...I don't think they were antelopes but my other companions say that they were.


Today though, Logan found a sweet baby chameleon. It was about the size of the top half of your pinky! So legit. We also decided to play a sweet little soccer game on our campuses small soccer field and a bunch of monkeys were all around us. They look so nice...until they growl at you. Of course during that game Logan was preoccupied with the monkeys and wanted to throw rocks at them.


On a different note, school is starting to take over. People are all doing homework, all the time. Whenever I am looking for something to do, everyone is being so studious. I guess it is good that people are getting it done, but then I have nothing to do when they work on it. I guess not believing in homework isn't the best way to learn but TIA-We're in Africa.

I have my second REAL Zulu lesson tonight! I'm excited for it, the first one was really good! Except I feel like she'll expect us to know everything we did last class including the vocabulary...which I won't know. I guess I should probably work on that.

I miss you all! You're all in my prayers and I hope you are doing great!

Becoming home.

South Africa is starting to feel more like home!

After taking my first introduction to Zulu class, it seemed like it would be the hardest thing I could possibly do in Africa. Definitely seemed like it would be something I would dread every day that I have it. However, I had my second class today and it went great! I love the teacher and it was pretty enjoyable. Even though I can't speak it fluently yet, huge shocker, I am really looking forward to it. On our dinner break and after the class, all of the people that live here year-round were asking us questions and teaching us other things in Zulu. It seems like this is one of the best environments to learn because they are all around to help us practice it and encouraging us with it everyday.

I know this semester is going to be amazing and we all have so much fun whenever we're together. Just in case you are someone reading this blog and you have no idea who I am talking about, I'll give you a brief biography on a few of the amazing people I am with!

Rob - He is my roommate while we are here in Pietermaritzburg, so for the next 11 weeks. He is pretty tall, has dark hair and bright blue eyes. He is the youngest of 5 children and is also a pastor's kid. He is very easy to get along with and is full of great ideas! Oh, and he's a Social Work major.

Angie- Angie is another Social Work major and is someone that I knew before coming on this adventure. She is pretty funny and whenever we are near each other we laugh non-stop. She's always there to make fun of me, and I would hate to have both of us together in a class if I were a teacher...

Tanya- Pretty short, Blonde hair with lighter-ish brown eyes. She always, well almost always, has a huge grin on her face. Whenever she is across a room and you make eye contact with her, you can be pretty sure that she will make some sort of face at you. She's also a very funny person and from back home, she kind of reminds me of Kacie :)

Bianca- She is also short as well, but she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She is someone who is very agreeable and she never makes anyone feel bad. She is there for you no matter what and definitely someone that is a great friend.

Logan- I also knew Logan before coming here, but we never really talked too often. He has Blond Blond Hair and is a total surfer. He has tan skin, and he always has a surf magazine in his hand! haha! He is also taking Zulu with me so whenever you are around him, you'll here "Yebo" and random clicks of every sort.


These are just a few of the people that I am here with, but there are also a lot more. I know these bios aren't that in depth but its a little bit more then you had before! I hope all of you guys are doing great and I love you all!

For now, Sharp Sharp!! (Pronounced, Shop shop and means everything is great!)

Classes.

Today we had our first day of classes. The day started off with chapel which was very good. Since I didn't have any of the first sessions of the day, I had a long break to relax. We have two tea times each day where they call us into the dining all if we want and they have all these teas made along with coffee, muffins and a few other drinks for us to choose. It is pretty nice because usually whatever anyone is doing they'll stop in and drink tea for awhile. There are breaks for classes during tea times as well so everyone can show up if they want!

We went for a mall run which was the first one of the semester and I guess they happen pretty frequently! When we got back from that however, my classes finally started. I had an Introduction to Zulu class and an Intercultural Communication class today. But while I am here, I am taking Zulu 1, Zulu 2, Intercultural Comm, Cultural History/Travel Study, and Principles and Practice of Community Engagement. Here is a brief description of the classes from what I understand.

Zulu 1 & 2- This is one of the popular languages spoken in South Africa. During my time here, I am taking a pretty intense class where we do both 1 and 2 of the language here. Along with it, we go on field trips and visit different people that speak Zulu and we practice it with them. It is also something that will be useful once we start our community involvement where we work with other South Africans while we are here.

Intercultural Comm.- This class seems like it is going to be my favorite! The professor is so rad and for class we did this activity outside. He seems like he integrates all kinds of teaching methods into the class so it seems like it will be easy to concentrate during it. We will focus on differences of cultures and the different ways we can better understand others and also why the we do what we do. In America, South Africa, and all different countries.

Cultural History- This class doesn't have too many lectures with it, but there are tons of field trips and things that we go see in order to learn more about the history of South Africa. I have learned so much already from just being here a few days and the different excursions that we have already done for it.

Principles and Practice of Community and Engagement- This class doesn't start for a little while and I am not really sure what this class is going to cover. However, I think they are going to teach us how we can give other people the tools they need in order to help out in areas that they need it. So instead of us going to a different country and saying, "Man, they all live in shacks I bet they would rather have house houses so we should build them for them." We can go in and ask them what they think they need and then show them how they can accomplish it. It broadens our view and helps us not push our own agendas on other people?

The one thing I really like about all of these classes is that a huge part of it is actually experiencing it. With each of them, there are many excursions and field trips we are going to go on so that we can fully understand and learn the different things we are supposed to for the classes. I feel like integrating this into them will help me to retain information and learn more then I would just sitting in a classroom. I don't really understand why schools don't do this for all of their classes. It seems stupid that they don't.

Home!

We came to the campus that we are going to be staying at for the next 12 weeks today! It is so pretty here inPietermaritzburg. Everything is so green and there are so many different trees.Also, the cliffs/hills are amazing. This is by far one of the prettiest places I have ever seen which I didn't expect. We flew on a 55 minute plane and once we got here we had lunch and a short orientation. We also got our room keys, which happen to be ghost keys, so rad! We also explored campus a little bit which has a swimming hole, waterfall and a beautiful view. Everyone is also getting to know everyone a littlebit better and it is a lot of fun being with everyone.

I don't think the whole school side of things have really set in yet, but tomorrow is the first day of classes so we'll see how that goes. Waking up at 8 a.m. almost everyday isn't going to be easy for me!

As of right now, pictures aren't really working so I'll have to figure that out later!

Random South African Fact: The most dangerous animals to hunt are the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo,and rhino. They are referred to as the "Big Five".

I'm in South Africa!

I'm here!

Let's just say I have been here less then a day and it has already been amazing! The plane ride was definitely not the most exciting thing in the world, it felt like it would never end. However, it was worth it.

We got here late last night and right when we got to our hotel, I went to bed. Today when we woke up though we ate this really nice breakfast at our hotel which was almost identical to our breakfasts at home and then we went on a tour of the city, Johannesburg. We have this huge bus thing that is super nice that our whole group of 53 students and a few other people fit on. The first stop of the trip was in one of the hugest malls here and let me just say it was AMAZING. We only had 15 minutes in it though because they just wanted us to see it but it was even nicer then the one in Roseville...didn't expect that here. They had these huge see-through ball things (almost like a hamster ball) in this pool of water and you can go inside of them and attempt to run in them for 20 rand! Which is 3 dollars U.S. money. So of course after about 5 minutes of walking in the mall, Tanya, Angie, Rob and I see them. I definitely wanted to try it out and since we are only in this city for 2 days and we aren't going to be coming back Rob and I started to hand money to the guys as the girls were complaining that we wouldn't have enough time. Of course though, we all ended up doing it and I will put pics up later! The whole rest of the group got to us as they were walking through the mall and they started taking lots of pictures and laughed at us, a lot.

After that, my legs hurt so much it was a pretty intense work out if I do say so myself. I also had trouble breathing but it wasn't asthma. It took the next 20 minutes or so to catch my breath, haha...

We then took a look at one of the biggest catholic churches here and then went off to lunch which was really fun!

Then we stopped at this restaurant that was more like the side yard of someone's house for lunch. We had certain foods to choose from and then for desert they had super good mangos and bananas! I love fruit and that seems to be something that's at every meal so I'm super stoked. Towards the end of the meal, some kids from the neighborhood came in and did a dance for us. It was one of the coolest things.

Then we went to a museum about the Apartheid and the whole Nelson Mandela Civil Rights Movement. Basically the history of South Africa. It was very interesting and pretty heavy stuff. They made us walk in separated as blacks or whites based on different cards we received when we got out tickets. It was similar to the Holocaust and also the whole slavery things that happened in the U.S. also.

It was a very good experience and I now understand a lot more of South Africa's history. I love the fact that now, Blacks and whites get along and they love one another even though everything took place within the last 50 years. They seem to be a lot more free from racism then we are in America.

We headed back to the hotel after that and we stayed up playing cards. I got to know a few more people while laughing non-stop for the night.

I love you all and I hope you are all doing well :)

It's almost here!

I can't believe I'm back in Azusa for 2 more days before I take off for South Africa! Today has been an interesting day. We had the opportunity to eat at In-N-Out, which was Amazing! Definitely going to miss it when I am gone. However, I think South Africa will be worth the no In-N-Out. Also, Jessica, Bethany, Katie, Jesse, Aaron, and my mom were there with me. We took lots of pictures which was kind of awkward but fine I guess haha!

Then, when we did make it to the airport, my flight to L.A. was delayed. Bethany and I went into the airport though and we bought smoothies and waters while we waited. Eventually, they brought in a different plane and I was able to take off at a decent time. Michael and Nicole picked me up from the airport and we were able to catch up in the car which was nice. I'm going to miss them. After that, Nicole and I skyped with Molly and the gang. I already miss Molly and I'm not even gone yet...sad day. I love her so much :)

I was able to watch the Bachelor too! Which is something that I wanted to do tonight, how sad is that? I am leaving the country in two days and I wanted to watch a T.V. show. It was nice being able to watch it with some of my friends before I leave one of my homes though!

Anyways! Tomorrow is the first day of orientation type stuff before I leave and I have to wake up at 8:30, bleh. I dislike the morning time.

A few things I am going to miss once I leave/already miss:

My best friend/blog writer Molly Ramirez


My family, obvi!


Late night food runs to In-N-Out


Target


My APU family


Television shows that are a total waste of time


And, last but definitley not least, my friends from home

As of now, that is it...I'll let you know what I really miss once I get there!

A New Year, 2010!

Well, a new year is here! Things are definitely going to be different this time around. One of the main goals that I have for this year is to keep a journal. It is something I've always wanted to do, but I have always failed when trying to do so. However, I feel like in keeping one you can really see the areas that you have changed throughout the year.

This next semester is also going to be a lot different since I won't be at the campus that I have been at this whole last year and a half. Wow, I can't believe it has already been that long. I am so excited for this year and I think that God has a lot in store for not only myself, but all of my friends as well.

I think while in South Africa I'll really be able to figure out even more of who I am and I am looking forward to that.