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!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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.
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 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. :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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!
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!
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