This past week

I once again apologize for the lack of updates.  My time here in Africa just seems to be flying by and I am trying to savor every last minute.  It has been one month since I left the LA and found myself in this beautiful place!  Being here makes it hard to remember what life was like before this amazing experience.  I am surrounded by great people everyday and we are enjoying the most wonderful place on earth.  

It has been a good two weeks since I last wrote.  This past weekend after our enjoyable trip to Durban we drove three hours to Drakensberg to see Bushmen cave paintings.  The paintings were not the most exciting but the hike up to the caves was the most breath taking hike I have ever been on.  I found myself snapping picture after picture trying to capture the absolute beauty that this place holds, only to be disappointed by the images that later uploaded on my computer screen.  There is nothing that can describe how amazing this hike was, I wish I could take each and every one of you there to experience it yourself.  The clouds were light and fluffy, the sky was the purest blue and the scenery was green and lush. We were all dreading the three hour drive as well but the view out of the van windows kept us occupied.  It was a great day full of nature and friends! 

This past week was one of the best and most relaxing weeks.  We had no isiZulu because our teacher was out of town for a conference, so I only had History and Intercultural Communication to worry about.  It was wonderful and I already know that I am going to have the most difficult time going back to main campus in the Fall.  As little homework and class we have, we are always busy and exhausted.  We spend as much time as possible trying to go out and experience Africa.  At the beginning of the semester our mindset was that we have plenty of time, but now as the weeks and months dwindle down we are eager to go out more.
Valentines Day is usually not a big day in my life but this year we decided to celebrate it with everyone! We got together a decorating committee and activities committee to make the night special.  Each of us were assigned a Valentine to spend dinner with and get to know more.  It was such a fun night and our photobooth was a hit! Our theme for the night was "Would you love me if I dressed like this" and we entertained ourselves with a stage and some microphones!

One of the most exciting things we find ourselves doing on a weekly basis here is a giant slip n slide.  We have purchased a large tarp the we run down the front law. We soak it with water and soap and let the fun begin!  We have all be injured, cut up and bruised from it, but none of us seem to mind.  It has come to the point where there is a huge mud pit at the end of the hill where the tarp ends and our wet bodies hit.  Another thing we do as a community here on campus is Zumba class! The girls have so much fun dancing, shaking our hips and watching the boys attempt to do it as well.  I don't want people to think I am doing nothing here, but truth is we do nothing but have fun all the time.  

This weekend we went off campus for a night and stayed in Dundee, a four hour drive from Pietermaritzberg. We rented a huge coach bus with reclining seats and had a mini road trip.  The main propose of the weekend was to see Zulu battlefields, but my favorite part was just being with everyone.  We played games, talked and ran around the bus for most of the drive, just enjoying each other's company.  The battlefields were okay, but being together was the best part.  We stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast and were pretty much the only ones occupying it.  Before dinner we left the quaint hotel to explore and found ourselves totally out of place.  We were the only white people for miles, and it was obvious everyone looked at us as walking wallets.  We ended up in some bad parts of town, too close to the taxi ports, but were altogether and with our boys.  I felt so uncomfortable, but it was an experience I am glad I had.  I have felt so safe here, that I am glad to realize that there are some dangers.  The dinner was the BEST food we have had in a while and we all stuffed our faces until we fell into a restful food coma. It was an expected boring weekend, but turned out to be so much fun together.  

This week we will be assigned our service sites.  I felt very called to one site called Riv Life, mainly because there is a social worker there that I could work side by side with.  We were able to write down our top two and it will be decided by Reg.  We were told that we could email Reg if one site fit our major more than the other, but I am very confident that wherever I end up is exactly where the Lord wants me.  As soon as our semester ends (in two weeks), we will be spending most of our days at our service sites. This is the part I am most excited for.  It will be the time where we will be able to be part of the townships and get to know people in the communities, which is my kind of thing! 

I am praying that these next two months slow down because I am so content being here in Africa.  I am so grateful for this opportunity and I never want it to end.


A few snapshots from these past few weeks

Update!!

I have been a horrible blogger lately, and I apologize! We are still pretty busy, but busy in a good way! 

Classes have been going well, I got an A on my first isiZulu test!! I am continually getting better at speaking the language, but I am still working on all of the clicking.  I try to use Zulu as much as possible, but I am usually too scared to sound like an idiot.  However, every time I work up the courage and use it, the Zulu people are so happy to know that I am trying to learn their language.  They are so appreciative and try to help me as much as they can...

This past weekend, we all traveled to Durban for a fun-filled Saturday at uShaka Waterpark! It was a waterpark/ Sea World/ beach front all in one! I brave up and went down the death plunge and luckily came out alive.  Then we headed to the Dolphin show, and if you know me you would know that it was the best part of the day.  The crowd loved our group of 50 Americans and I was called up to go down to the tank and participate in the show.  The dolphins sprayed me with water that had almost as much salt as the ocean.  After the dolphin show we went to the beach and I was able to swim in the Indian ocean for the first time. It was beautiful and the water was not refreshing at all, but warm and tropical.  We had so much fun, and could not have asked for a better day in Durban.

The people here are as nice as always and I still feel so blessed to be in such a beautiful place everyday.  I cannot believe I have been here and month and am already dreading leaving.  Africa is beginning to hold such a special place in my heart and I really don't want this adventure to end.  

My Heaven

This is the place I get to wake up to everyday.

I get to spend my semester enjoying this beauty. 

I am blessed beyond belief and these pictures barely do it justice.  

This is a experience of a lifetime and I am so happy to be living it!