Well we finally have internet... and we leave tomorrow. Sorry for not keeping up since service sites, Blogspot didn't work at the Bible Institute (The place we were staying in Kalk Bay, Cape Town)
To give you a fill in on the past couple months-ish. We finished service sites, which was really such a blessing. Then I took my Zulu exam and packed up to leave. We took 5 days to drive to Cape Town via the Garden Route (the scenic way) During that time we went bungy-jumping and did all sorts of other fun things. Eventually we got to Cape Town. 1/2 of us started our stay in Oceanview, a colored community (that's the term used in South Africa). My new roommate, Megan Harris (from Zulu class) was an incredible blessing! We stayed with Mrs. Nelson who was basically a colored version of Mrs. Clause :) she was wonderful.
We stayed there for a little over a week and then moved into the Bible Institute in Kalk Bay for a little over a week. During those 3 weeks we got to explore Cape Town City Center, go to Robben Island, take a tour of the Peninsula, hang out with penguins, and a bunch of other things. I also got to go Shark Cage Diving (thanks mom and dad for the early Christmas present)
The 3 weeks was great, and on the 14th, everyone from our semester except for Calvin, Kristina, (2 other students) Adam, and I. We rented a car for 4 days and had a great time Wine Tasting, going to the beach, going on sunset drives, eating great food, hiking, and exploring more of Cape Town. We stayed at 3 wonderful places that were gracious to house and sometimes feed us poor college students!
Kristina left the 20th & Calvin the 21st (today) so Adam and I were able to spend our last day together. What a day it was! It was one of my most favorite days I've had in my whole life!!It consisted of train rides, taxis, visiting to the Waterfront, the Aquarium, a long walk on Long St, a Sushi Lunch, a showing at the Planetarium, a walk through Company Garden, South Africa sweatshirtsEverything was perfect, and it was the perfect ending to an unforgettable semester.
This whole semester has been... words can't even describe. All I know is that I feel very blessed to have met the people I have met and to have experienced the things I have experienced. I feel double blessed that I was able to do all of that together with Adam :)
Thanks for all of your prayers for the past 4 months! And thank you Lord for literally everything.
I can't wait to see you all soon hopefully, because after everything I've experienced, I'm ready to come home.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Service Sites
About a week and a half ago Joanie and I started service sites at our two different locations. I finished my first three classes (ecology, life and teachings of Jesus, and intercultural communication), and Joanie is still going strong on her Zulu course. We both started our community engagement course now that we work at the sevice sites. Its like a class that is mostly out in the field. Joanie works with an institution called iThemba (which means hope in Zulu) and they minister to a town called Sweetwater, and I go to a town called Mpophomeni and work with a group called ithembeni (place of hope). There are 5 or so groups that the students are split into and they all go to different sites. All the sites are very different, where Joanie's probably has the most structure and mine has the least and we have to plan to do things on our own.
For my service site, we have been fixing things around the family care center (a place where abandoned youth and other youth being mentored can come to get free food and classes). We have also been going on home visits to various impoverished homes throughout the city, delivering food and providing Christian fellowship. It has been awesome as I have been paired up with a social worker (as has everyone else on my team) and he is a way cool local guy about 25 years old.
Today I went to his house with another guy from my team for the express purpose of killing a chicken and eating it haha. So that's what I did. I caught a chicken after chasing it around in the coop and then cut its head of with a knife haha. We then boiled it for 2 hours and ate it. I gave the Zulu family their first experience with guacamole and they absolutely loved that. It was a great day all in all. Pictures soon to follow
Adam
For my service site, we have been fixing things around the family care center (a place where abandoned youth and other youth being mentored can come to get free food and classes). We have also been going on home visits to various impoverished homes throughout the city, delivering food and providing Christian fellowship. It has been awesome as I have been paired up with a social worker (as has everyone else on my team) and he is a way cool local guy about 25 years old.
Today I went to his house with another guy from my team for the express purpose of killing a chicken and eating it haha. So that's what I did. I caught a chicken after chasing it around in the coop and then cut its head of with a knife haha. We then boiled it for 2 hours and ate it. I gave the Zulu family their first experience with guacamole and they absolutely loved that. It was a great day all in all. Pictures soon to follow
Adam
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Amblypygid aka Whip Spider :(
Today Adam found the grossest/creepiest creature alive: an Amblypygid aka whip spider aka tailess whip scorpion. You can even wikipedia that... Anyways it was gross and resembled a tri-brid between a spider, scorpion, and crab. It made me want to cry even though it was dead. My favorite part was when he kept it in his lunch box...
Here it is:
Yes, it is as long as a piece of paper, lengthwise...
Pretty sure this rose straight out of hell
Ew, Ew, Ewwwww...
Adam Enjoyed dissecting it :p
Here it is:
Yes, it is as long as a piece of paper, lengthwise...
Pretty sure this rose straight out of hell
Ew, Ew, Ewwwww...
Adam Enjoyed dissecting it :pWednesday, October 20, 2010
Silly pic of my praire girl
I found this picture of Joanie at the Zulu village. Thought I'd share it with the world haha.
-Adam
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Still Sick :(
I am sick Day #2.5 :(
My throat hurts and my body is achy... It was a beautiful day out today though. Adam woke me up with an apple, peanut butter & jelly toast, and a Gatorade to rehydrate me. We sat in the morning sun tying to soak up some Vitamin-D. I felt very blessed this morning.
In the afternoon we were able to do this thing called "Talking Drums" where we all got to play drums (and other various rhythm instruments) in a circle of 50 people. It was really fun all trying to play one song together. Adam was pretty funny and thought he was so good that did his own thing the entire time...
Adam's next to me right now working on a paper while one of the kitties from the campus is curled up in a ball sleeping on the other side. It's a pretty good remedy for being sick.
<3 you all!
Kitty and I!
Tigger curled up next to me
My throat hurts and my body is achy... It was a beautiful day out today though. Adam woke me up with an apple, peanut butter & jelly toast, and a Gatorade to rehydrate me. We sat in the morning sun tying to soak up some Vitamin-D. I felt very blessed this morning.
In the afternoon we were able to do this thing called "Talking Drums" where we all got to play drums (and other various rhythm instruments) in a circle of 50 people. It was really fun all trying to play one song together. Adam was pretty funny and thought he was so good that did his own thing the entire time...
Adam's next to me right now working on a paper while one of the kitties from the campus is curled up in a ball sleeping on the other side. It's a pretty good remedy for being sick.
<3 you all!
Kitty and I!
Tigger curled up next to meSaturday, October 16, 2010
Durban Marken Round 2 & Sharks Semi-Final Rugby Game!!
We went to the Durban Market (Victoria Square market) for a second time. After getting a lot of wonderful things that Adam and I are very excited to share with you all we went to a Rugby match. It was the semi-finals of the whole country, so it was a big game!! The Sharks (the team from Kwa-Zulu Natal, the province that we are staying in, are black 'n white) played the Blue Bulls... and WON! They then went on to the Finals and won and are now the champions of the country!
The center of the Durban Market, I loved the Zebra Skin hanging over the railing
Shops all around
Adam and I in the Market Square
One of the soccer stadiums where the World Cup was played!
A cool building in Durban
People getting really excited about the Sharks
Adam and I in front of the soccer stadium (I was wearing Sharks colors)
All of us "Sharks Babes"
Emily N, Emily G, Megan F, Rachel, Kristina, Brittany, Carrie, & Me
The ticket to the semi-final game- R170.00 ($25)
Christina and I in front of the Bread Basket Stadium (I think that's what they call it)
Inside the Rugby Stadium
It was HUGE, and pretty packed
The weather started off beautifully
The jacarandas were in full bloom across from where we were sitting
Right before the game started there was an attack of bees so serious they had to delay the game for 30 minutes and tried to smoke them out
Finally, the two teams facing off
Adam and I enjoying the game
Our whole APU group!
Adam W. going all out
The mascot "Sharky"
Adam made a paper airplane from his free poster and shot it into the crowd :)
Suddenly after half time the weather got trecherous
It was raining really hard and turned freezing cold
After the game there was water flooding the stadium!
(But we won so everyone was happy!)
The center of the Durban Market, I loved the Zebra Skin hanging over the railing
Shops all around
Adam and I in the Market Square
One of the soccer stadiums where the World Cup was played!
A cool building in Durban
People getting really excited about the Sharks
Adam and I in front of the soccer stadium (I was wearing Sharks colors)
All of us "Sharks Babes"Emily N, Emily G, Megan F, Rachel, Kristina, Brittany, Carrie, & Me
The ticket to the semi-final game- R170.00 ($25)
Christina and I in front of the Bread Basket Stadium (I think that's what they call it)
Inside the Rugby Stadium
It was HUGE, and pretty packed
The weather started off beautifully
The jacarandas were in full bloom across from where we were sitting
Right before the game started there was an attack of bees so serious they had to delay the game for 30 minutes and tried to smoke them out
Finally, the two teams facing off
Adam and I enjoying the game
Our whole APU group!
Adam W. going all out
The mascot "Sharky"
Adam made a paper airplane from his free poster and shot it into the crowd :)
Suddenly after half time the weather got trecherous
It was raining really hard and turned freezing cold
After the game there was water flooding the stadium!(But we won so everyone was happy!)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Slip 'n Slide
Once Upon a Time... there was a thunder & lightning storm in South Africa at 11pm. Instead of staying inside and doing homework, everyone decided to go outside and bring out a slip 'n slide!!
and everyone lived happily ever after... The End :)
Me going down the slip 'n slide
The group of slip 'n sliders
Group shower afterward in my chalet!
(I'm hiding in the steam)
and everyone lived happily ever after... The End :)
Me going down the slip 'n slide
The group of slip 'n sliders
Group shower afterward in my chalet!(I'm hiding in the steam)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
eCabazini the Zulu Village
This weekend we went to a traditional South African Homestead!! It was really interesting to see how a lot of the rural people in South Africa still live. We stayed there from Saturday to Sunday afternoon. We slept in these awesome little huts, had a couple campfires to cook our food, and got to see what day-to-day life was/is like! The pictures do a much better job explaining!
When we first arrived at the homestead
In South Africa they say "hoot the hooter" instead of "honk the horn"
The scenery, you can see a little grass hut if you look hard
The Zulu man that came to greet us and bring us down to the homestead
The homestead where we all stayed
The fences go around all of the huts, and there is a 2nd fence inside for the cattle to stay
There are several different types of the round huts. The all grass one is the older, and the mud/plaster is obviously the newer version
This is a third type with stones and grass
I was elected to be the representative of our group to ask the Zulu people for permission to be welcomed into their homestead. I had to do it in Zulu so I was really nervous!
I said, Sanibona! Sicela ukhuluma nathi.
Apparently I did okay because they let us in :)
This is the hut I stayed in
My prarie dress I wore because in the Zulu culture females don't wear "man trousers"
The inside of the hut, my roomies were Kristina, Janelle, and Leanne
The view from our hut of the lake
All of us walking to the lake
It was really pretty and reminded me of something I would see in the Northern part of America
Megan and I running down the hill to go swimming, this reminded Adam of the Little House on the Prairie
Going swimming in the muddy lake
We got 1/3 of the way into the lake, and it was still below our waist...
...so we ran back out
By the fire waiting for dinner, Adam and Joey posing with the Zulus in their traditional clothes
Sitting by my friend Sipho. It was fun practicing my isiZulu
Still waiting for dinner :)
Apparently I was the only one who thought it would be a good idea to wear prairie clothes
Finally dinner! Raw cow cooking on an open flame
It turned out delicious!
My dinner group: Ronnie, Rachel, Carrie, Bethany, Brittany, Kristina, and Me
After dinner they performed some traditional Zulu dancing
The guys got up to try it
Some were pretty good, Adam got really into it
The next morning the cows were in the cattle crawl
This little baby calf was so cute
The different markings are really unique and are completely symetrical
Waiting for breakfast the next day
Brittany and I
Ronnie and Kristina
Rachel and Brittany
Bethany, Megan (my isiZulu buddy), and Alle
Kat and I
Byron and Adam
Showing us how they make straw mats (beds)
A bunch of random traditional Zulu items
Adam's favorite part of the whole day... spreading fresh cow dung on the floor to fill in the cracks
Adam even volunteered to try!
He was actually pretty good!
All cleaned up... hopefully
One of the many beautiful plants we saw that weekend
Inside one of the home; they keep their tools in the thatching of their roofs
An herb garden outside the house. Raised up to keep things from eating it
We found this random sausage tree that had hanging sausages all over it
Megan decided to lick one of the sausages
After a tour of the traditional homes of the other Zulu people, we had a chance to make traditional Zulu pottery. Rachel, Me, Alle, and Megan
My finished pot (it's now a pencil holder on my desk!)
After our pots we got to make traditional bracelets
I made a flower!
Lastly we did some stick fighting. Adam wanted to try his had at this as well
So did I!
We had a traditional shield and then just a plain stick
One of my favorite parts of the day!
The cattle chewing their cud
The Zulu lady spreading fresh cow dung all over the floor to repair the cracks
(They do this every single week on Sundays)
Adam playing with cow dung on the floor of a traditional Zulu hut
Adam's Dung Contest- Results: Lost
The Traditional Stick-fighting Demo
Adam Stick-fighting!
When we first arrived at the homestead
In South Africa they say "hoot the hooter" instead of "honk the horn"
The scenery, you can see a little grass hut if you look hard
The Zulu man that came to greet us and bring us down to the homestead
The homestead where we all stayed
The fences go around all of the huts, and there is a 2nd fence inside for the cattle to stay
There are several different types of the round huts. The all grass one is the older, and the mud/plaster is obviously the newer version
This is a third type with stones and grass
I was elected to be the representative of our group to ask the Zulu people for permission to be welcomed into their homestead. I had to do it in Zulu so I was really nervous!I said, Sanibona! Sicela ukhuluma nathi.
Apparently I did okay because they let us in :)
This is the hut I stayed in
My prarie dress I wore because in the Zulu culture females don't wear "man trousers"
The inside of the hut, my roomies were Kristina, Janelle, and Leanne
The view from our hut of the lake
All of us walking to the lake
It was really pretty and reminded me of something I would see in the Northern part of America
Megan and I running down the hill to go swimming, this reminded Adam of the Little House on the Prairie
Going swimming in the muddy lake
We got 1/3 of the way into the lake, and it was still below our waist...
...so we ran back out
By the fire waiting for dinner, Adam and Joey posing with the Zulus in their traditional clothes
Sitting by my friend Sipho. It was fun practicing my isiZulu
Still waiting for dinner :)
Apparently I was the only one who thought it would be a good idea to wear prairie clothes
Finally dinner! Raw cow cooking on an open flame
It turned out delicious!
My dinner group: Ronnie, Rachel, Carrie, Bethany, Brittany, Kristina, and Me
After dinner they performed some traditional Zulu dancing
The guys got up to try it
Some were pretty good, Adam got really into it
The next morning the cows were in the cattle crawl
This little baby calf was so cute
The different markings are really unique and are completely symetrical
Waiting for breakfast the next day
Brittany and I
Ronnie and Kristina
Rachel and Brittany
Bethany, Megan (my isiZulu buddy), and Alle
Kat and I
Byron and Adam
Showing us how they make straw mats (beds)
A bunch of random traditional Zulu items
Adam's favorite part of the whole day... spreading fresh cow dung on the floor to fill in the cracks
Adam even volunteered to try!
He was actually pretty good!
All cleaned up... hopefully
One of the many beautiful plants we saw that weekend
Inside one of the home; they keep their tools in the thatching of their roofs
An herb garden outside the house. Raised up to keep things from eating it
We found this random sausage tree that had hanging sausages all over it
Megan decided to lick one of the sausages
After a tour of the traditional homes of the other Zulu people, we had a chance to make traditional Zulu pottery. Rachel, Me, Alle, and Megan
My finished pot (it's now a pencil holder on my desk!)
After our pots we got to make traditional bracelets
I made a flower!
Lastly we did some stick fighting. Adam wanted to try his had at this as well
So did I!
We had a traditional shield and then just a plain stick
One of my favorite parts of the day!Videos:
The cattle chewing their cud
The Zulu lady spreading fresh cow dung all over the floor to repair the cracks
(They do this every single week on Sundays)
Adam playing with cow dung on the floor of a traditional Zulu hut
Adam's Dung Contest- Results: Lost
The Traditional Stick-fighting Demo
Adam Stick-fighting!
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