Join Me in South Africa

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The cute ones

We have done so much with this class from talking about sports, weather, holidays, safety, family, health and much more to learning handshakes, laughing, colouring, and playing outside. We never stop entertaining each other.

We made a gigantic paper chain which we all worked on together for two hours. The kids coloured beautiful leaves which are now decorations for the classroom. They made family trees and and easter bunnies. I couldn't be more proud of them and happy I got to spend the last 4 months with them.

Here are just a few pictures to give you a glimpse into our special space. The other girl with blonde hair is Emma. She is from Finland and is another exchange student who is my partner at Ikhaya.

Family tree

Class photo

Huge paper chain

So proud of our paper chain :)

The beautiful leaves made and coloured by the students

May 3rd: packing up

Today I took down all my pictures and decorations from the walls. I sent the last box to my parents, which will hopefully make it home safely. Everything else will go with me when I leave here in less than three weeks on May 20th. I didn't have to take down my pictures etc today, but I decided it was time. I have been thinking about when to do it, and now is a good time to start the gradual goodbye process to my year long home in South Africa.

I already took my final exam for my Gender, Culture, and State in South Africa class. Tomorrow is the last day of my African Jewellery Making class. After that I will just have to finish up isiXhosa and Public Theology.

This Friday I will have to say goodbye to my lovely kids at the Ikhaya School in Kayamandi. I have been with them every single Friday since the first week of February. I have bonded with these kids and I really love them. They are all cute, sweet, unique, smart, and have their own funny personalities. I will really miss them so much. I will post some pictures from my time with them soon.

Although it is close to the end, I am not quite finished yet. From South Africa I will fly to Nairobi, Kenya. I will take a 2 week tour through Kenya and Uganda. We start in Kenya and end in Kenya. Then I will get picked up and go straight to an orientation for the school I will be volunteering with in Kenya. I will start 1-2 days later after arriving back from traveling. Because of my unbelievable experience teaching here in South Africa, I cannot wait to meet the kids in Kenya. I will also have the opportunity to work with older kids up to age 14.

From Kenya I will go to Germany where I will visit my lovely boyfriend before FINALLY getting back home to the states in the first week of August. Wow! Then I have to finish my last year of college for my bachelors degree, get a job, and start working my butt off so I can get out there and do it again!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Sunday: April 17, 2016

Today is April 17th and I leave South Africa next month on May 20th. I can't believe I arrived last June! My second semester of my year about in South Africa is just a month from being over. Japie asked me to take some pictures of my room since he will start advertising soon. This is one of the pictures that I took.

On May 20th I fly to Kenya where I will take a two week trip with the company, Nomad, through Kenya and Uganda. Then I am very lucky to have the opportunity to volunteer at a school in Kenya and work with kids from kindergarten up through 8th grade. I am sad to be leaving South Africa soon. I am sure I will come back. However, I am soooo looking forward to meeting the kids in Kenya and having the adventures continue!

Studying with Karl

I have a paper to write for Public Theology. I thought I might as well do my reading outside because it was such a nice day. It wasn't long after I set my towel down that Karl made his entrance. Meowing like a maniac he let me know he wanted attention. I petted him and gave him a full massage. At first he would meow whenever I stopped petting him, but finally he fell asleep because I actually had reading to do to. He stayed out there with me for hours until it got cold and I went inside :-)

Monday, April 11, 2016

The Cockpit

Here I am in the cockpit on my flight from Cape Town to Walvis Bay, Namibia. I did not put these up originally because they were taken with my phone and not my camera. The captain and the co-pilot were both from Namibia and gave me all kinds of advice on where to go, what to do, and which local restaurants to hit up while we were in Swakopmund. They let me wear a headset so I could hear everything that was going on. After takeoff we were able to chat with each other the whole time. It was really fun and they were super nice and funny guys! :-)

Friday, April 8, 2016

Namibia and more!

Hello,

I know there are some big breaks between blogs, so I hope everyone is still reading. There are some very exciting updates!

I am still surviving classes at Stellenbosch and volunteering with the kids at the Ikhaya school every Friday. I just finished a paper for my Gender, Culture, and the State in South Africa class. I am learning how to say, "I would like tea with warm milk and sugar" in isiXhosa, I am reading some interesting articles for Public Theology, and I just finished making a bracelet for my African Jewellery Class.

Not to mention, the amazing time I had recently with my boyfriend, Michael, visiting from Germany. I was supposed to be at the airport at 4:30 to meet Michael. That morning I woke up feeling so sick I couldn't even think straight. I was fine the day before. I felt nauseous, had stomach cramps, and a headache that felt like a migraine. I almost called my friend, Joseph, who was picking me up to tell him he would have to get Michael alone because I simply could not make it. My roommate, Jonita, got home and I told her how horrible I was feeling. She called her mom to asked how much medicine she should give me and made me one piece of toast. I laid there in the living room with Jonita taking care of me until Joseph arrived.

I put the seat back in Joseph's car all the way there. Joseph dropped me off and I walked like a zombie to find Michael. I couldn't even focus on the words on the signs in the airport. When I saw Michael I gave him a hug, and my next words were, "I feel so sick." I laid with my head on Michael's lap on the way back. The next day I went to the doctor where they gave me medicine and an anti-nausea shot. Soon I thought I was kind of bouncing back. The next day Michael and I were leaving for Namibia. The nausea came back the next morning. Joseph was there to pick us up again. At the last minute I grabbed a couple things I forgot and put them in a plastic bag and I was running out the door. I felt too bad to concentrate on packing. A little more than half way to the airport I was trying to take the deepest breaths I could, look out the window, and ignore the fact that we were going fast on the highway and I felt like I was going to throw up. It didn't work. I grabbed the plastic bag, dumped its contents on the floor of the front seat, and started throwing up while Joseph was driving us to the airport. In between "I'm sorry's" I kept going and sat there, miserable.

When Michael and I arrived at the airport we found a clinic. They said if I kept feeling this bad I could not fly. They gave me a medicine and Michael waited next to me while I laid on their bed. It was time to leave. I was feeling better. As Michael and I go through security they spotted my two full bottles of shampoo and conditioner from my favourite store in my backpack. I had to throw them away. I felt terrible that morning and the 1-2 days before. I did not think while packing, and I felt the consequences when I had to throw away two perfectly good bottles of my favourite stuff.

Finally we got to our gate and a woman came up to us and said the flight is full and that they are looking for someone small to sit in the cockpit. Michael didn't want me to go because he knew how bad I was feeling, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity knowing my dad's love for anything related to planes. Thankfully there was no vomiting in the cockpit. I had a lovely chat with the pilot and co-pilot, and had tons of fun. We landed in Namibia and by the next day I was more than 100% myself again, thank goodness!!!

From there Michael and I spent 8 days in Namibia. We first stayed in Swakopmund where we did a quad tour through the sand dunes, sand boarding, camel riding, and skydiving. We also drove up Skeleton Coast to Cape Cross where we were surprised to see millions of seals covering the coast, in and out of the water. We took another day and went on a road trip to Brandburg Mountain where we did a hike in intense heat to see what is called, The White Lady. These are stone carvings that have been found that are over 1,000 years old. Later we left Swakopmund and drove to Etosha National Park. It was very nice and we saw beautiful animals. I think we both wish we had had a bit more time to spend there. After this we spent our lsat night in Swakopmund and then headed back for South Africa. We also enjoyed some nice local restaurants in Namibia.

We spent a few days in Stellenbosch, and then we drove to the Indalu Game Reserve which is about 40 kilometres from Mossel Bay in South Africa. I have been there with Michael last year, Jacob, Iris, and Laura in February, and again with Michael now. We did an elephant walk, a game drive, met a fun couple from London who now live in Spain, drove to Mossel Bay and swan in the ocean, and stayed in a flat at Indalu. We were so relaxed we did not want to leave.

After that we came back to Stellenbosch and then spent the last weekend in Cape Town before Michael had to go home. Our location in Cape Town was right next to the beach. With the curtains open we could see all the kite surfers, and Table Mountain right across from us. It was lovely.

Sunday morning we woke up and Joseph took us to the airport. When we arrived at the desk they asked Michael if he would be on standby to leave the following day. In the end they asked him to leave the next day and he got a free ticket! This is just too crazy! Both Michael AND Laura got free tickets!!!

I have written a lot. Now I will share some of our amazing pictures!