Friends and Fun

Wednesday was Human Rights Day, which is a public holiday, so my friend Shelia and I went with a bunch of South Africans down the coast to Scottburgh. It was about an hour drive, but it was nice to get out of Durban. We spent the whole day tanning, swimming and eating. No better way to spend a holiday!

Shelia, Libby and Josh.

The boys causing ruckus in the waves.

The ocean!

Me, Libby and Shelia.

Part of the gardens Durban botanic gardens where Libby, Shelia and I went for a picnic.

Beautiful! Lots of weddings and birthday parties there that day.

Me and my good friend Libby.

Chris and Adam dressed up for Spencer's rock and roll birthday party.

Spencer with the birthday present I gave him.

nothing super exciting...

But I still have some things to say. I will put up some photos again soon, however not much exciting has happened lately. I've just been busy with school and hanging out with friends.
One new thing that I have done recently was to visit a transition home for abandoned babies. It was very interesting, but also very tough. I'm going to be volunteering there once a week now, maybe more depending. There are seven babies there now (the oldest is 3), and two of them are HIV positive. It's a very surreal environment to see these innocent children who have been abandoned by their own parents...some of them left with a disease that will affect them for the rest of their lives. It is a church-based home (started by Glenridge International Church, where I go Sunday evenings), so it is very faith-oriented. Basically the home takes in babies from the time they are abandoned until they are adopted or are too old for the program. It is a home environment and so basically I go and play with them, feed them, change their diapers, and love them....basically I become their mom! It should be very rewarding. I have only been once, but already I have fallen for this little babies...they are so adorable! Once I know them better I will take some photos and post them on here of the little ones. I feel so honoured to be able to pour my love and Christs love into these little lives! Truely a blessing!
that is about the only new and exciting thing that has occured recently. I will post some photos after this weekend. Love you all! Cheers!

Some Words.....

Hey...sooo this is going to be more of a written post. I wanted to put on more photos but the batteries have died on my camera and I haven't replaced them yet. But sometimes words are more important, and pictures can only say so much. So let's see. Things are going well. Into my second week of classes now. I'm really NOT busy at all and have waayyy too much time on my hands...but I know that that will not last very long. I only have two classes, one is twice a week and the other is on Thursday afternoons. I have Tuesdays and Fridays off, which is super nice. My classes are Community Based Learning and Agriculture and Rural Development. The Com. Based Learning is mostly field work with an NGO. I have no idea which NGO I'm working with yet because we semi have to organize it ourselves. So I should probrably get on that..ha. My other class is a masters class and so will be alot of work once we really get underway. The most exciting thing about that class is that we are going on a week long field trip in April to a rural community near Mozambique. I'm not totally sure what it entails yet, but I do know that we are going to be visiting some different agricultural projects and experiancing rural life. We are also going to be organizing a soccer tournament with the youth of the village, which should be fun, even if I do suck at soccer ;). So that has me amped. I think it will be a very cool experiance, and once I have photos of that they will for sure be going up on this blog.

Other than that, not too much has been happening. I've met alot of really awesome people, both internationals and locals. Everyone here has been INCREDIBLY welcoming and hospitable. Tomorrow a girl Laura ( I know! I CANNOT get away from Lauras! They are all incredibly awesome people), that I met is going to be taking me to this art gallery that we went to on the weekend. Both of us are going to be purchasing paintings! This is very exciting, as I have never even ONCE considered buying a peice of art, but this painting is amazing and I will try and take a photo of it and post it on here as well.

Ok, I think that is all. I have a few more photos of my campus that I want to put up and will do so once I have new batteries.

Love you and miss you all!

My So Called Life....

The Howard College Building. There are cool Monday concerts here every week.
This is the Memorial Tower Building where I have all my classes.

Part of my room

This is where I spend my time sleeping and doing school work...ahhhh residence life....ha

So I would like to add more, but I am pressed for time. I'm using my friend's office that is in the only building on campus that has wireless internet and he has to leave so I must leave with him. I will add a written blog next to let you know more details of what I have been up to...until then Cheers!

On one of the last nights that I was in Cape Town we went to an outdoor theater to see a production of Romeo and Juliet. Everyone brings food and picnics beforehand.

Me and Mr. Penguin! this guy was just chillin on this rock and I went over to say hello!

African Penguins! These little guys hang out at a place called Boulders Beach.

Another part of the Robben Island prison. The tour was led by an ex political prisoner who was imprisoned at the same time as Nelson Mandala.



Part of Nelson Mandala's prison cell on Robben Island (Robben means "seal" in Afrikaans..but there are no seals on the island...interesting logic...). Not the best photo, but the best I could get.

Baby cheetahs at a cheetah rescue center. You had to pay alot of money to go in and pet them, so I just stood outside and took pictures of other people petting them.

One of the Vineyards in Stellenbosch

My first experiance with touch rugby. We went to the world cup of touch rugby (I have no idea there was even such a sport). It was super hot and ridiculously windy, but after watching about three games I finally understood what was going on!

Hout Bay beach

Township in Hout Bay

some little kids in the township in Hout Bay

Kirstenbosch botanical gardens

This is just one part of the view from Rachel's apartment in Cape Town.




Sorry that the order of things is messed up, but I was finally able to figure out the whole photo thing. So these photos are only a summary of what I did while in Cape Town. I will put more detailed ones up from now on of Durban. I hope your enjoyed them!

The University of KwaZulu-Natal

Sowbona! (that means hello in Zulu)
So I'm finally here in Durban. I arrived here Tuesday afternoon...it was VERY overwhellming, I must say. The rez hadn't been cleaned yet from after their summer break, so there were lots of dead cockroaches everywhere..pretty gross. But I have a single room, so I can't really complain. ONe major difference from Laurier (or any Canadian Uni.) is that the entire campus here is surrounded by metal fences and barbed-wire. It makes you feel safe, but also not at the same time...a constant reminder of the crime around the area. But the campus is very secure, so I never feel in danger when I'm here. Oh, there are also monkey's alll over the campus...alot right near my rez. I saw them finally for the first time today and there must have been ten of them all together. They are pretty cute! So I'm getting adjusted here. There are three guys here from Laurier and one other girl and then two other Canadians from Carlton. The majority of the internationals are from the US, though...and most of them live in my rez. I haven't hung out with this many Americans ever in my life! But there are some very cool people with very diverse backgrounds and I've already had some interesting conversations. I've also been getting to know some of the locals, which is cool because they are more than willing to show us around and to teach us Zulu..hah.
Something to really get adjusted to here is the pace of life...it's EXTREMELY slower than in Norh American, which I enjoy to an extent. It definitly take some getting used to. If you say that you will meet someone at 9, that really means 9:30 or 10..hah. And calling a cab is ridiculous because they say they will be there in 20 minutes and your still waiting an hour later. It's just so laidback and chill here, that no one is in a hurry. I''m sure by the end of the month I will be used to it...and then when I come back to Canada I will end up being late for everything I'm sure!
Anyway thing are going well and I'm feeling slightly settled in. It's a process and I'm sure once classes start things will feel more solidified. I've been slowly exploring the city, so that is helping me to get adjusted. I will try and put some photos up from Cape Town on here, and if that doesn't work than I will try and put them on facebook. But that's all for now...I'm headed to the beach! Love you all and miss you!

sorry! photos wouldn't work and I'm getting charged sooo much money! Will try again later