Sawubona!

I feel like I'm finally getting into a routine here at African Enterprise! :) It is now my 4th day of classes and although our classes are VERY long they are interesting and overall fun!

We've been going for runs in the morning before breakfast which has been really fun! We go through the reserve that is right next to our campus and has wildlife in it! We have seen antelope and monkeys, and some have seen Zebras but I haven't yet! but hopefully will! The first day we went running we got lost, but luckily they told us if we were to get lost to just keep turning left and we would find our way back, well 5 miles later we made it back to campus! it was insanely long BUT felt so good and was fun to be running with some great people! But since then we have found the right path and have enjoyed getting up early to go running through beautiful scenery! What a way to start the day! (even if yesterday on our way down the mountain we got stopped by the evil monkeys that would not let us pass, so we had to go all the way back up the path and go down a different way!)

On Monday we went on a MALL RUN! it was a lot of fun to get off campus and go shopping! we mostly just bought school supplies and necessities, but we also got some icecream from "Milky Lane" which was delicious!

The classes I am taking are challenging me already and its so exciting! Our intercultural communications class is interesting in the way that we can start applying what we learn in class right away! it is an awesome feeling to be able to do that. Another class is intro to Zulu, one of their languages here, that involves clicking while speaking! its going to be hard but pay off to know some when we are at our service sites. My Life and Teachings of Jesus class has been awesome! Reg, our professor, has some really good lectures and I am excited to see how the class helps shape my worldview and changes some of my preconceptions!

But along with these classes comes A LOT of homework, mainly reading, which is not so fun. But we try and make it fun by all hanging out on the lawn to do homework and today some of us sat in a circle and did our reading together, it was pretty funny but made it a lot more fun to do homework with friends rather than by yourself! We also take breaks to play card games and always cannot stop laughing! It has been so fun getting to know everyone here and forming friendships. They are all so sweet and SO much fun. we laugh about everything.

It rained on Tuesday, and it was crazy how warm it still was! But it was so fun to be able to sit inside of my class listening to the rain outside while learning. we played in the rain a little bit, but mostly enjoyed it from inside :)

On Wednesday Hilary and I (yes mom i said it right!) went to the mall with Reagan (one of our community life coordinator) to get birthday stuff for another one of our community life coordinators, Janet's birthday. I sat in the front seat ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, which was such a weird feeling. Reagan had me change gears for him to learn how to drive stick shift in south africa! it was so fun to get out and "drive" there! haha and we also ran some errands with him to the laundromat.

Today while we were all out on the lawn doing homework, one of the guys found a chameleon and brought it over to all of us. It was so fun to hold it and watch it change colors, it most definitely entertained us for a while, also distracting us from our reading.

Overall this week has been amazing and incredible to be able to adjust to living here and realizing that YES i really do get to spend a whole semester here! :)

better than i could have EVER imagined!

so today we arrived at our campus in Pietermaritzburg!! We are staying on the African Enterprise campus and it is BEAUTIFUL! but before i talk about today, ill fill you in on yesterday :)

We got to tour around Soweto all day and visit a lot of different sites, we saw all the different areas of the city. it was really interesting and fun to see the people of South Africa. as we drove by the people would dance and wave to us!

<-- an area in Soweto

we had lunch at our

tour guides restaraunt and the children in the neighborhood

performed a dance for us, while the younger children imitated <--them off to the side, it was so cute!the people here are so genuinely happy to see us everywhere we go! they greet us and smile at us and make us feel welcomed!

we also went to the Apartheid Museum yesterday, it was different than any other museum ive been to because of the feeling about

it, it was almost sad to go through. we saw all the suffering the people endured during the apartheid and the coming out of it, but they are all so proud of their heritage and rejoice in the way they are now! they love each other for their differences and take pride in their own, it is so encouraging.

then we all went back to the hotel and out to dinner at Rondos (which is their version of KFC) it was fun to go out to eat and just hang out with everyone!

and TODAY was incredible! we got up early and had breakfast at the hotel and then hurried to the airport to catch our flight to Durban. once we arrived in Durban we got on a bus and drove about an hour to Pietermaritzburg. it was one of the most beautiful drives!! the instant we saw all of the greenery and views from the bus we wanted to get out and play!

but once we arrived at our campus we were even more amazed! it took my breath away and i feel SO very lucky and privileged to be able to live here and study here. we had lunch and then a short meeting. after that we all started exploring! theres two waterfalls and a "swimming pool" which is a watering hole kind of a thing, its so pretty! the views on the campus are so pretty and our "chowlets" or living spaces are so fun! theres four rooms and a community bathroom for eight girls and we are all so excited! the 53 of us students all cannot stop talking about how

lucky we are to be here!

the pictures are of our "swimming pool" and my "chowlet" is the top story! :)

tomorrow were starting classes, which will keep us busy! but im sure we will still have fun exploring in our free time and just settling in! once my room is all settled and clean ill put up a picture of it! :)

i hope the pictures help you see what its like here! it truly is beautiful! Everywhere i look here i can see God! He really knew what he was doing when he chose green for so many plants because it is stunning here with all the greenery!! :)

First Post in South Africa!!

29 HOURS of traveling. And we are finally here!!

We arrived in Johannesburg around 6 pm, and after finding all our bags and going through customs we boarded our bus and drove to the hotel where we are staying for the next 2 nights! It still hasn’t quite hit me yet that I’m going to be here for the next few months, but it is so exciting!! It feels so good to finally be here and start this adventure!

The plane rides weren’t too bad, we slept a lot and they fed us good food! But they were definitely longer than I thought! We were all more than ready to get off the plane! All of us have swollen feet from being on the plane for so long! But we tried to make the time fun by getting to know each other and just hanging out, oh and being amazed by the meals they gave us! Delicious!

Tomorrow we are going to a museum for the day and then out to dinner I think, and then the day after that we are flying to Durban and then driving to Pietermaritzburg where our campus is! This post’s going to be short because I’m tired and we don’t get internet for very long for free! I’m not sure when we will have internet again so till next time!