Garden Route and CAPETOWN!

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog, we were still on the road and it has been busy and not as easy to get internet. The day after we went bungy jumping we stayed at Carmel in George. It was a beautiful place to stay!

On Wednesday we visited an ostrich farm, yes an ostrich farm. It was really random and hilarious! Ostriches are such strange animals, almost dinosaur-like or prehistoric. I learned that I am afraid of ostriches! They are huge and their feet are almost as big as my face, not to mention they are not the most attractive animals….but we fed them and got to sit on them for pictures, we even got to see them “race”. We laughed the whole time we were there!

After the ostrich farm we went to the Cango Caves, which is a natural wonder of South Africa. They were huge and beautiful inside, and we made it more fun by running out of them once we had reached the end. That night they had a chapel for us after dinner which was really nice and then we played games and relaxed in our cottage :) it was nice to be able to relax and hang out with everyone!

On Thursday we finished our road trip and finally arrived in CAPETOWN! We all went out to dinner that night after exploring the city for a little bit. It was fun to finally be in the city and got us excited to explore some more while here!

Friday we had some orientation and drove over to BI (Bible Institute) where some of the students stay while the other half of us have homestays. Friday night we met our homestay families; Hilary Green and I are staying with an older couple named Lucy and Clive. They are very generous and love telling us about their kids and grandkids :) we have gone with them to a 1 year olds birthday party and met a lot of their family, to their Catholic Mass on Sunday and met their two daughters and adorable grandchildren. It has been fun getting to know them; they love to tell us about their lives and are always feeding us great food, lots of it all the time! Lucy is a great cook, and will cook LOADS of food for us to eat! We are staying in Ocean View, a township that was started during the apartheid that has grown to be about 30,000 people!

During the week we go to BI for the day for either class or an excursion. We walk to a church here in Ocean View and get picked up to go to school, we all feel like we are in elementary school again getting dropped off at the bus again and picked up at the end of the day. We visited two museums in Capetown on Monday. It was fun to be in the city and after we went to a mall there at Waterfront to have lunch, it was gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back there another day! After class on Tuesday a few of us explored the shops and restaurants that are walking distance from BI in Kalk Bay and today we had a township tour of Langa, the oldest township here from the apartheid. It has been interesting and a good experience to see all of these things and I have really liked seeing Capetown.

It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL here; everywhere we drive it is a gorgeous view! It’s hard to believe we only have about two more weeks here, but it is also exciting to think about seeing everyone when we get back! Capetown is quickly becoming one of my favorite places and I am excited for the days to come here where we get to tour around some more, climb Table Mountain and explore the city some more!

More pictures to come soon!

life is GOOOD.

so last week we went on safari and stayed in a zulu tribe, both were SO MUCH FUN :) i was unable to blog about it till now because as much fun as the zulu tribe was, a lot of us got sick :( and then we left for our road trip on the "Garden Route" down to Capetown.

the safari was so much fun seeing all of the animals in the wild, we saw:

-giraffes

-zebra

-elephants

-nyala

-impala

-hippo

-cheetah (SO CLOSE-it was insane!)

-possible leopard in a tree (it was far, but we think it was!)

-rhino

-african buffalo

-tortuise

-dung beetle (they were HUGE)

-genet cat (it was IN our camp after our braai - a bbq)

--and i think that is it :) it was a lot of fun driving around in the open air vehicles and just being in the wild with fun people!!

after we left the safari we went to the zulu tribe experience, where we stayed in mud huts, learned about their culture, saw them perform their dance moves while learning a few ourselves, walked around with the medicine man to learn about the plants he uses and took a walk to a hut where women were making beaded jewelry. it was relaxing and beautiful! the view from our hut was gorgeous and the stars at night were breathtaking!

being sick kind of put a damper on the experience once we got back, but overall it was a lot of fun!

we started our road trip on sunday and i mostly slept for the first 2 days till i got better, and then today was the day for BUNGY JUMPING!!!!!! which was unreal. that is the only word to describe it, it was 216 meters (which is about 648 feet) from the top of the bridge. the free fall was the most insane feeling and it was the most fun also!! i LOVED it and was petrified by it!

we are arriving in Capetown on thursday and the place we are staying at tonight is adorable and beautiful! :) were going to see ostriches tomorrow and to explore caves! cant believe its already almost time to be in Capetown, it was hard to say bye to AE in Pietermaritzburg, but I am getting really excited for the homestays and all that we get to do in Capetown!

Last week at RivLife

On Tuesday we went to the womens support group in the morning. We had ordered dresses, skirts and aprons from them that they make and they turned out beautiful! our last day with them was perfect :) we were able to spend almost the whole day with them just hanging out and talking, some of the girls in the community came and performed dances and sang for us, they invited their "counselor" which is equivalent to their mayor to come talk with us, some of them had their husbands come to meet us and they made us all necklaces and earings out of rocks that they got at the river. it was so sweet of them and we were all so touched at all that they did for us.

All of the women were so inspiring to us - their stories and the way they live their lives were such an encouragement. i loved getting to know each and every one of them.

On our last day we went to the gogos in the morning and got to play telephone with them, give them back rubs, paint their nails and end with a dance party :) it was so much fun - they are all such sweet hearts and such a joy to be around. we all wished we could have had more time with them in previous weeks, but were still thankful for the time we had with them!

On our last afternoon with the kids we did face painting! they all were so excited to get their faces painted, some of them even started asking for our names to be written on their foreheads - it was hilarious! we had so much fun and it was the perfect afternoon to end our time with these kids. we had bubbles and popcorn and just laughed and had fun!

All of us with Gloria and Beatriz (the care takers for the kids) - they made our time with the kids so enjoyable helping us learn phrases to say to the kids in Isizulu, songs to sing with them and always so much fun to be around! they made us laugh, and we made them laugh - i will miss them so much and the time we had with them!

Our two translators and the social worker at RivLife all made our time so great. Thendai (social worker) planned out most that we did in our time there and our translators, Thabsile and Thendeka, were always so great in all that we did. they became good friends of ours and i am going to miss seeing them everyday and having our conversations.

This is Azola on the last day after one of the girls painted my name on his forehead. Azola stole my heart the first day i saw him smile.

Azola's older sister, Buhle, would come in the afternoons and pick him up after she would have a meal and hang out for a little bit. she too has a special place in my heart. seeing the way she cares for Azola and loves him gave me hope for his future. after seeing all that i had the opportunity to at RivLife, i had lots of unanswered questions but still a lot of hope. i know God is working here, and being able to see Him in the people here has been encouraging. i see God in how Buhle loves Azola, how the womens support group goes out into their community to help those who also are HIV positive, how the gogos meet to support one another, and in how all the people we met were open to us and loving. the people i met have made a difference in my life and i am so grateful for the opportunity i had to serve at RivLife with my wonderful team.

Seems like everyday is my favorite day.....

Thursday morning we went into the community around RivLife, called Cinderella Park. we went back to a Kulus house (kulu is grandpa in Isizulu) that is blind to do his laundry. we washed four of his blankets for him, which was fun because we learned how to do wash like them! they put the blanket in a big bucket with soap and water and then stomp in it - almost like we were squishing grapes! it was fun and then we rinsed them and wrung them out (or at least as much water as we could get out) and then hung them out to dry. one of the girls that comes in the afternoon usually to RivLife, named Sindy, lived next door and came over with her sister to play and be with us, and helped wring out the blanket a little bit - she is just so cute!!

The afternoons at RivLife with the kids are some of my favorite times, even when they are all screaming or crying, they seem to be fine a few minutes later laughing and singing with us. they play nonstop and never get tired, even when its BRIGHT AND SUNNY. on thursday afternoon we sat in the shade for a while with them and painted the girls nails. it was adorable and they loved it, they always look at our nails that are painted so we thought it be fun to paint theres, and it was! Azola, one of the little boys that has stolen my heart, spent most of that afternoon on my lap in between his trips to the water spicket to fill his mouth with water and then come back still with a mouth full of water he would plop down on my lap and either swallow the water slowly or spit it out, which he found so amusing. he is just too darn adorable and i absolutely loved sitting with him and laughing with him.

On Friday we went to the womens support group again and they took us around their community to home visits of other women who are also HIV positive, one of whom has full-blown Aids. it was an emotionally draining morning as we took in the images we were seeing, but seeing the women being there for other women and praying and singing with them in Isizulu was a memorable and touching moment to say the least. i will never forget the feeling of being in the house listening to the women sing the most beautiful song i have ever heard that also was so sorrowful. the woman that we visited (who had been blind for a few years and had full-blown Aids since 2003) began to tear up while she listened. its in that moment i knew God was breaking my heart and im not sure what its going to look like when He mends it back together - but i KNOW He will and He will make it with a soft spot for the people here in South Africa.

All of the women in the support group inspire us by what they do in their community and how they are there for one another. i love spending time with them and dancing with them :)

Friday afternoon we painted at the new day care center - we used the kids hands to make a rainbow in one room, big colorful flowers and butterflies in another, and in the last room a big and bright smiling sun that will say above it "Jesus Loves You" in English and Isizulu :)

RivLife has been one of the most life-changing experiences, and i still have 3 more days!! i couldnt tell you exactly how it has changed me, but i KNOW it is changing me and i know i will be processing my time there for a long time after i get back. the women i get to serve there with are some of the most genuine and heart-felt friendships and the experiences we are able to have give my heart joy.

Today (Saturday) we went to Ushaka - which means "shark" and is a water park and "sea world" - it was the perfect day to feel like we were kids again going on all the slides and going through the aquarium and watching the dolphin show!

Every day i get to spend here in South Africa is special to me and i am having the most fun and the most life changing experiences all in the same day sometimes! i have had "de ja vu" (or however you spell it) A LOT here and i just keep telling myself its cause ive been dreaming of this semester my whole life :)

cherishing my time at RivLife

Tuesday I was able to go back to the Women's HIV positive support group. I love all of the women there, they are always so welcoming and open to us. this past meeting we were measured for the dresses they are making us! i'm so excited to buy one from them and wear it! they showed us some Zulu dance moves and shared with us about the struggles and benefits of their group, Sisonke. one of the women shared her story with a few of us while we were helping her peel leaves for a delicious meal they made for us out of pumpkin and the leaves. she told us how she had come to be HIV positive and how she is wanting to go out and educate people on how it is transfered, she is such an encouragement to hear how she is so strong though all that she had been through.

the meal was delicious and so sweet of them to make us. they always go out of their way to make sure we are comfortable and enjoying our time there. they sing while they work and teach us how to crochet, were getting better but not NEARLY as good or fast as them!

These are most of the women at the group, they are all beautiful inside and out and some of the strongest woman i have ever met.

In the mornings when we arrive at RivLife the kids have began to run outside to greet us, it brings the biggest smile to all of our faces and makes us feel so loved. it is the perfect way to begin our days at RivLife, all of these beautiful and joyful little kids running at you yelling "AUNTIE, AUNTIE!!!" and receiving LOTS and LOTS of hugs :) this morning I pulled out my camera and stood back to get a picture of it.

We also visited the Gogos support group (A Gogo is a grandma) - this group was started so that the gogos in the community would not be sitting alone in their houses but be able to support each other and have fun together. they garden, do beadwork and discuss what they are going through. we played telephone with them (english and Isizulu words) which was hilarious and so much fun with them. we did some home visits to those that could not make it, it is an awesome experience to say the least. having the opportunity to visit them in their homes and pray with them was something that i will never forget. i can't wait till next week when we get to go back and see them again!

The days at RivLife fly by TOO fast! Next wednesday is our last day there, and it is becoming a realization that i will only have about 5 days left with the people that i'm meeting there. cherishing every moment there is my goal for the remaining days and making sure i tell the women and children i have met how much they mean to me. my team continues to be such a support to me and makes the experience that much more meaningful.

Another week at RivLife :)

RivLife Team: Nicole, Bianca, Staci, me, Alyssa, Daniele, Sarah and Emma!

This week we went to RivLife Tuesday through Friday - we were able to spend time with the women's support group and the children at the daycare, and also go into the community for a morning with 2 student social workers on their home visits.

SISONKE means (in Isizulu) "together, working as a team" - this is the women's support group's name for women that are HIV positive that we get to spend 2 mornings with during the week. They teach us how to crochet with them and show us all of what they make. They have started a business within their support group - they make dresses, aprons, mats, pillows, hats, and much more! They use their resources so well and are very creative.

On top of all of this they are such STRONG women. They face the pain of their disease every day but still get up in the mornings and are mothers to their children. The stories they share of what they go through are hard to hear, but also very encouraging because of where they are now and how they are there for each other. I love spending time with them and listening to them sing and laugh together while they work.

The children at RivLife love playing outside and running around like crazy people! they are always a ball of energy, but I love them!

They love to play with our hair, go on the tire swing, and down the slide and one of their favorite things - to roll the tires around the pavement and have races. They play so well together (most of the time) - they look out for the younger ones, even if they are only a year older they pick up the little ones when they cry and are some of the most generous kids I have ever seen with sharing. They are family to each other and it is so precious to see them together like that with no one telling them to be like that, they just have each other's backs :)

In the mornings the kids stay inside more so we come up with activities to keep them having fun but not too wild! They like to make a train out of the chairs, singing songs with motions, and of course coloring! We get them together in a circle and do "workout moves" with them, which is basically a Simon-says kind of game. This either tires them out, or makes them even more hyper - but whatever the outcome, it's always fun :)

One of the days there was some car benches out on the grass in the afternoon, the kids all ran outside and sat on them and began singing together without any of us starting it, some of the older ones grabbed the younger ones, placing them on the benches too, they all started doing the motions to the song and were just too darn adorable! They bring me so many smiles throughout the day and have taken a piece of my heart!

This is Azola (above) - he stole my heart the first day with his smile! His hugs and smiles brighten my day and I love getting to see him everyday during the week.

I'm excited for next week at RivLife too - we are going to get to do some more manual labor, helping them move where the daycare is going to be. We are all excited for this and to be able to spend time with the women and children who we have all been touched by and know will teach us so much. I feel so lucky and blessed to have this time at RivLife and am looking forward to what I will take away from this experience.

RivLife!

Sorry this is going to be a long one, but a good one! (I didn't take any pictures yet of my site cause I didn't have my camera the first few days, but no worries-they're will be plenty of pictures soon I'm sure!!)

We finally started service sites on Thursday after having three days of class with Frances, our amazing teacher and mentor for these three and a half weeks we get to serve! Frances is the most joyful person I have met I think, and has so much wisdom and experience to pass on to us!

Thursday morning we left around 8:30 in the morning to go to our sites, Reg drove us to RivLife and dropped us off at the gate with our lunches and we walked in feeling like we were getting dropped off for our first day of school, anxious-excited! We walked in and all the children were cuter than the next! We met the two women that take care of the younger kids all day and then headed into Thendi's office, who is our "boss" there basically :) We sat down with her and planned out our time there at RivLife. On Tuesday and Friday mornings we will be going to a support group for women that are HIV positive that meet weekly and have formed their own business, on Wednesday mornings we will be hanging out with a group of gogos (grandmas) that like to stay active instead of just sitting around and we will be able to go on their runs with them (yes RUNS not WALKS!), then on Thursday mornings we will be going into the community and helping out in houses of people that are ill or elderly that need help around their houses. Every afternoon we go back to the RivLife center and help out with the kids and all the older kids that come after school gets out.

This week though, on Thursday we just played with the kids all day since it was our first day and Thendi had paperwork to do. So we headed outside to a tent that they have set up for shade, and all the kids sat in some chairs and literally just stared at the 8 of us girls, we all were just laughing at ourselves because the children only really speak Isizulu, which a few of us know more but still not fluent enough to communicate well with the kids. We started singing the one song we know in Isizulu, "Aqeko Ofana no Jesu", which translates to "There's no one like Jesus". After we sang it a few times, their blank stares stopped when a few kids got up to sing and do the motions with us, then all of them began to sing along :) from that point on for the whole day they never wanted to leave our side or stop playing! they have the most energy of any kids!! it was so fun to play soccer with them outside, roll tires around on the pavement, and play on the jungle gym with them! It was exhausting, but a GREAT exhausting! all the kids are share with each other without even being asked to, they look out for each other (especially the younger ones!), and just continue to have a smile on their face :)

In the afternoon the older kids came after school, they get a meal everyday served to them by RivLife, and I later found out some of them walk over 8 ks, which is 5 miles!, to get that meal everyday! They all sit outside and eat while we play with the younger ones and talk with them, they are fun to get to know and know a good amount of English so it is easier, and they help translate what the younger ones are saying also which helps!

The two women that take care of the kids every day are named Beatrice and Gloria, they are some of the most devoted women I have met! they are with lots of children everyday taking care of them ALL day long! and then serve food to the older kids in the afternoon after school everyday. they always have a smile on their face, and you can see the love they have for each and every child there! It is fun to get to know them and they are always teaching us helpful phrases to say to the children in Isizulu!

On Friday we arrived at RivLife in the morning and hung out there for a little while before Baba Philip picked us up in the bus to take us to the womens support group. Frances came with us for the first day to help us get to know the women there and facilitate our first time there. it was a really good thing he came with us because when we first arrived none of the women were there yet, so we waited a little while and slowly they started showing up. we all sat down in a room in the community house where they meet weekly. They greeted us but seemed a little stand-off-ish to us at first, we sat down and started introducing ourselves and learning each other's names then one of the women asked why we were there basically, and we answered with Frances' and the translators help. Then they seemed a little more comfortable with us once we explained we wanted to learn from them and just get to know them.

They asked us then a question that broke my heart, they wanted to know if we would still want to be there with them because they are all HIV positive. The look on their face as they said the words "HIV positive" and as they awaited our answer opened my eyes to the pain and hurt that they have endured from not only being affected physically from this disease, but also emotionally. We then proceeded to tell them that the disease did not matter to us and that we wanted to be there with them, not treating them any different than any person we would meet and how they are special to us because they are allowing us to be here with them. They thanked us and one of the women began saying we would always be in her heart because we have accepted her, then another woman asked if we were okay with them being mothers that are HIV positive, and again the look on their face broke our hearts. they have been hurt so much by people neglecting them, they assume that most people will, one of the girls in our group gave the best answer to them, Sarah told them that we all respected them and are encouraged by how strong they are to still be good mothers to their children while they are going through the trials of having HIV. They all then began to smile joyfully and Frances shared a little about how some will die alone that have this disease, but that they are encouraging because they get together to support each other and make a living for themselves. We all began to hug one another and held on to each other. It was some of the most genuine and loving hugs I have ever received, and then we all sat down again and they began to show us what they make and how they make it.

They make mats for the ground and for tables out of plastic bags, talk about resourceful! the mats look amazing and they can do so much with them, they cut the bags into strips and weave them together, learning was so difficult even though they make it look so easy!

Friday afternoon we went back to RivLife and as we walked back in the gate we look at the building and all the little kids are reaching out the windows and celebrating we were back for the afternoon, that made all of us so happy and we realized how much these kids meant to us after just 2 days of being there! we then played with them while some of them were still napping, then the older kids came after school and we played soccer outside and some of the older girls asked us to teach them some songs in English, they already knew a good amount of worship songs that they sang for us BEAUTIFULLY, and they began teaching us a new Isizulu song that sounded so pretty, and the bus drove up to pick us up so next week we will learn the rest :)

Overall, I absolutely LOVE RivLife and am so excited for the group of girls that I get to work with everyday there, they are all so positive and encouraging and a blessing to spend my days with :) Next week we get to spend four days there and I can not wait to hear more from the women and get to know the kids better and do more activities with them, we are planning on doing a craft that involves name tags so that we can remember all of their names! :) pictures to come of them next week!!

After those amazing two days we had a really fun and relaxing Saturday yesterday :) we ran to a cute cafe (the one in the garden) to get lattes in the morning and then went and had a picnic in the Botanical Gardens in Pietermaritzburg :) we sat there and talked (a few of us girls) and had a lot of fun just being together! it was a perfect saturday complete with a movie night to finish it off and some hair dying.... :) I now have darker brown hair, not too much of a difference but just a different shade of brown!

~~~~hope you all have a great week! miss you all!!!