Home At Last

Well I made it home safe and sound. After traveling for over 24 hours, I finally stepped foot in America again. I got stuck in Amsterdam for 5 and 1/2 hours because our plane was having some technical difficulties so I was just exhausted yesterday. It's good to be home, but I can already feel myself missing Africa. It was such an amazing experience and I am so happy I went!

The end is here

So the time has come for me to say goodbye. I can't believe it's been 12 weeks! I'll get on a plane Monday morning at 1:55 and I am not ready to go. It was a good last week though. The usual feeding the children but this week they were so excited to have sandwiches since the school was using the hall for the Christmas program that was on Thursday night. Unfortunately I missed out on the concert but I was called to go to dinner at this amazing African restaurant called Moyo's for a last supper with all of my girls from Observatory. It was worth it though. We have formed such a great bond so it was nice to all get together one last time before we all part ways. I'll let everyone know once I get home safely. I love you all and thank everyone again who helped make this experience possible!

Time flys when you're having fun

Another week has past and oh how it has flown by! On Wednesday I got to go on a field trip with the 2nd and most of the 1st graders. They had tons of fun at the Giraffe House. Don't let the name fool you though, they only have one giraffe. They had plenty of other animals though. There was a zebra, springboks, many of the other bok family, monkeys, and plenty of reptiles. A little too many if you ask me. They did a snake show which I wasn't the biggest fan of and the man wouldn't let me leave without touching one of them, so I just poked it with my finger. It was still absolutely disgusting. At least the kids liked it. The rest of the week was pretty normal at school. Friday the fourth graders were learning about entrepreneurial skills and were selling goods in the hall we normally use to feed the kids in our program. It was quite cute, they all had on little aprons and chef hats that they had made. It made our day really easy since we just packed up the hotdogs and handed them to our kids. It's crazy that I only have one week left here so I am going to try and cherish every moment of it. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and I'll be seeing some of you very soon!

The kids with Gerry the Giraffe

they love their oranges

2 Weeks to Go

Well I have been at the new house and project for two weeks now and it has just flown by. I'm really enjoying the fact that I am helping feed these children who otherwise don't eat at home, but the days are alot shorter than what I was use to at the orphanage. During the first week we were able to stay after we fed them and help out in the classrooms. We filled in for those teachers who were out for the day and it was quite entertaining. The kids here are so polite and thank you for everything. This past week it was just me and the woman who runs the program in the kitchen and some of the older girls made us flowers out of paper. One of the girls also made a card thanking us for all we do and letting us know how much she loves us. It just warms your heart to know how much one meal can mean to someone. The school year is coming to a close here so they have been taking their end of the year exams and I have not been needed in the classrooms so I am done by 11am everyday. I find myself somewhat bored but at least last week was filled with a soccer match and a braai(a South African barbeque). I was happy to see my friends from the other house at these events and I was lucky enough to return to my old house for the weekend. I'm amazed at how fast these last two weeks have gone and can't believe that I'll be going home in just two weeks. 

Praying before lunch...there are 38 kids in the program

New Home, New Project

I move to a new home today and I won't lie, I'm not very excited about it. I really love the girls at this house and it will be weird not to have them around all the time. One of the girls from here is going with me but she is doing a different project than me. I'm excited for a new project, but it's weird packing up all my stuff just to move to another house and unpack it again. I feel like I should be going home but I still have another 4 weeks left. I'm not sure how often I'll update this at the other home since we don't have free internet there, but I'll try my best to do it once a week still. Hope everyone is well and I'll talk to you all soon and let you know how the new project is going!

Bittersweet

Wow, what a past few days! Where to begin...on Thursday I went bungy jumping! And not just your average jump off a bridge bungy jumping, but the world's highest. It was absolutely amazing! There are no words to describe the feeling of falling and not really feeling like anything is attached to you. I would do it again in a heartbeat since you don't really realize what is going on around you because you're so hyped up on adrenaline. After this we moved on and stayed the night in a nice little B & B, woke up early the next morning, and went onto the Cango Caves. Apparently they are a huge tourist attraction, they were ok but I've seen caves before. Our tour guide insisted that we go so we did it to please her since she was doing us such a favor by only taking two of us girls on this adventure. After this, I was able to check off another thing on my list. I went ostrich riding. It was insane, you had to hold onto their wings when you rode them. I actually did quite well. They had to pull me off the ostrich. I have found my calling in life, I'm going to be an ostrich jockey! So I go to check two things off my list in two days, worth every penny or rand in this case. After these exciting days off, I went back on shift for my last time. It was very bittersweet. I'm ready to move on to this next project but the kids are so precious it is going to be very hard to not see them again. We took a few of the kids to the cinema on Saturday afternoon and they loved it. The next day we took them to church and had lollipops since it was Halloween and kids don't really have trick or treating here, especially these kids. On Monday we took the smaller kids to a little playground in the community and they just ate up being outside the children's home if only for an hour or so. It was a good last shift, I got to go out on a high note. The caretakers who stay with the kids year round were so precious my last night. They all hugged me and told me how much they would miss me, it really warmed my heart. They are such sweet women who give up so much to take care of these children. It's a tough job and these women give so much of themselves to these kids who aren't even theirs. I hope everyone is well and I will talk to you all soon.

Dancing before bedtime

Smiling faces-Bongi and Andisiwe

Singing outside

New Adventures

Just a quick note to let you all know that I will be embarking on a two day adventure with my new Canadian friend Kim and one of the drivers for Aviva, Ursula. You will have to stay tuned until next week to find out what this adventure entails, but know that I am slowly checking off my list of things to do before I die. I go on my last shift at the children's home on Saturday morning and will return home Tuesday morning when I will post pictures of my little adventure. Talk to you soon!

Blessed

Well I'm another year older, not sure how I feel about being on the up and up to 30. My housemates here took me out to an authentic South African restaurant for my birthday and we had a blast. The place had a live band so after dinner we got to have a dance party and they pulled me onstage and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was quite embarrassing; but I have to admit, I did feel quite special. I was worried about having my birthday in another country with new people but I definitely felt loved. For those of you who know me well enough, you would be very impressed that I ate ostrich, kudu, springbok, and duck all in one night and actually liked them. After a fun night out, we had to go back on shift and the kids were crazy. We tried to do playdoh with them and it lasted about 15 minutes. It can be so hard sometimes when they don't understand us and vice versa, but every now and then there are those moments that just make the whole thing worth while. My goal was to get Thozama, who is one and a half, to walk by the end of my time here...and this past shift, I did it! I've been working with her everytime I've been there and finally she will walk back and forth between us volunteers. It warmed my heart to see her giggle as she was walking around the room. I've realized that without us volunteers, these kids wouldn't get the stimulation that every kid needs to grow into young adults. Any doubts that I have had about being here were lost in that moment of her accomplishing something so simple, but yet so important to someone of her age. After this shift was over, I went on a Winelands tour which is funny since I don't even like wine. It was free since I am switching projects in a few weeks to help them out so I figured why not. The scenery was beautiful and I did get to pet a cheetah. I have caught a cold again so hopefully it will pass soon. I just can't seem to stay well here, I just keep catching whatever everyone else has. The joys of sharing a house with a crazy amount of people and being around kids. I am almost at the halfway mark of my trip and I feel truly blessed to be experiencing everything that I have so far. 

To The Sky

It has been a little while since I posted on here, it's not cause I'm dead, our internet has just been out at the house. I'm finally starting to get into the routine here. Nothing much has changed since my last blog. Just the usual 3 days with the kids and 3 days of exploring Cape Town. I did however go skydiving last week as an early birthday present to myself. It was one of the most freeing experiences I've ever had. Not to mention, it was a killer view! I hope everyone out there reading this is doing well and I'll be back soon, hopefully with more interesting updates. 

Masi

This past week and a half has been insane! Everyone has been sick and I think we just keep passing it back and forth. On my first shift at Masi, I was only able to be with the kids one day cause I seemed to have caught some stomach virus that some of the other girls in the house had. It was a good day though, I got a taste of what the kids there are like. Luckily I started to feel better once we came home and was able to enjoy a tour that took us to the Cape of Good Hope. We were also able to see some penguins along the way, although to my disappointment we were not able to touch them. I just got home today from my second shift at Masi and boy was it hard work. Working from 7am-7pm is a long day when everyone is begging for your attention. They are some of the sweetest kids though and I already want to bring a few home with me. Masigcine, or Masi for short, is a children's home for orphaned and abused children. So some of these kids have families it is just that the government has deemed them not suitable for the children to stay with. Some do however get the option to go home on the weekends as long as their families are taking the necessary steps to better the home environment. Some however do not have families and the other kids have become their family. It is sweet to see how they look out for one another, but being a family means they also fight quite a bit. This can sometimes be hard on us volunteers because they think it's funny when we say no don't hit and then continue to do it. There are a few children there with health problems but no one seems to really know what is wrong with them and they do not have the resources to figure it out. It breaks my heart to know that these kids are not receiving the proper treatment. I just have to remind myself that at least they have a home and are not on the streets or being abused. I am just trying my best to show them love and be someone who cares for them. It's harder than I thought and I am being challenged everyday. 

We aren't suppose to have favorites, but Thozama is mine

Emotional Rollercoaster

Being here has been harder than I anticipated. The first week seemed to drag on and on. I caught something on the plane so my first shift at the orphanage was miserable. I didn't get out of bed much so I didn't have much interaction with the children. The times I did spend with them were difficult. They are a wild bunch and don't really listen to you. The place is a little less sanitary than I would like but I guess something like that is to be expected. At this particular orphanage, you don't really have the opportunity to work with any kids over 3 years of age so I have decided to switch projects in hopes that I will be able to have interaction with all ages. I start my new shift on Friday and find myself anxious again at the thought of starting something new all over. For those who don't know how this works, I do 3 days on and 3 days off. You stay in a little flat in the township where the orphanage is for your 3 day shift and then on the fourth morning you come home and have 3 days to explore Cape Town. Today we went horse back riding on the beach and it was absolutely breathtaking. I am starting to feel a little more at home here; but if you are the praying type, just keep me in mind as I start a new shift on Friday as I am rather quite nervous. Love to you all!

Foxxy Roxxy and I

On the back of Table Mountain with Cape Flats in the background

I made it!

Well I made it here safe and sound last night. It was a very tiring journey. I woke up this morning and found myself emotional overwhelmed by everything, but the girls here that I have met so far have been extremely nice and helpful. I find myself missing home more than I expected, but I'm sure that when it comes time to leave here I won't want to. Tomorrow we start at the orphanage and I am slightly nervous but excited to get this show on the road. Love you all!

And for those who have asked, the address here is:
8 Sussex Road
Observatory, South Africa   7925

Twas the night before the plane ride...

I can't believe the time has finally come for me to say goodbye to Georgia and hello to South Africa.  After many hours of preparation and many dollars spent (thank you so much to those of you who contributed, you know who you are and this couldn't have been possible without you), I'm finally packed and ready to go! This whole blogging thing is new to me and I am still trying to figure it all out so please bear with me. I will try my best to at least write on here once a week so everyone will know what I've been up to and that yes, I am still alive and have not been captured and sold into some sort of slavery. I love you all and can't thank you enough for your love and support!