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.