It is coming to an end here in Venezuela

Hello all, I have been kind of busy trying to wrap things up here in Venezuela. I only have 2 more days left of class, including today, and this weekend left here in Venezuela. Next week this time I will be home. Wow, it is crazy to think that. I can not believe it has been about 5 and a half weeks since I have been home or around my friends and family. I am excited to come home but sad to leave as well. It has just been getting pretty comfy here with my host family and the language. My host family has been amazing. I am definitely going to miss them especially their 4 year daughter Sarah. Last night me and her were playing games. Laughing and joking and having a great time. Even though I didn't totally understand everything she was saying, I could tell she was having fun. They are definitely going to be missed. But on the flip side of things, I am excited to come back to my family, friends and food back in the US. I am excited to come back and hang out with everyone and try and enjoy the last little bit of summer I have. So, I will hit everyone back up when I get home. Alright well I actually need to go finish my homework for today since I have class in about 15 minutes. Alright, peace out.

Here is a long one filling you all in about my last week.

It has been a week since I have written on the blog. I tried doing it last week but the internet was down at school. I am sorry. Since the last time I wrote, I went on this thing called the Teleferrico. It is basically the world’s longest and highest cable car. At the top it was snowing, so that was pretty cool. It was about 15000 feet above sea level at the highest peak. It was pretty cool to see. All of us that went on the Teleferrico walked to a town that was about 6 hours away from the 3rd stop. It was a long hike through the Andes Mountains but a really beautiful hike. We saw a lot of gorgeous scenery. We saw waterfalls, rivers and beautiful vegetation. It was a blast. The town we stayed at was basically a town full of different places to sleep. We got there kind of late so we basically ate dinner and spent the night in the town. We woke up and rent a ride back to Merida. The ride was in a cramped jeep on a one lane road on the side of the mountain. It was pretty freaky at times but really amazing to see. That was basically Saturday, June 19th and Sunday, June 20th. When I came home I had to do my homework which was basically to write a paper about my trip. It was pretty easy. But once Monday hit, I had to go to class for 6 hours again. I know pretty awesome. But Monday night we were suppose to have a North American cooking night but it got postponed because they forgot to by the chicken wings. I was kind of bummed but they said they would do it Tuesday night instead. So Monday night, Kim, Hannah, Jill and I had some pretty expensive pizza from a local pizzeria. The bill cam e to about 50 dollars for 2 large pizzas. Some ordinary things here seem super expensive. It was pretty good pizza though.

Tuesday, I had to go to class once again. Another 6 hours, what a blast. Can you tell that I am kind of getting sick of classes? They are just so intense for such a long period of time but I will be grateful when I am done because I will be done with my foreign language requirement. Yay! After class, I hung around school for the North American cooking night. The guy that was grilling the chicken came over and asked me to come and check out the chicken to see if it was done. So I went over there to check and told him it looked done and I asked him if he needed any help since I love to grill out. He said sure and I basically grilled all the chicken for everyone that came to the thing. It was definitely a highlight of mine since one thing I really miss is grilling out. So, I was so excited for it. But then I had to go home and study for my exam. My exams are usually on Thursdays but this week we don’t have class on Thursday since it is a holiday. So my exam was on Wednesday. So I went home to study and actually woke up early to study as well. I went to class took my exam and sat through the rest of class. It wasn’t that bad because I figured that it was the last day of the week and then I get to go on my 4 day safari trip. Which I was super excited about. So after class, I basically hung out and just chilled around school. After school, I went home kind of early because I needed to pack and get ready for the weekend. Oh wait, I did go to a restaurant with some friends from school. It was a place I wanted to try. It was really good but pretty expensive so we share a couple of things since we all didn’t want to spend that much money but we were still hungry so we went to another place we all wanted to try called La Nota. It is basically the Venezuelan form of McDonalds. It was pretty good because they had 8 different kinds of sauces and one of them was blue. It was pretty good but I was way more excited for the real ketchup they had there. I know the little things that I miss from back home. I am so craving the food from back home. It is crazy. I am basically putting together a list of places that I want to go eat when I get home. I know kind of nerdy but I really miss a lot of things from back home.

Well after that night, I basically got up at 6:00 am Thursday morning to make breakfast for my host family and some of the people that were going on the trip. I was so craving North American food, I have to specify because I am in South America, and so I made some French toast with scrambled eggs. It was good and my host family actually had maple syrup. It was delicious but not as delicious as back home. It definitely was not as good as the French toast my girlfriend makes but it was still good for what I had to work with here. After we ate breakfast we had to leave for the place we were going. We had to meet all the other people that were going on the trip at the Extreme Adventures place at 8 am. The people I know on the trip were Kim, Hannah, another Hannah and Melissa from the school I go to. Some other people that went on the trip that we met where a guy named Andy that was travelling around South America for the last 8 months, a Belgium couple and a couple from Norway that didn’t speak any Spanish. It was really fun to meet all of them.

So the first night we were there, the guide took us out on a walking safari and told us he would catch caimans and snakes for us that night since it was a good time to catch them. Caimans are smaller crocodiles for all you people that might not know what they are. He caught one and brought it to us to touch and see. It was really cool and interesting. I also think he caught a couple of snakes and possibly some other animals that night. It was a lot of fun. The next day we went on a boat safari to go find other animals. On this trip, we saw iguanas, anacondas, other snakes, lots of turtles, pink dolphins, lots of different birds and some red monkeys. The guide actually caught an anaconda that I spotted in a tree. It was a small female but he caught it and brought it into the boat for all of us to touch. He also tried to catch anther snake and an iguana but the fell into the boat and got away right away. It was funny because everyone basically jumped and he kind of laughed at us because we could have tipped over the boat. After that, we went on another safari by jeep. We saw the largest rodent in the world. I don’t remember what it was called but we saw a ton of them, other snakes, more birds and actual crocodiles. He actually caught a crocodile and a really huge anaconda that day. I will try and get pictures up but that might take me awhile. I will for surely have them on facebook by the end of the week. We got to touch the croc and the anaconda. It was cool. The next day was Saturday and it was raining pretty hard that day and we were supposed to go horseback riding in the morning but instead we went piranha fishing. It was pretty cool but super tough. Those little fish are smart and hard to catch. The whole group caught 6. I didn’t catch any. I was kind of bummed but it was a fun experience. After that we went back and had lunch and they cooked up the piranhas for us. They were pretty good but tough to eat because they had a lot of bones in them. Oh well, it was fun to try something new. The next day, Sunday, July 29, we went to another camp where they offered whitewater rafting. Oh my, that was so much fun. The camp we went to was beautiful in itself but I loved whitewater rafting. I might just do it as much as I can, that is how much fun it was. We almost didn’t get to go rafting because our guide said that the lady at the booking place said that we didn’t want to do it but we told her specifically we did. So he hooked us up with going and it was the best time of the trip.

Every day we were on the safari, in the area called Los Llanos, we had amazing food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also every night we listened to the local folklore music. It was so much fun. We slept in hammocks in a building that basically looked like a circus tent inside. It was a great time except the bugs/mosquitoes were pretty bad every night around 7 pm so we didn’t stay up too late. I am glad that I went on it. Everybody that went on it said they had an amazing time.

We arrived back in Merida around 7 or 8 pm Sunday night. I was so beat and sore from the horseback riding and the whitewater rafting that I basically had some dinner and went straight to bed. I woke up early the next morning to do my homework. I was still sore Monday night from all of it but it was so worth it. But Monday, I had to go back to class. Oh well, that means that means that there is less class days left for me. I am kind of excited for my 6 hour class to be done with. I am having a pretty fun time here but I am ready to be done with the class. After my class, I went to get coffee with some friends here. It was basically going to get an iced coffee because I miss having some coffee from home and some others wanted to go try it as well. So we went to do that and after that we went back to school to figure out the plans for the night. A few of us decided to have a homework party so we could get our homework done so we don’t have to worry about it any more. Basically for me it is writing a 2 page paper in Spanish about the culture and my trip to South Africa and put a presentation together about the culture there as well. They are both due next week so if I can get them done this week then I don’t have to worry about them. So, I thought that was a good idea. I basically got about a page done on my paper but I will finish that tomorrow and start working on my presentation tomorrow. I only have those 2 things left and one more test. Wow, I am almost done with it. Ok well, I believe that is the most important stuff from the last week. If you have any questions, feel free to post on my blog and I will try and respond as soon as possible. Hope all is well for everyone. I will be home soon. I miss you all.

Wow, I have really been slacking on this!!

I really have been slacking on this blog but I will update it later tonight when I have more time. I hope everyone is well. I am home and safe from my 4 day safari. I just don't have a lot of time right now cuz I am on my lunch break and have to go back to class in about 5 minutes.

Finally Some Photos!!!

This picture was at the Venezuelan cooking night. We made these things called arepas. They are basically like pita bread.
















Me holding a snake out at a bar. The guy basically just walked in with it around his shoulders.

















This is a picture in the beach town, Choroni. Cars had to drive over the road at the bottom of the picture.

This was taken at an old coffee farm.

A picture of the clouds coming up the mountain on our way back from the waterfall.

A picture of the group that went paragliding. It was a blast but the car ride up the side of the mountain was kind of crazy.

A picture of the road to Choroni. In most spots it could not even fit 2 cars across it.

A picture from the town I am staying in, Merida.

Me trying to learn how to salsa. It was fun.

This is looking down from the top of the paragliding cliff we were on.

Mostly all the students on the Summer Session B term here in Venezuela.

A picture looking up the waterfall. It was pretty cool but I got wet trying to take this picture.

It has definitely been awhile since I blogged. But things are looking up.

So, I guess I will try and update you all on what has been happening since my last blog since it has been over a week. Last Thursday, me and a bunch of people went to this beach called Choroni. It is suppose to be one of the best beaches in Venezuela. It was good and fun and all that stuff but it took a long time to get there. It took us 12 hours on a bus that was freezing cold to get to a town called Maracay. And from there we had to take another bus to the beach. This was an interesting bus ride. It was basically 2 hours up through the mountains on a road that was not at all wide enough for 2 buses to fit through. And to say the least they drove like crazy. I can not believe there aren't more accidents down here. I am so thankful for the traffic and drivers we have when I get home and the ones in South Africa. But we eventually got to the beach and it was a beautiful. I am still trying to get my pictures uploaded on the internet. Oh yeah we got the cheapest hostel in the town and you could tell but it was an interesting time. We basically sat on the beach all day friday and went out on the town friday night but let me tell you it is not a very big town. There are only like 2 bars. So it was an interesting time. So we went to the beach all day Saturday as well. It was fun the waves were huge and so some of us body surfed. It was awesome. The water was great and it was a beautiful day for the beach. I really didn't want to leave. One because it was a great time and two because of the bus ride back. We left Saturday night and got in to Maracay. And then I wanted to check out McDonalds for supper. Yeah I know. I am in a foriegn country and I want to try a McDonalds. But for all my South African friends, you all know I wanted to check out and see if they had something similar to a dollar menu there and they did. Here not so much. I paid 12 American dollars for a meal at McDonalds. Yeah you heard right. I had a Big Mac value meal and a McFlurry for $12. It was crazy. Lets say I am not going back to McDonalds here except to use the restroom. Since they are basically the only place in town that has a clean restroom and tp in the restroom. Great picture for you all, huh?? Ok, well after that we hopped on our bus ride back to Merida. Another 12 hours in a freezing bus but hey we had to get home.

So I arrived home Sunday morning early and went home to change and stuff since I had been a bus for so long. After that, me and a few friends here went shopping. Well basically went walking all day cuz I don't think we really bought anything. It was a nice workout but dang was it a long day. We found a Chinese restaurant to try. Which was cool and all but they were missing the white rice. I basically get white rice with every meal I have and for some reason the Chinese restaurant meal didn't come with it. I thought it was weird and so did Jill and Zach. But after we ate we walked around the whole city but basically on Sunday the city is pretty much closed down. Another weird thing. But is something that I am getting use to. They basically can close there shop at any time they want during the week or weekend. It is kind of funny but frustrating at times. Oh well, I don't question why, I just roll with it. There are a lot of things I am getting use to here. Oh yeah, not to mention this last weekend there were a ton of protest here in Merida about the safety in the town. It was all college students that were protesting and three got shot. One died and they also tear gased the whole central of town. Luckily I was away during it but it has still been going on. But I try and stay away from that. Well being in class for 6 hours a day keeps me away from it, too. Sorry about the little tangent. After the walk around the city, I decided to see how far away my house is from the place I take classes. Well, It is a little over an hour. And basically there is one other kid that lives down there and my mom speaks no english and so I get kind of lonely. So, I wanted to talk to the director of the program to see what could happen, if anything. That was basically my weekend.

Well on Monday, I went to class for 6 hours and then went and talked to the director she was going to think about it and talk to others and see what she could do. I was like cool. Well that night we had to go to a mandatory meeting about how we were adjusting to the culture here. It was kind of cool but boring. On Tuesday after class the director of the program gave me a couple of options. I could move in with her and her family or somewhere else were another student was living but he would be leaving this weekend. So, I took the afternoon to think about what to do and would tell her my answer later on that night. Well, I went home and ate with my mom, who got a phone call from Marinela, the director of the program. And she understood what was going on and was cool with whatever I decided. I felt really bad cuz she was so sweet and so nice to me and loved having me there but I needed something different. So I came back for the dance class night and told Marinela that I would like to move in with her and her family. She said cool and that it could happen tomorrow. She speaks english and so does her husband and she lives like a couple of blocks away from the place I take my classes at. It is a great fit. So I planned on moving out the next day. And she said that was alright.

So Wednesday, I had breakfast with my host mom told her I was sorry for moving out and that I would come back for lunch but after that I would be taking my things to the new house. After class, I went home ate with my mom and had a pretty good conversation with her. She told me to call her when I get back to the US and let her know I am safe and stuff. I just don't know how to call down here but I will try. So, I grabbed my things and kissed and hugged her and said goodbye. I brought my stuff to the school and waited for my new mom to get done with work so I could go home with her to my new house. We went there and it is a beautiful place and she is so nice and her husband is great. Also, they have a really cute 4 year old daughter that doesn't speak any english but like to tell me secrets which I really don't totally understand. But it is great. I got to watch Snow White and the 7 dwarfs with my host sister, Sarah. And have food that I was able to put hot sauce on because they love spicy food. It was basically the second time I have had something spicy here since I got here. It was great. But I had to go to my room and studied for my test that I had today. So, I had to lock myself in my room and do that. But it was a great choice. I am glad that I did it.

As for today, I had my first exam. My teacher said I did good so that is great but I have know idea how I actually did. It wasn't to bad. I made it through that is all I can ask for. Oh yeah, I was suppose to do a paper and presentation at the end of the semester on Venezuelan culture. But I got it changed. I get to do them on culture and my trip to South Africa which I am excited for since I have already wrote 2 papers on that. So that is cool. As for know, some of us are going to go try some street hamburgers with no lettuce or tomatos because we might get a parasite from the water that they wash them with. And let me tell you getting a parasite is not the greatest feeling the world. I have already had one. So, I guess that is all I got for now. I miss you all and hope that all is well back in the States or wherever you are. Thank you all for reading this and keeping in touch.

2 weeks in a foriegn country by my self down.

2 weeks down, 4 more to go. Things are going better though. I have had class everyday this week. Class from 8:30 to 2:30 is alot but at least I will be done with my foriegn language requirement. Some highlights this week were we had a Venezuelan cooking class monday night. That was pretty fun. The food here is alright. I am definitely missing American food though. Here they put salt on basically everything. It is weird but it is pretty good food. So I will try and get the recipe of the food we made and bring that back. After that we went out to a bar here it. It was alright, I mean for a Monday night. I have pictures of it. I actually held a snake for awhile at the bar. It was pretty interesting. Tuesday night we had a Salsa dancing night. It was pretty cool but new dances are hard to learn. But to all the people I have met in and gone to South African with, I have should them how to do the chicken dance. They loved it. I will have to bust it out at the beach this weekend. But basically every night I go home and just do homework and hang out. I am going to try some more restuarants down here and find out some other foods. They really love their pizza. They are all over the place. It is kind of funny. No food is really spicy down here so we have had to ask for some hot sauce but that is not even that hot. Oh well.

As for this weekend, I am pretty excited to go hang out on a beach but it sucks that we have to take a 12 hour bus ride to the beach. But I have heard that it is so worth it. I will try putting some pictures up next week of things I have done and this weekend. It was weird I was almost not able to go to the beach. For some reason, the ATM network or something is not working all that well so I was not able to get money out of my bank but VENUSA, the place I am taking classes at loaned me money until I get a check down to their headquarters in Florida. So everything is good. It was just a little frightening that I wouldn't get any money.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I forgot to mention but last sunday, I went paragliding. I am kind of affriad of heights so this was an experience for me. We basically were told to run off a mountain with a parashoot thing and an instructor on our backs. It was scary mounting up to the event but after it was all over it was so worth it. I have some pretty cool pics of that as well. Looks like another time for a photo blog, next week. Alright well, I need to get going. The bus for the beach leaves in an hour and a half and I need to get to the bus stop and meet the other people going with me. Have a great weekend. Thanks to everyone that reads my adventures.

A new country/a whole new life

As I said in an earlier blog, I definitely feel like I am basically on my own here. I know my host mom and the school care for me but I feel like I have basically been thrown into another country to learn spanish and fend for myself. I mean I am up to the challenge if it helps me get done with school faster but it is tough. And it has only been a week. I am pretty sure it will get easier but for now it is been pretty tough.

So for the last couple of days we have gone to downtown Merida and walked around. I feel like I have walked about 14 miles or so in the last couple of days. I mean it is good exercise but man is it hard at this altitude. We went to try and book a 4 day excursion to got on 3 safaris, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, anaconda hunting and parana fishing. I am excited for that because all of our trip will be paid and it is only 267 american dollars. Which includes all our meals and places to stay on top of the other stuff. So I have something to look forward to in a couple of weeks. I just have to get the money transfered to their account. Me and some other students are trying to go to a beach next weekend for the whole weekend. I am excited for that. So, I have some things to look forward to so that helps me get through the days but man it is still tough. Today I am going to try and drop my laundry off at the laundry mat and figure that out. Hopefully that goes well.

Oh well, I hope all is well back home and I am already looking forward to coming back even though I have 5 weeks to go. I just feel like I have been gone forever. Ok, well I have to go figure out the laundry thing. I will try and post pictures on Monday when I get back to the school. Lately I have been using a computer at a telephone place so I haven´t even thought about posting pictures and stuff. Chao for now.

What a first couple of day???

It has been pretty fun so far but I already got the parasite that people usually get when they come here. It has not been good. But Marinela, the head lady of the program down here, went to the pharmacy with me to get some good medicine to get ride of the parasite. Hopefully it will work. We will see tomorrow. It has been interesting here. I had my first day of class today. My instructor only spoke in Spanish. I am basically in class from 8:30 to 2:30 pm and then go home to go eat and then basically do whatever. It was crazy. Hopefully I will pick Spanish up shortly and then I dont have to look stupid. They speak so fast. It has been interesting try to learn the city and the culture. I have to say though that I have never felt on my own in such a long time. I have to pretty much do everything on my own. It has been a weird experience. Hopefully I will pick up on things. Oh well. I will figure things out. It has only been a couple of days. It is just a lot to take in. I have met some pretty cool people here but I still feel like I an on my own. It is crazy. Things are still overwhelming. We are going to meet some Venezuelans tonight to help them with their english and they will help us with our spanish. It will be kind of interesting. I will have to let you all know about it later. It has only been a couple of days, hopefully things start looking up. Alright well I am going to get going. I have to go to this thing at 8 pm. Hope all is well.

Things are still a little overwhelming....

But I am getting the hang of it down here. Last night, I made it home by myself. I know. It is a big step. And then this morning I made it to school by myself. Things are looking up. But tomorrow, I start classes and they told me that my professor does not speak any english in class so we will see what that is like. Today we are going on a full day excursion. My host mom even packed me a lunch. She is so sweet. I wish I could understand more spanish so I would know more of what she is saying. Also, I wish I could speak spanish better so I could actually have a better conversation with her than I do now. It will come in time. Last night we went on a little tour of Merida. It is such a beautiful town. The mountains are great. It is really different compared to South Africa. The both are beautiful in their own ways. I still am getting use to things around here but know it is going to take some time. But it will work itself out. Oh well. I better cut this one short so I can let others use the computer. Chao for now.

I have arrived safely in Venezuela.

Hey all, Just to let you know that I am in Merida Venezuela and things are a little overwhelming right now. I feel like I have lost most of the Spanish I learned last year and my host mom doesn't speak any english. Oh man, it is crazy. But on the good side Venezuela is beautiful. I wake up every morning to the Andes Mountains. It is gorgeous. I will take pictures and try and remember how to post them. It has been a little crazy getting here. First our flight in Miami was delayed by like 2 hours. Oh yeah, I got to the airport at about 4 and our flight left at 9. So much fun. But then the flight from Miami to Caracas was less than 3 hours. It was shorter than the flight from Minnesota to Miami. But the flight from Caracas to Merida was about an hour in a puddlejumper plane. You felt basically everything. Oh yeah and we didn't even land in Merida because the airport doesn't have radar and it was foggy so we landed at another town outside of Merida and took a taxi to Merida. Which I thought I was going to die. For all the people that went with me to South Africa. The taxi driver was worse then Craig. He passed a car in a tunnel and was doing 80 km/h over the speed limit the whole time and didn't slow down around the dangerous curves. I mean it was crazy. But the countryside was beautiful atleast. So I tried watching outside instead of his driving. Oh well. I have to get going. My day starts at 9 today and it is 8:57 am here. I will post more later.

Coming home...

So this is my last blog from South Africa. It has been an amazing experience. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to be here and meet all the people that we have meet in the last 3 weeks. Each and every one of the people that we have met has changed my life in some way. I am going to miss this place and every one here. I know that I will be coming back to the United States with a different perspective on life back home. I am so grateful that the only thing that really went wrong on the trip was that I lost my cell phone at the game reserve. I can't believe it is coming to a close. I am a little scared about coming back because it is going to be tough to explain all that I have seen and experienced over here. But to be honest I am up for the challenge. Apart of me feels like this whole experience has not totally sunk in yet and it will hit me when I get home. But from having a conversation with a good friend that I have met over here, I am ready for this to happen and deal with it as it comes. The conversation I had last night made me realize that I have a lot of opportunity and just need to experience failure and not be scared of it. I feel like I have known this stuff but I just haven't believed it. I feel like for someone else to tell you this stuff is great to hear because I feel like this doesn't happen all that often. I also think that we have a tough time giving postive affirmation to others back home. But every one is just so open and honest and genuine here. It has been amazing. I just don't know exactly what more to say about this experience except thank you so much to every one that I have met here and Aaron for giving me this opportunity to be here as well. Every one here will be missed but I am excited to see everyone back home. Thank you to every one that has made this possible.

Not being in the township anymore

We have been out of the township for the last couple of days and it has been a interesting thought process. Going from where people barely have running water to a place where we have everything. It is crazy especially since one of the first things we did was go on a wine tasting tour. The places where the wine tasting took place in places that were way richer then the township. It was just a really hard contrast between the township and the area where the wine tasting took place. It was crazy how much money the vineyard places have. Their houses were big and had some really fancy cars. So it was definitely a great way to contrast what we just went through. It was really tough to think about though because we went from living with nothing and then we went to sipping wine at extravagent house/places. I really felt torn inside about buying some things at the vineyards and being at these places but I have a feeling this is what I am going to go through when I get home and have to see all of the things and amneties I have. It will be an interesting contrast. Especially since I will only be home for like 2 weeks and then I will be off to Venezuela. So, I am excited to see the contrast from here in South Africa, home and the Venezuela. Back to the wine tours. It was great to see the vineyards and see home they grow the grapes and how they process everything. We also learned how to taste it, look at how new it is and tell if it is a good wine. I was really intriged with what the guy we had to say about all this. It was a great time.

The next day some of us got up at 5 in the morning to go shark diving. Darn that was early but it was so worth it. First they gave us breakfast and went through what we needed to know about things so we don't get hurt. After that we took a 45 minute boat ride to a place called shark island. Supposedly it is the place where they film all the shark documentaries. It was an amazing boat ride. The water was so beautiful and clear. When we got to the place I kind of started getting nervous because it was really going to happen and they told us that some of the sharks range from 3 meters to 5 meters, (9 to 15 feet). This is kind of intimidating since you are stuck in a cage and they put the food right next to the cage. I was also a little nervous that the water was going to be super cold but it ended up not being that bad. It was about 15 degrees Celsius which is about 65 degrees Farnheit. We got to see a lot of sharks and swim with a lot of sharks. It was a great experience. It was amazing and really worth it. But the best part of the trip was the fact that we got to see whales on the way back. We saw a mother and a baby humpback whale. It was so cool. Then we got back and they fed us. It was a fun day and a great time. I would reccomend it to anyone.

On Monday, we went to class and then we went to the market. I feel like I spent a lot of money at the market. I really felt guilty spending so much money especially after the whole township experience. I just don't know how I am going to get over this when I get home but I feel like I will be able to adjust. I also feel like I am going to feel weird spending a lot of money back home especially since it seems like a lot of things here are so cheap. I think I just have to remember that we are very fortunate for the things I have and try and do my part to still help out as much as I can. It is like what I learned in the 4000 level class, "think globally but act locally." I really feel like this makes more sense to me since this is my first abroad experience. It has been a great experience and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to travel with.

Still trying to collect my thoughts part 2...

Ok, I have been trying to think of what exactly I want to say about last weeks experiences and speakers for the last couple of nights. I just don't know exactly what to say. I feel like last week was an amazing experience and I have learned so much for last week but I don't feel like it has all sunk in yet. There was so much that happened last week. I feel like I just can’t grasp all that happened. It seemed like it went by so fast. So, I will try and hit some of the highlights or things that stuck out. Last Tuesday we saw a group called Siyaya. They were amazing. They sing and dance and do performances around HIV and AIDS. They are actually going on a tour of the US and are going to be in Minneapolis from July 1 through July 6. I would recommend them to anyone. That same day we went to an HIV support group at the JL Zwane center. It was interesting to sit in on their group and hear their stories. It is really amazing how they have overcome the stigma of speaking out about HIV/AIDS. They asked us a lot of questions about the US and the HIV situation back home and what we know about HIV/AIDS. It was pretty cool that they asked us a lot of questions because it seemed like they were interested in us and why we were there. Also, they gave us the opportunity to ask question to the group. This really made me feel welcome into the group and really accepted to be there.

Wednesday we ended up going to a lady name Pricilla's house and made some sandwich for her and her 11 kids. We also brought her kids some toys. The cost of the meal we made was about 210 Rand, which converted into dollars would be 30 dollars. That is crazy to feed 12 people one meal over here is 30 dollars. Sometimes back home that is the cost of one of my meals. I just feel like this is something tough to grasp and is going to affect me the most when I get back home and go out to eat. The kids really liked the toys we brought them. They were so excited and used them right away. We went outside and played with them. It was so great to see the whole family smile and have fun and not worry about things for an hour. They were so grateful for the little we did. It was tough to leave because we all wanted to do so much more. We even talked about trying to help her out more but don't exactly know how. Hopefully we will be able to figure something out. It was great to see Pricilla and her kids laugh, smile and have fun. That afternoon we went back to the JL Zwane center and worked with the kids there in the after school program. This program is for the kids that go to the local schools to help them with their homework and just have fun with them before they have to go home. We helped them with their homework and played games with them. It was so much fun and great. The kids even invited us over to sit by them while they were eating. It was so cool to just sit and have fun with them and have them just relax and have fun for a bit with out having them dealing with what they have to deal with everyday. Some of them don't realize the hardships they are going through but they really don't have anything to compare it too. But was a lot of fun to help those kids out for a couple of hours to have fun.

On Thursday, we ended up going to visit some refugees that were forced out of their homes from xenophobic attacks. It was so interesting to see that with being forced from their homes that they were will still high spirited an were just really accepting for what they have. We sat around and talked with them and hung out with their kids. They kids had really great spirits and were having a good time with us. I got hugs from about 4 kids that day for just hanging and playing with them. It was such a great experience to hang out with them , play with the kids and hear the stories of the people that this happened to. This is because all of this is currently happening right now here in South Africa. It is crazy that these people are getting run out of there home because they are foriegners and are not from South Africa. The South African people think that these people are taking their jobs and so they feel the need to run them out of town. It is just really interesting to see this and experience this first hand. After this we went back to the JL Zwane center to work with the afterschool program. So, it was another day working with the kids on homework. It was a fun time once again. The kids are just amazing. They have a lot of fun and are so willing to learn. They are just so eager to learn, have fun and interact with people. It is so amazing these kids have a great insight on life and we can learn so much from them. They just have fun with what they have. I mean some of them just play with tops, metal rods with wheels on the bottom, reading an old book and some other toys that we wouldn't even think of. I think that I learned a lot from these kids and the experience of working with them and I think they were super excited of having us there to help out. I am sure the instructors were excited to have more help as well. It was definitely alot of fun and a great experience.

On Friday, we went to a school that works with kids that are mentally and physically handicapped. First off, when we walked through the school all the kids were excited to see us. They gave us high-fives, peace signs and thumbs up. I felt like I was kind of like a celebritiy because the kids just flocked to us. It was amazing to see these kids faces just light up. So we introduced ourselves and why we were there. Then their choir sang for us. It was a lot of fun. They had amazing voices. They were so vibrant and full of life. After this whole introduction, we went to different places to clean up and help out with the school. TJ, Brian and I went to clean up the basketball court. There was a crap ton of glass on the court. So we decided to sweep the court and put it in a bag. After we got the whole court cleaned up we got to play a little bit with the kids on the court. It was so exciting to see their faces light up even more since we were playing with them. After all this happened, they feed us. I was amazed that they feed us because of the resources they have. When we were leaving all of the kids wanted to take pictures with us. One of the kids even asked me if I would just pose and she would take a picture of me with her phone. It was so amazing to see these kids light up and smile and have fun. It just seems like a lot of people really are excited for the little things in life and that is something I really need to learn. I feel like this would be something that a lot of people could take away from the people here. People would probably a lot happy in life. So, this is something that I am definitely going to take away. Well, that is it for tonight. Next blog, I will try and touch on the speakers and my experiences shark-diving. Cheers.

Picture Blog

A place we stopped on our Gugulethu township tour.













The same places as above.












Overlooking the winelands.









Me with a live Cheetah. Cheetahs have been my favorite animals for a long time. It was a lot of fun.











One of many expensive cars we saw in Cape Town










One of the kids we met on our tour of the township of Gugulethu













Inside of a shanty in Gugulethu













Some of the kids we worked with at the JLZwane after school program.












Some of the supplies we brought to help the JLZwane Center













A lady outside of her shanty doing laundry












Here is a penguin we saw on the same excursion we saw the seal.












Here is a picture of a couple kids on the street of Gugulethu.












Here is a picture of the Township of Gugulethu













Here is a seal we saw last week on one of our excursions









I just think it is really interesting to compare and contrast all the different things I have done and experienced. Especially since Cape Town and Gugulethu are just about 5 minutes away from each other and you go from a Porcshe to kids playing with a plastic wheel on the end of a metal rod. It is just crazy. Hope you like some of my pictures.

Still trying to collect my thoughts, part 1...

So this last week we stayed in homestays in a township in Gugulethu. Let me say that we are all very fortunate back home in some ways. One main way is the living conditions we have. My host mom, who hosted Aaron and I, had a shanty about the size of apartment. She lived by herself so she had plenty of room for herself but some families of about 4 or 5 or even 12 live is the same size places. The outside of the place looked like a shack but on the inside it was nicer than I expected by the outside of the place. I was fortunate to have a place that had running hot water so I could shower but we had to make sure the geyser (hot water heater) was on for the water to be hot. The next thing about the living conditions that sticks out to me is the fact that we have to lock ourselves into the house. Not just the front door but a gate that was in front of the door. Every shanty had this same setup. It was interesting at first but after they explained to us that there is a lot of crime, we realized that it needed to happen. That is something we definitely don't have to do back at home. At home we can leave our cars running at the gas station and leave our doors unlocked even when we aren't home. I feel like that locking yourself in your place is tough to grasp because I am so safe at home but we needed to do it since there is quite a bit of crime. They don't even stop at stop signs at night because a carjacking could happen. It was definitely an interesting situation. Also, if we stepped outside someone would have to be with us just in case someone came over to talk to us. The security in the township and in the homestay was interesting to say the least. We did have the basic necessities to survive for the 3 nights but it did cold at night but it wasn't that bad since I am use to winters in Minnesota. Ok so enough with the living situation since it is kind of hard to explain in words.

On to my host mom and the other host families. I met my host mom on Sunday when we went to church at the JLZwane Center. She came over to me and hi and knew who I was. It was crazy because she just knew who I was. I was kind of freaked out at first but then she explained that she was my host mom and we talked a little. Then on Tuesday we met at another host families house for supper. It was amazing. They cooked this amazing meal for us. It was so much food. There was so much different types of food. It was great. After the meal, they started a dance party in the house and they started singing and just having a grand ol time. It was so much fun. I danced with a couple of host moms and got some of them up to dance. Everyone just loves music and having fun. It is great because they were so welcoming with all this. They took care of us with a meal and then had a fun time afterwards. The were so inviting and crazy. They really made us feel at home. After the dinner and dance party we went home with our host mom and her friend Unathi. We got home and started listening to music and talking. Also, she showed us around the place and told us not to answer the door to anyone except the person that was suppose to come pick us up. She showed us were all the food was and how to use everything. She was so warm and welcoming. I was really nervous when I heard we were doing homestays but I felt very comfortable the first night in her home. She was really excited to have us. We eventually ended up drinking some Milo, which the best explanation of it is a hot chocolate but coffee and good for you. It was really good and made me tried and ready for bed. Every night we were at the home stay we basically started opening up to each other and by the last night we heard a lot about one another. I talked with Unathi the last night and listened to her story and she was so open and honest with me. It was amazing. I don't feel like I should put it online but it was great to get to know her and my host mom Nelly. They were both amazing. Nelly even gave up her bed for me and Aaron. She actually slept on a mattress in her spare room. It was so generous. I felt bad for taking her bed but that is just one example of her making her house our house and welcoming us into it. Also, we drank Milo every night and had a music/dance party. It was so much fun. I will definitely miss both of them and I am glad that they were brought into my life. The really touched my life and showed me that even though don't have as much as we do back home they love life and are really happy. Also, they are both really involved with church that at night we would watch some African Gospel Choir stuff and it really impressed me and made me take a look at my faith and strengthen it. It was a lot of fun and I really miss them. It was hard to leave because they were so nice and so much fun. Also, it was tough coming back into Mowbry because we have so much stuff at the places we are living at and they live in a small shanty. Also, it is weird to go out and spend a lot of money out on the town and look back at where we just came from. I mean they don't have a lot of money and I have so much. I wish there was so much more we could do for them. This going to be the first of many blogs about the week because I also have to talk about the speakers and the service project. Also, I really want to have a picture blog so I will try and do that tonight as well since I have been trying to for a while.