Things are on the up and up!

Well this girl has been majorly slacking on her blog updates! Fortunately, things have been very busy for me! In late July, I made the official switch to Crossroads Teen Centre for my organization. I have been nothing but happy with my decision and am so excited for the next very busy 6 months. Yes, only 6 months, can you believe it! “Crossroads Teen Centre offers Christian-based recreational, social and educational programmes, projects and activities in a safe and stable environment. We equip high school learners to better meet the challenges of the world so that they can maximize their potential and confidently lead the way for their peers to experience the same.” Each day of the week we try and have a different activity. For example: Monday’s, I have continued to do my girls club; Tuesday’s I just started a computer class which teaches Microsoft Word; Wednesdays Bennie and Nici offer KFC which is essentially bible study; Thursdays is fitness and health day, and Friday’s I do my Grassroots Soccer HIV Program. 

After a session of Grassroots Soccer HIV Program

On top of these activities, there are also several other programs: Gr8-Gr8ter for 8th graders, Matrics Uploaded which focuses on the needs of the Grade 12 learners, and Reshape which is made up of a variety of programs focused on the holistic growth of the members. The teens are also able to come each day and do their homework and research on the computers, get help with homework, play pool or chess, chill in the “chill room,” get assistance on their University applications or bursaries, and all kinds of other stuff. It really is a great centre and I am so excited to be with them. Check out the website if you get a chance: http://www.crossroadsteencentre.co.za/
In July, I was invited to assist with a “Me and My Team” camp that was composed of the teen committee members. We spent 2 days at the Heatonville Adventure Park and had a blast! Since I was just coming into the org, it was a great chance to take a step back and see how the teens interacted with each other.

"Me and My Team" Campers

The focus of the camp was on team building, self-esteem, and devotion. We had plenty of fun team building activities and lots of singing and dancing around the campfire. I had activities planned for the campfire, but I was blown away the way the teens got around the campfire and sang, danced, and laughed. All of the teens were involved and they did it for hours. I also taught them how to make s’mores! They loved them! It was such a fun few days and really got me excited to be working with them! 

Beauty and Zandile enjoying s'mores

Shortly after camp, Nici invited me along to an AGM (annual general meeting) for Uthungulu Community Foundation. The cool thing about it, was that we got to listen to King Goodwill Zwelithini speak. He is the King of Zululand and it was neat to listen to him.  He also did a handover of funds to Crossroads and several other organizations. 

Nici also invited me to tagalong with her family to go to her cousins wedding. The wedding was in a small German community about 3 hours from Empangeni. It was really fascinating to see the wedding in the German culture.   Nici’s other cousin Ingrid is one of my good friends went to her family farm for a braai. They braaied up some sheep intestines and also had beef tongue! I can say it was the first and only time I will be eating that! Most definitely not my flavor!

No comment!

I ended up staying a few nights at Ingrid’s family’s farm and it was such a blast. I think I annoyed them with all of the questions I had about the farm. It was so interesting to me and it was such a beautiful place. It was a perfect weekend and a well needed getaway!

On our way home, we hit up the uMfolozi Hluhluwe Game Park. We actually saw a lot and I saw my first cheetah in the wild. It was so fascinating. We also saw elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, buck, wildebeest, and buffalo. I have not got the pictures yet sorry!

Besides keeping busy with Crossroads activities and having fun with my friends, I am still involved with my girls club from Richem Secondary School.

Thanks mommy! We loved the Pop Tarts and Cinnamon red hots!

I am also still teaching just not as often because of the school schedule. I also have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Books For Africa books that many of you helped support. We will have 3 libraries total and I can’t wait for them to come. When the books come and the libraries are setup, I will do a separate blog post. Touch Rugby practice has started and games start in a few weeks. That is always a blast. I have been very lucky to meet so many friends. That will be all for now. Watch for a post coming in early October! Good things are coming!

Whats Happening on My Side of The World!

Wow it has been along time since I last blogged! Lilly, a fellow PCV wrote in her blog “there is a point in Peace Corps where it gets hard to blog, because things that used be weird or strange have become normal life.” I totally agree with her; the monkeys are overaly annoying, the language is easier to speak and understand, bananas grow in the backyard, and I have acclimatized to the crazy weather and am freezing when its 70 degrees. Overall things on my side of the world have been going pretty well. I finally am feeling good about the work that I am doing and have really been enjoying it.

Richem Girls Club

In the first stages of applying for PC, I asked myself what were some of the things I wanted to do as a PCV. One of my main ambitions was to start a girls club. Well after a year of being here, I finally decided that with or without a counterpart this was something I was going to do. I have started two different girls clubs and I love it. The first one is at Richem Secondary School where I have been teaching. I have about 13 girls and they are a great bunch of girls. The second group is at Crossroads Teen Centre. I have been helping them here are there since I arrived in Empangeni, but I am so excited to be there on a weekly basis. The thing that I love about both of these clubs is that the girls are not forced to be there. It shows me that they are interested in bettering themselves and building stronger relationships with their schoolmates. I have become very passionate about female empowerment and HIV education and these girls groups are a perfect place to infuse that into each of our lessons. Each meeting we spend about a half hour discussing the day’s topics and then spend the rest of the time talking about anything and everything. Some topics include: gender roles, self-esteem and empowerment, assertive communication, a females changing body, money management, and managing emotions. The girls have also decided some of their own topics and seem really excited to continue. I look forward to keeping the clubs going!

I love working with the youth and I have decided that this is where I will focus the rest of my service. I have continued to teach Life Orientation at Richem Secondary twice a week and started a Grassroots HIV Soccer program at Crossroads. I have really enjoyed teaching and the craziness that comes with it!

I have made some friends within the Rotary Club of Empangeni and have told them if they ever needed a hand to just shout. Well they did and I was so excited about it. They hosted a Rotary Family Health Day and it allowed people to come and get health screening. Some of the screening included vitals, HIV and cholesterol testing, rape crisis, medial male circumcision, pap smears, Polio drops, MMR injections, and TB testing. They had a great system going and overall they were able to screen a little over 400 people. Another really inspiring thing they did was handed out several wheelchairs. This particular gogo had what looked like Parkinson’s and it severally hindered her walking. She walked to us using a 20-liter water container. She would put in out in front of her, walk a few steps to it, take a break, and do it again. Walking was very troubling for her and you should have seen the look on her face when she was sitting in that wheelchair. All I can say is everyone better watch out cause I bet she is still cruising the streets in her new ride.

I still have a few other updates but this will be all for now. I can’t believe I only have a little less than 10 months left. Time has flown by but I couldn’t do it without all of the support from home! Love and miss you all!

The Beautiful Ponta De Milibangalala

Several of my friends were headed to Mozambique for the Easter Holiday and I was lucky enough to tag along. Oh my…what a beautiful place and definitely a trip that I will never forget.

Bright and early the Landrover was packed and we set off for the small coastal hideaway of Ponta De Milibangalala in southern Mozambique. Our trip started out smokin…literally. An hour into our long drive our spirits were high and our excitement to get there was overwhelming, when the next thing we know the Landrover is smoking! We pulled over and waited for a Landrover mechanic to come and take a look. We received bad news and had to get towed back to Empangeni. After several repairs, it was determined that the Landrover had a blown head gasket. We were all pretty bummed out and thought that we were not going to get to go. Luckily, our crossed fingers worked and a bakkie (truck) was lent to us. We repacked and off we went…again. However, we left too late to be able to cross the boarder so we found a place to camp in Kosi Bay. Kosi Bay was where I discovered something so odd…pineapples do not grow on trees! I feel a bit better knowing that this is a pretty common misconception but my friends sure thought I was crazy!

We packed up camp at the crack of dawn and headed to the Mozambique boarder. Well like us, a gazillion other eager travelers were anxiously waiting at the boarder. Finally, after a few hours of lines and waiting we were on our way to Ponta De Milibangalala. Once we were into Mozambique, we drove on a freeway that will make you never complain about Utah road conditions again!

It was pretty muddy and wet! With the sand, we had to drive pretty slowly and it took us almost three and a half hours to drive approximately 70 km (43 miles). Our camping spot was located in the Maputu Elephant Reserve and once we got to the reserve I asked Janien to fetch me a monkey apple that I kept seeing. They were everywhere and I was interested in them. I was in the process of spitting the bitter and disgusting piece out of my mouth when Chris informed me not to eat it because it was not going to be good. Just a bit too slow! While passing Lake Xingutu, there were a few hippos and I made them stop to take some pictures. I still get excited about these things! We stopped at a small shop to get some drinks and see the ever so intriguing pineapple plant up close. I was so fascinated when I saw one that I had to get a picture with it. I am a dork and now I even want to grow one!

After setting up camp, we eagerly took off to the beautiful blue ocean. Our first day was pretty chill swimming and hanging around camp.

The next morning us girls decided to take a hefty walk on the beach to meet the boys and kiddos at a point on the beach where they were fishing. Upon our arrival, we were quickly informed that we should have gone with them because they saw the only herd of elephants that was seen all weekend! I had been anxiously waiting to go proper snorkeling and the time finally came! Chris took me and it was so amazing! To be able to swim amongst several schools of fish was an incredible feeling!

We saw so many different types of fish and even a stingray. The only problem with the stingray was it startled me a bit and I was so excited that I saw it, that I quickly scared it away with my underwater screaming. Earlier that morning, the boys had been searching in the rocks for some crayfish. It was really cool to watch them and to see them catch some. They were able to catch a few along with muscles and clams. We were able to eat them for dinner and boy was it yummy!

After dinner, we set off to go night fishing. Several of my friends are big into fishing and I was so excited to go and see shoreline fishing. Not only was I excited to see it but also to fish in the dark. We fished for a few hours under the moonlight and we were all able to catch some. I caught two fish; a very pretty fish called a speckled snapper and a grey grunter.

There is so much that goes into fishing and I don’t think I could ever learn it all. That’s why I will just go with these guys; let them do the hard work and I will reap the benefits!

We spent our last day in Mozambique soaking up the sun on beach. I went for a nice long walk on the beach and met the crew at the point again. Since it was low tide, we spent some time searching in rock pools for seashells.

After collecting numerous seashells, Janien and I set out to snorkel again.

Look close and you can see all of the flag tails!

Like the day before, we were able to swim in schools of fish (flag tails) and see so many amazing tropical fish. I saw another stingray and managed not to have a little freak-out! The colors were amazing and it was really cool to see it try and hide itself by flapping sand over it. Next thing we knew, we were both getting a bit dizzy from being in the water for so long. We snorkeled for almost two hours! After lying on the beach for a bit we all set off for the water again. We swam for a few hours and I still can’t get over how warm the water was.

That night, I had to share my American camping tradition of making smores. Most of my friends have never had them, let alone even heard of them. I was excited for the kids to see what they were and to take apart of something that is such a camping tradition in my family.

Even with the replacement of graham crackers for Marie biscuits, they were still a big hit and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Since we had spent the whole day at the beach, we figured we might as well go back to watch the moon come up and the stars. We had such a great time at the beach and shared many laughs.

We were all pretty sad to pack up the next day and begin our trip home. It had started pouring rain so it really was not very fun. I am so lucky that I was able to go on this trip and to have such great group friends! This will be a trip and experience that I will never forget.

HIV Prevention, Mid-Service Training, and PCV Seder Dinner

After teaching high school age learners all about sex and HIV, I have a new found respect for teachers and their patience! Besides a few moments of frustration while teaching, I had a blast and am looking forward to substance abuse and prevention next term. I have finished my first term in which I taught about HIV/AIDS. I spoke with the learners about HIV transmission, affects on your body, HIV/AIDS prevention, and support. By far my favorite lesson was female and male condom demonstrations. Boy was that a kick and I really felt like they learned from it. I drilled into their heads that abstinence was the best thing for them, but if they were going to have sex they needed to know how to properly use protection. It was a fun hands on lesson and a lot of great questions were asked. I loved asking the boys who thought condoms were too small and when someone said they did, I would stretch it up my forearm. The look on their faces was priceless!

I remember sitting in PST (pre-service training) thinking about the PCV’s who were going to MST (mid-service training) and thinking that it was so far away. I wondered how I would ever make it there! Well, last week I finished my mid-service training with the rest of SA25. MST is a time where all of the PCV’s from SA25 gather together for training, medical, and dental appointments.

I was really excited to see the rest of SA25 and see what they were up to and how life was going for them. We were broken up into two groups where we took turns in training sessions or medical/dental appointments. It was nice to have some new training and also have time to spend with the other PCV’s. I can’t believe it is only 9 months away until we meet for our COS (close of service). They say time flies when you’re having fun!

A few of our PCV’s are Jewish and wanted to celebrate the Passover with SA25. Since we were all together for MST we had a perfect chance to have a Passover Seder dinner. We even had the pleasure of having our CD (country director) join us.

Niki and Lilly did an AMAZING job hosting this dinner and teaching us all about the Passover and the purpose of the Seder dinner. We each brought something to share and Niki and Lilly provided the traditional Seder dinner items.

I thought that it was really neat that they allowed all of us to participate in the dinner. Lilly’s grandmother used to hide the matzah (thin, crisp, yeast free bread)and whoever found it was given $20. So to pass on the tradition, Lilly hid the matzah and offered R50 (about $5.71 but a big deal to PCV’s!) to whoever found it. Well you all probably know I hate when things are missing and I went mad until I found it. Lilly gave us the clue that “it’s where I would be” and I figured out that it was in the bookshelf!I was very excited to have been the one to find it!

It turned out to be an incredible evening and I am so lucky to have the chance to be exposed to all of these wonderful traditions!

To finish off MST, our VSN (volunteer support network) (yes PC loves acronyms!!!) put together a PC Prom. The theme was “Party in The USA” and you had to dress like your date.

It was a night full of laughing and dancing. Vivian, our eldest SA25 PCV (79 and a rock star) really showed us kids how to dance! It was so fun to dance with her.

Each of us were also given an advent calendar that was made by our “mama bear” Susan. Susan was our PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) and she is getting ready to head home after her 3rd year of service. We took a picture for her as a group to really thank her for taking the time to make this for each one of SA25.

Love and miss you all!

Izinto zihamba kahle

The welfare has wanted to plan a golf day fundraiser for sometime now and I thought it was a great idea. So, I was the thorn in their side and went with Ron to book a day at our local golf club. Once it was booked, there was no turning back! After a month of hard work, planning, and dedication we hosted our first golf day. It was such a fun day and we had a great turnout. In total, we had 97 golfers and 30 sponsors. We were able to raise a little over R17, 000! Not only did we raise a lot of money, but we also had so many awesome prizes for the golfers. My main push for this golf day was not just for the fundraising, but also to show the welfare that with a little hard work from everyone, we can plan successful events. It was my first time planning something this big so I was a bit nervous about it, but with the help of the golf club and some other folks, all of our questions everything went smoothly. The few hiccups that we did have were minor and were great to learn from. All in all our golf day was a big success!

I did however make myself look like a complete dork though! Early in the golf day the newspaper wanted to come and get a picture of the ECFC staff. Well, they told us to put on hats and make a funny face, so like my mommy taught me, I followed directions! Well I hope you laugh at this picture as much as I did!

I have started teaching and I LOVE it. I have only done it the last two weeks but I have had so much fun. My first week, I taught 12 classes in two days and I never thought teaching could be so exhausting! All of the classes were different classes but two. I have been impressed with how well I have been able to keep a straight face during all most :) of the stuff I have talked about and the funny comments some of the learners make. My goal for teaching is not only to teach these learners, but also create a place where they feel comfortable asking whatever they want and getting the right answers.

Oh I went shoreline angling "fishing" for the first time. Well actually I just watched but it was so cool. I never realized that there was so much that went into fishing. I got to hold a baby shark and thought it wanted a kiss before he went back to the sea!

Life is good and things are looking up :)

Bafana Bafana Unites

Africa Cups of Nations (AFCON) was held here in South Africa this year. The winner of this cup is not only the best team in Africa, but will also represent Africa in The FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil 2014. To be in the host country for this tournament and not go to a game would have been silly, so several PCV’s got tickets for the quarterfinal game. Several weeks after buying tickets, South Africa qualified for the quarterfinal game. We were stoked! I have never been to a professional soccer game before so this was a perfect way to experience one!

The game was in Durban at the 54,000 people Moses Mabhida Stadium. This game was definitely a nail biter; it was so fun to watch! After full regulation time and 30 minutes over time, South Africa lost to Mali 3-1 in a shoot out. I have never seen and heard so many vuvuzela's! For those of you who are unsure of what a vuvuzela is, it's a long horn that is really loud, annoying, and extremely popular here at the soccer games.

Oh and the wave was so fun to be a part of and I have never seen one work so well! I found it odd that most South Africans call a wave a Mexican wave. To be honest, as much fun as the game was to watch, it was not my favorite part of the night. Being part of the crowd and the excitement was the best part for me. I have never felt such a united feeling in South Africa as I did that night in the stadium. Everyone came together supporting and cheering on their country. We sang the national anthem with the crowd and it was such a cool feeling. It’s hard for me to explain why this was such a cool thing to experience, its like regardless of being a post conflict country it didn’t matter. Everyone was one, altogether, singing their anthem.

Besides of all the fun I am having, I have nothing but good thoughts about 2013. I feel strongly that it is my year here and I can’t wait to really dig in. I have been helping the welfare plan a Golf Day that is finally coming up this weekend. Tomorrow I start teaching Life Orientation at a secondary school by my house. I will be teaching twice a week; 8 classes, grades 8-10. My main focus will be on HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse. I am also still helping Jules and his wife with some stuff at the crèche and teaching Grassroots Soccer at the primary school by their house. I hope all is well at home and miss you all like crazy!

An Epic Christmas Vacation

Happy New Years friends! May you all have a prosperous and happy 2013.

For the holidays this year, I decided to take advantage of the time off of work and I went on a lengthy, adventurous, and enlightening 17-day holiday. I joined several other PCV’s and it was a trip that I will never forget. We are so lucky to have the chance to travel such a beautiful country and meet so many amazing people along the way.

We started in Durban, which is the largest city in Kwa-Zulu Natal and has the busiest (sea) port in South Africa.

It is known for its delicious bunny chows and boy they’re yummy! Bunny Chows are a part of a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry; and for those of you wondering, no its not real bunny! Like a lot of South African food, you eat it without silverware. Some of the main things places we visited in Durban were- The KwaMuhle Museum, The Bat an art gallery, the Victoria Market (huge tourist market), saw The Port of Durban and the botanical gardens. The botanical gardens were beautiful and by far the most memorable thing we saw in Durban. Maybe we are a bit immature, but we found a nativity scene at the gardens to be absolutely hilarious. When looking closely, we discovered that all wise men were actually wise women. To make them look male, fake weave hair was used to make facial hair. We couldn’t take it seriously to begin with and then it got better…we saw the angle had a fro and a vuvuzela that was painted gold. Check out the eye shadow on one of the wise (wo)men. Hope you get as much of a kick out of it as we did!

After Durban we headed down the Wild Coast and spent a few days in Coffee Bay. We stayed at backpackers called the Coffee Shack and it was by far as the neatest and chillest backpacker I have ever been to. From our dorm, we had a beautiful view of the ocean. We hired a local tour guide to take us to Hole in the Wall about 9k away from the backpackers. Eric (our tour guide) knew a lot about the land and he was really good at spotting dolphins and a even a whale along our hike. The hike was along the coastline and it was an incredible view. When we got there Dan and I swam to the hole and I jumped into the side of it.

Later that night we got back to the backpacker and they had prepared an amazing Christmas Eve dinner. It was not easy to be away from home for the holidays, but I am glad I was able to at least spend Christmas Eve with fellow PCV’s and people from all over the world. Coffee Bay ended up being my favorite part of the overall trip.

As hard as it was to say goodbye to Coffee Bay, off we went to Chinsta. Once again, we had another amazing view of the ocean from the deck outside our dorm room. Chinsta had a lot of cool things to offer- such as cannoning in a lagoon, a beautiful beach to chill on, a pizza shop, and a pool. What I thought was the coolest thing was cheap surfboard rentals! How hard can surfing be right? Wrong! I decided that I would give it a whirl. Well after about 45 minutes of unsuccessful attempts of "riding a wave" and literally getting the snot beaten out of me, I considered my surfing an epic fail. I did the walk of shame back to the beach and offered my friends the board, after watching my attempts they politely declined!

At last, after 17 long and dreaded hours on the bus, we arrived ready to see one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town. We started the trip off by taking a boat out to Robben Island. Robben Island was originally a training and defense station in WWII and a hospital for people with leprosy, mental and chronic illness. From 1961-1991 Robben Island was a maximum-security prison for political prisoners. Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years behind bars at Robben Island. A former political prisoner at Robben Island conducted part of our tour.

Hearing stories of his first hand experience was very touching and interesting. He took us around the prison and showed us numerous cells, including Mandel's cell. To date, approximately 150 individuals live on the island, most being former political prisoners and their families.

Table Mountain was next on our list. We decided that we would hike up and ride the cable car down. It was an amazing hike with the most gorgeous views of Cape Town. Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain and is the oldest mountain in the world. A cloud called “the table cloth” often covers the flattop; this makes it difficult to have a nice view. We were lucky to have perfectly clear skies and it could not have been a nicer day to do our hike.

We did an incredible Cape Peninsula Tour with the hop-on hop-off bus we used to get to Cape Town. The bus picked us up directly from our backpackers and we headed towards Hout Bay Harbor to check out the Twelve Apostles Mountains.

When we arrived in Hout Bay we took a small boat ride to the Cape Fur Seal colony on Duiker Island to see some seals. They were everywhere and it was a beautiful boat ride. After seeing all of the seals we jumped back in the bus and drove along Chapman’s Peak. We made a stop at Boulders Beach in Simons Town to see some Jackass Penguins. They are called Jackass because of their donkey-like loud call. An interesting fact I learned is the black and white coloring of a penguin is an important form of camouflage-white for underwater predators that are looking upward and black for predators looking down into the water. I could have sat and watched the penguins all day but it was time for us to head to the Cape Point Nature Reserve. Prior to getting all the way into the nature reserve, we were able to get on bikes and ride into the park. It was a great way to get out some energy from the bus ride and an incredible view. We then traveled to the Cape of Good Hope. This is the most southwestern point of Africa. It ended up being a phenomenal day!

The last big thing we did in Cape Town was the Cape Town Minstrels Festival, aka Kaapse klopse. This event takes place every 2nd of January. Over ten thousand costumed musicians, singers, and dancers march through the streets. Most participants are carrying a musical instrument or an umbrella and are covered in sparkling face paint. This festival started in Cape Town during the times of slavery when the original citizens of District Six were allowed their one-day off on January 1st. It marks the “celebration of life and new year” rather then a reflection on the days of slavery. We saw the first klopse (group) come through around noon and we heard the last klopse around midnight. Luckily we could see the festival from the rooftop of our backpacker so we didn’t have to be in the crowd the whole time.

Besides all of these awesome adventures in Cape Town, we also went to the District Six Museum, V&A Waterfront, Company Gardens, and Cape Medical Museum, hung with other PCV’s, ate Subway and half decent wanna-be Mexican food.

All in all, I consider this vacation a GIANT success.