More South Africa :)

Oh my goodness, last week went by SO fast! I've had a few of the most intense experiences of my life , and our group has bonded SO well through each of them. We have definitely become a beautiful family, and we each bring a little something different to the table. Wherever we stay and wherever we go, I get the opportunity to sit by someone new and learn a little bit about their life. I'm loving the community on this trip! Last week, we were in Johannesburg for most of the week. We visited a few museums and various medical organizations, including BizAIDS on Tuesday. This was one of my favorite talks because the CEO was so straightforward and actively helping the fight for HIV/AIDS. Wednesday was extremely intense! We visited the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Joburg and talked with the main pastor, Paul, who wrote the foreward to a book we read for one of our history classes (Go Home of Die Here). Paul has decided to open the doors of his church to the Zimbabwe refugees. Around 1,500 people spend the night in the building each night, and the place is so poverty-stricken. The odor is disgusting and there are so many hopeless faces that fill the place. However, Paul's talk almost brought me to tears a few times because he talked about the beautiful ways in which they were doing their best to be the church. It was so inspiring to hear him talk, and he boldly proclaimed that his motive for taking in the homeless was to bring the kingdom of God to earth. After this, we were met with the challenge of talking to the refugee women and their young children in the sanctuary. This was humbling and hard. We were supposed to be giving them advice, but we felt absolutely useless because none of us could begin to fathom their hardships. Our group was shaken after this experience, yet it united us in an unexpectable way. We got to fully discuss the events the next night (Thursday), which was one of my favorite parts of the trip because everyone was so open. On Friday, we got to drive around a game preserve and see zebras, lions, rhinos, and a camel! This experience was so beautiful! We also got to hold baby lion cubs, which were adorable! Saturday, we drove from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm in order to get to Giant's Castle. We stayed in chalets for the next two nights, which was a wonderful break from our hostels from the nights before. Yesterday, everyone hiked a portion of Giant's Castle, which is located in Drakensberg Park. Our group of 8 took a 21 km tour that lasted 7.5 hours! This was another one of the most intense experiences of my life! Our group dynamics were phenomenal! We had so many trials, but we remained a team the entire time. The scenery was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We never saw another human being, and yet we spent the entire day in the middle of a huge mountain range. We were faced with the scare of a baboon attack, we had to cross a waterfall, and we nearly missed a huge thunderstorm, and yet this was my favorite activity we've done so far! This morning, we drove to Durban and we're here for the rest of the week :)

Homestay Cont.

I love our host family! Each of them is so willing to converse with us, as well as share different parts of their culture. Tebego (our host father) and his family are fairly well off, but they don't have a dishwasher. So, Hillary and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen washing dishes and talking with their daughter, Tswani (which means "right" in Sotho). It's been one of my favorite parts of the stay because she's so open with her opion. Yesterday, we had a braai with our family. A braai is esentially like a bbq, and man can this family eat meat! They refer to themselves as "carnivores"- we had three different types of meat at one meal! A few friends and family came over for the braai that began at 9:30. I really enjoyed talking with one of their cousins, Tsidi. She's a trip! She talked with us the whole night and told us about her clubbing experiences and how she learns her dance moves. Today, we visited Mathapo's (our host mom) church with Tswani. The church service lasted three hours, most everyone was in uniform, and there was SOO much singing! It was really neat- the community there was wonderful. Hillary and I understood about 3 min of the whole service, but we clapped for almost all of it. We also visited various family members after church- it's a big part of the culture to visit family frequently and consistently. We also visited the Soweto towers today, and had dinner later tonight while watching Wizards of Waverly Place with the two younger boys. Yes, the Disney Channel followed us to South Africa! Tomorrow we leave to go back to St. Peter's for a few days. I'm going to miss these guys!

1st Homestay

I'm currently in Orlanda West, Soweto, in South Africa. Yesterday, we took a beautiful bike tour of Soweto. We stopped at various locations during the tour and tried local cow jaw! We also ate a Kota, which is a sandwich filled with french fries. Our group loved seeing 8 different townships yesterday, and the children along the street would always come up and give us high fives as we rode. We also saw the house of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Right now I am staying with my first homestay family, and it's wonderful! Hillary and I are staying with a family of five, (1 16-year-old girl, and two younger boys), and they're so loving and generous. They made us a typical meal last night of beef, pap (kind of like grits), beets, and spinach mix, as we sat around their living room and learned SO much about their life and culture. Today, they took us to a butchery, which was full of so much raw meat! We walked around town and visited a local soccer stadium (We saw Soccer City Stadium the day before). We also went to a Maponya Mall and bought groceries for tonight' family barbecue. Time is not an issue here, and everyone lives very much in the moment. This homestay has been my favorite part so far, mostly because our family is SO kind! We're going to church with them tomorrow, as well as climbing the two Soweto towers. I can't wait :)
            Love. Mel

In africa!

Hey y'all!
     We arrived in Johannesburg, SA yesterday! We're staying at St. Peter's, which is a convent where Desmond Tutu began his studies! We're visiting the apartheid museum today, and we're visiting the Organge Farm tomorrow. Our group is bonding well, and we're all so excited to be here. The internet cafe deal is slightly crazy, so this is all for now. l.ove y'all!
    Mel

Farewell America...

Hey y'all :)
      I am so excited to leave for Africa today! Our group of twenty Furman students is leaving the ATL airport around 7:00 tonight. After a 16.5 hour flight, we'll arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa to begin our travels. I can't wait to grow and learn on this trip, and I'm excited to share my thoughts and experiences with y'all :)
     Love, Melinda