Luckily, my classes are AWESOME. First up, Biology (Humans and the Environment). This class is going to be great because we go on extra field trips that no one else gets to go on every Thursday from 8am - 4pm. Holler! Life and Teachings of Jesus course is going to be so so great. Reg, the head director who is quite possibly the sweetest person I've ever met, is the instructor and I know this class is going to blow me away. Intercultural Communications is going to be surprisingly interesting I think. The prof is really engaging and I think I'll learn a lot from it. History and Culture of South Africa has technically been going on for a while now. Our trips around SA count as part of our coursework. And finally, my Intro to Zulu, 0 units course is quite entertaining. There are 3 "clicks" that they use in Zulu. I have 2 of them down, but when I try to do one of them I sound like a dummy. I will work on it.
Today we visited one of the service sites that we have the opportunity to work with during our service time. It was called Gateway and was a woman's shelter and school. I loved it! We even got to see some of the kids for a little bit which was amazing. They love foreigners and can hardly wrap their minds around people coming to them from an airplane. I am going to pray about being a part of this service site!
Besides schoolwork, everything is still amazing here. "Tea time" has become one of my favorite parts of the day. We have tea twice a day, mid morning and mid afternoon. I am more of a coffee person myself but am learning to love and appreciate a hot cup of red tea (which I like better than dark tea).
Also, can I just say that I have the best chalet-mates in the world? (Chalets=our "cabins") Tonight the 6 of us stargazed, ate hazelnut chocolate from Switzerland (thanks Kristina), and LAUGHED. Oh man I laughed tonight. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The people on this trip are so dang amazing. I am so thankful for them and that they understand my weird personality/sense of humor, or at least they do a good job of faking it. I LOVE THEM.
Still no sign of zebras nearby, but today as I was doing homework by the waterfall, 2 impala walked by. So awesome. If you don't know what that is, then google it baby!
OH also, some of you have asked about my ankle. It is doing a lot better! I don't wear a brace at all now unless I need to walk long distances. Long distances still are pretty difficult... but I will get there! I am keeping my ankle flexible so that it will heal quickly. Thank you for your prayers!
On Sunday I went to a small church made up of almost all Indians (people from India). It was an interesting dynamic and was a great experience! The people were very welcoming. We got plenty of hugs. Oh I learned that in Africa, people don't really have personal bubbles. I realized this when I was at church. A lady I met shook my hand and then proceeded to stand very close to me while rubbing my hand during our whole conversation. This didn't particularly bother me but it was a little weird until I realized that pretty much all cultures are like this except our own. Even when I was walking out of church, people were really close behind me basically breathing down my neck and kind of pushing me out of the way. This had nothing to do with them being rude at all! See, most of the people here grow up in homes with one bedroom, or just one room in general, where all members of the family live. They HAVE no personal bubbles. I'm going to have to get used to this but I think it's kind of neat.
I pray that I keep my eyes on God's kingdom while I'm here. In chapel on Sunday, Reg asked whose kingdom we are here for: ours our God's. I hope and pray that I continue to seek to further God's kingdom while I'm here.
If you'd like to write a letter to me I would LOVE that!!!!!! Even if it's just a small hello :) It's nice to get a little piece of home. The address is...
P.O. Box 13870, Cascades 3202
Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal
South Africa
But don't send anything past November because I probably won't get it. It takes a few weeks for stuff to get here.
Grace and Peace,
Britt
Wow your blog is soo cool :D hope you have an awsome time for the rest of your stay. Check out my blog www.guitaremo4life.blogspot.com . Thanks :) From James (H)
ReplyDelete