J-Bay and More!

These pictures are supposed to be at the bottom of the blog from Sunday's adventures!

View from where we first got on the horses, that's the ocean back there

Entering into the sand dunes

Those are the ears of my horse and my guide pulling my horse along since all it wanted to do was run in the wrong direction, you can see that I was starting to get caught back up with the group!

Entering from the sand dunes to the edge of the ocean

Beach Road... that is where I live.

21 February 2010

Live wire worship service I've attended a few times, it's at an outdoor venue and the music worship is incredible!

They taught us to play a song on the marimba 

Beautiful rainbow one night... they always remind me of my papa 

Roomies at our first cricket game, yes we got free hard hats :) 

It’s hard to imagine that a week has gone by since I last blogged!  It probably flew by because it was such a wonderful week.  Here’s a quick look back…

Monday we had a field trip for our music class that was so fun.  It made it feel as though it were a four day weekend.  Our teacher invited us to a private school where she teaches music to watch students in grade 7 and 11 perform on the marimba, an South African instrument we have learned about.  The kids were awesome and played so many fun songs we are all too familiar with in America from “tonight’s gonna be a good night” to and Michael Jackson song!  Not only was it fun to see the kids play it was really interesting to be at a private school in SA.  It had a completely different feel because it was so nice and evidentially it wasn’t even one of the really good private schools.  The separation of that school and what I’ve seen at Pendla a township school is indescribable. 

Volunteering went really well again on Monday and Tuesday and I’ve posted my class reflections on that on my other blog, needless to say I’m so anxious to go back tomorrow!

Thursday I had a pot luck dinner with one student from each flat and each of our directors!  Sister Mary Jane and Dottie (our directors) have invited everyone in the group over for dinner throughout the month in order to reflect on our experiences.  It was a ton of fun sitting down with a different group of people and just spending time together.  I’ve mentioned before that Dottie takes great pictures so she had them arranged in a slideshow to a beautiful song for us to watch.  I was amazed at how touched I was by the pictures.  I have been here just over a month thus far and have been so blessed to have done and seen so many wonderful things.  I was most touched by the pictures of all of the children I’m working with.  I underestimated the impact that they would have on me so early.  I got tears in my eyes just seeing them and how beautiful they are and how much I already love and care about them all, it will be so tough to leave them.  Thursday night was also a blast because we went out dancing to a place we hadn’t been before that was a little bit of a nicer place and a big group of us went and had so much fun!

Now for the weekend… things just keep getting better!  Friday started out with a difficult 5mile run with my friend Karla and afterwards we cooled off at the pool once again.  I think going to McArthur pool on Fridays may become a bit of a routine J  We didn’t stay all day long this time around because we had to leave to get ready for a cricket game!  The Port Elizabeth warriors were playing the Cape Town Cougars at George’s Park.  The atmosphere of the game was unlike anything.  Finally I saw a mix of all cultures in one place and little kids up to elderly people.  It was a beautiful night and PE won!  I actually learned the rules and figured out what was happening by the end of the game.  It was easy to get distracted by the live band playing with dancers, another pep type band playing, a dunk tank, and thousands of people dressed up crazy roaming around.  Needless to say it was a blast.  I’m afraid that Twins games even in the new Target Stadium won’t compare to the atmosphere of a cricket game in South Africa.  People were dancing constantly and cheering it was great!  While I know Michael will be unhappy with my last comment he will be proud to know I had my first beer here in South Africa and thought of him because it only felt right to drink a Castle while I sat out at a night game J 

View of the cricket field 

Part of the living room area at supertube backpackers

Right outside our hostel

There is it from the outside

Karla and I :) 

Trying to be artsy... I couldn't hold it long enough to fully get the picture!

View right out side our dinner table

Lauren and Jake going at their HUGE meat plate

Some girls and my trip with our friend Javier from Argentina

Saturday 14 of us got right up and around and loaded into 2 cars to head to Jeffery’s Bay (and yes that does equal 7 people per car… anything goes in this country it seems!)  It wasn’t even an hour drive and it felt so good to get out of PE.  The drive was beautiful but it was windy at J-Bay so we weren’t able to take surf lessons.  We stayed at a place right by the famous super tube.  Saturday was spent exploring the beach and collecting shells, hitting up the Billabong factory outlet, and eating ice cream!  That night we went to a resturant right on the ocean, we sat with sand beneath our feet.  I finally got to have some salmon that was delicious.  Some people in our group shared both a sea food platter and a meat platter, I have never seen so much food in my life, not to mention exotic food like kudu steak, springbok, and bone marrow!  My roommate Lauren was one of the champs who took on the meat platter!  After dinner we returned to our hostel.  It was my first time staying in a hostel and it was a great first experience.  We stayed at a very nice place.  The bedroom were basic with bunk beds and that’s all but the communal area was unreal, we teased that it felt like we were on a reality tv show it looked so neat!  We hung out there for the evening and played pool, fuseball, and card games with some guys from Argentina who are spending a two week holiday in South Africa.  It is so bizarre how many people actually do travel here for surfing and different things, I’ve loved meeting so many new people!!!

And now Sunday…we figured we needed to do something cool while in J-Bay so one group went sand boarding while another group that included me went horseback riding in the mountains, sand dunes, and on the ocean.  Don’t be fooled while it sounds incredible it was one of the scariest experiences of my life.  I’m glad I did it but I think it will be awhile before I’m ready to get on a horse again.  Right when we arrived they had us all swing up on to a horse and then all of a sudden without and direction or introductions we were on our way down a path.  None of us were even certain of who our guide was or more importantly, how to get a horse to stop, go, or turn.  Things started out smoothly and seeing the ocean from the side of the hills we were walking down was so relaxing.  However my horse whose name meant “like the wind” decided she didn’t want to go the direction of everyone else anymore.  She turned around and starting trotting and the RUNNING the opposite way down the path.  Finally the guide started racing after me and couldn’t catch up right away.  At this point I was definitely shedding a few tears and I was frantically pulling the reins back and down on the horse and saying “woah woah!!!”  The guide caught up and got in front of my horse to stop her thankfully!  Needless to say from then on I was very nervous and my horse continued to misbehave, I clearly don’t have any natural skill for riding.  It will take a lot to get me back on a horse, I think I will need the expertise of Ari next time!  Despite being scared to death I’m really glad I went.  It was beautiful to travel up and down sand dunes on the horses and only be able to see hills of sand and the ocean.  I’ve never done anything like it before and was challenged to have the courage to continue!  Plus now bungee jumping will seem like nothing after that scare J

And now I’m back at my home away from home, Langerry Holiday Flatts where I will spend my evening reading and working on two papers!  It feels good to be back with the opportunity to be productive, especially when I know that in one short week I will be a block down at a beautiful hotel lounging with parents and having the chance to show them the Sunday market in front of my flats and my favorite places to grab a bite to eat or my favorite place to sit at the beach.  Life is good. 

Which reminds me of another significant part of my week… the beginning of Lent!!  On Shrone Tuesday I went to a pancake dinner at church that was so great.  I finally felt so welcomed into the church and had a great meal and good conversations.  Mass on Wednesday was beautiful despite the pitchy hymnal music and extremely hot temperature of the church.  It was simple and opened me up to all that I have the chance to reflect on in the next 40 days.  I was reminded of my Papa passing away a year ago and really missed him along with my family, but at the same time I was filled with hope.  I’m that much more aware of the sacrifice Christ made this year knowing that at the end of these 40 days we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection.  This has so much meaning this year because I know exactly where my Papa along with Grandma and Grandpa are.  Just being here, in a different place, at a different church gives me the chance to fully remember what this Lent thing is all about.  I’m really anxious to grow and prepare during this time.  I’m also really blessed because my roommates also take Lent very seriously so it’s really cool to share with them the meaning of fasting, sacrifice, and prayer. 

Wow I wrote so much I think I’ll need to take a break before starting these papers J  Thanks for reading all of my detailed stories… once I get going it’s just hard to stop because I get so excited to share all of my experiences.  I hope that everyone else is doing well today… I think of all of my family so often and about all of the amazing adventures we have had together.  I think we are all so very blessed.

All my love,

Megan

P.S. This is another one that has not yet been proof read so my apologies! 

Happy Valentine's Day! I love and miss you all!

14 February 2010 

11:00am

The rest of my week has been great.  Thursday our group had our first encounter with a supporter of the NP (National Party) who was in control during the apartheid.  He spoke to our political science class and is a professor at NMMU.  It was a frustrating experience because he had a different view on Mandela then all of us and he still seemed to believe in white supremacy. 

Thursday night a different flat hosted another pot luck, “Tacos and Togas!”  It was a blast.  My flat chose to make togas out of our beautiful red South African Airways blankets.  Everyone had a ton of fun and the food was delicious.  There was homemade pita chips and guacamole, homemade tortillas, smores and more!

Friday was one of my favorite relaxing days thus far.  It was a girl on the trips 21^st so we spent the day at a pool right beside the beach which was right up my alley.  I love the ocean but I also love swimming in pools so it was thee perfect day.  I felt like I was on vacation, which was perfect and I was able to finish up a lot of reading for class.

Saturday we had planned to go to Jeffery’s Bay but were unable to get reservations at the hostel we wanted to stay at so we are going for next Friday night instead so I’m looking very forward to that.  Yesterday three girls and myself ventured out into PE a bit more.  We went into an area called Walmer to go to a fruit and veg market that had so much fresh fruit at great prices and a wonderful bakery.  We got at least 4 things of rolls, baguettes and bread for about 2,5R a piece so less than 50 American cents! Yum!  We also went to the mall in Walmer and I made my first South African clothes purchase which was so fun.  It was interesting constantly trying to convert rand to US dollars and figure out the sizing.  Needless to say, all of us figured it out relatively fast and we all found something to add to our wardrobe here.

As for today, Sunday, it will be a relaxing day spent reading, laying out on the roof, and jumping in the ocean.  Tonight I will attend another worship service called Live Wire put on by NMMU.  A ton of African students attend and it’s very high energy.  Tonight it will be outside in a theatre on the Boardwalk!  Mass this morning was comforting once again but I can’t believe Ash Wednesday is this week already.  It will be a very powerful experience going through Lent here.  I’m hoping it will be a good opportunity for me to really pay attention to Lent and what it means.  I will miss the beauty of St. John’s services and friends and family there but I think it will be a powerful experience to go to such a simple, older church so that I pay attention to the readings and what is occurring rather than all of the other things that I sometimes become easily distracted by.  I’m anxious to pray and think about what special things I want to focus on during this Lenten season!

Here are some pictures to show you what I’ve been up to lately!  Also the countdown is on for when my parents will arrive…2 weeks, which is a mere 14 days!!!!  I got to skype with them yesterday and could practically hold my computer over the balcony to point out their hotel!  After saying goodbye to them I couldn’t have been more smiley and giddy because it felt so wonderful to see them both, I miss my family sooo much!  But clearly things are still going well and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for all the prayers and encouragement!

Let me know if there is anything specific you want to know about my trip or that I should blog about!!  Again Happy Valentine’s Day I’m sending lots of x’s and o’s back home! <3

XOXO,

Megan Elizabeth

One of the cutest little guy at the orphanage, Mandi, he didn't get a nap in this morning and was crabby!

Leonarti... He has the most beautiful smile but really weak bones, he has a cracked femur bone

My new buddy Cedriano and I, he is the one who is battling depression on top of everything else

One of my very close friends Karla and I on toga night

Two of my roomies and I with our homemade pita chips and guacamole! 

One of the incredible views of the McArthur pool, we were the only ones there during the day

Proof that we were not only relaxing but also doing some homework! 

More views and the harbor in the background (metal giraffes) 

We got fun fruity drinks to cool off! Mine was orange juice and grenadine with some berry flavored sugar around the rim yumm

My wonderful roomie Lauren and I, she is also from Rochester, works at the Gap, and goes to St. John's we make a good match!  This is from Friday night when we had everyone over to our room to play games!

"God Bless the Rain Down in Africa"

9 February 2010

It’s been a great week thus far.  I just ran home from NMMU, changed into my swimsuit and watched the sun start to set and play in the waves on the beach!  The water was so perfect because the weather has been so hot.  I’m still currently wrapped in my towel with goggles suctioned to my head as I wait for my chance to shower and to help in the kitchen while my flat mates are preparing a greek salad and hot dogs for dinner J

Yesterday was good because volunteering went well and I’m slowly getting things figured out on campus.  Getting our ID card alone has been about a three step process and run around campus involved with long lines and weird hours!  We made the most of getting our Id cards and a lot of us wore our international student polos with collars popped and silly faces.  Then I had jazz class which was a BLAST!  Our teacher Lestie is a character and she had a student who in the choir at school teach us the South African national anthem.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  It consists of Xhoas, Zulu, Africans, and English.  South Africa itself actually has 11 national languages.  After struggling through that we learned what is known to Americans as “the click song!”  Look it up on you tube I’m sure you can find it, it has lots of the clicks involved in the Xhosa language which is a challenge.  Not only did we learn the song, but we learned some stellar dance moves to go along with it.  Needless to say it was a blast and we were all dripping sweat when it was over!  Yesterday I also had the chance to figure out where my parents are staying when they are here.  One hotel I can see from the back of my flat!  And the other is next to my favorite restaurant here that is maybe a 5minute walk away.  I couldn’t have been more thrilled, it’s going to be pretty much perfect when they are here and I can’t wait to stay with them at the neat places they will be!  Then it was a nice relaxing evening here at our flat filled with reading and chatting.  People congregate in our room sometimes which I’m getting used to and really enjoy, my bed is practically in our living room and last night I feel asleep with everyone in the room as I was chiming in and out of conversation as I dosed off!  (I’ll post a video tour of the flat soon!)

Today was wonderful because I had my best day of volunteering yet as you can read about in my House blog.  Class was fun too because it was all led by different groups.  I’m really learning about South Africa and the apartied.  I had no idea how awful it really was, I would recommend Nelson Mandela’s “A Long Walk to Freedom” to everyone.  He has an incredible story to share.  Then like I started with my day couldn’t have ended in a more beautiful way.  I’m sitting here feeling an overwhelming amount of gratitude for getting to experience all of this.  I love moments like this one where everything is really going well and I feel like I’m right where I’m meant to be, but now that I have struggled and been sad and homesick I can truthfully say I’m thankful l for those moments too because they make times like this that much better!  Thanks to everyone for reading and for the comments…I love them and they mean so much!

XoXo,

Megan Elizabeth

And now as I’m get on my computer to go online to post this I’m watching an incredible lighting storm.  The bolts of lighting are so powerful.  We are listing to “God Bless the Rain Down in Africa” and hoping the rain really does come!  

7 February 2010

Here are a few quick pictures that one of our directors Dottie has shot while we’ve been volunteering! She is so wonderful and takes amazing photos!

In the nursery at the house, this is the little girl I was with almost the whole time

Outside the entrance to the House of Resurrection with some of the pre-school age kids, this is the whole group!

In the chapel at the House with a little girl named Lisa!

Lisa and I :) 

Outside Pendla elementary school with the 2nd grade class I believe, the sign says in Xhosa "when you fall rise again"

Siki and I during pre school at the House we were coloring (also note how curly my hair gets in the crazy hot weather ah!)

Taking a break from coloring and putting my hair into "pom  poms"

Lions, and elephants, and zebras oh my!

5 February 2010

It’s 10:30pm here and I just got back from thee most incredible day.  I’m choosing to blog right away so I can remember the important details!  We got up early to hop on a bus with Bradley (the same guy who gave us our city tour) to go to Addo game park.  At Addo we were hoping to see some elephants, and well that didn’t happen.  Instead we saw about 155 elephants at one watering hole.  Yes I said 155!!! Our tour guide said the most he had seen before was just over 100 and that was in 1988.  Wow!  It was just so hot today (110) and the country is experiencing such a drought that many of the elephant families were getting water due to the heat.  I’m afraid my pictures won’t do it justice but it was so incredible to see those huge animals get in and out of the water and communicate with one another.  My dad would have been going crazy, I can’t wait for him to get here to see all these animals!!!

On our way to the watering hole we saw other animals like Kudu, plus the landscape was just so beautiful.  After seeing the elephants we stopped at a park in Addo for a wonderful lunch Bradley made.  Our group has decided this man knows everything and can do everything.  He has so many good stories to tell about South Africa and knows the good and bad about the country.

Then it was off to Scotia, another game park to see more animals. On the drive there we saw ostrich and zebras.  Zebras here are pronounced like this: the zeb is like deb but with a z!  It sounds so funny but I love it.  Here we broke into groups of 10 and went in a truck that was exactly what I would envision riding in on a safari in Africa!  We set out with our tour guide Nick to find more animals.  I was maybe 15ft max away from 2 rhinos today, 7 lions, and 4 or 5 giraffes.  I also saw a hippo, crocodiles, more zebra and kudu, antelopes, springboks, warthogs, and wildebeest, and I might even be forgetting some things.  It was insane and so surreal.  Our guide was awesome and let us out of the safari truck so we could get close to the animals, the other guides didn’t allow people to do that the way ours did!

Then we had dinner in the middle of this park in a beautiful little closed in area where during dinner we could hear the lions roaring.  Dinner was so great and I had lamb, chicken, and beef among other yummy things.  After dinner it was time to hop back into our safari trucks to see if the lions were doing any hunting since it was dark.  Unfortunately they were full so they were pretty lazy but seeing a huge male lion not even 10ft away under an amazingly star covered sky was better than anything I can imagine.  It’s hard to find words to describe all the beauty I saw today.

Overall despite all of the amazing animals I saw today I think I may have been most struck by the stars.  The stars were so beautiful and unlike anything I’d ever seen before.  Life really felt so unreal.  I didn’t even try to capture the sky with a picture because I knew it would be impossible and that in that moment the right thing to do was to embrace the beauty of my surroundings.  It may sound silly but a popular song I’ve heard here popped into my head, the classic: “he’s got the whole world in his hands…”  The kids here know that song well and as simple and pretty of a song as it is it really hit me while I was looking at the huge, huge sky with all of the stars.  God has made it all, everything in this world, and it is so much bigger than I will ever know and no matter where I am he’s still holding on to me and in my midst.  Wow.  It’s all so much to take in but I do know one thing, I’m incredibly blessed.  I’ve never heard the phrases “is this real life?” and “I’m sorry, what?” in regards to everything being beyond what we could even comprehend among my group today.

Long story short today was phenomenal!  I got so many good pictures I can’t wait to share them.  It was a wonderful day and I really felt like I was in Africa!  Tomorrow I will most likely spend the day at the beach as long as the hot African sun didn’t burn me too much today!  Thanks for keeping track of me and letting me spill my excitement! 

All my love,

Megan

And actually today just keeps getting better! I got my first piece of mail at Langerry, from my wonderful Grammy of course!  I decided the only thing that could make this day better would be sitting down with Grammy to show her all my pictures because I’m ready to talk for hours and she is one person I know would put up with it and love every minute! 

My week in review

 Our maintenance guy drove us to a fun place on the ocean in his "bakkie" this is how a lot of people get around it's so funny and fun!

 My favorite spot on my run... up ahead is the boardwalk this is maybe 10mins from my flatt

 View of world cup stadium from the beach

 Right outside of my flatt on King's beach... I was wishing my family was there with me

My home away from home! My window and balcony are on the top right!

4 February 2010

Well real life has hit after this week, but I can’t complain too much because I am sitting at my kitchen table over looking the Indian Ocean as I write this.  My first class was Monday and it was a music class about African jazz music.  The week started well there but classes got progressively harder as the week went on.  My schedule looks like this:

Monday: volunteer at House of Resurrection 8-12, Jazz class from 2-5

Tuesday: volunteer at House 8-12, senior seminar 2-5

Wednesday: Occasionally Service Learning class in the morning, South African Literature 2-5

Thursday: South African Politics 2-5

Friday: No class!

Now I know that doesn’t look like much but I have never been assigned so much reading in my life!!  It’s also intimidating because our grades are all made up of 2 or 3 essays and 1 or 2 exams and that is all ek.  Class is just much different here.  My whole group has all of our classes together and they are all in the same building which is already feeling repetitive.  The teachers are laid back but still appear as if they will be very challenging.  The school in general is more laid back, I just got home from the library, and it was a nightmare.  The organization and technology here seems so far behind what I’m accustomed to and it just made for a stressful situation.  I feel much, much better now that I’m home and will be eating dinner soon!

The weather has been fabulous this week.  Yesterday I put in at least 8miles of walking and running between going to get groceries, going to class and running home, walking to dinner, and going out and about!  I love being so active; it’s a great stress reliever.  Last night we went to a popular place called Barney’s because we heard there is good music on Wednesday, which was very true.  We walked in and the guy was playing John Mayer, I couldn’t have been happier unless Michael would have been there so I could have bought him a beer since I’m legal here haha!

More good news… we have a new internet provider to try so hopefully I will be able to use the internet more frequently which is great news because the homesickness has hit.  I’ve been fine and happy but have had moments where I just want to talk to my parents but due to various different reasons I just can’t.  On the other hand I’ve so enjoyed not being on the internet much at all and not being connected to a cell phone.  Yesterday I realized I haven’t watched any tv since I’ve been in Africa and I have not slept in past 8:15am so I’m definitely taking it all in!

I think I also started feeling homesick because I’m really starting to recognize that I’m not in good old MN anymore.  Safety is definitely an issue here which is difficult and feels restraining because girls can’t go out on their own and we really need to travel together.  It’s really difficult but it is good for me to experience and understand but I wish it was not the way it is here.  I knew safety was an issue but did not expect it to be such a big issue.  Everything feels different, race continues to feel like an issue and I can really sense that racism is still present here.  Despite these things I do love it here but am grateful for all that I have at home.  There seems to be so much more I wanted to write but I know I’ve already written a novel.  More exciting news will come this weekend as we are going on a safari to see elephants and lions tomorrow and having a big 3 course meal and a braii!  Say an extra prayer for me if you happen to read this so I feel at ease about going to school here at NMMU!  All my love!

Megan

 My favorite little girl at the orphanage... I can't say her name yet as it's in Xhosa and has clicks but I'm learning, she was sound asleep!

 Roomie dinner, one of many!  That's the ocean in the background :)

 Where we do yoga each morning if not up on the room, yes we are hardcore!

 The House from the road

My fabulous flat mates before our first group potluck, each flat dressed in a color on the flag.  We are on our balcony right after the sun set!