LIVING IN GRAHAMSTOWN

So already I have done a very poor job on keeping up with my blog, so I will try and be better, but this past week has been CRAZY busy!  Monday and Tuesday I just slept all day because I was so tired and didn't start school yet.  Everyone has been so welcoming here and I am really enjoying it.  I lived in the house with my supervisor (Her family includes her mom who we call Grandma and her 17 year old son, we have all become very close already which is neat) for awhile since there were still two girls that arrived in early August.  One of the girls, Misty (who is from Ohio), is leaving tomorrow so I have moved into the cottage which is connected to the house (basically) so I feel really safe here.  I have known Misty for only a week, but it is really sad to see her go since she really  has helped me out a lot by answering all of my questions and welcoming me into Grahamstown.  Now that I have moved into the cottage, I am living with Lauren for two weeks (then she leaves), so it is nice to be settled into the cottage.  Lauren is from Georgia and has a sweet southern accent. She is really nice as well as adventurous so we went on a fun trip this past weekend.  Which I will talk about later.  April and Nichole (who are both from Michigan) arrived really late on Thursday night.  They are really fun and nice as well.  All of the girls are really friendly and outgoing, so that helps to feel comfortable.

ANYWAYS I started school on Wednesday and it is very different than back home.  I am placed in a 4th grade classroom again, which is actually a really good thing since it is the end of the school year over here and it was the beginning of the school year back home (so I get like a condensed version of a 4th grade year, also I get to compare US vs. SA at the 4th grade level).  I am just observing at the moment, but the school is very beautiful and the staff is very friendly.  The students are very respectful as well.  A lot of manners (I get called ma'am) and they stop at a doorway entrance for me to walk through first, it is quite different than back home and will take some getting use to.  I will update more about the school once I get more familiar.  It is a boarding school and a prep school, they wear uniforms and go to chapel twice a week.

THIS PAST WEEKEND: probably one of the greatest weekends of my life, well probably not, but close.  On Saturday Me, Lauren, April, and Nichole rented a car.  Lauren drove (for she has been here for three months and feels comfortable on the road, since they drive on the left side and the steering wheel is on the right side!) But we all took turns driving! Thats right I drove on the wrong side of the road! Well only for a little bit.  Anyways, Saturday we went to Addo National Park, where you drive through the park and see animals (kind of like a safari but not really).  On the way to the park we saw 7 giraffes, a lot of zebras, and a monkey crossed the road! It was so cool.  Once we were in the park, we drove around for like 3 hours not seeing a lot of animals (it is a huge park) but once we saw elephants we were so excited! At first we saw three elephants (HUGE!) and then when we stopped at the picnic area, we asked one of the other guys if they saw any lions (Lauren really wanted to see them since she hadn't yet) and he said he just came from where lions were sighted! He gave us directions and we hurried there.  We saw 5 lions! Three male and two female.  One of the males was around 10 feet from our car! Then when we were trying to leave the park we saw sooo many elephants! I was driving at this time, and had to stop because there were elephants in the road! Our car was like two feet from the elephant! It was AMAZING!

On Sunday, me, Lauren and Nichole went to Port Elizabeth (about an hour and a half drive) and we saw the ocean! It was so beautiful! We walked around the beach and went shopping at the market.  I got a beautiful picture that someone painted and I took a picture with the artist! The painting is off the township.  A township is the area in the town where all of the black people were forced to live, it is the most awful living conditions I have ever seen.  There is garbage sprawled everywhere and the doors hanging off the frames, and it is the size of our garage or smaller and families live in there.  One of Lauren's friends that she met while she was here gave us a tour.  It was so sad and really hard to see, but a very eye opening experience.  Blacks are no longer forced to live there (since 1994), but that is the lifestyle they know as well as they do not have the funds to buy anywhere else.  The government is building houses in the townships area to provide the homeless with shelter, however this is not totally helping because it is still keeping people in that area and adding to the problem.  It is very difficult to understand and I am going to keep becoming informed about the situation to become more knowledgeable.  It is really hard to see so many people begging for money.  I have learned that people do everything for you in this area to supply people with more jobs.  All gas stations are service stations (no self serve), people bag your groceries, watch your cars on the street and in parking lots and help direct you in parking lots to get tips and income.  It is a whole new world over here and I anticipate to learn a lot, I have already learned so much and it has been only a week.

To end on a more positive note, South Africa is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL place I have ever seen.

I will try to update my blog more frequently so it is not so much content at one time, sorry!

Hope all is well back home!

I love you all <3