So it was my birthday a month ago.......

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And I've been meaning to get on here and thank all of you for the wonderful warm wishes and cards, and little ways of making the day wonderful! Sorry it has taken so long, but thank you to all of you. I was given a wonderful birthday breakfast, had a great birthday celebration at Rotary, and went out to dinner with a group of friends at night. Pics included. It turned out that one of the other girls in my program has the same birthday as me, so we had a little shindig together. Great time. Birthday's definitely make me miss home, and I don't know that any birthday can compare to Sarah and I's drum circle concoction, but this one did just fine.
Since then I've been decently busy with school, and trying to get some background research done on my thesis. I'm planning on doing women's empowerment initiatives in Community Based Natural Resource Management, and do a case study, but we'll see what my supervisor to-be thinks of this idea. 😊
The rents get here in T-a week and a half, which is just unbelievable to me, and then we'll be off to explore Africa, going to a game safari, the mountains, and then flying to port elizabeth to drive the garden route to Capetown. Major flaw in this plan: I don't actually know my way around durban whatsoever. Not even close. I just figured out how to get to the post office like 2 days ago. So thats a big to-do before they arrive, because right now the airport seems really confusingly far away from my little 3-block radius world.
Some of the pictures I've included are from a trip to the Berg i did a few weeks ago to set up a food distribution to local schools in the area. ( aka I tagged along and watched how one actually sets up a food distribution) It was really interesting to see some of the local schools. As some of you may or may not find surprising, the schools were very very skeptical that we would actually come through with food as they'd been let down so many times, and that was very eye-opening to me. Its unfortunate that that has to have been their past experience.
I've also got some pics on here from the lions and elephants that roam the streets here. JK, from the game park, though I dont' even want to think about how many people would believe that they really do roam the streets ( though none of you brilliant people of course!)
So life's life here. I hate to think my blog is boring, and i Know its been so long, but its almost hard to write things anymore, because its no longer part of my vacation, its my reality. This seems like my home now, my friends, my car. Oh lord, my car. She is milking every last cent out of us. Currently the window wipers don't work, and you don't have to leave the key in the ingnition to drive her, heck , you don't even have to use our key to turn her on, any key will do. Anways, that was a sidenote to the point that, this really has become a home for me. It doesn't negate the fact that I love my home in the states as well, but I feel very settled here and happy with everything going on. For the sake of all of your reading pleasure I will try desperately to glamorize it for you in my next blog. I also hope I never forget the fact that I am in such a place and how lucky I am to be here. Although it seems like home, there is still so much to learn and understand about being here.
Alright I'm getting philosophicalesque on all of you. My apologies
Much love!
Lauren

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Photos

Lioness and cubs
Way cute cubs at the Swaziland game park. And by way cute I mean, probably could have torn me to shreds.

Lion
Rarrrrrrrr

Lion
Hes seriously contemplating how to eat us for dinner

Elephant family
If you look closely, you'll see the baby elephant hiding behind its mother

B-day
My Rotary birthday celebration, they brought me a cake and sang happy birthday at our meeting. It was wonderful

B-day
Me blowing out the candles. Alas, I was not successful in one try. Took me two. Guess thats what happens in old age.

B-day
My same-day birthday Buddy, Kathleen, and I at our birthday dinner celebration

Drakensberg schools
Kids playing on the playground at one of the local schools. Playground meaning open dirt space around the school. Playground equipment is a luxury no one sees around here.

Drakensberg schools
What a "nice" classroom looks like.

Drakensberg schools
Children doing a traditional dance in thanks for the food being delivered. This is integral to the schools here, all students learn how to dance traditionally-its awesome.

Winter Warmth Project
Myself and Pierre, another ambassadorial scholar, distributing blankets to those in need. This was a project headed by the District Governor of our Rotary district

Burial
While visiting a creche, we noticed this burial taking place on a hill in one of the townships. A woman informed us tha her brother's 19 year old daughter had just died. They were burying her in the backyard. This does not make them crude, uncaring, or simply poor. It just shows the reality of a country where hundreds die of aids each day.

Comments

[anonymous]

I'm such a delinquent friend!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you had a grat South African birthday, as your pictures show. I'm glad that you are feeling settled over there as it totally takes some time to ge there and you probably go in and out of that feeling sometimes. :) Looks like you are really getting to do some pretty cool things and I wish you luck in all of them (as well as safety... I'm sure you're safe, but I just feel like its necessary to say when ppl are out of the country!) Take care, hugs, miss you! Erin