Mandela

A quote from Nelson Mandela who is famous here because he ended the apartheid (seperation of blacks and whites). This was in the apartheid museum in jo-berg.

"To be free is not merely to cast off ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others" -Nelson Mandela

Heres a picture of soweto in Johannesburg.

The shade of the chickens

My professor says that the "shade of the chickens" is the south african lingo for dagga or weed. Its everywhere I guess because the seeds just fall and it grows. so casual compared to the US. She took us to her farm and heres a picture of what we saw on the way. overlooking pietermaritzburg. beautiful. mostly sugar cane farms. YUM.

This is some of the "informal housing", which basically means people find land and make their own houses. I snuck a quick picture when no one was around. This one is literally made out of mud and sticks. The others were metal sheets and tarp. me and Kayla walked through the street, which wasn't really a street at all. it was more of a dirt path full of garbage. clothes hanging everywhere and emaciated dogs running around. It was crazy to really experience how some peole live. I think they knew we didnt belong, probably because of the scrubs..or the fact that we were white. i wanted to take more pictures but i couldnt. i was already intruding on their homes. cant even begin to imagine what that is like.

oh and this descibes our day today. hah

Today was full of sunshine. weird smells. excitement. scary lancets. tiredness. confusion. zulu. and sunshine

things i miss:

STARBUCKS

driving

classic coffee

oh and i guess my roommates.

euphoria

soo heres a flower i saw when we went exploring. reminds me of cotton candy and tie dye. Me call and alex ran through the forest yesterday in search of waterfalls and found...nothing. but we did stumble across a crab. in the middle of a soccer field? Alex proceeded to pick it up and once it pinced her, she threw it at me. great.

same school different country

so bored. i fell asleep right in front of the professor after this..oops

anyway there was one quote I did really like:

"the heart is the defining element of the human person-the central operating chamber of every human being. It is from the heart that all one's thoughts and actions proceed"

sawubona

Sawubona or hello in Zulu is the only thing I knew how to say today to everyone that walked in the clinic. I was a little bit in shock when we went into this rural clinic. We drove past beautiful green hills but crowded with little metal shacks on the way there. I don't know how someone could live in them. Anyway, every SINGLE person we saw today had HIV. It wasnt shocking to anyone there, it was almost a casual occurrence to learn that you had stage 4 HIV. The health standards are a lot different here, the doctors and nurses dont wear gloves or wash their hands very often. They probably thought it was weird that I washed my hands after touching each patient. He said the people know how to prevent HIV, they just don't follow through. It was hard for me to understand. The nurse said everyone was in denial. I guess I would be too. They come to the clinic multiple times hoping for a different prognosis. Women here don't have power or authority when it comes to using condoms and it is common for men to have multiple partners. The scariest thing for me to see today was seeing the patients that had muscle wasting. Their cheeks were all sunken in and they were so skinny. HIV wasn't real until now. Literally until I am working with them and seeing them and touching their skin.

oh and lots of women came in on HIV medications complaining of weight loss in their butt and thighs. One woman even showed us a picture of her bigger self. They love having curves. It's crazy how much different it is in the US. I think if you asked any woman in LA if they wanted to lose weight, they would say yes without a thought.

Heres a picture of me and Kayla with the student nurses that were working at the clinic. When I asked them what they thought of Americans, they said "rich and fast-paced". I like to see how they think of us.

the boot

Johannesburg. Durban. Pietermaritzburg. We finally made it to campus. Its really pretty here, lots of green everywhere and waterfalls! Reg, our coordinator told us how this international campus came to be. They wanted the "ethos" of APU, but in a different country. Even though everyone had to ride on the big bus, Reg took 6 of us in his van. Driving on the right side of the road was like a weird dream. By the way I'm learning how to say things that are new (like the taste of the ketchup) are different not weird.

Me and callee got a little overwhelmed trying to unpack in the humidity but nothing a little zumba can't fix :)

We were welcomed by some very nice zulu dancers when we arrived on campus, heres a Video if I can upload it...nope didn't work. Here's a picture instead. Look at those muscles.

Just too much

So I thought I would share a lovely picture of Callee on the plane. It basically sums up the loooong flight. This is what we looked like the whole time. The 17 hours was full of sleeping, eating, sleeping and eating. sick.

Today we also got a tour of Johannesburg. It was a bus tour. We learned about apartheid and Mandela. heavy stuff.

We all still cant believe we are in South Africa!

1st Day I think..in South Africa

So here I am awake at 2:30 am in the hotel. So me and my roommate decided to get our internet fix in, of course. We cant go back to sleep, probably because the flight was SOOOO long. I'm so confused. where am I? and what time is it?

So far the only interaction I had with anyone from South Africa was on the plane. They basically think we as a Americans are ignorant. I would kind of have to agree, but he didn't have to tell us..

oh also they have been giving us rands (which is the South African money) and I'm having a problem actually believing its money..thats probably not good.

anyways, heres a pic for you all. Me and Leslie are tired but not really. dont mind my lazy eye

Last day in America

Here I am sitting with Kristen Claire and Lizzy. This is just crazy. I am leaving the country in about an hour...and it hasnt really hit me yet ummmm

things im excited about: monkeys, ocean, zulu, and not the flight. oh and nott leaving my friends

Gosh. the next time I will see them they will be graduating. this is just too much