Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"Sawubona" South Africa!

"Sawubona" in Zulu means Hello!

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post until now, however the internet access is costly and our team is extremely busy. There are SO many things I would like to share with you, but for today I'll just post a few pictures. I'm sitting at the Menalyn Mall Center in Pretoria after our second day of classes. It's just like our malls in the US, but with almost all your purchasing needs in one place and an internet cafe!

Our first flight left from Boston at 5:30 PM on Monday, June 20 and we arrived to a dreary (14 hour layover) in Paris on the 21st. We were able to leave the airport for day sight-seeing, but due to a sleepless flight, we decided to spend a couple hours walking around and then decided to take it easy. Tara, Todd, and I got separated from the group on the way to the Eiffel Towel and decided to justify a few few hours sitting at a street side cafe with this view:


We boarded late in the evening and tried to sleep as much as possible on the almost 11 hour flight to Johannesburg. Such a relief to arrive safely baggage and all!

Driving to Pretoria...
We're staying a lovely center in Silverton (Pretoria). The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming; they are filled with warmth and have genuinely joyful spirits. We've done so much in our short time here including visiting the Public Gardens (gorgeous!), Apartheid Museum, and Johannesburg. Last Friday night we played in a drum circle in the middle of an African field somewhere!

On Sunday we took a day of rest. It was a beautifully sunny-cool day, so after attending Willows Church, a few of us walked for a few hours through the Botanical Gardens near our site:

"Happily Lost" in the woods of the Botanical Gardens
   
Waterfall.. we found it!
After the gardens I made my way up to our Chapel on the Hill ;) and watched the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen:


We started classes yesterday for the Mamelodi (township) Winter Program. I have 7 students so far and they are absolutely incredible. I'm sorry I can't share more now, but I hope to update at least once every 2 weeks. Please keep me, our team, and our students in your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Beantown to SOUTH AFRICA!

It's so nice to be back in Boston! Two beautifully sunny days, morning walks to the beach,and a fun stay with Tara and Todd Humphreys at their beautiful home was a wonderful way to start the journey to Africa. Sitting at Boston Logan airport waiting to board my second flight of TEN this summer, I wanted to quickly share my itinerary: 1. All day layover in Paris tomorrow and arrival in Johannesburg on Wednesday, June 22. 2. Drive to Pretoria, South Africa and stay until July 19th for one month mission trip with Campus Crusade (Boston)- we'll be tutoring and reaching out to the township of Mamelodi. 3. July 21: Johannesburg to Entebbe, Uganda for a 2.5 week stay with one of my best high school friends, Mallori Morris, who is a project manager for the United American Partnership Organization (UAPO)in Jinja, Uganda :) - can't wait to catch up! 4. August 6: Entebbe to Cape Town for 10 days of solo travel, sightseeing, winelands, and many photos! 5. August 16: Cape Town to Johannesburg for final four days until returning to Boston and home to Miami... I hope to share travel stories and photos along the way :D ... (Apologies for the format- sent without proofreading from a shattered screen iPhone) PS- the new background photo is overlooking Champagne (Reims) October 2008.