It pretty amazing what you can learn about people when you take the time.

It pretty amazing what you can learn about people when you take the time.
So these past couple of weeks I have spent a lot of time with kids that perform in different dance groups and artists in Khayelitsha. I have spent time with them, but haven’t had a lot of opportunity to really get to know the kids.

Today, I invited all of the kids who performed to come and play soccer at the Football for Hope Centre. It was so great to see how excited they were to be playing on the field. My team was pathetic; we played games similar to King’s Court in Tennis; where the winner continues to play. My team never scored a goal and there were times when we wouldn’t even be on the field for more than a minute and we would get scored on.. PATHETIC.

It was so fun to get to hang out and really talk to the kids. The group in the picture above is called Future Line, they practice everyday after school, and the range in age from 14-21. One of the youngest, 14 year old girls says she wants to be a lawyer, and if that doesn’t work out a dancer. Another kid who was 18 wants to go to art school. It is so great, hearing that kids growing up in the townships have dreams and passion for life.

These kids are born into situations where there are very few opportunities for success. Many kids here don’t graduate from school, never gain solid employment, and are very susceptible to HIV. Today at the centre I was running late and they were waiting inside looking at the photos on the wall that were pictures of some of the interventions we have run. I missed it, but I was told that they were having some pretty deep conversations about HIV. If only I had a way of protecting them, but I these are great kids and I have to believe that they can protect themselves and can stay focused on their future.

That is probably one of the hardest things about working out in these communities, is seeing how there is not a lot of people who have faith or determination to better their lives. So many of the people are unemployed and just sit around all day. First, I could not even imagine that, but so many do not finish all grades of school.
It was just so refreshing today to hear things, like I want to be a lawyer. They also showed me where they rehearsed their dances. It is in a room that is small like the size of two normal sized bathrooms in the US. It continues to baffle me how these kids make the best of everything. I think that is a lesson that everyone should learn.

I am just so thankful that I got to spend the day with these amazing kids/young adults. They have an energy that is just contagious. After we got done playing soccer we when inside and played a ton of different indoor, icebreaker type games; it was really fun. Then I went to the store and got bananas, bread things, and 3 liters of soda, we all had a snack and then it took me 3 trips to get them all home.
One other amazing thing about these kids is that they dance because they love it. The were never in it for the little bit of money we could pay the, or the exposure; they were in it because they loved it and had passion for it. That is why they are the best in Khayelitsha. The passion that they show gives me hope especially because the harsh reality of life in the townships can all too often be overwhelming.

See ya soon,

Sarah

Thats What it is All About

There are very few experiences in my life that can top what I have been a part of the last couple of days. It is so funny how we sometimes get caught up in the “hoopla” of events/work and forget the real reason we do the work we do. The last few days have been the greatest reminder for me of why I wanted to come and work in Africa. I have spent time with the most amazing people and children to the point that there overwhelming sadness that it is over and a harsh realization of the struggles that many of the people face on a daily basis.

Last night, I was taking home a group of DJ’s that we have used a lot in the last week and one of them said that he wished he was a white man because how easy his life would be. The statement literally shook my entire being. When I got out of the car all three of them hugged me and said they were going to miss me. There are so many times that I wish that there was more I could do!!

In Khayletisha you look around and see the living conditions and its sad but in the last couple of days, it has really HIT me. I cannot even explain the intensity of the emotions of sadness, concern, passion, excitement and appreciation that I have experienced since Thursday. On Thursday night, the teams that were playing in the tournament had an open forum discussion about “life” and their stories. The first girl that shared, talked about how her mom had passed away and that when she hears other people talking about their mom, it makes her wonder if you mom would be proud of her. At the end of her story she shared how she likes to think that her mom would be so proud of her for being a part of the tournament. I don’t think that there is a person in the room that wasn’t proud of her!!

The next kid shared about how he had lost both parents in one year and how he has overcome this challenge; “living a good life”. It is so amazing the strength that these kids have and how they are resilient to the world around them. A major highlight for me of the evening was when an 18 year old girl from Lesotho shared about being HIV positive. She said there was a time in her life when she started to act like a “women” and acting in a way she thought a woman should act. She concluded her story by staying “if only I would have known myself – before it was too late”. There are almost no words that can describe the atmosphere of the room. One of the leaders of the Brazilian delegate team started to cry. I was so moved that I went and sat on the floor by her. Even though we don’t speak the same language and I had no idea why she was crying, I made a connection with her, that I will never forget.

At the end of the forum, one of the Brazilian players said that his life story started today,as after hearing all of these stories, his life really hasn’t been that hard. I still get chills when I think about!! What an amazing experience for these 15-18 year old kids! Thursday night was the perfect reminder of what this weekend was about. Yes, I was really excited about the opening and all of the excitement around it, but it helped me to remember that the most important thing is the KIDS!

Friday was really busy we had a lot of GRS board members and some important possible donors in town, a graduation and rehearsals of all of the performers for the weekend. It was a very hectic day but watching the groups perform at the field and seeing the excitement in their eyes was amazing. The best part was when the people from FIFA and streetfootballworld were discussing Saturday’s activities and the group called Heavenly Cortez and Angels of God were practicing the national anthem and everyone stopped what they were doing and listened.

The big thing about Friday was the World Cup Draw, they closed the major street in downtown Cape Town and built a big screen TV so everyone could watch. It was a large event for the city, but I didn’t go, I actually didn’t even watch it. I was out at the Football for Hope Centre with GC (our site coordinator) trying to organize the furniture that had been delivered by a carpenter in Khayletisha. Even though I missed the draw, I had so much fun!!!

GC is going to be the caretaker at the centre for the first month so he has to stay in the caretaker flat at the top of the centre. I had this terrible sense of concern when I was leaving the centre at ten and leaving him there. However, the centre had a perimeter fence with all night security staff and police. The centre even without all of that is a safer place to be than his actual house. I honestly feel blessed because I have always known the conditions our coaches live in, but I have never really had more than a superficial concern or sadness about it, until now.

Saturday, was so busy. The opening ceremony went very well! I was so excited for everyone who put a lot of work into it. The performances groups that I have been working with, nailed their routines. I don’t think I sat down until about 3 in the afternoon. It was so hot, that when I came back to town, I just went for a little swim in the ice cold water and it felt amazing. So many amazing things happened on Saturday, but Sunday was probably the best day of the whole week.

I got to the Football for Hope Centre at about nine, the atmosphere was so much more relaxed, everyone was doing what they enjoyed doing and having fun. The soccer games were amazing, a lot of them ending in shoot outs. For the semi-finals the stands were full of the local community, cheering on the home team Grassroot Soccer. For someone who loves being a fan of sports, it was beautiful. The crowds were singing and screaming, I can’t imagine what the World Cup will be like.

I have really enjoyed working with the performers so much over the last couple of weeks. I was so excited when all they were performing and watching the reactions of the crowd. When one of the groups were performing and the crowd was loving it, one of the guys that works for streetfootballworld came up to me and said “this is for you.” It was perfect!

Another special aspect of Sunday, was the handing out of the trophies to the winners. One of my tasks was to find a local artist to make trophies. I found a guy name Martin who is gifted in pottery design. He made 8 plates for the delegates, a fair play trophy and the winning trophy. They were beautiful! What was so amazing about this, is that we needed him to make a different winning trophy and we gave him about a week. He sent me and SMS (text message) that told me how he has cancer and this was the first job he had taken in a year and he had just had surgery. He said that he would try his best to get it completed by Sunday.

On Saturday night, I thought to myself why not ask Martin “Clay Guy”, to come and watch the final soccer games, performances and get to see his trophies handed out. I asked the people from streetfootballworld, and they agreed would be a great idea. Not only, did he come and watch, but he got to sit in the VIP seating area and hand out the Winning Trophy to the winning team. When I saw Martin on the field handing out the trophies it reminded that moments like this are what it is all about.

I got to exit the stadium walking with the FUTURE LINE dance group singing “Oh Happy Day”, there was no better finale for me of the weekend then that. They kids said how much they would miss me, but I don’t think they know how much I will miss seeing them or how highly I thought of all of them.

For me, I have made some great friends with the people from streetfootballworld and really enjoyed working with them. I had so much fun and laughed a lot. It really has been a wonderful couple of days!!

With Love,

Sarah

Huge week in the fight against HIV/AIDS

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a little about my week and weekend with you. On Sunday morning, please get on google(search engine) and type in, FOOTBALL FOR HOPE, Grassrooot Soccer, Khayletisha South Africa. That way you can see all of the news/press that we got over the weekend and you can read all about it.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I am so excited for this weekend and have been doing so much work that I have been running all over Cape Town for the last two weeks. Last weekend at the Football for Hope Centre in Khayletsha we had the community opening, it went great. I was actually crying when one of the best performance groups came walking down the street singing “Oh Happy Day”. It so amazing to see how passionate these kids are about their dance and I have spent so much time with them the last couple of weeks I can’t wait to see them perform throughout the weekend!!

On December 1st, 2009 (World Aids Day) Nike launched their RED CAMPAIGN. This campaign is NIKE’s corporate social responsibility pitch to help in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS. A small part of this campaign is that they are selling red shoelaces and part of the proceeds go to organizations that use football in the fight against HIV and Aids. Because of a connection Grassroot Soccer has with NIKE we receive part of the proceeds from the sale of each pair shoe lace. Currently, at NIKE Town in London they are running NIKE based GRS video’s on loop, http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikesoccer/2009/11/30/fighting-hivaids-through-soccer, please check them out, and buy the NIKE “Red Shoelaces”. Buy (Red) Laces

Additionally, here in Cape Town, on December 1st, we held (I organized) a Voluntary Testing Counseling Tournament from 11:00-3:00. This is a tournament where kids play in soccer games, participate in SKILLZ CORE (grassroot soccer curriculum) activities and have the opportunity to test themselves for HIV. In 5 hours we tested 124 people (including myself) for HIV and no one came back HIV Positive. AMAZING!! It was a hectic and amazing day!! I learned so much about how to run one of these tournaments and was blessed/excited that so many people tested in such a short amount of time.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are some of the most exciting days I have ever had. There are so many VVIP coming, the president of FIFA, a bunch of princes and princess from this area, the president of South Africa, and the Chancellor of the US embassy here, just to name a few. It is going to be an amazing weekend and I am so happy that I am in Cape Town to be a part of it. Currently, there are 7 delegate teams here from all over Africa and one from Brazil. These teams have been site seeing and getting to know each other for the last couple of days, and on Saturday and Sunday they play in a soccer tournament to celebrate the opening of the centre. It is going to be a lot of work, pressure, but totally worth it.

It is so amazing to see this whole opening come together. For the last year people have been working on so many different aspects of this opening and the centre itself.This is going to be amazing. I will write ya’ll soon and let you know what happens.
See ya soon,

Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving !!

First, my apologies for the lack of updating my blog, I have been really busy with work and I just haven’t taken the time to sit down and write up what I am doing. But before I get too far into all of the work stuff I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. It is so funny how people’s perspective of Thanksgiving differ, for some, it is the turkey, pumkin pie, and American Football (which I miss dearly). However, for me, it is the opportunity to spend a day with my closest friends and family. I have been away from my family before on holidays but I was always with a group of people who have made me feel like family.

Aside from my first Christmas away from home, where I spent Christmas Eve alone, opened my presents with my parents over the phone then went to have Christmas dinner Whitney’s family, this is one of the toughest holidays for me. It makes me a little home sick but also helps me to be appreciative that I have always had somewhere to go for the holidays where I feel at home! I have truly been blessed. All of my roommates and the Americans we work with are having a Thanksgiving meal. We even have some South Africans interest, so they are coming as well. The funny thing is, if you don’t pre-order a turkey, you don’t have one. It is Wednesday night and we don’t have a turkey yet, so we shall see. Also, I tried to make my mom’s very basic (sorry mom) but delicious salad. I picked this one because I assumed that the groceries stores would carry what I need. However, there are no bags of frozen peas, green onion, or water chestnuts. So I am just making a basic salad, I bought rolls and a ham. But for me it is not really about the food that I am eating but more the people I am with.

Anyway back to the work stuff. We are really gearing up for the opening of the Football for Hope Centre over the weekend of the 5th and 6th of December. I have really been working one angle of the opening and that is with the entertainment and the trophies. But it is really fun! The guy from streetfootballworld that I am working with, use to be a huge radio DJ here, so he has quite the personality. The last two Saturdays we have had rehearsals of the groups that were selected from the auditions in October. Lets’ just say he is the “Simon” and I am the “Paula” of the group. But it has been amazing to see how these 15 acts have really transformed over the course of a couple weeks. Each group is so different and they have so much energy that spending the last 2 Saturdays at the rehearsals could hardly be called work.
I am really excited because this Saturday we are having the community opening and almost all of the groups are going to rehearse and we will get to see their polished acts in front of everyone. This will be the first time that a lot of GRS will see the effort that I have put into anyone project. Normally, I just help people out and this is something that I am really getting to do.

Another project I am working on for December 1st, 2009 is a Voluntary Testing Tournament. We are trying to spend as little money as possible, but December 1st is World Aids Day and even in the mix of everything, we wanted to celebrate the day. It is actually going to be really fun and hopefully it will entice people to get tested for HIV. I am just hoping that everything can be pulled together at the last minute. Luckily, we have an implementing partner who is providing all of the Voluntary Testing and nurses so that gets a lot of work for me out of the way.

I am still doing little side work but I don’t mind. I am getting really excited for Namibia. A guy from AED/Johnson and Johnson was here this past week and I was able to hear all about the programs that I will be helping with. It is really coming together well and I can’t wait for it. I think I will be leaving the middle of January for the trip and am pretty excited about it.

I also just got my Namibia Visa, which is huge and a really large relief. It has been that thing hanging over my head since August, and it is all taken care of. I am really getting excited about my next opportunities. I think in the end, my trip in Africa will be an amazing experience. I spent 3 months in the amazing city of Cape Town, will spend some time in rural Africa to get a well balanced experience.

I got to pick someone up from the airport tonight and it was so good for me. I forgot how much I loved the airport. It is so fun to see people so excited to see their friends and loved one. It made me so excited for when I land in Knoxville and Oregon, it is going to be a great homecoming.

This experience has helped me to realize how great my friends and family are. I love you all, couldn’t be here without any support!!

Love you and Happy Thanksgiving,
Sarah

I can finally buy Milk

It is funny how the simple pleasures in life, like having a glass of milk in the morning can make a person (myself) so happy. I actually have half of a shelf in the refrigerator at our new house and am enjoying the ability to buy vegetables. Last Wednesday, all 8 interns that are living in a house together moved from Sea Point to the Gardens. The Gardens is an area in Cape Town where we are closer to the downtown area and work. Even though we had to move away from the 2 minute walk to beach and the larger house, it is nice to not live in a place full of cockroaches. The new house is a lot smaller but it is a lot nicer. It allows us to do things like play card games and hang out in a living room type area. It feels so much more like a “home” and there is fridge space for everyone!!

The new house is also closer to work. Therefore, I walk to and from work every day. It only takes about 20 minutes each way and it is amazingly beautiful walk. I get to walk through the Company Gardens that has a path that is lined on either side by trees that creates an archway for you to walk under. It has a lot of beautiful flowers and different types of birds and squirrels. Additionally, the buildings on either side have amazing architecture, it is a great way to start the day.

Aside from moving and navigating through a new area of Cape Town I have been really busy at work. One thing that has been really challenging for me so far has been finding a “role” or my “place” in the office. Everyone in the office is so busy and no one was really expecting me to be here, so it has been hard for them to find work for me to do. For the most part, I have just been trying to help out in any capacity that I can. Lately, it has been formatting curriculum, giving people rides to the airport, or helping with administrative work. Even thought formatting curriculum is really tedious and time consuming, I am becoming very efficient with Microsoft Word and all of its different functions. This is something that I never would have taken the time to learn but it is really helpful and helps to simplify things a lot. With many of these tasks there is not a lot of job satisfaction, I have tried to make the best of every opportunity and learn what I can from the experience. I am really excited because things are coming together and for the next couple weeks in Cape Town I will have a lot of stuff to do.

One of the things I have been working on is helping our coaches with their graduations. Grassroot Soccer has different types of interventions. One type is to go into schools and work with teachers and teach the GRS curriculum in the classrooms. At the end of 8 practices every kid that attended 6 of them receives a certificate at a graduation. My job is to make sure the coaches have the money to buy snacks for the kids, have a sound system and make sure enough certificates get printed. It is actually pretty easy to help with, but the cool part is then I get to go to the graduation and hand out the certificates.

I have 3 different sets of coaches to help out and I have already completed one graduation. The two coaches combined the graduations of the 6^th and 7^th grade classes, so there were over 300 kids at the ceremony. The unique thing about this graduation is the hall we were supposed to use was being used because the school was having a “fashion show”. It was so cute and funny, I got to watch for a little bit and I just kept thinking how different American and African cultures are. I just couldn’t imagine if a school in the US has 3^rd an 4^th graders participating in a modeling competition as an assembly in school.

Because of the modeling/fashion show we had to move the graduation into a small classroom where the 300+ kids and myself and 4 other GRS coaches made for a pretty tight squeeze. My job in the graduation is to represent GRS and give handshakes to all of the kids as they get there certificates. It is sometimes hard to stay energetic for 300+ kids, but it is important to make it special for each child. All of the kids had a great time and are so excited and appreciative of their certificates.

This past weekend was really low-key, no bunji jumping or petting lion cubs, just hanging out at the house. It has rained for the past week, so it was a good weekend to sit around, unpack and get settled in the new place. I was excited because I finally got to go to church. It has been really hard to find a church because of transportation issues and just not knowing where to look. I went to a Presbyterian Church right up the street from our new house. On that day the church was remembering all of their congregation members that had served their country in war. It was pretty interesting because when I think of wars and remembering service men, it is more about the US soldiers, so I got a little bit of a South African history lesson. What was really unique about this service was how the preachers talked about the US and opinions of US churches. It continues to amazing me how the US or opinions of the US are everywhere here in Africa. I have experienced this more with Music, but this past Sunday, I was truly amazed.

One thing that is exciting about this internship is the variety of tasks that you get to take part in. On Tuesday this past week, I got to help plant trees around the Football for Hope Center. It was really fun to get to hang out with some of the other interns and do a little manual labor. We actually got really lucky because one of the groups that donated the tree’s stayed and helped us most of the morning. It was really amazing to get to see the technique and efficiency of the workers and instead of it taking all day, it only took a couple of hours, but it was really fun!!

After we were done planting trees we stopped by the Braai spot. Braai is the South African word for barbecue or cookout, it is really good unhealthy meat!! There is a pretty popular Braai spot on the way back from Khayelitsha to Cape Town. Some interns eat it a couple of times a week but I have only had it twice and I think that might be it for me! It is definitely worth trying, but twice is enough for me. It was just a great way to end the tree planting day.

In the weeks to come I will be planning a VCT tournament (Voluntary Testing Tournament) where we have kids test for HIV, having rehearsals with local artist every Saturday for the Football for Hope Center opening, finalizing the trophies for the FFC opening tournament, completing interviews with 250 school principles and working with the Public Relations specialist on the Football for Hope Center opening.

Not only have thing in Cape Town really picked up for me but it has been planned out that I will return to Namibia the week after I return from Christmas break. I will be headed to Northern Namibia for 6 weeks to help with trainings and provide Technical Assistance to two of GRS’s partners. It is going to continue to be an amazing adventure and it gets more exciting all of the time.

With Love

Sarah

Sarah's Greatest Adventure

So this past week, I have started to get settled into my role in Grassroot Soccer, South Africa. I am in the office and am adjusting to things. Last week, we kind of figured out that I would be in Cape Town for the remainder of the year and then would head back to Namibia the first of the year. I have started to interact with AED who is the other partner in Namibia so things are started to get sorted for me. It is a pretty big relief and I fell less like a nomad almost daily. I still don’t have news on my VISA, but hopefully that will come through in the next week or so.

This past weekend was absolutely amazing, a group of five of us from Cape Town, went on a road trip to Port Elizabeth, to hang out with some of the other interns for Halloween. We traveled from the province of the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape, along what is called the Garden Route. This drive is absolutely beautiful, it is very green, and the more towards Port Elizabeth (PE) the closer I felt to home (it has resemblances of Tennessee and Oregon). We had a car that fit five people, but it was a pretty tight squeeze.

The group of five of us, left on Thursday night and headed to Tsitsikamma, which is about 7 hours from Cape Town and 2 from PE. We stayed the night at a hostile in Tsitsikamma. I have never stayed in a hostile before and was amazed at how clean and well kept it was. The employees stayed an extra 2 hours to “check us in”. It was so funny because they were applauding when we finally got there. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and it cost me 110 rand, which equals out to about 13 US dollars. So it is very inexpensive to stay. It made me realize how actually inexpensive one can travel. This was pretty exciting to me as my mom is coming to visit and there are a lot of things I would like to see.

On Friday morning we got up and headed to Bloukrans Bunji (which is the worlds highest bunji jump). I had not planned on bunji jumping when we left on Thursday but in the car ride to the hostile, I decided to do it.

So we get there and all together bunji jumping plus video and photos cost about 100 US dollars, but it was totally worth it. There were actually six of us that went Bunji jumping together, there was a kid from Australia who had checked into the hostile as we were leaving and we squeezed him in our car. When we got there only four out of the six of us were going to jump. The four of us got harnessed in and we were set for our walk to thee middle of the bridge.

The walkway was actually terrifying. It is not solid material so every other step, you feel like you are going to fall through, which would be a really long drop. When we got to the platform they called out my name and said that I was going first. A few years ago, I was pretty daring and would do about anything, but these last couple of years I have gotten a lot more cautious. I was mentally prepared to jump but was expecting someone else to go first. However, that is not how it worked out in my case. Each person that jumped had some sort of fear that they had to conquer on the bridge, for some it was the jump but for me, it was going first. One of the guys that was with us said that he was so impressed because I just did it. I didn’t really make that big of a fuss and they said, if Sarah can do it, so can I.

So they got me ready, wrapped the cords around my legs and buckled in my safety harness (the safety harness made me feel tons better). Anyway, the atmosphere on the platform is amazing, they have American Hip Hop playing in the background, everyone is having a great time and you instantly feel a part of the crew. However, even though everything was so cool, when they were helping me out on the bridge, I got a little freaked out (but no one really knew until they saw my video). I literally almost started crying because I was so freaked out. They help you out and went to take their arms off from around my back and I didn’t want them to let go. But they are good at their jobs and they counted 5 4 3 2 1.. Bunji, and for the most part I jumped by myself.

The bridge that you jump off of is 216 meters above the Bloukrans River, which looks more like a creek, than a river, and the free fall is about 5 seconds before the ropes catch you. It was absolutely crazy and amazing. I have never had an adrenalin rush quite like it. They send someone down and help pull you back up. Lets just say I was ready to be pulled back up. I then got to watch the other 3 people jump and it was so fun. We even talked the two girls who weren’t going to jump, into jumping and it was so funny.

One of the girls had her eyes closed the whole time and she would scream everytime they moved her closer. She kept saying “don’t push me” and they would reply “we won’t”, but they did. It was hilarious and the video is great. It was just great that everyone in our group did it and we all had so much fun.

We finished bunji jumping around 2 and headed to the state park to do a little hiking. We hiked the Otter Trail, which was a variation of walking on rocks next to the ocean and a nice trial (this is nothing like hiking Table Mountain). It took us about 35 minutes to hike out to were the water fall was.

The next morning we all went out for breakfast and then some went to the beach and 4 of us from Cape Town (including myself) and 2 from Kimberly went to this wildlife park, where you could pet baby lion cubs. It was actually really neat because you got to drive through and look at a lot of different animals. The landscape of this area is absolutely beautiful with all of the green trees and things. I loved it.

After that we parked the car and then walked around different fenced areas and saw tigers, a huge male lion and about 5 females. It was really amazing to see all of this, but also very sad at the same time. I loved being that close, but I also hated that the animals were not running, like they should. But as someone reminded me, these animals are bread and raised like this, so they are pretty use to the comforts their cages.

The other amazing thing about these female lions, was how they approached us. Even though these animals were raised in captivity, their natural instinct is still to hunt, and the way that they look at you, makes you feel as though you are being hunted. After this we went and saw little tiger cubs and then we got to play with the lion cubs.

The paws and toenails on these animals even as little babies are absolutely amazing. The little lions were 4 and 5 months old and they were pretty big. The people working there said that they were almost too old to be used as a tourist attraction. Also when we went it was close to their feeding time so there was a point when it got a little uncomfortable but the volunteers that worked there said that it would be fine. One of the lions named “riley” kept eating one of the guys crock sandals, it was so funny, it took two of the volunteers about 3 minutes to get the shoe away from the baby lion cub. Let just say, even as babies, these are some powerful animals.

After petting little baby lion cubs we met up with everyone else and watched this huge rugby game, even though I still don’t understand rugby, I LOVED the atmosphere. I am sure ya’ll know that I really miss American football and the excitement and cheer that goes into supporting a team. So it was really fun to be cheering for a team again.

Lastly, on Sunday we went down to the Indian Ocean for some people to go surfing. A few of the other interns and myself decided to go body surfing. Everyone that goes surfing here wears a wet suite, but I don’t think it is as cold as the Oregon Coast, so I was swimming in it in just a swim suit. One of the girls let me try her surf board, so I was out surfing for about 45 minutes in a swim suit. I was pretty cold when I got out. The first time I went surfing, I didn’t like it. It was raining, there were muscles all over the place so getting out was tough, and it was pretty rough so I really just tried not to drown. But this experience was amazing and the guys that were out surfing with me were trying to help me. I caught a couple of good waves, but didn’t ever stand up, maybe next time.

This weekend was really fun, and really busy. It was great!! We all had such a great time, and it was great to see where some of the other interns live. This week is going to be pretty busy and we are moving. So I now longer will live 2 minutes from the ocean, but we are leaving our friends the cockroaches behind, so for that I am thankful.

I love ya’ll

Sarah