Quick recap of my day

Get back from last night at midnight (even though we technically aren't supposed to be out after 6)
Try to figure out how to watch the draft (and fail)
Facebook chat 3 different people to find out who the Broncos picked
See Mitch run across BI in just boxers
Hear Mitch stub his toe when he's running back across BI without boxers
Sleep
Sleep in (second time in 3 months?)
Write a sermon for a church in a township
Hot shower
Watch first half of Freedom Writers
Take the train to Cape Town
Walk through the deserted streets on a Saturday afternoon and feel like I'm in Inception
Walk to the Waterfront
Plot out how to steal multiple boats
Bird poop. On my body. From the sky.
Visit an adventure center
watch street performers
Fego Lattes!
Walk through an expensive party at the Conservatory (expensive hotel) with rainbows, basketball shorts, and baseball T-shirt on; don't forget the bird poop.
Walked through the conservatory like we stayed there
Pretend we're rich in the Conservatory
Walk to the beach
Trespass onto giant concrete slabs momentarily, and talk about how great of a place it would be to smoke (before getting kicked off)
Walk to the World Cup Semi-final stadium
Almost trespass into the stadium (if only I had tekkies)
Try to bribe 5 different guards to get in (if we were dressed nicer, they would have totally let us in)
Get turned away by 5 guards who we tried to bribe
Walk unknowingly onto the field of the oldest rugby club in South Africa to ask a rugby player for directions
Walked into an expensive golf course, only to get ridiculous looks and eventually turned away
Talk about how to steal a vespa
Poop in the nicest bathroom I've been in, possibly ever, in the public bathroom at the Conservatory
Walk back to the train station to miss the train by 1 minute
Eat dinner at McDonalds
Catch the next train (the last one from Cape Town)
Talk to YWAM people on the train (From Florida, Kenya, Germany, Norway, and other places)
Talk to a high person speaking inaudibly on the train named Robin
Walk back with Pile (A BI student who was on the same train to Cape Town as us earlier)
Back to BI
now.
Packing, another shower, Definitely Maybe while writing a sermon, memorizing a sermon, giving and receiving massages, and snacking on Sunflower Seeds.
And it's the first day of summer.
Take that Sophomore year of College

Just a warning

I don't see myself posting too much in the next week. My blog is probably pretty much done, seeing as I don't see too much significant stuff happening in the next few weeks. I'll report on how I did at chapel tomorrow after I speak, and how Robben Island was, but nothing too big. I'll definitely close it out soon, but I'm pretty much done. How crazy is that!

4 23 11

The final two days in homestays. They’ve been quite enjoyable, and I’m definitely going to miss this place. Not to the point of tears, but I know that I’ve formed a bond with this family and everyone who spends time here in this house. I’m going to miss a lot of people, and that will be tough for me. It’s going to be weird to say goodbye tomorrow afternoon.

On the morning of Good Friday, we went to church. Matt and I were tired from staying up late the night before (I was up until 2) and the service was long. Xavier played drums, and he did great, and the preacher spoke about some emotional bullshit again. Literally, the entire sermon was stating a fact about Jesus’ crucifixion, and then telling me how I should feel about it. I hate people telling me how I should feel. After church, I went right back to bed and Matt did too. After I woke up, I worked on the message I’m giving in chapel on Monday a little bit, and worked on some homework. I finished another reflection paper, and am feeling really ahead of the game as far as homework goes. We spent all day watching movies and television shows and game shows (Japanese ones, to be exact) until a little after 8. Then Matt and I went with Nathan again to another stay in with the youth with Living Hope. It was fun, starting with us playing Kerrim (sp?) and then playing dominos. At around midnight, we had a stew-type thing, which wasn’t exceptional, but considering the only meal I had all day was fish (which I hate with a passion), I enjoyed it. Then we sat down and decided to watch a movie starting around midnight, so they brought a projector screen into the only room with hardwood floors, and everyone laid down to watch it. It was moderately crammed, but I could fully stretch out my legs so it was fine. We watched 5 or 6 episodes of Glee, which were from the first season so they really weren’t bad. After that, Nathan shut them off and said we should watch something that actually makes sense, so we did; we watched Paranormal Activity 2, followed by Paranormal Activity. They had watched the first one the night before, so they skipped the first half and went straight to the scary parts of that one, but I didn’t watch them at all. I listened a little, and looked up for a couple moments, but I really didn’t want to watch those movies (I don’t like scary movies in the first place, but I’ll make an exception if I’m with a group of people who decide to watch them. I can’t watch Paranormal Activity because 1. It’s not like any other movie where I believe whatever is happening is fake or extreme. I really believe in demons, and I think that movie is 100% realistic and believable. 2. I don’t want my perceptions of spiritual warfare to be influenced by Hollywood more than they already are). I rolled over to fall asleep, but it was difficult. From 4:30 to 7, I probably slept for an hour, but the whole time I was laying on a hardwood floor, with no padding underneath, and using my rainbows as a pillow. I was wearing my jacket but I was still cold, and I could only lay on my right side, so my shoulder is still killing me. But it was fun and hilarious and so worth it, for a wonderful night. At 7 everyone got up to clean up, and by 7:45 we walked back to our house and we slept.

I woke up again at 1, and headed downstairs. I worked on a project a little bit, and watched TV. I was starving from yesterday, but unfortunately I just had toast with cheese, an ear of corn, and coffee for brunch. We hung out until around 3, when we went to Brian’s house for his next door neighbor Logan’s birthday. We spent some time hanging around, then picked up Logan and Derek from the church. Everyone is switching their homestays, so the groups at homestays last week had to go home today, and the new groups are now in the homestays. But Matt and I are the only students hosted by our family, so we still have a place to stay, so we decided to stay an extra night. We knew that if we asked Quinton, he would say no, so we asked Reagen if we could stay an extra night to celebrate Easter and he said yes. While I don’t think we’re supposed to, we have permission to be here and enjoyed the rest of the evening at the party. After we got back, there was a little soccer, a little dominos, a little dancing, and a lot of meat. It was a wonderful brai party, and we stayed for 9 hours, just leaving at midnight. Now it’s officially Easter, and it’s weird. I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s been a wonderful week, and I’m so grateful to be allowed to stay here, but I definitely miss home. And it’s hard to know that the family is going to be spending time together in 24 hours, and I won’t be able to make it to that. I’m sure I’ll get to spend plenty of time there soon enough, but for now I miss it. And I’m trying not to count down the days until I get back, because I don’t want to miss out on my last two weeks here, but I’m definitely aware of the fact that there’s less than two weeks left. And I’m even more aware that there’s only one week of classes left. I like that part. 

4 21 11

The final two days in homestays. They’ve been quite enjoyable, and I’m definitely going to miss this place. Not to the point of tears, but I know that I’ve formed a bond with this family and everyone who spends time here in this house. I’m going to miss a lot of people, and that will be tough for me. It’s going to be weird to say goodbye tomorrow afternoon.

On the morning of Good Friday, we went to church. Matt and I were tired from staying up late the night before (I was up until 2) and the service was long. Xavier played drums, and he did great, and the preacher spoke about some emotional bullshit again. Literally, the entire sermon was stating a fact about Jesus’ crucifixion, and then telling me how I should feel about it. I hate people telling me how I should feel. After church, I went right back to bed and Matt did too. After I woke up, I worked on the message I’m giving in chapel on Monday a little bit, and worked on some homework. I finished another reflection paper, and am feeling really ahead of the game as far as homework goes. We spent all day watching movies and television shows and game shows (Japanese ones, to be exact) until a little after 8. Then Matt and I went with Nathan again to another stay in with the youth with Living Hope. It was fun, starting with us playing Kerrim (sp?) and then playing dominos. At around midnight, we had a stew-type thing, which wasn’t exceptional, but considering the only meal I had all day was fish (which I hate with a passion), I enjoyed it. Then we sat down and decided to watch a movie starting around midnight, so they brought a projector screen into the only room with hardwood floors, and everyone laid down to watch it. It was moderately crammed, but I could fully stretch out my legs so it was fine. We watched 5 or 6 episodes of Glee, which were from the first season so they really weren’t bad. After that, Nathan shut them off and said we should watch something that actually makes sense, so we did; we watched Paranormal Activity 2, followed by Paranormal Activity. They had watched the first one the night before, so they skipped the first half and went straight to the scary parts of that one, but I didn’t watch them at all. I listened a little, and looked up for a couple moments, but I really didn’t want to watch those movies (I don’t like scary movies in the first place, but I’ll make an exception if I’m with a group of people who decide to watch them. I can’t watch Paranormal Activity because 1. It’s not like any other movie where I believe whatever is happening is fake or extreme. I really believe in demons, and I think that movie is 100% realistic and believable. 2. I don’t want my perceptions of spiritual warfare to be influenced by Hollywood more than they already are). I rolled over to fall asleep, but it was difficult. From 4:30 to 7, I probably slept for an hour, but the whole time I was laying on a hardwood floor, with no padding underneath, and using my rainbows as a pillow. I was wearing my jacket but I was still cold, and I could only lay on my right side, so my shoulder is still killing me. But it was fun and hilarious and so worth it, for a wonderful night. At 7 everyone got up to clean up, and by 7:45 we walked back to our house and we slept.

I woke up again at 1, and headed downstairs. I worked on a project a little bit, and watched TV. I was starving from yesterday, but unfortunately I just had toast with cheese, an ear of corn, and coffee for brunch. We hung out until around 3, when we went to Brian’s house for his next door neighbor Logan’s birthday. We spent some time hanging around, then picked up Logan and Derek from the church. Everyone is switching their homestays, so the groups at homestays last week had to go home today, and the new groups are now in the homestays. But Matt and I are the only students hosted by our family, so we still have a place to stay, so we decided to stay an extra night. We knew that if we asked Quinton, he would say no, so we asked Reagen if we could stay an extra night to celebrate Easter and he said yes. While I don’t think we’re supposed to, we have permission to be here and enjoyed the rest of the evening at the party. After we got back, there was a little soccer, a little dominos, a little dancing, and a lot of meat. It was a wonderful brai party, and we stayed for 9 hours, just leaving at midnight. Now it’s officially Easter, and it’s weird. I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s been a wonderful week, and I’m so grateful to be allowed to stay here, but I definitely miss home. And it’s hard to know that the family is going to be spending time together in 24 hours, and I won’t be able to make it to that. I’m sure I’ll get to spend plenty of time there soon enough, but for now I miss it. And I’m trying not to count down the days until I get back, because I don’t want to miss out on my last two weeks here, but I’m definitely aware of the fact that there’s less than two weeks left. And I’m even more aware that there’s only one week of classes left. I like that part. 

4 19 11

Yesterday was relatively uneventful. We had our first class, which wasn’t anything substantial except basic syllabus information. I don’t foresee this class being any real work at all, except a one-page reflection every night. I’m going to be coasting on schoolwork through September, when reality will slap me in the face. My blogging takes more time than my homework. Good stuff.

After class, we played volleyball for a little. Then Zach and I went to Scooter’s Pizza and bought 1.5 litres of Sprite and chowed down on the beach. After that, we walked back and played volleyball all afternoon. After the clock struck 5:30, it was time to return to our homestays, and we just hung around all night. I wrote 3 papers catching up from before and read 20 pages in my homework book. All this time, I was watching “Seize the Day” and “7de Laan,” which are both South African soap operas. I’ve been watching them, and so have Mitch and Riley, and Reagan and John, so I’ve had the opportunity to talk to all of those people about it and it’s really funny. I also witnessed Matt getting dreadlocks, which was exciting for him. They look great.

This morning, I knew it was going to be a rough day. I was in a funk from the beginning and didn’t really feel like being with people (which is difficult when you have to spend time with people). I slept up until my alarm went off for the first time in weeks. The bus ride was spent arguing about the lyrics to “Human” by the Killers (I won, of course. It’s “dancer”). Then we went for a tour through a township. It’s always a weird feeling going on tours through the townships, because I feel like I’m viewing their suffering as one would at a zoo or something. Drive through the township, look, take pictures, and maybe say hello, but don’t help anyone. Tell your friends about it, show them the pictures, and leave, while these people are stuck in their situations. Our guide was named Siphiwe, and he explained that people were much happier in this environment than they were before, because they used to not even be acknowledged. Now, there’s no way for them to believe they’re being ignored because they have people coming from all over just to see them. There were rooms they showed us that were formerly hostels for the male workers. While their families couldn’t live with them, they lived 16 to a 6 bedroom living area, with one communal room and the 16 beds spread among the 6 rooms. Then their families moved in, so now families of around 5 are living in this 6 bedroom house. 16 of them. And this is happening throughout the township. Some leave the hostel to live in shacks on the roadside, because they prefer the poorer living quarters and more privacy. I also discovered there are people who gain lots of money, but choose to build houses in the township because they want the houses and privacy, but also want to experience the community available in the townships.

For lunch we went to Mlozi, which was a brai place. It was similar to the other one we went to for Walk in the Light, but the meat wasn’t as good; while others were very impressed with it, I thought it was just good. After lunch we went back to BI and grabbed ice cream. Right next to ice cream is a wonderful little book store, and I think I’ll be spending time in there next week. It great! After ice cream, I played soccer with some of the guys from BI: Siph, Marne, Jesus, Elliot, Justin, and some other guys. It’s great how soccer and other sports make such an easy connection between people; I feel like I’ve met so many people just from playing sports with them. I’m looking forward to living there for a week so I can get to know some of the guys better. I’ll refrain from saying something about how (1) some people who were playing with us were pissing me off when they would launch shots at our goalie in our pick-up soccer game, and (2) the other team was selfish, because they only had one APU player, while my team had 4 APU players and we played a very team-first game.

After that, we headed back to homestays and hung out. Matt and I wrote a paper real quick, and got that taken care of right after dinner. We did it while watching “Seize the Day” and “7de Laan” again. After dinner, we drove to the mall to watch a movie. Water for Elephants was a wonderful movie, and despite Twilight, Robert Pattinson’s performance in that movie caused me to have respect for him. I read the book this semester in preparation for the movie, and the book was so much better. They left out a lot in the movie, and didn’t include character development in any characters except the two main characters. Slightly disappointing, but I still enjoyed it.

After the movie, Matt and I met a couple people from a program right across from the mall where people learn how to plant a church for 3 months in South Africa, and then go to another country in Africa for 2 months to plant churches. They went to the same movie as us, and they knew Thelma, so Thelma introduced us. She got distracted quickly after introducing us to Toby and Valentine. We also met Anita, Melissa, Titus, and Jonathon (I’m typing these names so I can remember them later). Valentine was from Switzerland, and after we told Toby where we came from, we found out he’s from Pasadena. He went to a school right next to Maranatha, which is basically a feeder school into APU, and he knew some of the kids I knew, like Eric Adams. And he said the name Bollenbocher sounded familiar to him. It’s just really funny, because I would never think I would meet someone in AZ from Pasadena who knew anyone from school, let alone South Africa. I can’t explain how exciting it was to talk to him, because after we talked about that real quick, I found out he’s been gone since December, and he’ll be gone until Mid-July. He seemed like a really cool guy, and I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s doing. He’s off to Malawi in less than a week, so that’s something I’ll be keeping in my prayers for sure.

After the movie we headed back, and Matt and I went straight to our room. He’s finishing catching up on homework, and I’ve been blogging. We were distracted for a little bit because Xavier came in and was delaying going to bed for a little. He came in an hour after his bed time (from the movie) and stayed in our room (really his room normally) for half an hour. We started out by talking about soccer, and then he challenged me in a wrestling game on PS2. After that, he played Matt in chess. When I type it, I realize how insignificant and inconsequential the interaction was, but it really felt like he was a little brother for a little bit, and it was really fun. I can pretend, right? And we finally sent him off to bed at 11, with a date planned tomorrow: me beating him in wrestling, Matt beating him in chess, and him beating me in cards (he’s already done that multiple times. He’s quick at speed). It’s fun to have a relationship with a younger kid. He’s a very enjoyable one. 

4 17 11

Nothing like Sunday in a Coloured South African Township.

This morning, we woke up after one of the most restful nights of sleep in recent memory. Waking up was not problem, and breakfast was cereal. Then we drove around the corner and walked into church 10 minutes late (This Is Africa). Worship was already going strong, and I saw Mitch and Riley in the congregation. After shaking their hands, I engaged in worship. Church was great, but not really my type. I love it when churches are very expressive, and people seem like they want to be there during church, but the worship went for 40 minutes (plus more time before we got there) and they only sang 3 songs. And all the songs they sang were choruses only, no verses. So it was repetitive, but enjoyable. The speaker sort of got on my nerves.

It wasn’t bad enough that he talked for 45 minutes, but he didn’t make any points when he was talking. His main point was that we should turn our disappointments into an appointment with God, which he took us through step-by-step but I don’t recall how. I think I didn’t respond well to this sermon because of personal reasons. I have difficulty dealing with people who try to play on emotions, and I felt like this sermon was completely devoid of any intellectual reason for anything. Therefore it was completely an emotional appeal, and I’ve learned to shut off my emotions when people try to appeal to them because emotions are so easy to manipulate. I would much rather have someone present me the facts and allow me to make my own conclusion than tell me how I should feel and why. And that’s a personal issue, but I didn’t enjoy the service today as much as I could have for that reason specifically.

Xavier played drums today. He’s the 9 year old child of Thelma and Lantor, and he’s been playing drums for 2 months. He played today and he did great, and it was the first time he’s ever played at church! It was great and he’s a stud, and I really enjoyed it.

After church we stopped by the apartment, and then we drove over to Brian and Tanya’s house. They’re Logan and Derek’s homestay parents, who are close with Thelma and Lantor. Nathan was there too, the guy who Matt and I talked to last night. His wife was there, and so was Chesland and his wife. All their kids were also there, which made for quite to compilation of people. The kids loved me and Matt, and spent plenty of time climbing all over us. For lunch at around 3 we had chicken with rice and potatoes, and they were so delicious! After that I went and took a nap in one of the bedrooms, and when I woke up and stepped out, Matt was playing dominos with 3 other people. We enjoyed that for a little, and then I ended up being drawn outside by Xavier. We played soccer for a little bit, until we went inside for pudding. Xavier, Matthew (a different Matthew), and I all walked to a nearby store to pick up a couple of 2 litre bottles of soda, and walked back, and that was cool to walk through the township at night. When I got back, we sat for a little longer, then we drove back to Thelma and Lantor’s place. When we got back, we watched Tshabalala, which was a South African comedy similar to Borat, but funnier because South African people are regularly more expressive than Americans. We sat around and talked and watched that movie, and now Matt and I are in bed again. We have survived a weekend of living in the township, and not only did we survive, but it was very enjoyable. Tomorrow morning we have our first day of class, so we’ll see how that goes.

4 16 11

Today was crazy! In South Africa, I’m getting a totally different experience from most of the other people around the world who are studying abroad: working at service sites, not being allowed to drink, and not using any public transport systems. I’ve enjoyed this semester so much up to this point, and wouldn’t trade any of it away, but there’s days like today which make me feel like I’m studying abroad.

This morning, I woke up to my watch alarm at 8 in my too-small bed. I woke up Matt, and we walked downstairs to a breakfast prepared by Thelma that was already prepared. After breakfast, we walked out to a point where we saw the bus driving away from the meeting point. I started freaking out, because we were only a couple minutes late, but they were just making a u-turn after just arriving, and we weren’t late. So we hugged Thelma goodbye, and we got on the bus for our first day of school (or that’s what it felt like).

We drove to Table Mountain, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I was so excited to hike it, but it was really windy. They “advised” us not to hike, and a group of 15+ people was ready to hike the mountain, until one of the leaders said we weren’t allowed to hike it. Technically, they told us they didn’t feel comfortable with us hiking the mountain, and that we were driving somewhere else. Everyone who was set on climbing the mountain was frustrated (some people have felt stifled by the semester, with no transportation and so many rules). They drove us to downtown Cape Town, right down the mountain, dropped us off, and expected us to walk around the area shopping and such.

Some of us were feeling defiant, some of us motivated, and some of us adventurous, so we hatched a plan. As soon as we got off the bus, 8 of us walked over to the taxi station and took a taxi to the base of Table Mountain. We then proceeded to have a photoshoot on top of the most beautiful place I have ever seen (or at least top 3) and enjoyed the view looking out in every direction. After that, we hiked down and tried to hitchhike back. There wasn’t anyone with room, so we took a taxi to the train station. We grabbed fish and chips at a restaurant right next to the train station, and brought that on the train we took to the Bible Institute. On the train I talked to one guy at the end who was curious as to where we were from, and had a friend who had emigrated from South Africa to Carlsbad a couple years ago. Shelli and I were the ones who found the right stop, and helped 12 or so other students get off (along with the 8 of us). We walked back to the Bible Institute of South Africa after that, which was right down the road, and hung out there for a couple minutes. Some of the guys from the BI started a game of pick-up rugby, so I joined with Tyler and Logan and Zach for a couple minutes. I had to leave shortly, but not after I realized that I love everything about touch rugby. We drove back to the homestay, and Matt and I talked to Lanthu (?) and another man for a couple of hours. The guy was really cool: he knows a lot about soccer, has a developed view of the Bible, wants to be a Bible student, is very articulate, works for multiple ministries in the area, and is a funny and relational man. I wish I remembered his name or the name of the ministry he works for, because it was really interesting, but we had some great conversation. We talked a lot about America, because he’s been to New Jersey for a summer camp for a couple months. We watched the ManU Man City game, and ManU lost (thank the Lord!). And now, it’s 10 in the evening and Matt is snoring up a storm right above me while I finish my blog and head into some reflection time in my day.

Thought of the day: Living in direct violation of an authority figure’s wishes, but never actually violating instructions, bartering a taxi so well the driver is grumpy with you the entire drive, hiking a mountain quickly, enjoying the mix in the view of houses, mountain, beaches and ocean, taking bare-ass pictures with fellow men, the most epic bro-hug of the decade (at least, possibly the millennium), hiking down even faster, trying to hitchhike, taking another taxi for twice the price because you lost all leverage of running to the taxi’s competition, getting a burger made with just a bun, fries and barbecue sauce, taking a train, saving people from overshooting the exit, striking up random conversation with people around you in the train, or in other places, walking from the train station to your dorm, and playing touch rugby with some college students are all ways to feel like you’re studying abroad. Do it with a beard and in a trucker hat, and you will feel as collegey as can be. Today was a truly great day.

4 15 11

So much has happened today!

We spent some time in Cape Town lately. There’s not too much to talk about. We drove in on Wednesday, hung out all evening, and stayed in a hotel. The next day we went on a walking tour (think scavenger hunt) in 5 groups and enjoyed a wonderful lunch on the waterfront. After that we hung out in the hotel for the evening and spent time together. This morning we woke up and drove out to the Bible Institute. It’s beautiful! The campus isn’t incredible, but the location is so great. The beach is right down the hill, and walking down a road goes to downtown Fish Hoek. The beach is wonderful, and there’s a tide pool area; there’s a pool filled with sea water, where the waves regularly fill up and roll up to. Pictures soon, don’t worry. After we arrived we walked around for 5 hours, and headed off to dinner. At dinner, Matt and I met our homestay family. Their names are Thelma and Le-something, and they are hilarious. The first Afrikaans term I learned tonight was a term for a gay, and then I learned the Afrikaan words for penis, vagina, and motherfucker. And while I’m having difficulty remembering “good day,” I’m having no trouble at all remembering the others.

My family is hilarious and fun to hang out with. Matt and I talked to them for 4 hours after dinner, just sitting and talking with the TV on. Logan and Derek’s homestay family came over as well, and their names are Blair and Brian (or something close. I’m so bad with names!). We sat around and talked about nothing. I learned that Thelma doesn’t think as highly of Mandela as everyone else here does, and she appreciates F.W. De Clerk for what he did even more. (He’s the one who released Mandela from prison, and began to allow Apartheid to crumble). When they found out I was a youth ministry major, they started calling me pastor, and when they found out I’m a Biblical Studies major, they began to ask me questions about that stuff. One of the subjects they started asking about was tithing and firstfruits. I told them that I think the important part about tithing is the principle, and the idea of giving everything to God. Apparently, the church that they go to here has all the money from offering go directly to the pastor. That’s frustrating to me, because the church is supposed to be doing God’s work and they aren’t because they’re using all the money on themselves. So that’s where I started to get frustrated. Then they told me about how they used to try to get creative with their 10% tithe, but the church told them they couldn’t feed the people who need food; apparently only the church can do that. But the church isn’t doing that, and some people are going hungry out there. The church has no monopoly on giving; the church doesn’t even have a hand in giving. They don’t have a monopoly on giving, but they try to dictate who can and can’t give directly to the poor.

It’s frustrating to me because they want to take what their pastor says as law. They think that it’s going against God to go against their pastor. It may be my cultural background, or the protestant churches, but I think that the pastor needs to be doing his job or the church won’t be effective. They didn’t seem to agree with me, but it’s so hard to see how much influence this man has on these people’s lives. I’m going to be a youth pastor soon. I study the Bible. They allow me much more influence than I deserve up to this point. I’m scared that they’re putting more emphasis on what a man says rather than what the Bible says, but I don’t know them or the culture well enough to do something about it. And I don’t know if I’ll be in a place in a week where I can tell them how I feel.

Homestays are great. It really does feel like I’m in a place I can consider home. I’m upstairs after spending an evening talking to my family with the tv on. We had the door open but the screen door closed, to keep out the unwanted. I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, and now am sitting on my lower bunk with my little brother right above me, already sound asleep.

And as much as it feels like home, it’s not something I’m used to. I’m upstairs after spending an evening with a colored family and black family teaching me swear words in a different language, watching rugby highlights. The door was open to let in the breeze, but the screen door that was closed was actually just bars over the door, to keep out unwanted intruders rather than bugs. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom that’s the farthest possible room in the flat from my room. I’m sitting in my bed, unable to sit up because the bed is too small, with my feet hanging over the edge, and my little brother snoring at an incredible volume above me. While this could be home, it still feels foreign to me. Someday, it may feel normal.

I think this homestay family would be willing to have me come back. That’s an awesome feeling. It’s interesting to be living in a township now. This is the type of place that I’ve been helping lately; it’s the area that needs my help because of their finances, and I can ride in on my white steed to save the day before I retreat back to AE. And now, I come to live here for a week with a family. I’m not the savior anymore, and I don’t know how I’ll respond. These people are going to give me a taste of the lifestyle of the people I just helped. And I don’t know what to expect. 

4 12 11

Today was a great day. The afternoon wasn’t so great, because the first thing we did was caving and the second thing we did was zoo-ish things. Caving sounds intense, but really wasn’t at all, and zoos aren’t as great after you’ve been on a safari. It was a “wow, I remember when I saw that animal in the wild” experience,” so it wasn’t exactly the most exciting. After that this afternoon, we came back and had dinner. After dinner we walked to the beach (about a half hour walk) and hung out on the beach. We were there for an hour and fifteen minutes, just sitting around and talking before we headed right back up to Carmel. Logan and I took our time, and had some great conversation. That was the best conversation I’ve had with anyone in quite some time, and I definitely enjoyed it all. It was an evening of great conversations, with quality conversation at dinner, a great conversation on the way to the beach, good discussion at the beach, and the king of all conversations on the way back. Working in philosophical, psychological, theological, and so many more elements into this conversation, it was definitely something I’ve been craving lately. But that’s it for the day, and tomorrow we’re in Cape Town! End of our spring break, and a couple days of rest in Cape Town before the beginning of the final course in South Africa.

4 11 11

Travel week

There’s been a mix of feelings, but I only have so long before dinner, so I’m going to have to make this quick.

Saturday, early morning, we left AE for the last time this semester. It was mixed feelings, eager to move on and upset to leave the place I’ve learned so much at. We left at 7 in the morning, and traveled for 6 hours before lunch. We had lunch, then traveled another three hours before we finally arrived in Gonubie, and stayed in a place right on the beach. It was incredible, beautiful, and indescribable, and we enjoyed every second of it. We played soccer on the beach with the hour or so of light we had left, and then came back for dinner. After dinner, some of us went right back to the beach to smoke pipes and just spend time together. That was followed by bed time.

Breakfast the next morning was early. Like it always is. We left at 8, and drove for a long time until we reached our hotel in Port Elizabeth around 1 or 2. We had lunch and played soccer for 2 hours in the backyard, and headed down to the beach. Another dip in the nice cool ocean water, and then walking around on the beachfront brought that day to a close.

Today was bungy jumping day. Heights scare the hell out of me, so that’s what I had to deal with. We woke up and drove straight to FACE Adrenalin’s bungy jump, a 216m (over 700 foot) drop from a bridge, over a canyon that leads out to an ocean through the fog. It was beautiful. We jumped for 4 hours or so, and left after everyone had a turn. We drove and now we’re at Carmel by the beach, which is a beautiful place similar to AE. The views are indescribable, and I can’t wait to be able to put up some of the pictures. Dinner is in 5 minutes, and the evening will be hanging out again. Tomorrow will be headlined by soccer on the beach and adventuring through caves, and I think we arrive in Cape Town the day after that.

Bungy jumping was ridiculous. Being scared of heights didn’t help at all. The bridge on the way out (metal grating underneath the bridge that cars drive on) was safe but gave a little with every step taken, and it made me feel like I was going to fall through. After I finally made it out there, I watched 13 of my friends jump off a bridge before I finally got my chance. There was music blaring, and everyone was dancing to avoid showing how nervous they were. They tied up my feet, and I stepped to the edge, with my toes hanging off. They gave me a countdown, and knowing they would push me if I didn’t jump, I had to go for it. The first three seconds were the “oh shit” seconds, and time literally felt like it slowed down. I’m not being figurative here, and I’m not using literally liberally. The thing that stuck out most to me was how long it felt like I was falling for. As I’m typing it out, I’m reliving it and the feeling is returning. The blood is rushing to my head, and I feel like I’m upside down. They pulled me back up, and I was scared out of my mind. I’m a very reserved person emotionally, so when I got back up and wasn’t yelling, everyone thought I was the most calm and collected person there. I definitely wasn’t, but I’m not one to tell people that, so I just let them think it. Bonus points for Mackenzie.

There’s been a couple of other things on my mind lately. The only thing I really feel like sharing at the moment is how disgusted I am with South Africa at the moment. I was excited about the World Cup this summer, and really enjoyed watching it. I’ve enjoyed seeing the places the games were played, and some of the things that the country did with the money made it look really nice. The problem that I have is two-fold. First of all, the money that South Africa had for the World Cup was focused on making the areas the games were being played in look nicer. While I understand that it would have been difficult to use money from the World Cup and for the World Cup in an area that is not seen by the spectators at the World Cup, it still doesn’t sit right with me that millions of dollars were spent on sprucing up some wealthy areas of the country while there’s poverty in Haniville and 90% of the rest of the country.

The other problem I have is the main one that’s getting at me right now. The money didn’t simply go to sprucing up the nice areas, but there was money spent on hiding the poverty. The second that South Africa begins to show embarrassment about the poor community is the second that I begin to lose faith in South Africa. Covering up the poverty by building things around the slums isn’t helping anyone. We were driving through a nice area of town, came around a corner and saw a dump that had plenty of shacks and “houses” surrounding it, and went around another corner and couldn’t see it anymore. The countryside is dotted with these places, but there are people who came to South Africa for the World Cup, and they might have missed this major aspect of South Africa. All because the South African government was too embarrassed by their poor. That’s so frustrating to me,  that someone is willing to hide people. People who need help. It’s frustrating to see the government of a country I’ve come to love acting in a way detrimental to the people of that country, and I’m starting to feel betrayed by this. It’s weird, but it really does hurt. 

Let the onslaught begin!

I had a week of experiences without internet. But have no fear! I blogged on a word document, and now I have 5 posts from the past week. I went from Pietermaritzburg to Gonubie to Port Elizabeth to Carmel to Cape Town. From a resort in the mountains to a beach hotel, beach resort, Hotel in the vacation capital of South Africa, one of the top Bible colleges in South Africa, and a two story flat in a township. And I have all of them on my computer.

Location, Location, Location

It's amazing how easy it is to adapt to new places. I've talked to other people, so I know it's not just me, but I feel like I'm in a constant state of change at this point in my life. After 4 months at APU freshman year, it was another month at home and 4 months at APU again. Then it was 3 months at home, 4 at APU, one at home, and now 3 and a half in South Africa. And each and every place is one that I would consider my home. When I lived in room 126 in Trinity, I was at home. When I lived in the house I grew up in, I was at home. When I lived in K8, I was at home. Now, living in room 7C at African Enterprise in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, I'm at home.
This isn't to take anything away from any of the places I've lived or the people I've lived with. I don't devalue the house I live in when I'm at Phoenix because I lived in K court for a semester. I just become accustomed to places so easily, and I can call them home. And I've reached that point with AE.
I've been here for over 10 weeks now. I arrived on a Friday, went through 6 weeks of intensive classes, 4 weeks of working 8 hours a day at a service site, and a week to relax and spend time in a traditional Zulu homestead and on a safari. Tomorrow will be 11 weeks at this campus. And tomorrow will be the last full day on this campus.
With all this moving around, I've become great at assimilating. I don't feel lost in the first couple of days of getting to know a location, and I can pick it up right away. I feel at home after no time at all. One week into the time here felt like we had been here forever, but the next 10 weeks just flew by. It's remarkable how I became so comfortable so quickly, and that time is already gone. One of the things I haven't gotten used to is saying goodbye. It hasn't even been 3 months, and I've already grown so attached to this place. I'm not an outwardly emotional person, and I realize how ridiculous it is to feel sadness at leaving a location, but I do. I'm going to miss this place so much.
I've gone through so much here, and I've learned so much. I've grown in relationships, learned about myself, and seen things I had never seen before. I processed time from my service site, learned more about people around me, and played so many games of soccer. So many games of soccer. And I'm going to miss the hell out of this place that I will always associate with these experiences.
Side note: People have had weddings here at AE. When we tell people in the Maritzburg area that we're staying at AE and we're students who are studying abroad, they are surprised. AE is a beautiful place, and we have been so blessed to stay here for the semester.
But I'm going to miss this place. When I think of South Africa, I'm not going to think of a safari, or Cape Town, or bungy jumping or anything like that. I'm going to think back to service sites and AE and the fun times I had with my friends. And leaving this is closing a chapter of my life that I'll never get to reopen again.
I've grown attached to how I live my life here, and I love it. I wish I could live my life here for a while because I know that my time in South Africa is coming to a close. I'm now closing the chapter of my life that is the best part of my time in South Africa, and this is a big deal. I've been looking forward to this semester for 2 years, since before I ever got to APU, and now it's ending. There's still plenty of time, and plenty of fun things to do, but after we leave tomorrow I don't know if I'll ever be back in Pietermaritzburg. Ever again. Ever is a long time, and I really hope I get the opportunity to return, but I don't know. I can't predict the future and I don't currently have any plans for my return. Ever. Ever is a long time, and I hope I can return to see some of the people I've met, but tomorrow will be a day for goodbyes. And I don't do well with goodbyes.
So now I'm done. Another 3 month chunk of my life is complete, so I'm off to start another one month chunk. So I can start a 3 month chunk. So I can live in another 1 month chunk followed by a 4 monther. This is the way I live my life. But what can you do? I know that for those chunks, I'll be spending time with people I love. And it's surprising how much time there really is in a month. So I won't look at this situation as "only one month before change." I'll look at it as "a great travel week and 3 more weeks growing with the people I've been growing with this whole semester." Besides, I've grown comfortable here. Not that comfort is a bad thing at all, but comfort always affects me negatively. Maybe someday I'll be comfortable and it will be a good thing, but despite my aversion to change, it's necessary. I need to start over in a place that I'm not in right now to correct some of the bad habits I've picked up lately.
So it's now time. Leaving another place I've come to know as home and transplanting myself to a new place in a new city in a country I still am new to and don't fully understand.
So it goes.

Zulus and Safaris!

Sorry about the delay. Writing hasn’t been as much of a priority after service sites, because service sites were the high point of the semester. They were the times that I wanted to remember more than anything else, so that’s when I blogged every day. Nothing seems quite so exciting anymore, and I don’t know how much internet access I’ll have after Saturday, so no promises on the regularity of posts. But as for now, let me recap the past 5 days.

Saturday I got to sleep in. That was a wonderful experience, except for the fact that I can’t sleep in. I stayed up until 2, but I still woke up at 8 because I’ve trained my body to do that. Breakfast was wonderful, and after breakfast I read my Bible and packed a little. After first tea time, we were going to play soccer but pretty much everyone was asleep still, so instead of playing 2 on 2, we played Quelf. It was enjoyable game of Quelf, and we played until we left after lunch at 1.

Saturday was the Zulu experience. We went to a village structured after a traditional Zulu village and stayed there for the night. The first thing we did was stand around as a man (A white man, ironically enough) explained to us different aspects of the Zulu culture. After a couple of minutes, we went inside as the rain picked up and he talked some more. The stuff he said was interesting, but he was a sort of dull man. After that we took a break, where about 15 of us went down to a lake right down a trail. The mud at the bank was deep and great to walk in, but that tempted me to go swimming even though I didn’t have a swimsuit. While 2 people went in wearing their swimsuits, I went in with John in our boxers because we couldn’t resist. It was surprisingly warm and enjoyable for 15 or 20 minutes until we came back to the village in our underwear. After that, we hung out, then enjoyed dinner together. Dinner was a wonderful meal of Zulu bread and steak, followed by beans, chicken, grits-like material, and 3 or 4 other things I don’t recall. The Zulu beer wasn’t very good at all. One of the best meals from South Africa, and the best traditional South African meal by far. Dinner was followed by dancing, where we watched traditional Zulu dances and tried our own hand, and conversation and early bedtime, because there was no electricity.

We woke up at 8 and had breakfast. Traditional Zulu cornflakes, straight out of the cereal box. We took a tour of the village the workers are living in and saw some of those things, and killed the rest of the time making traditional Zulu pots and beaded bracelets. We left to come back to AE and rest up after that. Resting up was a 2 hour nap, with intermittent reading. After that was dinner, and after dinner was Big Fish. Incredible movie, and it was great to watch again. Love it. After that was another late night, and I stayed up until 3 because I couldn’t sleep and was busy doing nothing. Wake up at 7 killed me, and we went to the safari.

Safaris are interesting things; there’s a fine line between taking a 4 hour drive to get somewhere, and taking a 4 hour drive looking for animals that aren’t out. It was a very rainy trip, and we were on safari or having breakfast or lunch for 24 hours in a 48 hour period. We arrived at 12:30, and were safari-ing until 6. After that journey we hung out, had dinner, and slept. The next morning we were awake at 5:30 and out by 6, and we stayed out until 6. Same plan for the evening, and woke up at 5:30 the next morning. We drove out, and were exiting the game park at 10:30. Unfortunately, we had to wait for 2 hours for the buses that were taking us back to arrive. After they arrived, we got to take the 4 hour drive home.

It was a pretty fun safari. I got to sit with plenty of people and enjoyed the company. We saw so many impala and wildebeest, so that was great. We also saw over a dozen rhino and probably more giraffes, which was pretty good. We saw some water buffalo, and an elephant, so we saw 3 of the Big 5. The elephant that we saw charged another one of our group’s jeeps, but I’ve already experienced that so it wasn’t even cool when it happened to them. One of the jeeps saw a lion, and another saw a leopard, but I didn’t see either. I was more focused on enjoying the drive and spending time with people, and I got plenty of quality thinking time in, so that was enjoyable. It was a fun safari, but we didn’t see too much because of the poor weather (it rained or was cloudy all of the first 2 days). I would have enjoyed staying at AE with nothing to do. There was one point where we (the guys) were sitting on the porch of the place we’re staying and we were talking, while a hyena walked by. It was pretty close so we started taunting it, and it turned and looked at us for about 15 seconds. After that, it turned back around and kept walking. It was so awesome and manly, and one of the highlights of my trip.

After we got back, I cleaned the room and had dinner. We enjoyed a movie after dinner, except for the fact that it was Due Date, and all around not a very good movie. The company was enjoyable though, so that made the movie better. And I’m finally going to bed to get some rest after 2 straight 5:30 wakeups following 4 hours of sleep. Hopefully I get some good rest tonight and do something crazy I can blog about tomorrow. Goodnight!

Beginning of the End (It's Never Easy to Say Goodbye)

Today was a day full of class. Despite the fact that we had class all day, I really enjoyed it, because today was the day of presentations. Literally all class, we either presented or listened to presentations to hear about what people were doing at the service sites. It was great to hear all of these things, and encouraging and moving and emotional. I loved it, and was grateful for the opportunity to tell people about my site and hear about other sites.

After we were released at 3, we scattered. We were finally done, with just one class left and nothing until Cape Town. Freedom for a little while. It’s weird being done, but I’m not at that point yet and I don’t want to give away anything. At 4, 7 of the people who had been at Walk in the Light returned to do a program for the Senior Youth. We did it because we had grown so close to them and have so much respect for them. At first, I was questioning why I was going and didn’t really want to be there, but when we got there and started playing games, everything was perfect.

The first game was ninja, which is the one where you have to slap others’ hands. It was fun and enjoyable. After that was a game of screaming ninja, where you basically just yell and make fun/funny noises while you play. It was an icebreaker that definitely got the youth out there and going.

After the icebreaker, because apparently everyone forgot what we planned on talking about, I singlehandedly taught a lesson. It was really quick, and we basically encouraged them despite their youth and read 1 Timothy 4:12, but I was really the only one who said anything substantial and talked real quick. I told them how much we respected them and how great we thought the things they were doing are. We asked if they needed prayer for anything, and after a couple of hesitant prayer requests, we prayed. I asked for prayer to always remember what we have learned at the service sites, and the other requests were that an upcoming camp goes well, humility for the members of the church, and spirituality. It was a great prayer followed by Alfred, the leader whose house we built, talking for a little. He thanked us, and talked to us for a little bit. His message was basically that we are to preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words. He said that we have been doing a great job of that, and have preached a gospel to his mother (Maybis) that he couldn’t ever preach. He also said that the way we can come in and do work the way we did, we can touch the life of a child whose father died three years ago and they just need love (Alfred’s dad died 3 years ago. This was the only point this semester that I have been so close to tears). When he told us that what we were doing was the real way to love, I was totally touched, and he prayed a prayer of thanks for us before we left. I love having people pray over me, especially when they’re people who I don’t know. I have no idea why I love it so much, but I think it’s a wonderful gift that they are giving to me and I’m so thankful for it! After that we said goodbye, and I got to see Spay one last time. I said goodbye to Baby J and Tash, along with Alfred, and when Snash went for a handshake and I countered with the hug, he gave me a long hug. I’m really going to miss these guys, even though I have barely known them. It was hard to drive away, but I’m so grateful that I went to this place.

We came back in time for dinner, and I received a package and a letter! I’m so grateful for these, especially the Oreos in the package. Those will be gone shortly.

Another rebellious thing coming up. Mom, don’t read. After dinner, Shelli and I climbed on the roof of a building on campus and smoked a pipe together and talked. It was good to talk to her again, because despite the time we’ve been hanging out together, it’s been difficult to get deep conversation or any real information about the service sites. It was great to catch up a little bit. After that, we all walked to grab something to eat, and then came back. I’ve been blogging since I got back, and I’m about to go to bed. Tomorrow should be a crazy day, with soccer in the morning, and half of us leaving after lunch for a Zulu experience thing. When I find out what it is, I’ll be sure to let you know in my blog. For now, I’m still in the dark on it.

Today was a great conclusion to service sites. I loved every day of it and I’m going to miss it, but this was a great place to end it. I’m going to miss all the people, but I’m grateful for every second I got to spend with them, even Spay. This is the beginning of the conclusion now. We have a week of safaris and other similar experiences, and after that we’re in our concluding, debriefing period in Cape Town. We’re leaving in just over 7 days. This semester has just flown by.