I love reading. A lot. Sadly, this year, I don’t feel like I’ve read much at all. Well, I’ve started a bunch…but rarely get around to finishing them. But tonight I did read a book in one sitting, and then finished one I started in the car yesterday and then started a third (I know! I feel quite accomplished…).

Here’s a quote from one of the books that really stuck out to me. 

Don’t mistake the simple for the unsophisticated.

So true! I get so caught up in keeping up with stuff sometimes that I forget how simple is often better. I clutter my life with things that are “sophisticated” or “up-to-date” without realizing that all it is, is just clutter.

8 days, 30+ hours in a car, penguin sitings, sand dune jumps, too close for comfort baboon run-ins and breathtaking beaches later I’m back in Harrismith for a few days. 

Cape Town was, as expected, amazing. It’s such a cool city.

I’ll post pictures tomorrow. 

But, right now I’m tired. I have email to respond to and phone calls to make. Especially because in just a few days, I’ll be off again…this time with friends from the States (part of our travel plans are to head to Zimbabwe for a couple days, I checked just now and there are no additional travel warnings–not that I think that would really stop us– but it looks like we’re in the clear).

But, for now, I think I’ll go to bed. The internet is being slow. My eyes are tired and my ankles and feet swollen from a long day of sitting (um, I know! so ridiculous…it makes me feel so old!). 

see you on the flip side!

done.//

Normally I wouldn’t post twice in one day…but this was too good to wait until after Cape Town. Enjoy!

The coaches (Basotho young-adults who teach our AIDS Prevention classes in local schools) were here on Sunday to begin a few days of training. It was great to spend an afternoon with them: playing soccer and watching a movie, followed by dinner and a bonfire.

But, the highlight of my night was during the group photo.

We did a normal photo, a serious photo, a silly photo and suddenly Crystal yells, “show your motswele.” 

Laughter erupted. 

She turned red.

She meant “mosepha” (spelling??), which means muscles.

She said “motswele” which is boobs.

My friend told a group of 25 people to show their boobs to the camera. 

Sigh. 

I’m laughing out loud as I write this. Throughout the rest of the evening, all someone had to say was “mostwele” for everyone to erupt into laughter once again. 

I love awkward moments!

One of the kids my mom works with at school sent me a Flat Stanley. On Friday at Hope House, three of my friends (Lucky, Bafana and Morgan), dressed him and then we took some photos of their Flat Stanley and the kids. I’ll take some more photos around the base this weekend and then send it off to Angel in Iowa next week.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Hope House. The boys loved it, especially when I explained that Angel was about their age and I was sending it back to school kids in America to learn about South Africa.

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Today was LaunchPad graduations. An afternoon full of certificates, photos, snacks and teary goodbyes. 

We got feedback forms and kids came up and talked about how the class has impacted them. It was awesome to hear how much they’ve grown over the past couple of months. 

So, we’re taking group photos today and saying “cheese” and the kids start yelling “Obama” instead. Um, what?! I was so confused. How do high school kids in Qwa Qwa already know the election results? 

I asked my friend David about it. He said it’s was all over the radio this morning, and the election has been the big news for the past month. Makes sense I suppose. So, I asked him why he thought that everyone was so excited. 

His answer surprised me. He said it was because they never thought Americans would elect a black president. And that it just shows that racism isn’t as bad as he thought it was. We discussed it for a little bit and then talked about South African politics some [they vote for parties, and the parties pick the candidate--I was trying to understand the process]. 

Hmm. The whole conversation was really interesting to me. It’s crazy how the election in America can change the worldview of kids here. 

done.//

Again, so much for this being a Monday thing. But, here again, are five good things for Tuesday…

1) I think I voted and I’m pretty excited about it [I sent it in, but there were so problems, so hopefully it gets counted!!]. Four years ago, my voter registration was lost (not so surprising consider the Florida voting record…).  

2) Speaking of voting, it’s pretty cool being out of the country during the election. It’s fun to see world news coverage on the American elections.

3) I needed to pull some pictures from my vacation to South Africa a year and a half ago. It was so much fun looking through the photos. In less than a month, I’ll be with the same group when they come to South Africa. I’m really excited!!  

4) Tomorrow is LaunchPad graduation. It’ll be sad to say goodbye, but it’s exciting to see how much they’ve learned and grown this term!

5) I was looking for something today and came across a packet of instant mashed potatoes I didn’t know I had. I made them for lunch. Nice and cheesy…

done.//

There was intense lightning tonight that lit up the horizon. It was incredible!

Funny how we try to recreate what God already made. When we were watching the light show in the sky tonight, I kept thinking of fireworks and how, although sometimes pretty cool, don’t even compare. It’s too predictable. Too, I don’t know, man-made. Synthetic. Fake. 

This on the other hand, was incredible. I have never seen horizontal lightning before and tonight the sky was full of it. Amazing! 

Night.//

With the warm weather comes a few things…sweat (especially with the lack of AC), bugs and of course, water balloons.

We’ve been bringing them out a lot lately at Hope House, and last week at LaunchPad. I was on the unlucky receiving end (or lucky…it was hot on Wednesday, so I didn’t mind–besides spending the afternoon looking like I’d peed my pants).

It’s crazy to me, how our perceptions of time can change in a few months. When I first got here earlier this year, I thought a year was a long time. And when the idea of staying three more years starting floating around my noggin, I thought I was nuts. It seemed like a ridiculous idea and I couldn’t imagine making that kind of commitment to anything. 

A couple months go by and it seems more fesible, but still a stretch. Then, suddenly, it seems okay. Three years didn’t seem like THAT long.

Now, it just feels like a drop in the bucket. The idea of leaving after three years seems sad and like I’d be leaving prematurely.

Who knows what will happen in the future. But, it’s exciting to see how our perceptions change as we grow. I like it! 

On a kind of unrelated note, I did find out for sure that my brother doesn’t read this when I talked to him earlier this week and he didn’t know I was staying for three more years [I know! I thought it was crazy too...I guess everyone figured someone else had clued him in...]. It is kind of exciting because I can tell embarassing stories about him without him knowing…oh, it’s and his birthday today. He didn’t answer when I called so I left him two messages, both included me singing different variations of Happy Birthday. 

done.//

I totally forgot about this yesterday, probably because it really didn’t really feel like Monday. I’m all sorts of confused this week! 

So, here are my five good things for, uh, Tuesday…

1) We saw a baby horse being born on Sunday…well, we missed the actual birth (for which I’m pretty thankful…), but saw the horse just minutes after as she was trying to stand. I guess horses usually give birth at night or early in the morning, so this was a rare sight. Pretty exciting!

2) My mom turned the big 5-0 this weekend. I was sad not to be there…but I think she had a good time with the girls. Seriously, how can shopping be bad? 

3) Some of my friends are coming to South Africa December 1…I’m really excited! This weekend we finalized some of our plans for the two weeks I get to spend with them. I love it when plans come together!

4) I had Kraft Mac & Cheese for lunch today….we can’t get it here, so I’ve rationed my stash. But, today definitely seemed like a mac & cheese day, so I pulled out a box.

5) “So you think you can dance” is on tonight. Probably the only show we regularly watch…they’re down to the final 10….

done.//