Inspired To Blog By My Vakokwani :) FRESH

So too much happens here that is just too great! So i'm just gonna start typing it as I go and then post. but as i'm sure you've noticed...i dont use spell check or proof this. so its just my ramblings so enjoy!

So just now my vakowani (grandma) popped over to see me. Many people pop in to see me. They just come over to say hi, they want to see what I eat, how I live, my room, pictures etc etc. But so today my vakokwani came over and I JUST ADORE her! Shes the cutes little lady so full of spunk! She always soo happy and I just heart her! So today she stops by and none of the family is here bc my host mom is staying at her sisters awaiting to have her baby! And my host dad is with her...and I am not sure where my brothers went...but my host moms sister was staying with us to watch them and she was gone too and the house was locked...Anyways. Go kokwani come over to say hi, she doesnt speak a word of english but shes looking at my pictures I have on my wall an I point out my family and my sisters new baby and try to explain that my sister had the baby 3 days before I left for south africa and showed her a pic of my sister 9 months pregnant and explained that. THEN the women says “Fresh”. HAHAHAH I about died! I always say I love babies fresh out! And my kokwani who knows NO english come up with FRESH!!! there is a reason I love that women! But she wanted to show me she understood what I was saying. Then she picked me some lamula (oranges) from the tree in our yard :) <3 <3 <3 Also my boss's son brought me corn picked from there field today too! Mostly I loved this fresh story for Erin and shelly! Fresh out! Loves it!

Easter weekend just passed. I was off good friday till May 3rd. Which is a nice little break! Took a wonderful little trip to Nwanedi nature reserve (feel free to google it). It was nice. My legs kill from all the kiking! But just gorgeous gorgeous view! Waterfall (which we saw but couldnt get up to bc of some water blocking the hiking path...but 2 people did brave walking through the water and made it to the falls. I was not one of those...snakes, gators, hippos...but mostly I just didnt want wet feet or socks...i already had blisters) Every morning we'd wake up with monkeys all over! One went into one of the rooms!!! They would grab any left over food. It was nice yet scarey...i mean they r wild animals. But they seemed pretty scared of us...but it was strange being watched by animals...maybe thats what the zoo feels like?!?! The whole weekend went well! It was stressful planning a trip for 16 people here in SA but I did it and it went off beautifully! (I was very proud of myself) However, I did fail bc I somehow just didnt take pictures of the weekend. Opps :/ I'll do better. I was just enjoying the moment and taking in the vistas. Also there was a dam their that was beautiful! I watched the sun rise on it and stretched one morning (made me think it was very zen/chie and made me think my dads friend jeff would have really enjoyed it...minus the hefty stair climb to get up there).

So upon my arrival home back to my village, my greeting was moving! My host brothers were soooo excited to see me! It was just sooo cute! The older one was not home when I got home so when he got home he knocked on my door just to say hi bc he was bursting with joy (noticibly so—it was so cute) they were soo excited. And their little friends. They ended up playing in my hut all night. First it was games on my computer, then it was my cellphone, then they took photos and video with my camera and actually did their own little photo shoot which was pretty darn funny!

I start my tutor for xitsonga on wed! So hopefully I should start speaking a little better. It was interesting to get with all the other volunteers to see where and with what others were struggling. I am just about the only one (of the 16 I was with this weekend) that cannot speak english at my org. but I feel that good bc I know i'd slack off and go back to english if I could. Its just easier and more comfortable. But I cannot wait to be more fluent in my language and hopefully my studying will get jump started here a little! On that note, I also hate people who pick up language naturally...i am in owe of them and wish I could. But some of the other volunteers just are naturals and sound soo great. But no worries 3 days a week 1.5 hrs a day...this village will regret teaching me their language once they realize how much I talk...once I have enough vocab to talk that much!

Also this week i've been stalking the NFL draft. Its hard being away...and yes cleveland browns is my culture. I try to explain it to people here! (I should also state i'm sitting in my hillis shirt typing this :O) On that note of having internet! I love my family SOOO much! But I think its funny how I dont talk to them for a week (less then a week actually) and they are all leaving lots of messages! Oh what if I didnt have internet or a cell phone??? how would they cope? Or would they just be used to not hearing from me? Well either way it doesnt matter bc I do! And I love being able to have little meaningless pointless back and forths with them....Welp as I am writing this...a goat peaked its head into my hut...which reminds me of a funny/scarey story.

So the night before my trip I am woken up by a noise of someone shaking my burglar bars trying to get into my hut. So my hut has burglar bars on all the windows and doors which is very nice and gives me a feeling of saftey—even though I feel pretty safe in my village and very little crime occurs here and no one drinks! So I hear this shaking of my burglar bars on my door. I'm like oh great. Well I give it a second but it doesnt stop so I call my host father. I hear footsteps away. I turn on my light and look outside no ones their. My host father turns on the outside light and tell me to call him again if I hear it again. Well so I cannot sleep at this point. And welp what do u know I hear the sounds of someone trying to break into my hut AGAIN! Oh great...but then I hear a baaa baaahhh baaa. Yup a goat was trying to kidnap me :) hahahah! I opened my door and about 20 goats were outside my hut with one with its horns inside my door trying to get in! Oh how quickly a slightly scarey situation turned hillarious...which is how most things work out here in south africa.

At the same time this week was a very moving and slightly I think changed my life forever type week. However I dont have the emotional energy to write about it now. But I will. Its all about health care, my career as a nurse, and hiv/aids.