Another Day in Durban

Last weekend we spent the day in Durban:
Durban Art Gallery, lunch by the beach, and Sharks rugby game!...

I tagged along with the art class in their field trip to the Durban Art Gallery.

These were a few of my favorite pieces...

Well- this was the ceiling... but still.

We had lunch at Moyo, a really neat restaurant close to the Durban market and beach.
They painted our faces- war paint for the rugby game.

Me and Steph :)

Go Sharks!

We had no idea what was going on.. a lot of kicking, hitting, and tripping.

We did, however, manage to start multiple 'waves' throughout the audience.
I have a video of us starting a wave that rippled through the entire stadium, and back to us.
It was so powerful, I almost cried.

This is my classroom.

These are pictures taken during my last Biology Field trip to a nature reserve...

Bio class in the safari truck

White Rhino

Pregnant Zebra.

They love each other.

Africa has thee BIGGEST moths... They're like small birds.

We also saw Hippo (which are Africa's most dangerous animal). But, they were immersed in the water- and all we could see were their big beady eyes poking out. They would occasionally come up for air, or to scare us away... scary little hungry hippos.

When in Africa...

These are some significant occurrences over the past week...

Today I watched this monkey try to get in my window for about a half hour.
He wanted my roommate's box of chocolate.

Ash and I dread-locked our hair.
I washed/brushed mine out the next morning.
Hers lasted a week.

South Africans looove our President- check out this bedding. :)

I ran into my friend Greg at the Keg and Hedgehog.
...not really.
But I asked this man to take a picture with me because he looks identical to my friend Greg.

Ashlee found a pressed lizard in her notebook. Poor little guy. :(
I'm pretty sure she hasn't peeled him off yet... memories.

This is my artist friend, Tiplo. He lives in Durban and is extremely gifted and
passionate about making art.

This is me after Tiplo gave me his phone number.

Valetines Day, yummy food, and a beach photo session

We spent Valentine's Day at Shakaland... very romantic. Shakaland is about a three hour drive from Pietermaritzburg. We learned about traditional Zulu culture and even got to watch a movie!... SHAKA ZULU!. These people still live in a huts and follow ancient Zulu traditions... but I saw one guy wearing Crocs. So, I don't know how much of that I believe.

It was a super hot day, but the buffet line at the end of our tour made it all worth it. I think I ate about 4 apples.

Such talent... few Zulu women don't know how to do this.

I think this was the weapon-maker?
...He liked us.

Some traditional Zulu dance... I think. Their accents are difficult to understand.

Valentine's Day dinner! The boys gave each girl a yellow rose. :)

Dessert at our favorite restaurant- The Keg and Hedgehog
(Notice the feather in C.J.'s hair... we are such weird Americans.)

It's love. <3

We got 30 minutes at the Durban beach after a very hot field trip.
Ash and I made Jeff spend his beach time taking pictures of us. :)

My best friend sports dreadlocks.

I look like my mother... right?

We love Durban days!!

paintballing, dance parties, hair cuts, indian ocean, adorable children, and more!

Days go by so fast here! We are so much busier than I expected, and have already seen and learned so many things! We've had quite a bit of rain... I don't mind. :) So when the sun is out, a good portion of the day is usually spent reading or doing homework out on the lawn. This is usually preceded my some form of monkey attack or invasion. Super exciting. Also, some of you may be impressed to hear that I can now get ready in about 15 minutes flat. Complete with shower and everything... I know, right?

Study-buddies... 2 more weeks of school left and then we start our service sites!! :)

Zulu class... 'Sawubona!'

More haircuts!
Don't be deceived by the face Yvette is making- Rebekah's hair turned out great, thank you very much.

Dance Party!! These are my chalet-mates. :)
(minus Chad in the background)

Paintballing.. the most painful sport ever.
You wouldn't believe the bruises.

You know, just lunch by the Indian Ocean.
(Beach day in Durban)


Bonginkosi is a Christian preschool about 15 minutes away from the AE Center. 'Bonginkosi' means 'Praise the Lord' in Zulu. This place is amazing. There are about 30 kids from the ages 3 to 6 who attend. There were only 2 staff members present when I visited. These children are beautiful. It is so fun using our limited Zulu-speaking abilities to communicate with them.

We currently visit about once a week, however some of us will spend our service site weeks here.


This little girl didn't feel well, so I hung out with her for a most of my time at Bonginkosi.
We played with blocks and sang Zulu praise songs.

She was adorable!

They LOVE getting their pictures taken! :)

Happy Birthday Zeker-Boo!

dear zeke,

happy birthday to the cutest, smartest, happiest, most delightful person i have ever known! i miss you sooo much. i can't wait to bite your little cheeks and kiss you all over! you would like it here in africa. there are so many animals to play with and chase around. two monkeys ran into my bible class today. it is always so exciting to see their little bodies hop around the corner. we have a momma cat on campus who is pregnant and will have her babies any day now. she is always sleepy for some reason. i think that growing kittens in your tummy might be kind of exhausting. you would like the frogs as well. they are so noisy... even louder than americans if you can believe it. i think about you all the time and hope that you know how to say my name by the time i get home. they have very good chocolate in africa. i will bring some home for you if you don't tell your mom. have a very special day and i hope you get lots of presents to overstimulate yourself because it's funny when you get wide-eyed. i love you!! kiss everyone for me!

love, auntie kari

remember when we tried to pack you in my suitcase? too bad your mom and dad made you stay.

can't wait to see you again zeker-boo!

Quick Update!

We have been in Pietermaritzburg for approximately two weeks, and I have loved every minute of it. We have been in school, so it hasn't been extremely eventful. Actually, I take that back... a monkey walked into our chapel service last Monday morning, and Jess and I are now 'pro' at synchronizing our laptops to play songs at the same time... we need speakers.

On Sunday I attended God's Family Life Centre and I fell in love. ☺ Music was in English and Zulu. I have never gotten so many hugs in my life, and we there for about 3 and a half hours. I can’t wait to go back this next weekend. ☺

The weather has been rainy and that’s a little annoying when you live in paradise and want to explore your new home.

At about 9:30pm every night I look at my watch, gasp, and say, “Well, it’s about time I head off to bed”. I feel like an old person. However, you would want to go to bed too if you knew you got to ‘pillow-talk’ with my cute roommate.

We are extremely spoiled here… laundry done for us twice a week, tea and coffee set out five times a day, rooms cleaned weekly, water and candy set out before every class, yummy food, and lots of love from the staff. I’m already dreading the day I have to leave.

Yesterday I looked outside and saw about eight monkeys in the tree right outside my window… not cute. These monkeys attack my friends. These monkeys send their babies through our bedroom windows to steal our things. These monkeys stalk us. Most girls literally carry around large sticks of wood or pepper spray to defend themselves.


They were even closer when we first looked out our window... it's war.


My friends let me cut their hair... I've done about 4 heads so far (including my own). :)

Oh yeah, and this is one of the giraffes I saw during my Bio lab.

Painting at the Watering Hole

The watering hole is our swimming pool. It is also a common place to take pictures, and home to monkeys and large insects. On this particular day, Jess and I used is for art purposes...

Our mediums: watercolor paint, mud, leaves, stream water, and leaves.

I just love her! :)

It was a very good day.