Sickness, Sun, Sowing Seeds

Hello Everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I posted last. I have been very busy here in my little corner of the world. I have been all over and done lots of different things, met a lot of new people and learned a lot! I won't go in to a lot of details because there is so much to say, I'll just summarize my last few weeks here.

The first week of December I went to Pietermaritzburg, where I stayed at the Old Prison and had my second and last week of isiZulu school, 30 hours in all! I am definitely not fluent, not really even conversational but I know grammar rules, and enough words to talk to the toddlers around the farm...so that's something. This time at class there was another couple that was in the class with us. Ben and Beth Bartholomy. They were a lovely couple that is here to work at UBI (a bible college in PMB). Adam and Karen were away and Don and Jon were very busy so we had to walk to and from school each day...until Ben and Beth very graciously decided to pick us up and drop us off every day! It was such a relief not to walk in the heat.

All of us that were in Language School with our Teachers

I went back to the farm for a week, we had a prefect camp come in, it was such a blast to do all kinds of leadership activities with them and get to know the students. The school system here is quite different and each school has a prefect body that helps with discipline at the school (think of the prefects at Hogwarts if you're confused).

Kloof High School Prefects (I'm in the back third in from the left)

That weekend I got picked up and taken to the PMB YMCA to spend the night. We would have stayed at the Old Prison that night, except that the cell block that we used for storage caught on fire and completely burned out. The structure was deemed unstable and in danger of collapse so we were not allowed to stay at the house part of the prison.

The Storage Cell Block on Fire :(

We stayed at the YMCA for one night and then everyone involved in MCC from South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, packed up and headed for Pennington Resort. We spent the first day chilling at the camp site, it was cold and rainy. The next day we went to Oribi Gorge which was very cool. We did some hiking, walked across a suspension bridge, and drove through a game park. Only one maybe two people didn't feel very good at this point. 

Overlooking Oribi Gorge from
the suspension bridge

The next day we had a free day and we all went to the beach in the morning and  in the afternoon to hang out and swim in the tidal pool/lagoon. The sea was too rough and rocky to actually swim in the waves. It was overcast and very windy but the water felt amazing! Only three or four people didn't feel well this day, but by the evening there were several others that were not feeling super great.

Tidal Pool/Lagoon at Pennington Beach

 The next morning we got up and headed to Wild Waves Water Park in the Eastern Cape (Province) in Port Edward (City). There were about five people that felt healthy on this day and were not in danger of losing some sort of cookies while going down the water slides. The water slides were very cool though, I, being among the healthy had a blast! There was a plunge slide, a bowl slide, a boomerang slide, and two traditional water slides. It was cold and overcast but again, the water felt great! The next day everyone was still feeling terrible but it was departure day. I was in the last group to be leave our little campsite. I got dropped off on an off ramp just a little ways from Pennington where I was received by Garth and taken to Camp Anerely.

Wild Waves Water Park

Anerley is the campsite that hosts the twice yearly AYM camp. (AYM= Assemblies Youth Ministry...I think) I was going to help out with the senior camp. I arrived on the second day with senior campers, the first full day. Wow was it overwhelming, I was in a new place, with new people, with 100 kids, and had no idea what was going on! It was a blast! I was immediately given a sports team to cheer on, an activity to lead that afternoon (The kids had to use sling shots to hit milk bottle targets), and a bungalow to help counsel with Rae and Sika. The theme for the camp was the parable of the sower. Each day we took an in depth look at the different types of soil spoken about in the parable. It was so great. I even learned a lot each day from our bible study, and ministry session in the evening. It was very cool to here how other's interpret the scripture. Each day the kids did a workshop to demonstrate a biblical principle from the parable and I loved watching the campers grow and have "light bulb" moments throughout the week. Each day I had free time because I was not refereeing sports sessions, which happen twice a day and were over an hour long. I kept busy by holding and watching the 3 month old Joshua....I was very much at home with that little baby in my arms all week. And it freed the parents to do their duties without having to worry, so I was helping! On the second full day of camp we spent the morning at the beach, it was HOT and Sunny! I'm sure you can imagine what happened...everyone was red red red. I tried my best to remain un-burnt but I did get quite a burn in the middle of my back (which is peeling terribly now!...woops, sorry mom) We had a lot of burnt feet and faces for the rest of camp. All week it was hot and sunny, which was so nice for the kids, and for a camp in general, it's much easier to be happy and enthusiastic when it's sunny out, even if you are always trying to find the shade.

Louise, Akhona, Sika, Amanda and of course little Joshua
at AYM Camp at Camp Anerely

Now I am back at the farm for the holidays. I'll be spending Christmas with the Hawyes family and I must say, there are already a lot of good looking presents under our little tree. Keep an eye out for a special Christmas Blog, coming soon!

 Thank you for sticking through this long post. I love hearing from you and appreciate your thoughts and prayers. You can keep up-to-date through facebook and instagram.

Food, Friends, and Festivities

Food:
Here on the farm all of our meals are prepared for us by our wonderful cook named Esnath. She works very hard and we are so thankful for her everyday when we get to eat delicious food, that she often doesn't even eat! She likes her traditional food that she prepares separately for herself. All of the teachers from the school, myself, and the Hawyes family eat dinner together every night in the camp dining hall. It is a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing about the day. We each take turns washing all the dishes for each other and on Sundays and Thursdays we always have guests from the church congregation that join us for a roast lunch after church and fellowship dinner before Bible Study.

When you are at home cooking for yourself, or even if you are cooking for your immediate family, it's easy to say, "I don't prefer that in my dish, I'll just leave it out". I have found that in order to not be picky or difficult it's just easier to eat whatever is prepared, even if I typically would not prefer to eat it. We eat really normal, even north american or English-type dishes, so I'm not having to eat anything that's like super crazy...no bugs or spiders or questionable animal meat...yet, who knows what the future holds! But I do eat things like tomatoes, sweet pickles, mushrooms...things I wouldn't normally pick if a dish included them. The biggest thing that I have taught myself to eat is fish, I eat fish and chips very often, when normally I would not even consider it! But, that's whats been prepared, and when Esnath is cooking for 20 people who would happily eat fish, I'm not going to be difficult and ask her to prepare something else just for me. I also have eaten tuna salad on more than one occasion for lunch, a feat I didn't even know I was capable of doing, since I struggle to even get seafood to my mouth when I have tried in the past. I know that fried fish and tuna are not really "fishy" fish, but to me it's a huge step to say, "I have to eat this and I will enjoy it." I would never order fish at a restaurant and I would ask for something else to eat if it was served to me in North America. But here, I am living in one great big community and I have to be a part of it. So, if that means I have to eat fried fish and tuna salad, that's what that means. Who knows, maybe by the end of the year I will actually enjoy it and choose it for myself when I get back to Ohio.

Traditional Durban food
Bunny Chow, curry inside a bread bowl

Friends:
Here on the farm, my ability to leave is very restricted, I'm not allowed a car and taxis are a desperate choice when you live so far away from town. Therefore I have spent the past three months with a very close knit group of people, we spend all of our time together. (probably one reason why we all had a round of flu a few weeks ago) But, I have found this group of people to be extremely welcoming and friendly, I am very happy to call the teachers from the school, the farmers, and the church congregation my friends. My very closest friend being my amazing roommate Cara. I am also excited to extend the circle of friends in January when you new teachers will come for the new school year, and the volunteers come for the Ablaze gap year discipleship course the camp is hosting. Of course I also have all the MCC related people who are here in South Africa and they are wonderful friends, and give me someone to text when I am feeling isolated and like I just need to talk to someone from the "outside."

Some dear friends Sokea and Dinar
the YAMENers from Cambodia and Indonesia

Festivities:
This past weekend we had a quick stop over in Pietermaritzburg to celebrate United States Thanksgiving! Of course, we know its a little early but everyone will be scattered about on the "real" Thanksgiving day. It was so nice to be around a table full of plenty of hot North American style thanksgiving food. It was such a wonderful representation of home to sit and talk about things that we are thankful for, (a welcome conversation after a hard and emotional week, post election) We cleared away the food and had a game night full of laughter and competition very much like home. (Have you ever played Qwirkle?...it can ruin friendships!) But it didn't, it was a wonderful time of fellowship and remembering all of the blessings each of us have been granted while here in South Africa. The next big holiday will be Christmas, which I will spend here at the farm with Rae, Garth, Olivia, and Shauna. We will enjoy the (hopefully warm) weather, horseback riding, and not having homework or responsibilities. I am really looking forward to being a part of new traditions and customs and getting to share some of my own.

Thanksgiving Dinner! Just missing
Dawn who took the picture

Emotionally I have felt very positive and at peace but I think that with the holiday season coming I will begin to feel that sense of longing and homesickness that comes with living abroad. However, no sense in worrying now, while I am happily settled in to my farm/camp/administrator/teacher life :)

Thank you so much to everyone that reads by page and for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support. It's so nice to feel cared for and thought of. Feel free to check out my facebook.com and instagram page for more pictures and more frequent updates!

This is Qwirkle, at the end of the game

Speaking Zulu and Spirituality

Before

As usual life on the farm is busy and unpredictable. I have been very busy with the coming of a new horse Jack Frost, a Marimba band grades 5-7, and general administrative tasks the past week. A week and a half ago however I was not on the farm. I was picked up by the MCC team and taken to Pietermaritzburg to stay at the prison for a week. As a group, we did the very first Color Run in Maritzburg. It was so much fun! I fit in very well with my handmade, hot pink tutu and we all had a blast getting pelted with color every kilometer. We also spent an afternoon at a Butterfly House and the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary. It was a lovely week of seeing some sights and having some down time from work.

During

After

Butterflies for Africa

Our main mission for being in they city however was because it was time for our first round of language school. Dinar, who finally arrived just before I came to the city, and myself, took isiZulu lessons. We live in a province called KwaZulu-Natal and one of the main languages is Zulu, so many people I interact with on a daily basis speak this language fluently, for many it was their mother tongue. Sokea took Swahili lessons, a language spoken in many places around the continent of Africa. Sokea works at a refugee center and many of them are from Tanzania where the national language is Swahili, therefore, it will greatly help her to connect with her clients to speak some of their language. As for Dinar and me, we have to seek out opportunities to speak Zulu. While many people speak Zulu, everyone here on the farm does know English. In fact the school is an English medium school, where the children are encouraged to only speak English all day to encourage fluency and develop vocabulary skills. isiZulu is a difficult language mostly because it includes several clicks; the letters c, x, and q are made with different parts of your tongue and mouth clicking. I found I can produce the clicks just fine on their own but when you have to say a whole word saying the click followed by a vowel is very tricky for a novice. The rules of the language are fairly simple, although I did not learn even close to all of them. There's no gender in the language which is helpful but there are linking letters to help connect the noun and the verb. This is what I can never remember. and because all words have connecting letters and sounds it's hard to actually decipher the root word sometimes! I enjoyed language lessons, even though my brain was full at the end of each three hour day. I enjoyed getting a sneak peak into a culture that is very different from my own. I feel just a little bit closer to the people I spend my days with by being able to speak to them in their first languages...well I can great them and talk about myself mostly. I will be taking another week of lessons at the end of November and will hopefully be able to build some vocabulary skills. Here is what the language looks like, I'll write in isiZulu and then translate below.

Sanibona! NginguAshtonCluts, ngihlala eCamp El Olam. Ngivela eMelika. ngisebenza eCamp, ngithanda ukuhike eCamp futhi ukubhukuda. Siyabonga! ngiyaxolisa, ngifunda isiZulu.

Hello! My name is Ashton Cluts, I stay at Camp El Olam. I come from America. I work at Camp. I like to hike at camp and to swim. Thank you! I am sorry, I am learning Zulu.

My vocabulary is failing me as I write this and I don't have my dictionary with me! Well this is just a sample anyway.

After language school and having the weekend to hangout and rest at the prison. Karen and Adam took Dinar, Sokea, and me to a retreat center in the midlands. A quiet region with many artisan stops along the main road. Karen and Adam acted as our live in chefs for the next two days and the three of us YALTers were lead in a very wonderful spiritual retreat. It was relaxing and rejuvenating. We each had our own bedrooms in a lovely cottage with a lounge and kitchen. We spent several hours each day in guided mediation and theological discussion with our leader Pastor Sharon, whom Karen and Adam have come to know through a church that they attend in Pietermaritzburg. She was a wonderful leader who's theology was very much like my own. We even did one session with a video from Pastor Rob Bell who is one of my favorite pastors from Michigan. When I was in high school we did a small group series using his videos as well. We explored our spirituality through scripture, song, and meditation. I was able to be in conversation with God and bring my heart and mind into focus in a very intentional way. I came away having a deeper understanding of my calling here in South Africa and an enthusiasm to continue my journey.

Thank you again for everyone around the world who is praying for me and my time here and keeping me in their daily thoughts. Knowing I have such a wonderful support network makes being away almost easy. Please keep in touch through my Facebook.com page and instagram!

Me with some hippos at the Butterfly House

Are We Speaking the Same Language?

Life here at Camp El Olam is never dull. There are always things to do, and there are always people everywhere doing farming things, building things, administrative things, kitchen things, school things...you get the idea. I have not been bored! We had had the first camps that we did program for in the past two weeks. One a group of 3rd and 4th graders and the other a group of 10th graders. Two very different groups of kids but both so much fun. I got to see the camp really in action! I even got to lead some activities from my "home" camp, Camp Friedenswald, with little El Olam style changes of course. I love seeing the camp alive with campers, it has a presence, I know that it's God, but I can feel it so strongly when the kids are here.

Other than the camps, life is quiet and fun, horse back riding, reading in Adirondack chairs, drinking tea etc. Oh wait, horseback riding has not been so serene, last week I went on a ride with my roommate and the horses decided they had no interest in walking any further...needless to say, we both found ourselves on the ground instead of in the saddles. We both faired pretty well, although we both are quite sore and I have a huge bruise on my leg, that is healing nicely but looks pretty gnarly. I must have been hoofed as I fell off but I only remember being on the horse and then the ground...so who knows!

After the ride, smiling
but in pain!

Before the ride!

 I got to go to a game reserve for the first time this past weekend and it was so cool to get to see the animals close up! I saw, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, a warthog, Ostrich, lots of deer like animals I don't remember the names of, and rhino. These rhino were special though, in order to reduce the likelihood of poaching, vets have come in and humanely de-horned them. They were still huge and cool but did look a little funny without their horns.  

The Giraffes!

That's my quick update and now to the title of this post. I am so lucky to be in a place where nearly everyone I meet speaks at least some English. This has made feeling homesick a farfetched idea at this point...I know the time will come. But it is so nice to be able to communicate what I mean and how I want to mean it, a luxury that is not usually achievable in a new place with a completely new language. However, there are differences in the English that I speak and South African English. As I mentioned in another post that their are a lot of words that are different from the words that we use in the U.S. for the same thing. These are called colloquialisms...in case you didn't know! As I spend more time here I am learning more and more, there are so many in fact that sometimes I feel like we aren't even speaking the same language. Of course we are definitely both speaking English; but I never thought I would have to say "what does that mean" so many times, in one day! Some of these colloquialisms I have picked up very quickly and already say them without thinking about it. Some I say with a very conscious effort to help feel more a part of the culture, (like trying to speak a truly different language to help learn) and some I don't think I'll ever be able to integrate into my own speech patterns, but only time will tell.
I'm going to try to list as many as possible. Some I knew from my time in Australia, and some I knew from my time in London, the British influence from colonialism is strong.

baggies: boys swim suit or shorts
biscuit: cookie
boot: trunk of the car
bonnet: hood of the car
borewors: long sausages used to braai
braai: barbecue the verb and the noun
bruh: friend/brother (pronounced broo)
chips: french fries or chips
cokey: marker
costume: swim suit
haibo: "no way bruh"
hectic: anything that is extreme, chaotic, crazy, cool this is a filler word
hoot: honk the car horn
house: grouping you are placed in while in school (yes, like Hogwarts)
loo: bathroom
lounge: living room
peg: clothespin
potjie: a stew made in a three legged cast iron pot (this is an Afrikaans word pronounced Poy-key)
roll: bun for hot dogs or hamburgers
slops: flip flops and other sandals
stationary: anything used in the office basically, pens, pencils, paper, binders, etc.
term: length of one session of school, there are four terms in a year
tomato sauce: ketchup
torch: flashlight
tune: scold "I will tune him later about wrecking the house"
vienna: the meat part of a hot dog, once the meat is in a roll then it's a hot dog
yah: yes or yeah

Of course these are not all of them, I can only think of so many as I sit here and write but I will try to add some to each new blog! Look out for another one soon about Zulu classes! Feel free to keep updated on my travels on Facebook.com and instagram.

Congratulations you made it to the end! Thank you so much for letting me share my journey with you!

Life at the Farm

I know what you might be thinking, "A farm? I thought you were working at a camp?!" That's totally true. but Buckhaw Brow farm is home, to me, to Camp El Olam, to Hope Valley Farm School, and to many dedicated and lovely teachers, staff, and families. So life at the farm, a wonderful life to be living. I spent my first few days at the farm staying in the home that belongs to Rae and Garth Hawyes, two very wonderful hosts for sure, and their two daughters. This was a wonderful transition from the prison. I am already good friends with Pretzel, Nitro and Biltong the dogs, all the chickens, Miracle the cat, Arizona and Zazoo the horses, and the newest addition Jet, a large and beautiful horse. Jet just arrived on Thursday. I am looking forward to a time in the next few weeks when the horses will all be well introduced to each other and I'll be able to ride Zazoo and Jet!

The sign out by the road, past this sign is a long 3km drive down
a dirt farm path

I am thoroughly enjoying the work at the camp. At the moment it is very laid back, as there have not been any scheduled camps yet. I have been helping with administrative tasks, tie dying curtains for the newly painted hall. Grocery shopping for the meals for the teachers and staff. And in general learning about the camp and how it runs. We have our first camp this weekend and I am so excited to see El Olam in action! After this weekend the bookings really are coming in and the camp will be full of life most weekends and some weekdays from here on out! I will get to help with running activities and program as well as continue administratively. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when there is no camp taking place I will get to go to the school and help with the children's choir there as well as teach some small groups or classes. I am very excited to be able to have a part in the school as well as the camp!

Life in South Africa is very comfortable, I love the laid back nature of the farm. I am very much enjoying fresh homemade food for dinners. The people are so very nice and welcoming, I feel like they accepted me with open arms! However, there are some differences. Especially in terms of colloquialisms. Here are some things I hear on a daily basis that I would not here in Bluffton.

Olivia and Shauna

"Auntie Ashton!" (Children address everyone as Auntie or Uncle, granny or grandad)

"Hey?"(this is added at the end of many statements ex. "this weather is hot, hey?")

"Tekkies/Takkies"(Tennis shoes)

"Jersey" (sweatshirt)

"Bakkie" (pick-up truck)

And of course there are many more! I still often have to ask, "what does that mean?" because sometimes I get very confused!

Another difference is tea/coffee time. This happens, in the morning, at meal times, in the afternoon, before dinner, after dinner, before bed, basically anytime can be tea time, and I am convinced that I have had more tea in the past week than the rest of my life combined! I am becoming fond of 10AM and 4PM tea time though. I like to just drink regular tea but sometimes I'll spring for South African rooibus tea, sometimes called bush tea. 

One of the biggest differences is that when I finish eating I leave my dishes by the sink, when I have laundry I put it in a basket and it appears washed and ironed on my bed the next day. Of course this isn't by magic, the families here have maids and in my experience they are all black. This is something I am not at all accustomed to. I feel very aware of my "whiteness," something I did think about before coming to South Africa, but had no idea that I would feel so aware of the position it puts me in, completely by coincidence. Thankfully the staff and maids are a part of the family, we greet them with hugs and warm words we have conversations with them while we all do our work. They are an essential part of the workings of home and camp and farm and we (myself and all the others faculty type staff) are so thankful to have them as part of our team. And from what I have gathered, they are just as thankful to have the opportunity to have employment, and if you are in a position to employ others and be a part of their lives by means of a livelihood, then it should be so.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to work here at Camp El Olam and am looking forward to what this year has in store for me! Please look to my facebook.com page and instagram for more updates!

Me and Cara, my temporary roommate until
December!

View while on a drive around the farm

Life at The Prison

In-Country Orientation

Okay, Okay, I know this title sounds potentially scary but no worries. I have not suddenly been arrested or anything of the sort. In fact, I am here in South Africa! I'm in a city called Pietermaritzburg. For the past week, it has been a wonderful place to stay and get oriented with the country. I arrived last week and had a few calm days just to myself to do fun things like go to the Aussie Circus with Adam and Karen my MCC bosses! Once Sokea, a YAMENer from Cambodia arrived, we have been digging in to MCC country expectations, and South African and Zulu culture. It has been so eye opening and such a wonderful time meeting many new people including MCC staff here on the SwaLeSA (Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa) team. Everyone has been very nice and welcoming and very accommodating of Sokea's and my own jet lag needs. I feel, however, that I recovered very quickly, which definitely makes adjusting easier. 

The front gate of the Old Prison, the only way in or out,
so this is the entrance we use when we come home.

Alright, so I haven't said why this title is about prison yet. While here in Pietermaritzburg I am staying with my South African MCC Reps and they live in "The Old Pietermaritzburg Prison." A prison that has been reformed by Project Gateway into a R-grade7 school, Fashion School, IT Training Center, Shop, Museum, MCC office, and of course a small part is a living space, the space I call home. So yes, I am living in a prison. Luckily, other than being cold inside because of all the concrete, it is exceptionally nice. 

Kasturba Ghandi's cell

Block E the first block
to be builtit began
holding prisoners in 1862

Yesterday, we got to go on a tour of the Prison grounds. It was very emotional. There were prisoners held here during apartheid including Mohandas Ghandi, Kasturba Ghandi (his wife), and Nelson Mandela. Kasturba was even held in a cell in a section of the prison called "the bomb shelter" where the most dangerous prisoners were held. Being in a place where such important people actually were incarcerated really opened my mind to be conscious of the conflicts that have occurred and are still occurring here in South Africa. Of course, these were not the only prisoner's held here, there were many people held in this prison and they each have their own story of struggle, oppression, and offer something humanity can learn about being alive. In Block E of the prison there is now a museum that gives many details of the inmates held there. I hope someday to have time to go slowly through the museum and learn about the important political and social leaders who spent time within these walls. The ones that I am affectionately calling home this week. Quite a contradiction to the prison's history.

Keeping on with the theme of being open to learning all that I can while I am here about the people, the culture, the language and finding where I fit in. We also went to the place in the country where Nelson Mandela was captured and ultimately began his 27 years of incarceration. I knew some about Mandela of course, but at the site there is a museum that outlines his life and the impact that he has had here in South Africa. As a group we also watched "Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom" a movie depiction of his autobiography. This was very emotional after having learned a little about his life and the effect the Apartheid had on some South Africans. At this site, besides the museum, there is a beautiful sculpture that, from the right angle, depicts Mandela's face. A beautiful reminder of his fight for his country and his people. 

Sculpture at the Mandela Capture Site

In addition to all of this cultural knowledge I had a crash course in the language of isiZulu, the language that is spoken commonly in this region of South Africa. It is a fun language to learn for sure. It uses letters that I am accustomed to seeing which is definitely helpful. As with many languages however, the way that these letters are pronounced in some cases is very different. The biggest difference is that c, x, and q are pronounced as "clicks." using your tongue to produce different sounds in your mouth. I find the c and the x fairly easy to make although following the sound with another sound can be tricky, and I have not been able to create the q sound yet...I'm working on it though! I will write an example of what the language looks like:

Sawubona (Hello)

Unjani? (How are you?)

NginguAshton (I am Ashton)

Ngiyathanda ukucula (I like to sing)

Ngiyafunda isiZulu (I am learning isiZulu)

Ngiyabonga (I Thank you!)

I am very excited to continue learning this language and to be able to communicate to more people in a language other than English. 

I am absolutely loving my time here (although it is quite cold some days) but I cannot wait to get out to the farm and get to work at the Camp. Tomorrow we are hosting a big Braai (Barbecue) and I get to meet some people from the camp who I will be working closely with. 

If you made it this far, congratulations! Feel free to leave a comment or visit my Facebook page for more pictures! 

Ashton to Akron

Almost There!

Well, here I am in Akron, Pennsylvania. Home of Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Here I am spending seven days with with 52 other SALTers and 30 IVEPers in orientation, before flying out to our assignments all over the world and the U.S. I spent 8 hours in a car with my wonderful Mom and Dad to drive from Bluffton to The Welcoming Place. A small globally themed village where we all stay for the week. My room is in the "Americas" house. I am sharing a bed with a girl from Minnesota I have never met before. We have since become fast friends and are forming a great relationship. Our days are spent in information sessions in "The Meeting Place" where we sit and listen to people from MCC talk to us about a variety of different aspects of our time. We have covered topics from finances to communication barriers to MCC history. 

Me with all my luggage in my room at
The Welcoming Place

We spend our long meal hours in conversation about our assignments and getting to know each other. As well as eating some pretty great food! 

My first morning here I helped lead our time of worship because it was "U.S./Canada day. Each morning we get to worship with music inspired by the different regions of the world led by people from those regions (mostly, instrumentalists are volunteering from everywhere for every day!) It was great fun to jump right in and get to know some new people through music and worship as we rehearsed and chose the music which we felt represented North America. We sang, "Amazing Grace," "Here I am to Worship," "Waterfall on Me," and of course 606. 

I was able to watch the Olympic gymnastics all around...I would say I am probably the most passionate one here but it was worth staying up late to watch! I plan to watch event finals too. Thank goodness MCC has cable!

I am getting very excited to head out to South Africa next week. I have not really heard much more about my assignment. But as I talk to other people I get excited for the unknown and the prospect of what I will be doing. Compared to other SALT assignments mine seems quite unique, and I love that! I have made so many friendships here at orientation and I am excited to keep growing those relationships but I am also very excited to unpack and begin work at Camp El Olam and Hope Valley Farm School.

I will try to continue writing as I see opportunity and have information to share. Please feel free to leave comments and questions and I will try to respond as soon as I have time/internet!

The Waiting Game

Only One Month To Go

I began my SALT (Serving and Learning Together) application in November of 2015. I knew that I wanted to participate in SALT and so I eagerly waited as they began posting new positions that would be available to me during my term 2016-2017. I knew I wanted to work with children, I first looked at all the positions available that were working with kids in ANY capacity, just to get an idea. I also knew that I wanted to work in Africa, I've always wanted to travel to Africa as well as serve there. The positions in different countries in Africa were abundant. I was called to AIDS clinics, orphanages, and schools. Then one day a position was posted for a camp counselor, truly my dream job! I worked as a counselor for three summers at Camp Friedenswald! I knew right away that that was my top choice for assignment. I completed my application (twice) and was quickly accepted into SALT and into the position. Then began the paperwork. I tediously began collecting paperwork, reading field guides, making doctor's appointments, and filling out visa applications. On top of that I was working feverishly to raise the designated funds. I am happy to say that I have surpassed my fundraising goal! I have completed all of my paperwork, and I have gone to the consulate to apply for my visa. 

That being said my position is at Camp El Olam, in Eston, South Africa. I will be a camp counselor, program coordinator, and a choir teacher on the side. I am so excited to begin my journey in August teaching children about the environment as well as God's love <3

I hope to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible. Internet however can be spotty and I do not know how often I will have access. But check back periodically and see if I've updated! I will also keep my Facebook page updated. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as I await my journey to South Africa!