August 26, 2007

This morning Ashley and I woke up and we went to mass at the Catholic Church across the street from our flat. It was a smaller church but it got crowded. Ashley and I sat at the back of the church and we just observed how the mass went. Everything was the same (which is to be expected) except when it came time for communion, we waited for our row to file out after the row in front of us. Well this didn’t happen, because everyone just randomly stands up and walks to the center aisle and files back to their pew like little ants cruising through their anthill. After mass we walked back in the sunshine and came back to the apartment to change into clothes for warm weather…the capris and flip-flops came out and a group of us (well, actually the whole group) walked across the street to the beachfront market and we browsed the little stands. I found the Moses paintings and I had to use all of my willpower to not buy one when I was there. I want to wait to buy things after I have become more acclimated to the money and the price of things, and I have to start thinking in terms of Rand versus converting it to dollars. I also don’t want to spend all of my money in one place at one time, otherwise dad will be getting a phone call to transfer money into my checking account! While walking up and down the sidewalk, there were dancers performing and we sat and watched them dance, and I am amazed at how well some of those little girls can booty pop! After the market Kasy, Laura, and I walked down to the boardwalk so I could buy a watch, and we browsed the shops. We stopped at Dulce (my new favorite place!) and had coffee and organized our planners. We sat at a table on the outdoor patio next to the pond in the center of the boardwalk. The weather was gorgeous sitting in the sun outside and just relaxing and working. As we were sitting there, I looked around, and it the scenery was like I could have been anywhere in the United States; there were clothing and candy stores, an arcade, pizza places, and coffee shops all along the boardwalk. It just didn’t seem like Africa! When I think of Africa, I think of the savanna with zebras and lions grazing like the movie Lion King, but so far, we have not seen that part of Africa! While we were at Dulce, I ordered a hot chocolate with caramel with a warm blueberry muffin, which was probably the best muffin I have ever had! We sat, chatted about the areas of nursing we wanted to get into and where we would like to be after we pass the boards, and we organized our planners and schedules for the semester. When I was all finished with my organizing, I began reading one of the books that we have to read for class. When we were all finished with our coffee, and finally were given our bill (it took us about 1 ½ hours by the time we sat down, ordered, ate, and were given our bill…just for coffee and muffins!) we walked back to our apartment and I have been sitting in my room just relaxing with Katherine, Ashley, Alex, and Carrie. We are taking turns picking out songs to listen to, arguing about musicians and songs, dancing, and laughing at pictures that were taken before summer started. We all are pretty darn tired today from the wandering around today, the walking that we have done this last week and just soaking in the life that we will be living for the next few months. I know that I keep saying this, but it just doesn’t seem real, I mean it just feels like we are on a vacation for a week or two and then its back to the states! For example, today at the market, I kept seeing things that I wanted to buy, and I was mentally going trough my list of people to buy things for, and I kept thinking that I needed to buy it all, but in reality, I have three months to browse the markets and shops for the most perfect gifts! Which also means the pressure is on the find the best gift with lots of thought put behind it! Hopefully tonight will be an early night, because we have to be up and ready to leave at 8:15 for the AIDS Haven, which is something that I am very excited for! I have the names of kids that I am supposed to send hugs and love to from those who visited in the spring! Well, now its just a little bit of leisurely reading (because who knows when I will be able to do that again) and then bed time!