November 15, 2007

This morning was a morning where I actually wanted to sleep in, and could have because I didn’t wake up before the alarm went off, but we decided to go to the mall today and we were leaving to catch the bus at 9:30. We walked to the bus stop and it was gloomy and misty out. While at the bus stop there was a guy who has his artwork at the market and he asked where we were going and he was able to cut a deal with a kombi driver to drive all of us directly to the mall (and his drop off near his house) but we would pay R10 instead of the usually R5, the driver agreed and he brought us to the entrance to the mall. We were going to be at the mall for a short time because the only thing many of us needed were rugby things. We went to the store all excited and when we walked into the room there was absolutely nothing. It was so disappointing, so we asked around to see if there were other places in the mall that may have rugby attire. We were told that there were no other stores, but Sportsman’s Warehouse was “close close.” So we decided to walk the six blocks to 6th Ave where the store was located. We learned that “close close” really is translated to “far far” and a 45 minute walk through the drizzling rain through Central PE (not very safe) to get the rugby things. We also learned at a moffet is not the name of a nursery rhyme character and is not a hill, rather it is a mall. When we made it to the sports store we were thoroughly disappointed because there was no selection and things were expensive. I did buy a t-shirt and luggage tags while we were there, but the trip was still as B I G waste of time! We were too frustrated to walk back to Green Acres to catch the bus, so we called our friends at Lucky cab company and they came to pick us up and bring us home. I spent the afternoon doing everything that I needed the internet for because our connection is being cut off tomorrow. I lounged around on the rainy afternoon in sweatpants watching TV shows and working on my computer. We went out in the evening for dinner to Blue Waters for our last group dinner together. We each were given R100 to spend on our meals (compliments of our program budget) so we were all able to have an appetizer (we split nachos between five of us), a main course (chicken stir fry), and dessert (chocolate mousse with ice cream). It was a delicious meal and we all had a great time together. As we were walking back from dinner it started to rain, so we were soaking wet by the time we got home. I’m not trying to cram as much internet time in as I possibly can to write emails update pictures, and update my blog. I won’t have internet access in my apartment after tomorrow and I won’t have access through the rest of my trip (I’m home in two weeks), I will try to get to an internet café to update my blog after I am home to PE from our trip to Durban, but if not, I will update things when I am back in Minnesota! Thanks so much for reading my blog! I am very excited to come home and see everyone! Miss you and love you all!

November 14, 2007

This morning we had meetings with Denise about our final grades and overall evaluations, it went well. I was a little disappointed, well more frustrated with one of my finals because I was docked points because the question was worded poorly and I should have “assumed that was what the question was supposed to be.” Ugh! Oh well, I ended up with a 97% so it didn’t really matter. After the evaluation I got ready for class and went to our last political science class. We did paper presentations, so we each talked about our final papers for five minutes and class was over! I am officially done for the semester! It feels really weird that it is the end of the semester because there is no snow on the ground and I am not leaving campus for Christmas! I spent the rest of the afternoon packing and organizing my bags! This will be interesting at the airport because my bags are packed to the brim and are a little heavy! Oh well, if I have to pay the extra weight fee so be it! We had a wine and cheese party with our group before going downstairs for the Langerry braai. The staff at Langerry decided to have a braai for all of us, so we all put on our NMMU polos and went down to chit chat and have drinks before dinner. The meal was amazing, and they had the room decorated very nice for us! It was a fancy and classy set up and it all was amazing! After dinner I finished packing and we decided to go out dancing! All of us girls (well, everyone except Christy) wore our NMMU shirts to Toby’s! We had two guys come up to us and one asked me which sports team we were on. I told him that we didn’t play a sport and we were just wearing them for fun! Let me also say that the back of the shirt has the NMMU logo and it says, “Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Interational” on it! He didn’t quite get it but he continued to dance with us! We stayed out for a bit and then came home and tried to find pajamas that weren’t packed and now it’s off to bed!

November 13, 2007

Let me just start by saying that today was a great day!

This morning I woke up at 7:20 and snuck into Katherine’s room to decorate the wall in her room with a birthday sign, paper flowers, the birthday card I made, and pictures that we had printed. We also put her present on her desk! She was in the shower as this was happening, and she also got a surprise in the shower…we filled it with balloons after she went to bed last night because we knew that she would be the first one up in the morning! She was surprised by everything!

After getting ready and studying for a few quick minutes, we went to campus to take our very last final for the semester! The final went alright…there were a few questions that I don’t think we ever read about or took notes on, but oh well, it was a great feeling to be done! After class we all met at the Boardwalk at Dulce for lunch to celebrate Katherine’s birthday! We were able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine and eat our lunch! I had a tram for lunch (could be my last one L) and it was delicious! We came back home and I was the lucky winner and I got a postcard saying that I had a package waiting for me at the post office! I walked the windy walk (it was the windiest it has ever been) to the post office and to my surprise it came from J. Krasinski (aka Aunt Kathy)! She sent a card with the St. Ben’s Sacred Heart Chapel (reminded me of home and school) and an Office package! There was I heart Jim post-it notes and paper, Dwight note pads, magnets, and pens (which by the way are the greatest pens in the world because they are fine tip…love those!). it made my day and made me smile as I was opening it! When Alex and Brenna came back from shopping I ran to show them because they are also Office fans and they loved it!

I spent some time beginning the packing process of y souvenirs and figuring out which things should go in my checked luggage or my carry-on. At 6:00 Tonya, Alex, Leslie, and I took Katherine out for a birthday drink at Gondwana! Katherine and I split a two for one and it was one of the best fruity drinks that I have had in South Africa! We came back home after a drink and after about an hour of sitting around in our room the power went out! We all grabbed our flashlights and conserved computer power because some people were still writing paper that is due tomorrow! We walked in pairs through the hall because it was dark and creepy! We think that the power outage is due to a large fire that happened in a township by the airport. We don’t have any details about it, but it was all smokey all over PE this afternoon and some people drove past the airport to go to Walmer and they were told that it was a fire in the township. Hopefully everyone is alright. The power was out for an hour and when it came on we all jumped around because we could finally see and not rely on two small flashlights!

At 9:30 we walked down the hall with a chocolate cake with candles singing Happy Birthday to Katherine! We all ate the yummy cake together and sat around talking…then Ashley announced that we got the email about our clinical placement for next semesters Capstone class! We all ran to our computers and I found out that I am at North Memorial Medical Center on the pediatric unit!!! I seriously am the happiest person right now! I was jumping around the apartment with the roomies and we were all giddy and excited! Carrie and Katherine are at Children’s and Ashley is in the schools for the St. Cloud School district! All of us got where we wanted and we were all so darn happy! I was so excited that I had to call mom at work to tell her and we talked for less than a minute but I was so excited! I tried skyping Dad but he was at work already! I was waiting for Marcus to sign on to AIM so I could tell him and it made me happy to have him excited with me too! He was asking me all kinds of questions about it and it made me all excited! It seriously has been such a great day today!

November 12, 2007

This morning we had our Public Health test and it was a piece of cake! It was an essay exam and the questions were very easy! It was a great feeling to walk out of the room and be done with that class…now just one more final tomorrow and I am done with the nursing classes! On the way home from school, Ashley and I stopped at Pick ‘n Pay and I bought a few groceries and bought a cake for Katherine’s birthday tomorrow. We also got picture developed for her birthday present and bought a picture frame for her! As we were walking to get a kombi back home the “wingman” flagged us over and asked if we were going to “Town Town!” and we said yes. Well then we ended up going back to campus to drop people off and then we were brought home. Ugh! It was a long drive home with groceries and a cake on top of things! We came home and I studied the rest of the afternoon for our last final in mental health. For dinner I made spaghetti casserole for the last time in South Africa, and it was one of my better recipes! After supper, Katherine, Carrie, and I went through the focus questions for the exam. Q brought over CDs for us and Lestie brought our South African music CD and I was so excited to listen to the songs! We danced to a few and relived the memories from singing in music class!

I can’t believe that this week is our last week at Langerry and all of us being together! We leave on Saturday and it just blows my mind that the end is right around the corner! It doesn’t quite seem real. Today after our class, we had a meeting with the International Office and they talked about reverse culture shock and they helped us prepare for what it will be like when we get home and what to expect. It just seems strange to think that I will be more shocked culturally when I come home, than when I arrived in South Africa. It is tough to think that I will be surprise about things back at home, since I think about home everyday and what it is like back in Minnesota. I guess that the most difficult thing that I will have to adapt to is 1.) the cold weather, 2.) life at St. Bens and getting in the swing of things when everyone has been there for a semester, and 3.) just catching up with my family, it will be strange to see how big Chrissy has gotten, and seeing Jane’s tummy, and just everyone else! I feel that time should have stopped back at home and when I get home, it will be right where it was when I left, but of course that isn’t the case!

November 11, 2007

Today was a gorgeous day outside! Barely any wind and the sun was shining! The market was in full force and every vendor was there…it hasn’t been like that since when we first arrived. I went with Carrie to the market and I bought a pink ostrich egg! And I bought a few more little things for gifts for people! I was talking with our favorite painter brothers and since I bring all of my friends to them to buy paintings they gave me a free painting, and it is my favorite one that I have gotten! I also spent some time on the roof getting some sun! Alex and I went to lunch at Captains and I finally was able to try the lasagna! It was so yummy! I had every intention of studying today…but it just didn’t actually happen! The roomies and I did look through the outcomes and that was the extent of our studying. Now I am sitting with Katherine picking out Christmas presents and playing the “How hot on a scale of 1 to 10?”game with pictures and we would quiz Alex, but he didn’t appreciate our game and told us that were horrible people. I have a date with Harry Potter tonight before bed!

November 10, 2007

Today was so boring, all I did was sit in my room and do homework. I studied and wrote my very last paper of the semester. That literally is all that I have done. So rather than boring everyone with all of my exciting details from the day, I thought that I would add some thoughts that I have experienced during the trip.

A few things I’ve learned since coming to SA:

let people know how much you care. if your flight plans change, go with it, it’s all part of the experience. being stuck in a five-star hotel in Jo’burg isn’t the worst case scenario. money in your savings accounts is supposed to be used. if there’s no money, suck it up and ask dad & mom for a loan. dream big. keep lists. don’t sweat the small stuff. wish upon stars…sometimes the city lights don’t allow you to see them but they are there. take the road less traveled, sometimes a detour can open your eyes to something you would never see. slow down, things won’t pass by in such a blur. no matter how much you plan and prepare, there will always be a hiccup that can’t be cured with peanut butter. don’t hold back, sometimes you just have to hold the six foot long earth worm, because when else will you have the chance. don’t take for granted your own bedroom. waking up to the ocean will never be old. so you gain a little weight, it doesn’t mean you should stop eating the food. when you think that you had a bad day, it isn’t anything close to what half of the country has to deal with everyday. it is a long walk to freedom. you can’t change someone’s opinion, even if they are blatantly wrong. don’t rely too heavily on technology to do the work for you. it is a long flight home. the language may be the same, but doesn’t mean that we hear each other. no matter what people say, Xhosa and clicking is not easy. it’s inevitable, you will get seasick when out on the ocean and no amount of ginger or Dramamine can prevent it from happening. shark cage diving is nothing like the movie jaws. bargain at the market, you can usually get things half priced. McDonald’s ice cream is always a cure. accept the fact that you could have won R100, but left two minutes before your name was called. don’t wish the minutes away, it will get to the end and you will want to stop time. so your suitcase may be a little overweight, it doesn’t mean you should stop buying things to bring home. rugby is life. wearing green and yellow doesn’t mean you’re cheering for the Packers, those are Springbok colors too. no use crying (or throwing a mini temper-tantrum) over spilled milk, even if a whole carton spills in your backpack and soaks through your jeans. smiling is a universal language. when in doubt, take immodium, it cures everything. accept the fact that you will never be on time anywhere, an hour late is still “on time.” you will wear the same clothes over and over, this can be due the fact that you have to walk three blocks to get your laundry done, or you just didn’t bring enough clothes. don’t bring lists when grocery shopping, you’ll only leave disappointed when they don’t have anything you needed. as soon as you are acclimated to driving on the right side of the road, you need to go back to the left. if you go to the beach on a windy day, sand will accumulate up your shorts. always have aloe in the refrigerator. there’s nothing topdeck chocolate can’t fix. pretzels and nutella should be staple foods in the food guide pyramid. two-for-ones doesn’t mean that you still order your “regular amount” of drinks and just get double, share with your friends. some people don’t get the concept of returning money when you have borrowed it to them. don’t look back on the time here and become solely focused and upset with the healthcare systems, family dynamics, poverty, and the lack of education…the tearful thank you from one patient means that you made a difference.

November 9, 2007

Unfortunately there isn’t much to report about today, but I’ll try to make it as interesting as possible! I had my last nursing class this morning and I had the honor of teaching the last part of class with Carrie. It could have gone better because we were facilitating class discussions and the class was just not having it. You could tell that everyone was antsy and wanting to leave and be done for the day, so it didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped, but all in all, it is over and done with. I came back home and I spent the afternoon being very lazy by reading a book for fun and working on my video that I am making with my photos. I took a nap while listening to Harry Potter on tape and finished book one! Tonight before bed I’ll start book two! I talked to both Mom and Dad tonight and we had a few laughs and were planning the first few days of when I will be back at home (which includes dinner at Pablo’s since I am C R A V I N G Mexican food, key lime pie yogurt, going to the Johnnie Blend Christmas concert, and seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Chanhassen!). The girls and I made a quick run to get ice cream and the rest of the night was spent relaxing! I also talked to Marcus and he told me that they got snow in Menomonie! I keep forgetting that I will be coming home to winter, which is so hard because the weather is getting so nice here! I can sleep with the windows open in a t-shirt and shorts, and not be bundled under the blankets! It’s going to be hard to leave this weather behind!

November 8, 2007

This morning we had a site visit at Dora, a public hospital in PE. This hospital was much better than the psychiatric hospital from yesterday, but it was still not up to par compared to the United States. We visited the labor and delivery unit, and nursery, the pediatric ICU, the medical wards, the theaters (or the operating rooms), the pediatric burn unit, and the adult burn units. The burn units were the most difficult to visit. In pediatrics we learned that all of the cases that they get are burns that resulted from domestic violence, most of the times the burns are from scalding water that is thrown at the children. Very few cases that come in are from burns not sustained in a domestic conflict. It was very hard seeing little children wrapped in dressings all over their body. The pain that they are in is unbelievable and the dressing changes are even more traumatic for the children, and the adults. We went to the adult burn ward and there was a patient who had been necklaced the day before. This gets a little graphic, so this is the disclaimer that you may want to jump to the next paragraph…necklacing began during the Apartheid era and continues today as punishment and gang violence in many parts of the country. A tire is dowsed in gasoline and filled in the inside rim of the tire and then the tire is placed around a person so it will get stuck on their shoulders and pin their arms and the tire is lit on fire. It is a very brutal and violent act that is used to “punish” people or just to torture people for no reason. This particular patient was 13 years old and covered in burns. It was the most difficult thing to see, the only skin that was visible was his lips and nose that were covered with the oxygen mask.

I left the hospital frustrated with healthcare in South Africa and the illnesses and lack of resources, staff, and support that should be available to people. We had a discussion about differentiating the right to health and the right to healthcare. These people aren’t even given an opportunity, their right to living a healthy life just gets sucked away from the cycle of poverty. It is so upsetting.

When we came back home, I took a nap and at 3:00 Carrie came into the room to wake me up for post conference…our last one! We had our weekly post conference discussion and then I have been hanging out in the room just reading and relaxing for the rest of the night. I am very tired from a late night yesterday so I am going to go to bed early.

November 7, 2007

Today we had a site visit at Elizabeth Donken Hospital (EDH). EDH is a public psychiatric hospital and we were given a tour of their different wards. It was out of this world. The only way to describe the hospital is to compare it to a prison. Patients are locked in their wards (for their safety) but the wards are musty and smell of urine. The only things in the room are beds that are bolted to the ground, and the linens on the beds. They have isolation rooms which were about the size of Mandela’s jail cell on Robben Island. Patients were crying and banging on doors, the paint on the walls were ripped and chipped from patients peeling it off. I couldn’t imagine sending someone, particularly a psychiatric patient to that hospital.

After the visit, we had a quick hour long roof party where all of us went to the roof to tan! It was one of the most beautiful days we have had in PE! After our relaxation hour we hopped on the Kombi and went to take our political science final. It was very easy and I felt very good about my essays when leaving the classroom! One down…two to go!

Katherine and I went for a walk when we got back, we did the route to Pick ‘N Pay and we did it in 45 minutes (a new record for us!) We had a nice chat and the time went by fast! We came back and we grabbed Ashley and Alex and went to Nandos to get dinner! Then we all came back and watched the History of the Miss South Africa pageant as we ate dinner! At 9:00 we all went to Toby Joes for two for ones and Ladies Night! We sat around talking and laughing and then the dancing began! We danced until 1:00am before the last group of us decided that it was time to go home and get some rest! Our German friends met us at Toby Joe’s and they were on the dance floor dancing with everyone until we all left as well! It was a fun night! As we were walking back, a car almost hit us…but Brenna went all traffic cop on the car and directed traffic and the rest of us pedestrians across the street! This was probably the highlight of my night!

November 6, 2007

Today I had public health and it was a little boring…so to pass the time I made a Soduku game (I filled in the boxes, created a puzzle, and the solved it) and I made a crossword puzzle with South Africa memories! It was a lot of fun! Class was two hours long, and by 11:00 I was done with class for the day! I came back to Langerry and worked on my teaching plan for Friday’s class and did a little more homework. We went to the backpackers to see David to make sure all of our things were booked for our trip to Durban! We are ready to roll! I can’t wait! Anyway, it was more homework for the rest of the afternoon and then girl talk in the evening! Katherine and I were laughing so hard and playing “What would you rather!” We had some good ones…many were a little disturbing, but we got a good ab workout from laughing! Now it’s a little reading for leisure and off to bed!

November 5, 2007

Today is the first day of the last week of classes! We had our last mental health class via DVD and it was a great feeling to be finally finished with those videos! I got a lot accomplished during class…other than taking notes from the lecture, I wrote my practice essays for my political science final this Wednesday! Scratch that off of the list of things to do today! After class my roommates and I grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the computer lab. We got computers right away which was great to get started on papers and readings right away! I proof-read my final Political Science paper and finished the Reference page and printed the twelve page paper! It’s all ready to be handed in next week! We also had our last music class today! It was long but it ended well! I came back to Langerry where I made muffins…but ran out of ingredients so I had to improvise. They turned out alright but I wasn’t too hungry by the time they were done. They will get eaten between the four of us though. I was so productive with working on homework today! I read my reading for my presentation for Friday, I finished my online course discussion questions (just one more paper to go!) and sent out emails to people. Brad Skyped me and I got all excited…except our connection was crummy so I didn’t get to see him or talk to him live, instead we messaged and he updated me about Cece and all of the new things that she is doing (crawling everywhere and starting to pull herself up!). I can’t believe that she is almost a year old! I was excited to hear and they will be making a trip North to Minnesota after I have been home, so we will be able to see them and see how grown up Cece has gotten since I saw her this summer! I quickly called home and talked to Mom and Dad before she brought him to the airport. Tonight has been very loud outside because it is fireworks day in PE! It’s a national holiday where they set off fireworks (but it’s nothing compared to New Prague at 4th of July…or Dad and Jeff’s Cedar Lake Fireworks Show!). Ashley, Alex, and I went up to the roof to watch the fireworks set off across the street on the beach. It was fun, but a little chilly on the roof, so I went in early! We’ve been told that people set them off all night, so hopefully it will end soon so I can get some sleep! Well, I have to do a few dishes and then it’s off to bed!

November 4, 2007

I woke this morning at 5:30am again! What is wrong with me?!? I stayed in bed until 6:00, and got up to go out side and see the sun and run to the bathroom. Then I crawled back to bed, where I was in and out of sleep until 8:00am. I finally crawled out of bed at 8:00 when the rest of the room was beginning to show signs of life and I got dressed and packed my bag for the trip home. We went to breakfast and had great rolls with jam and hardboiled eggs with lots of fruit to choose from! The pineapple was delicious! We sat on the bench overlooking the lagoon and ocean and it was so serene. Our ride came to get us at 9:30 and we drove the four and a half hour drive back to PE. When I got back to PE, Carrie and I went to the market and I bought the last of my gifts that I needed to get! Only one more person to buy for and then I am done! I can’t wait to come home and give all of my gifts to people! I have spent the rest of the day working on my blog, updating pictures, and working on homework. I am going to call home in a few minutes and hopefully I’ll get to talk to both Mom and Dad because it was home in Minnesota for the weekend!

November 3, 2007

Happy Birthday Grandma!
This morning I woke up at 5:30am and from my bed I had a beautiful view of the sun rising. I watched for a little bit and then went back to sleep for another hour. Ee were up and eating breakfast at 7:00am ready to start our long day. We ate out on the deck overlooking the lagoon and the ocean! It would be so nice to wake up to that scene every morning. At 7:30am we met Michael and Tobaya at “Big Green” the big green 4x4 that we were going to take on the tour of the Transkei. The vehicle was an old 1969 military vehicle which served the medics. We all piled in and bounced back and forth in the backseats. We stopped at the Great Kei River (pronounced Kie…like pie) and we walked along the flood plains to the ferry that would take us across the river to the other side. We drove Big Green onto the ferry and we rode across where we went to see another river that has much religious symbolism for the Xhosa people and Sangomas (their witch doctors). After more driving we came to another river where we hiked up a large hill to get to he pools off of the river. There were large rocks and cliffs surrounding the pools. All of us changed into our swimsuits at the top in the middle of a field with towels wrapped around our waists! We climbed down the first rocks and went into the water! It was chilly but we got used to the water, then I climbed the rocks on the opposite side of the pool to the top of the cliff. Brenna and Katherine were up there, and Christy and I met them up there. They were too scared to jump, so they made me go first. I stood at the edge, with my toes hanging over, took a deep breath and jumped! I couldn’t even count to three because that would psych myself out! As I jumped, I thought, “What the heck was I thinking!?!” but I slapped into the water and it hurt the bottom of my feet because I didn’t point my toes! It was a lot of fun. Christy jumped after me, and after much coaxing Brenna then Katherine jumped. Christy and I climbed back up again and did it one more time! The second time it was much more graceful! We swam under the little waterfall for a bit and then had to climb back up the steep rocks to go and change. We all went to our “changing spot” and got dressed. We walked back to Big Green and we drove to a nice overlook to sit by the water and have sandwiches for lunch. It was peaceful sitting by the water and listening to the waves slap against the rocks. The Wild Coast gets its name from the dangerous currents and tides along the strip of shoreline in the Eastern Cape. It is ranked in the top five more dangerous pieces of shore for ships to sail. It is dangerous because there are three different currents coming to shore, one from the North going South along the Eastern coast, another coming up from Cape Town going South to North along the Eastern coast, and finally a current coming from the South Atlantic into shore. There were large waves that break out very far from shore.

After lunch we went to a Xhosa Village where we met Mama Tofu and she taught us about the Xhosa culture. We watched the young girls dancing traditional dances in their outfits. Then Mama Tofu explained the symbolism with the outfits that the women wear. She taught us about the role that each person has within their clan. Her daughter then told us about the slaughtering of animals, a cow is slaughtered when a man dies, and a goat is slaughtered when a baby is born. The hide of the goat is then used as a blanket for the child when he or she is carried their mother’s back or when they sleep. We watched the women make mealies and grind corn. Then we had the chance to buy beadwork from the women. I bought a purse and some jewelry as well as some gifts that I am really excited about giving to people! When we were finished with our shopping we were served a small meal to sample some of the traditional foods. It was so delicious! The stew was incredible! Tonya and I shared a plate and we really enjoyed that part of the meal! It started to rain and thunder, so we went into one of the huts to listen about marriage rituals before taking a few pictures and going back to the backpackers.

We arrived at the backpackers and before dinner I read my book and just relaxed. Dinner was served at 7:30 in the guest house and we were served a traditional Xhosa dinner. We had soup, beans, meat, sweet potatoes, squash, and spinach. It was very delicious, and the dessert was very yummy as well. After dinner we all went back to our room and we all sat around talking and reading, then we went to bed! It was an early night for all of us!

November 2, 2007

This morning we were up and ready to go the Wild Coast. We went to Cintsa in the Eastern Cape and stayed at the Buccaneer’s backpackers. It is the last weekend away where all eleven of us will be traveling together. We arrived at the backpackers, grabbed lunch, and claimed our beds. All of us stayed in a twelve person dorm with four bunks and four beds. After we got our living arrangements sorted out, we walked down to the beach and looked at shells. It was very windy down at the ocean so we came back along the trail and passed the lagoon that was below where we were staying. We got back to the backpackers and we waited to be picked up to go horseback riding on the beach. We waited, and waited, and then got a phone call that said that they had to cancel because it was too windy for the horse ride. I was a little disappointed, but it saved me some money. We went to the bar and we played pool and had free wine! A group of us played “killer pool” where you have to get a ball in on every shot that you take, and if you miss you lose a life (and you have three lives). It was pretty fun! We met three people from England and they played with us. Then we played Christy’s game of rolling the ball and trying to knock it in with our hands, and it ended up making everyone laugh so hard because Brenna’s face was priceless (as it seems to be every time we play games or go away for weekends). She would get so flustered and it was worth playing the game just to see her face and watch her!

We hung around the bar and talked with people as we waited for the braai to start. The dinner was very delicious, we had lamb (which I didn’t eat because it is so difficult to eat with all of the fat on it), kudu sausage, and chicken, potato salad, green salad and garlic bread. We hung around for a bit socializing with others who are staying at the backpackers. As I was sitting there talking with Ashley the song, “Around the World” by Daft Punk started to play! I got very excited and thought of Jane and the wedding this summer and I did our dance and sang the song! I wish that you could have been there Janey, because I was laughing and just dancing as Ashley rolled her eyes at me when I told her that I was paying tribute to you back at home! After a while we were tired and we all crawled into the room and went to bed.

November 1, 2007

It's already November...holy cow, where did October go?!?

This morning I woke up and it was my last day of clinicals for the semester (and basically the rest of the year!). I happily got ready this morning and went on my way. Leslie and I both brought books to clinical and we enjoyed an hour and a half of non-interrupted reading time before the nurses were ready for us. Sister called us back to her office and our day began. It was the best day of clinical so far in the psychiatric clinic because we saw some interesting cases, and most of them were in English! Double bonus! I was actually useful today in clinical because I took blood pressures and did weights of patients and I even was able to give IM injections. I was a little nervous at first because I have only given one IM injection before and today’s injection was in a location that I had never administered it in…so it was a learning experience. I also was able to have my own patient with Leslie without one of the sisters with us. It was fun being able to do things productive at clinical rather than sitting in the corner and listening as people spoke Afrikaans for four or six hours.

After clinical we had our post conference and then the rest of the afternoon was ours! I made a quick trip to the 7/11 to get cereal for our weekend away to the Wild Coast. I worked on my political science paper and I finished it! Katherine and I were in a friendly competition with each other over who would finish theirs first…and the gold medal goes to me! Now I only have one more paper to write for the semester! The best part about today is that I only have one more week of classes and then two finals the following week. And exactly four weeks from today I am home to Minnesota! I am sad that the time is coming to an end but I am also excited to see people and be home! It’s a little bittersweet! I was able to talk to Dad on Skype today without connection problems, and I got a few messages from Sheena today. I tried calling her, but no answer…oh well, better luck next time! Its after midnight now and I have to be up in six hours to leave for a weekend away…our last one as a big group! Goodnight!

October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween! South Africa doesn’t celebrate Halloween, so we didn’t dress up and there were no trick-or-treaters. Unless you count us dressing up as “nurses” to go to clinical as a costume!

We started the last week of clinical today (thank goodness!). And of course, Leslie and I sat in the psychologist’s office for an hour and a half before the nurse was ready for us to listen in on her sessions with patients. It was a little more interesting today because we had a new patient to the clinic and I could watch her do the initial interview and I was able to talk about what my diagnosis would be for the patient. Sure enough though, all of the patients spoke Afrikaans, and when they would speak English they would default back to Afrikaans and I wouldn’t be able to understand what was being said. At 11:50, Leslie and I want out to wait for our ride…and we waited…and waited. Finally at 12:30 I went into the clinic to call Denise to tell her that I think we were forgotten about. Denise made a few phone calls and a half and hour later a kombie came to pick us up. It was great fun sitting in the parking lot in Central PE, in not the safest of areas. Let’s just say that we were a little frustrated and it wasn’t a funny Halloween trick.

We made it home to Langerry with only a half hour to grab lunch, change, and hit the road to NMMU for a three hour lecture on the democratic negotiations from 1990-1994. We were all dreading the class, but it actually was very interesting. We had a guest professor teach our class, and we have had him before and he gets very long winded, but he kept my attention the entire time! After class we came back home and Alex started a fire in our braai pit and we all cooked our meat and he made potatoes and we all brought our own veggies to have a Halloween dinner! We listened to spooky music and sat around and ate dinner! I spent the rest of the night working on my political science paper (the last one for classes for the semester!) and then went to bed!

I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Halloween! I want to see pictures of cute costumes!