Home Sweet Manitoba...

AAHHHHHHH!!!

It's true folks, we all arrived safely last night at around 8pm, and although I'm not in Ontario yet, I feel totally at home here!! Driving on the right side of the road, drinking Starbucks coffee, bitter cold Winnipeg air, 2 quilts and a bed to sleep in, a hot shower, a blueberry bagel for breakfast (South Africa apparently doesn't believe in bagels, so I've missed them), and so much more, have all been welcoming realities of Canada that I used to take for granted!! But NO LONGER!!

So! I last blogged enroute to Heronbridge after we left Ukutula. We arrived that evening and I called home for the last time from South Africa! After a few rounds of Dutch Blitz, it was bed time... travel days are tiring!

Friday... which would've been... April 6th... we continued with our De-Briefing sessions and heard 3 more testimonies. It was an enjoyable day of sessions, hanging out, and playing waterpolo! haha, THAT was fun. Friday night the worship committee (that's me!) put on a special Good Friday service. Really cool. We blindfolded everyone and had them sit in a circle, then we told the story of Jesus from Creation up until Easter, using poems, scriptures, songs and communion, and had them make use of all their senses besides sight! Overall an impactful evening.

Saturday! A couple more testimonies to listen to, ultimate frisbee, dutch blitz, a cup of tea, and many more things made it another wonderful day!

Sunday after breakfast we had a quick Easter morning worship service followed by an hour of quiet time for us to think about what Easter means to us. I reallllyyy enjoyed that! After two more testimonies, we had an Easter Egg hunt :) After lunch was our last student testimony!!

Monday's sessions were really good, as we heard the experiences of our four leaders. They had some amazing things to say, and I feel like I learned a lot from them in the 20min. they each had!

ALRIGHT! So Tuesday we left! Little did I know, that the 4hrs of sleep I got Monday night would somehow hold me over until last night! Good times on the flight home, hanging out in Germany (drinking Starbucks for the first time in 3 months!!! AKK!!), seeing my dad and Heather in Toronto (SOOO GOOD, but way to brief!!), and finally arriving here!!! Since we landed in Winnipeg, everything has been sooo awesome... I'm staying in Steinbach at my friend Alethea's, and i'm loving every minute of it! Today we went into town, visited her work, ran some errands (groceries for grad party and such), and ate lunch! Now the girls are baking up a storm and soon we'll be making waffles for supper! Tonight the Site 3 girls have a night out at Boston Pizza, which shall be FABULOUS!

Tommorrow morning I get to see my mom and little sister! We have grad rehearsal in the afternoon, and a free evening.... Saturday all day is free for students, and I'll be hanging out here helping prepare for the site party which is here in Steinbach Saturday night!! Sunday is grad... and I really can't beleive it... then I fly home with my mom & sister Sunday night!!

... this means I will see you all very soon!! Hope you've had an amazing 3 months, because I certainly have! I'm sure I'll be de-briefing this experience for a long time yet, and it's really not going to be easy leaving all my new best friends... but it's gotta happen!

Until we meet! Three days and I'm home :)

lots of love... from not so far away!

This Is The Home Stretch Folks!

Wow.
I can hardly believe this...
I'm only in this country for 5 more days...

So much has happened this semester and I don't really know where to start, or how to attempt to describe my experiences! God has blessed me so incredibly much with new relationships, amazing leaders, crazy adventures, and soooo many challenges that have really stretched me, and as i've found myself saying alot, "expanded my horizons".

We're in the heart of our de-briefing time, and we're well over halfway through hearing each students testimonies about their experiences/struggles/growth points this year.

This morning we left Ukutula Lodge & Lion Farm where we've been since last Wednesday (28th), and we're off to Heronbridge to finish off the year! (just outside Pretoria).... it was the first place we came to when we arrive WAYYYY back in January! Wow....

Sooooo... I'm drawing a bit of a blank since I last blogged... it was just before the crazy hike up Rhino's Peak I think? Yeah, that was insane... and guess what!? I fell again! It really never gets old with me... actually my friend Jeff and I have become quite famous in our Outtatown crew for being the most clumsy and injury-prone... so we're taken good care of... but yet we still fall...

haha, anyways!! Kruger National Park!! We stayed in tents, made our own meals, swam in the pool, and enjoyed a couple game drives!! (ahhh!! saw giraffes, LIONS, impalas, zebras, rhino, crocodile, hippo, snakes (umm, we watched one on the road get run over by an incoming truck...), and elephants! a whole train of them!!) Overall a sweet experience!!!

After Kruger we left for Ukutula Lion Farm!! Out in the middle of nowhere!! But there's lion cubs runnin around all over, so we play with them... then there's the mama lions (and one male) that you always here late at night when you're trying to sleep... kinda freaky actually... they've got some seriously loud roaring skills... aaand there's a pool, and a tuck shop, and cool huts and picnic tables where we've been able to chill and write our testimonies and written reports!

Okay well I'm gonna wrap this up, and go call home!! Right now we're enroute to Heronbridge at Menlyn Mall (HUGE!!) There's a Cinnabon here, and my stomach tells me that I should be finding it.... so here i go.

Thanks so much for taking time to read these blogs, however long and confusing they may be... just trying to keep you informed! Thanks too for prayers and thoughts and emails, it means the world to me!! I'm sure I'll blog again back home, but for now, this could be it until i'm back in Canada!! I'm really looking forward to Grad weekend... lots of crazy celebrations in the works!!

lots of love from far away...

I'm In Prison...

hey it's me!

... and yes it's true, i'm in prison... but it's been turned into an organization called Project Gateway that reaches out to the poor and oppressed... so don't worry i'm not in any serious trouble.

We're in the city of Pietermaritzburg, where our country partners Geoff & Sarah live, so they're hanging out with us a lot more this week. Today we leave to hike Drakensburg mountain for a couple days, and sleep in caves! BOOYA.

Well, I last blogged in the beginning of my week in Durban... and what a week that was!
The leaders had their vacation last week, so we were without our outtatown parents for a week. It was like the whole world was crashing down... WHAT WOULD WE DO!?
But we did survive, Geoff took over for the week, and he did a great job.
The leaders said they had a relaxing week at their B&B, chillin, playing cards, shopping, reading, and relaxing!

Meanwhile in Durban, we were busy busy bodies!
Monday (March 12) we visited the Hare Krishna Temple, had an amazing lunch at the mall, then shopped for a bit (where I found an internet cafe, and wrote up my last blog), then supper back at the church (rice & curry... a recurring theme throughout the week... ehhh)
That evening I phoned Heather and we had an awesome chat... DEFINITELY the highlight of my day!

Tuesday the pastor of the church hosting us gave us a talk, andin the afternoon we went to... wait for it... ANOTHER MALL! ps - I had the most amazing Chai Tea Latte EVER. Back to the church for supper again... then a few of us found each others host houses that evening, got together, and had a hair party! Some got theirs cut, some coloured, and I attempted to cut my bangs... I guess it sort of worked? We enjoyed the treats that my mom sent me from home :)

Okay! Wednesday we visited the KwaMuhle Museum (S.A. natural history), then the Soofie Saheb Mosque (really interesting debates/conversataion with a Muslim leader), lunch at the Mosque (guess what we ate?), then off to the Mahatma Ghandi center, then supper at church again!

Thursday we spent the day at a home for the aged and children (mostly abandoned ones) called Aryan Benevolent Home. I had a really nice talk with an old Hindu man, for about an hour, and later I made an official donation of the last of my Grandpa's shirts to the home. Again, back to church for rice & curry...

AHHH. Friday! What a blast! We went to Ushaka Wet 'n Wild water park. Such a good time.
That night our host family got us pizza, and we spent the evening chillin'on the driveway with the neighbors until really late.

Saturday morning off to Pietermaritzburg! We spent the day abseiling! It's basically repelling.... down a steep cliff/waterfall (107m!) Sooo scary, but loads of fun. Sunday we attended Pietermaritzburg Christian Fellowship church... it was similar to home, and made me miss it! An enjoyable service, followed by a braai (remember that's a South African BBQ folks), then a tour of the prison compound, a quick trip to Mcdonalds... and yeah!

Basically our week has consisted so far of sessions, service work at the primary school, and hanging out! Half our group gets back from the hike today, and we swap places. They'll be here at the prison until Friday when we get back. We leaves Saturday, go white water rafting (!!!), then we're at Kruger park on Sunday for 3 days. After that begins de-brief!

You know what that means? I'm coming home in 25 days! I'm definitelyready to return to Canada, but still enjoying this beautiful country! As always, I'm learning lots, being stretched WAY out of my comfort bubble, and loving it... and continuing to build aawesome friendships. That's one thing I'm realizing will REALLY suck after this program...we all live across Canada, and it's gonna take a big effort to maintain these friendships!

WOW, longest blog ever! Sorry guys... I'll wrap this up.
Miss you all soooo much. Don'tknow how my future internet access will be, so this could be that last you'll hear in a while.

Hope all is well back in Canada!
lots and lots of love!
you're in my thoughts & prayers more and more everyday!

It's Hot In Durban

ALRIIIIGHTEEEE.
So i'm in Durban!
This is our last homestay week with various host families from a local church.
Since I last blogged, a LOT has happened!
First things first, I jumped off the highest bungee jump in the wooorlllddd.
Can you believe it...
I really wish I could describe the experience, but it's basically indescrbable.
Like, the freefall is insane. And once you're hanging around down there, it's SOO quiet. All you hear is the breeze, and the birds, and the river wayyyy down there... then you try and look up and there's a bright light, and a voice, "Alyssa! Alyssa!"
It's the man on the rope! He's coming for me!
I was definitely scared... my arms had fallen asleep, and my ankles were slipping out of the straps (nope, not joking) and perhaps I was starting to get a leg cramp? Either way, it was an incredible, absolutely crazy experience, and I'm so glad I did it!

Then Friday morning (March 2) I had a surfing lesson on the the Indian Ocean! Seriously, it was such a blast! I was already happy just paddling on the board and riding the waves in, but I also managed to get up, just for half a second that is, but seriously, soooo much fun!

J-Bay flew by, and before long we were up 'n adam 5am Saturday morning, off to Mdumbi!
It was another long drive, but we made it to the middle of nowhere, Mdumbi Backpackers, right on the beach, just before supper!
We lived in huts! A couple surfer dudes run the place, and it's sooo cool. A real beachy feel.
We swam, played beach volleyball, and our leaders led us in a Knowing Yourself week. It was really cool to look at our personality types, according to a test we'd taken, and discover our spiritual gifts. Then we got the chance to write up encouragements to the people in our small groups. Overall, and awesome week. OH! And we had a little hike on Friday (March 9), along the beach, into a lot of mud with lots of crabs, and saw these cool trees that are apparently the only ones in the world? Mangroves or something? Anywho, a really cool week. I was sad to leave.

Now here we are in hot hot Durban! It's looking to be an interesting week! Today we visiting a temple, and we're hanging at the mall... we're volunteeering at a home later this week, and maybe doing some painting... then friday we hit up a waterpark! Saturday we're off to Pietermaritzburg! Alright, I'm running out of time, so I'll wrap up!

I miss home a lot a lot a lot... and especially because I got a parcel from home today!
That was definitely amazing. Totally made my day. Thanks mom!
But yeah, I'm homesick more often, and Canada sick too! (cough. Tim Hortons)

Lots of love from South Africa! Until next time!

J-BAY!

Welcome to Jeffrey's Bay!
And yep, we're a couple minutes walk from the beautiful Indian Ocean.
I played in the waves yesterday, and it was CRAZY. I'll be honest, I basically almost drowned... but not quite! Just swallowed about half the ocean, and flailed a lot. But I'm alive, no worries.
We're staying at a camp/center type dealio, in little huts kind of, 12 girls per "house". It's decent. We're right by the main drag where you find all the Billabong, Roxy, Quicksilver, Ripcurl factory outlets! WHOOP! There's some gooood shopping going down. And lotsa coffee shops too!

So the latest on me...
Two days ago, Monday, we were supposed to Bungee Jump... but our bus has loved causing us trouble all semester, and it broke down. So we spent the day in a random town, missed the jump, and it's re-scheduled for TOMMORROW (thursday). So whoever reads this, you can think of me and my team as we all jump off a bridge together! BAH!

Friday I hope to take part in a 2hr surfing lesson... that shall be an adventure.
Kathryn I can't wait to tell you about that!

Alright, so my last blog was the 13th from Strandfontein where I was with my host family...
It was a sad goodbye, but I was ready to re-charge and keep movin'!
We travelled to the beautiful wine country of Stellenbosch where we stayed at a center called "Christian Brothers".... orphanage-style living... lots and lots of girls in a small room with lots and lots of bunk beds. But a decent number of showers/bathrooms thank goodness!
It was a great week... we worked in the township of Kayamandi with some locals and we created our own service projects! We met a lot of people along the way, and worked hard. I got to think of my dad a lot as I was painting a community-type center... I dont' know how much he would've approved of my job though... a little sketchy...

Blayne arrived on Sunday, the 18th, and with his help, the girls threw a Guys night on Thursday the 22nd... including steak dinner, sports highlights on a big screen, and a poker tournament! Good stuff hey?

Friday the 23rd we left Stellenbosch, and on our way to Bonnievale Adventure camp where we stayed for the weekend, we had a wine tour! Really cool experience... and the crackers are yummy... but, yeah i don't like wine. Stillc ool though! A good way to dig into the culture there.

So the weekend! We were literally dropped off in the Middle of Nowhere, South Africa in the dark Friday night, and walked to a camp... a few shelters, a river, a ropes course, a rope swing, and a septic tank for bathrooms/showers! Beauty!

It was actually a really good weekend. I did the ropes course, COMPLETELY fearless of course! pah! We paintballed Sunday morning... then in the afternooon we were taken to an irrigation canal where we swam through a cave... unknown to us it was full of BATS... I almost died. That was the craziest surprise ever!!!

Well anywho, here we are in J-Bay, sweet 'n sound. It's more of an adventure week... there's some assignments due on Saturday, so I gotta do that... but otherwise, it's a chill week!
We did a little bit of service this morning, presentations in schools, but lots of free time stilll!

We leave for Mdumbi on Saturday at 5am... and it's a Knowing Yourself Module week led by the site leaders! Exciting!

I need to wrap up, people are waiting! Moral of the story, I'm still alive and having a BLAST, really stretching myself, and continuing to build amazing relationships!! FUN FUN FUN :)

Miss you all way too much.
God bless, lots of hugs :)

from Strandfontein (spelt that wrong last time...)

hey hey, it's the south african girl over here!!

how are my favourite Canadians doing? man, i've definitely missed home a lot lately.... so here i am blogging to let you know the latest on my summer life!

this week we're staying in the homes of Coloured people in Strandfontein (just up the coast from Simons town, last week's spot). We're about 30min from downtown Capetown city. It's quite an interesting experience living with these families! Most homes are one floor houses, quite simple... and there's always people coming and going... like friends/family just randomly come by the house, the front door is always open... but yet securely locked up when no one's home... high burglary rates apparently!

i'm staying with a family together with my friend Tami.... they have three kids, the youngest girl Abegail is 16, the middle daughter Renee is 23, and the eldest son Brendon is 24.
Good food, late nights, interesting people and social life, alcohol is a huge thing for these families... and movies/music... the tv is always on. constant noise!! and even at 6am!!
they're night owls and early risers! weeeiiird.

as a site, we're doing like a drug-awareness road show through 3 highschools in the Strandfontein area... so we've whipped up a few dramas/skits/songs/personal stories to give kids the "don't do drugs" message. today we had a presentaion first thing at Steenberg High, and were given the rest of the day off... so we're at the beach! I bought flipflops :) and now i'm at this internet cafe, and will head to the beach when i'm done!

this thursday night a local soccer team (some guys from the church we're based out of) has challenged our site to a game at the Stadium on Main... downtown-ish. and there's lots other stuff to do tehre, like pool, bowling, rockclimbing, bowling, arcade, and a mall! PERFECT. i'm looking forward to that! then friday night my host family has invited everyone to come voer for karaoke and a "bring 'n braai" (braai in S.A. in like a BBQ) so everyone brings their own meat, and we have a party! i'm excited for that too!

OH! and we went to Capetown market yesterday and i bought some exciting goodies!
much luck, and a really enjoyable day :)

hmm what else. OH today we ran into a guy from Alberta who's been living here for one year with his wife working for Operation Mobilization. really cool, and kind of comforting to hear someone with a "Canadian accent"! a touch of home!

alright, this is getting to be a novel... and i could go on for hours.
all is well, i'm not sick, and my knees are healing up nicely! a few scabs remain, and it's incredibly tempting to pick them... but i'm resisting! i DO NOT want huge scars :)

ah yes, and next week we're going to Stellenbosch, wine country, and staying in a retreat center... not sure any other details, so stay tuned!

i miss you all too much for words! and wish i could send everyone personal emails.
just know i'm thinking/praying for you, and you can always update me on home life! i'd love to hear!

lots of love from the coast <3

Capetown to Strandfontaan and Beyond!

ello ello!
(i've heard some people say that here... thought i'd try it out!)

Well I'm still in beautiful Simons Town, Capetown... and all is well!
This place is beautiful... today it's really hot... it has to be at least 35 out... but lots of breeze!
Alright, well last week was a full week of free time mostly! We made many trips into town to experience Capetown's best iced coffee, eat pizza, check emails, shop at Harry's surf shop (the only store we really like... we're waiting to splurge at Capetown market on Sunday!), or just enjoy the surroundings!

There's penguins waddling all over the place, a cute boardwalk, gift shops, a restaurant by the water just outside where we're staying (called Water's Edge Accomodation Center), and of course the beach just outside our door too! Could I ask for better? Oh yes, and palm trees, and the view of mountains. Breath-taking really.

Some of my group chose to go para-gliding last Thursday, and they say it was a unique experience... I chose to go shark-diving instead, which happened on Saturday! AND WELL... let me tell YOU what that was like... I nearly forgot about the great whites I was so pre-occupied with keeping my food in my stomach! Many in our group got seasick, and I am proud to say I only puked twice... however, the second time I missed the ocean and perhaps got their box of diving suits a little dirty... slightly embarassing... and yet a memorable experience!! haha.
ohhhh the things we do.

Friday we hiked/climbed Table Mountain. THE HARDEST thing I have ever done, no doubt.
God helped me get up that mountain, cause there is NO way I could've done it otherwise.
SUCH a neat experience! Reaching the top was well worth the pain, sweat, and possible dehydration!

Anyways, this week we're in sessions on Conflict Resolution with a guy named Rodney who is our country partner for the next few weeks... and I'm looking forward to meeting my host families this friday! We get to go the a huge market in Capetown on Sunday when I hope to buy many souvenirs! YAY!

Lots more to say, but my time is running out. Overall, I am stretching myself, learning lots, soaking in the culture of South Africa (which does mean the sunshine! my tan is getting pretty decent!), and overall having a blast.

I miss you all, and I hope all is well in Canada. Say HI to the cold for me? :)

Much Love <3

From Capetown

me again!
we arrived safely in Capetown this morning after an extreeeemely long bus ride!
we left Soweto yesterday afternoon around 130pm, and finally got here today at 11am! EEK.

last week my site was split into five small groups for independant service projects.
my group worked in a township within Soweto called Kliptown.
the people there lived in tin shacks, the roads were dirt, filled with garbage and sewage, and many people didnt even have shoes. we helped out at a pre-school, where i ended up randomly leading 30 four year old children in spontaneous aerobics... since they were following me around anyways! we also had garden work to do!

ahh, and something else. a little kid was chasing me back at the community center in Soweto where we stayed last week, and i totally bailed at this little ramp thing, and i now have some serious scrapes/bruises on my knees and feet. hurts a bit... but hey, teaches me to be tough.

otherwise, here we are in beautiful Capetown!
i spent the afternoon at the beach with the penguins and the sunshine!
our place we're staying at (some sort of kids center) is right on the beach.
this week is a chill week, we'll do some de-briefing of last week, and touristy stuff.
next week we have teaching from Rodny, our country partner, on Conflict Resolution.
the following week is our homestay week with the Coloured people, and we'll be getting together with 36 other students doing outreach about drug awareness in 3 different highschools!
cool hey?

well, i'm running out of time, and it's almost dinner.
i miss you all a whole lot, and i hope you get the chance to read this.

much love!

Off To Soweto!

ho hum, my week in Pretoria is coming to an end.
i've had a fabulous time learning more about this country, soaking up the sunshine, playing with adorable little kids, eating South African cuisine, and tons more!

how can i sum it all up...
-lectures at the University of Pretoria
-met some students from the school at my host family's church, who took us out on my birthday
-bowling, shopping, drinking amazing coffee
-discovered that the icecream here is 10x better than in Canada... true story
-bagged shampoos/soaps at an old folks home, where they fed us "fat cakes" for lunch (it's a lot like rollkuchen, for those of you who know what that is... haha)
-visited 2 nursery schools during recess and played with lots and lots of Black underpriveledged children
-visited a soup kitchen type place and played with kids there, also sang a few songs, and they sang for us too!
-went to Pilanesberg National Park, about 2hrs from Pretoria... and saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, impalas, rhinos, wildabeasts, hippos... and random cows!
-discovered what it's like to eat dinner at 8pm, take 2hrs to get through the MOUNTAINS of food we get, then go to bed!
-suntanned, swam, good conversation
-went on the Gospel Train at 6am (there's a Black United Church that hops on the fullest craziest train you've ever seen every morning while the Blacks are commuting to work, and they sing/preach/clap... it's a lot of energy for so early in the day, i tell ya!)
-saw the Voortrekker Monument (can't tell you much about this... should've paid closer attention i guess... but it was big! and beautiful!)
-went to the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens
-visited a retreat center on the outskirts of town where we played baseball with some kids randomly

man oh man... it doesn't end there, but my mind is drawing a blank...
overall it's been an eventful week, and i've already taken 350 pictures! AHH!

we're off to the Black township of Soweto this week where we'll be split up as a group into smaller service projects... should be quite different! we also visit the Apartheid museum.

after Soweto, we're driving the long 19hr stretch in our coach bus (which hopefully has the air conditioning fixed! eek) to Capetown... where we'll be for 2 weeks. hopefully i'll have some internet access there! if not, i'll talk to you all again as soon as possible!

miss you all alot!
GOD BLESS! :)

a safe arrival, and much much more!

Helloooo everyone!
So, I am alive, and currently in Pretoria, South Africa!! Can you believe it!?
SO MUCH has happened in the last six days, I don't even know where to begin!

We arrived safely in Germany, and it was a lot of fun taking the train into Frankfurt and roaming the city for the day. We took lots of pictures and experiences German coffee shops. We were reaalllly tired by the end of our 10hr flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, but we made it! Stepping off that plane was SPLENDID. Literally, sunshine was pouring down, and it was soooo warm out. I love this country!! haha.

For the first 2 nights (Fri & Sat) we stayed at Heronbridge College/Estate just west of Jo-burg... as like a retreat to recover from jet lag (don't think I've quite recovered...). We hung out with a church group from Pretoria, swam in the pool, ate, had some worship time, and caught up on sleep!

Sunday morning we left for church in Pretoria (about 45 min away) and after the service, spoken entirely in Afrikaans, we met our host families!

I'm staying with the SWEETEST couple ever! Colin & Vina Cameron. They live in a large, beautiful... (mansion) did I say that? But seriously, its' stunning. They've been very good to me, and Vina even bought me a little gift and made me a birthday cake today! SO GOOD!
It was a wonderful South African 19th birthday!

We heard 3 lectures at the University of Pretoria today, and tommorrow we see some monument, and get to go to a mall as well!

So much more has happened, and I'm very bad at condensing this... so I'll just stop for now.
Until next time! Stay tuned!
Miss you all, love you lots! <3

just testing it out!

this is just practice... for my mom's sake. haha!