Should we live a life of success or a life of significance?

Should we live a life of success or a life of significance?

Being successful in life has always been a priority of mine. I am extremely self-motivated and have a strong inner drive that makes me competitive. I want to succeed. I will never be simply average. I have always had high standards, picky taste, and high expectations of myself. I enjoy pushing myself to my limits just to see how strong I am. I came to Cape Town this summer knowing all of this already. However what has really made me learn more and grow more as a person is the question that was given to us at the beginning of our class.

Kevin Chaplin, a very inspirational leader, we had the first week of class, asked us the question “Which is more important, leading a life of success or a life of significance?” This question has been in engraved into my head and constantly on my mind throughout this entire trip.

Of course my instant answer to the question is “success”. Who wouldn’t want to be successful? That is what I have hard wired myself with the desire to be. To be the best, to land the job with the good salary, to continue to live the kind of lifestyle my parents have blessed me with, to always be on top or working my way there. But is all that significant to me? Is that what I will solely focus on?  No, that’s not the kind of person I am either. I have always been a firm believer in never stepping on the toes of those who got you to where you are today.  I am a people pleaser as well. Making someone else feel important, worthy, or simply boosting their self-esteem makes my heart smile. Someone else’s happiness makes me happy. That’s a big reason why working with under privileged kids has always been a passion of mine. During service week, making the children of Sir Lowery’s pass feel important was what made me “come alive” within my own self. It was the significance that my inner self was searching for. It was the significance that I crave for in my own life.

The fork in the road that I face is balancing the two out. I will always have the competitive drive along with the big heart. I love the person that I am and the woman that I am becoming and do not want to change things about myself. This trip has been a personal quest for me to learn more about myself and my purpose. Mr. Chaplin’s question is a question that I will forever ask myself when faced with a choice or before I make an important decision. The life I lead is a mirror reflection of the person that I am.

I can now say that this once in a life time experience, this amazing country and Global Lead has made me realized who I truly am and the direction I want to live my life. I know what I stand for, the morals I have and the strengths I was blessed with. The bottom line of this entire experience and to wrap up what five meager weeks has taught me is that, I know who I am, I know where I am from and I know where I am going.

My Vision Statement for my Life:

[Ten years from today…] I am a successful business woman marketing for a professional sports team or product while working on the side as a spokes person for underprivileged or abused children. I am deeply committed to my family, husband, kid(s), and friends and maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. I give back to my community by serving as a mentor to teens at my local church. I have gained personal insight from traveling all over and am able to use that experience along with my strengths (relater, responsibility, arranger, includer, positivity) to bring happiness into other’s lives. I live in a place that inspires my passions and enables me to keep an open mind while continuing to introduce me to new and exciting people.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Adventure Week & the Garden Route!

Well this past week we spent on the road touring the Garden Route of South Africa. Sunday evening our group of around 50 Bafanas were split into two groups. My good friend, Lauren and I of course were the first two names called out that were separated. But needless to say it was okay because I had the opportunity to branch out and meet new girls. I have gained a whole lot of patients from the trip and have honestly realized that I really am an “old soul” (as my mom refers to it.) But overall it was a learning experience! The next five week days went as followed:

Monday: We loaded the army-like buses and spent 8 hours driving to the first hostile we stayed in. The hostile was named “Tube ‘n Axe” and had a rustic camping vibe to it. The hot showers were outside. The FREEZIING cold ones were in the rooms. The rooms varied from a 2 person couple room to a room of 10 bunk beds. I stayed in the massive room with about 15 other girls. Freddy, the very strange bartender, played a very intense game of “ice”. For those who don’t know what it is, it is when you turn around and a Smirnoff Ice is somehow placed in front of you, you have to then get on one knee and chug it as fast as possible. Needless to say my goal was to avoid getting iced and my mission was accomplished! We didn’t do anything else on Monday except stop in a very pintresty town called Wilderness to eat lunch. The rest of the evening we spent around a campfire sharing our highs and lows, favorite moments, and what we want to intentionally work on.

Tuesday: We loaded the buses bright and early at 6:45am and headed out to the safari. We saw giraffas, lions, buffalo, hippoes, antelopes, crocodiles, and so much more. I enjoyed the safari but honestly my mind was on the days second activity: bungee jumping. We loaded back up the buses and headed our way to Bloukrans Bridge. This is the highest commercial bungy jump in the world. It is a whopping 216 meters high, which translates into about 71 stories high. It was insane. The way the bungee worked was everyone was pre-assigned a “jump number” when this number was randomly called, it would mean it was your turn to jump. I was about the 5^th or 6^th person to be called. They had to call my number out 4 times before I finally admitted it was my number. As soon as I stepped forward, I started balling. I was trying SO hard to hold back the tears but of course it was impossible. As they are strapping me off to face the biggest fear of my life, I have all my new best friends cheering me on in the back ground, along with a DJ blaring dubstep type music. Once you’re all buckled in, you walk to a ledge and they workers shout “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE” and that is when you are suppose to jump off. Well, my jump didn’t exactly go as planned. When I finally found the courage to simply stand up the workers helped me hobble to the ledge. My eyes were closed and tears were streaming out. Finally they put my arms up and begin the count down. “5, 4, 3,..” and all of a sudden I wrap my arms around them and scream “NOO, NO, NO!” and they whip my arms off of them as fast as possible and throw me over the ledge! My initial thought was “holy crap”. I never got that unwanted tummy dropping feeling. The fall was honestly very quiet and almost peaceful. But I really think I actually blacked out. When I finally realize I have hit the first spring I open my eyes and of course I say a few fowl words and immediately close my eyes again. Finally I have landed and I am dangling over this terrifying valley waiting patiently to be rescued. Oh course I am still crying but my tears were a mixed between “holy shit that was scary, but oh my goodness, I made it, I am alive, I am never doing that again.” The time moved in slow motion as I waited for my savior to come rescue me and pull me up. I was still of course in shock so I clinged onto him for dear life and made him hold my hand!! It wasn’t until I was actually laying on the dock attached to the bridge did I finally begin to celebrate. Instantly everyone was there to greet me and express how excited they were for me and how proud they were to see me accomplish something so challenging. I could barely speak as the workers were congratulating me. The first clear sentence I made out was “I am never doing that again, but am so glad I did it.” After my jump, I stayed and cheered on the rest of my friends then went straight to the video shop and purchased the video! So anyone who actually wants to see me look like a complete idiot and get a good laugh at me, I have the video!! After bungee jumping we stopped in this town and played soccer with the school kids. Having played my whole life, I really enjoyed this. However, being so out of shape and not being able to play like I once did was very frustrating at times! We ended up tying with the little kids 4 to 4. After that we headed back to the same hostile and enjoyed another bonfire together along with intimate talks.

Wednesday: Having accomplished the bungee jump, I now had an open, worried free mind and was ready for anything. We woke up again early and loaded onto our buses and headed to the National park. It was FREEZING. But the view was breathtaking. We walked across suspension bridges, which of course would have scared me, but after the bungee jump, I felt invincible! So I strutted across that bridge and even daringly swayed it! After the national park we traveled to the Cat Sanctuary and saw a variety of 5 different African cats. Two of which were the leopards and cheetahs. We got to go in the cages with most of them. We even were as close to an arms distance between the cheetahs. After the cat sanctuary we headed off to the Elephants. I had the opportunity to walk an elephant and even ride it! It was a lot of fun! After the elephants we headed to Money Land for lunch. It was a great restaurant. There were monkeys EVERWHERE! One sneaky little squirrel monkey even ran inside and stole a fry from the floor! It was adorable!! The monkeys were not afraid of humans! They would get right in your face! It was such an experience! I plan on adopting a monkey now. A squirrel monkey in fact, I hope Riley won’t have a problem with that!! Haha We then made hand painted “huggables” that went to support a local foundation in the “slow town.” The slow town was a very interesting concept. If it is a beautiful day, the whole town would shut down at 1pm and head to the beach, if it was raining or to cold outside, kids did not have to go to school and it was completely acceptable! I could not live there at all! I like structure and schedules! We spent the rest of the day traveling to our next hostile, AfroVibe. This was a very nice hostile compared to the first, and the first hostile, I thought was amazing. We spent another night around the camp fire and learned the rules to African beer pong. The people here were very “skater-like” with weird piercings, dreads, billabong type clothing, converses, bandanas and a “stoner attitude”. Nevertheless they were entertaining! One guy was a fire thrower and put on shows of swirling fire around and around. Each night a new traveling guitarist stayed in the hostile as well and would play songs and everyone would sing all night around the campfire.

Thursday: We didn’t have to wake up as early as the previous mornings; we loaded the buses at 8am and headed to an ostrich farm. We got to learn all about ostriches! Ostriches are dumb. They eat rocks! Literally! They would eat anything from high heels, to lipstick, to rocks. Their eyes are bigger than their brains. If you put a bag over an ostrich’s head it has no idea what to do so it just goes to sleep. Haha I was chosen to step forward and receive a “hug” from the ostrich. It wrapped itself around my neck and pecked at the food. Ostriches can also do a 360 with their necks! It had rained the night before so we were not allowed to ride or race the ostriches because if they had slipped and broke their leg, the ostrich would have to be killed. After the ostrich farm we headed to the caves. When you walked inside literally the only word everyone said was “Wow”. It was crazy how massive the caves were. The tour guide, who was a small, entertaining but very sassy man, explained how they use to have classical concerts inside the cave. Thursday night we headed back to the AfroVibe hotel and enjoyed another campfire, this time with s’mores! J We also worked on starting a new bucket list! Here is my new official list:

Courtney’s Bucket List: (sorry it’s kind of long)

1.       Skydiving

2.       Paragliding

3.       Become a mentor for a child

4.       Back pack through Europe after graduation

5.       Visit all 7 continents

6.       Color run

7.       Run half a marathon

8.       Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef

9.       Scuba Dive the Great Barrier Reef

10.   Sponsor an African family

11.   Take a painting class

12.   Hike more often

13.   Take a cooking class/Become a better cook!

14.   Adopt a dog from the shelter

15.   Get a job I am truly passionate about

16.   Ski in Aspen

17.   Mardi Gras in New Orleans before I graduate and with the best friends in the world!

18.   Take surfing lessons

19.   Buy my own home (of course near a LifeTime Fitness!)

20.   Settle down and begin my own family

That’s it for now, it is an ongoing list though!! So I will add more later! J

Friday: We were suppose to go shark cage diving but a cold front came in and we couldn’t go anymore so it was rescheduled for Wednesday. Instead we had the option of quad biking or a ziplining/ropes course. I picked the ropes course because I was obviously on a fascination of facing my heights fear. It was extreamly windy and the trees would sway side to side while we were in them. The guide said, as soon as we were finished, “I’m so glad we are done, I was really nervous about the wind. We probably shouldn’t have gone.” Awesome.  After that we spent 6 hours headed back into the wonderful city of cape town!

Saturday (today): I enjoyed another AMAZING day at the old biscuit mill working on my Cape Town 15! J And now I am watching my roommates sweat anxiously over finishing their papers for the class! I am not receiving any credit for the class, so I’m a little more relaxed about it than them! ;)

Well that was adventure week in a nut shell! Can’t believe that this amazing experience is almost over! It has definitely been the experience of a lifetime and I am so thankful I have such amazing parents to support me and motivate me to try new things!! (Thanks mom and dad!) However, when Sunday comes I will be very excited to head back to the beautiful United States and see all my loved ones!! J That’s it for now!

Just some early morning reflecting! :)

Well I woke up early this morning to sit out on the porch and watch the sunrise. Waking up early and having coffee on the deck with my parents while reading the news paper is something that I honestly just realized how much I enjoyed. And yes—I miss it and them a good bit right now!!

The sunrise is over the beaches and is absolutely unreal. It is so peaceful, calm and serene. I love the mornings and wish I would take more time out of my day or plan around being able to wake up early and enjoy them. It is great time to get a lot of thinking or even reflecting done. (which, yes, of course that is what I have been doing.) There is a couple playing with their two dogs on the beach. The doggies are trying to chase the pigeons but they’re not very successful. Of course it instantly makes me think of my sweet little Riley and how much I miss him. The sight of the waves, the birds, the ships, and the smell of the clean, fresh but a little salty air along with the soft crashing sound of the waves on the shore has made me truly appreciate this beautiful city. I have made the decision that I will absolutely live on the beach, either when I retire, or once I have settled down and before I start a family or I will just be super successful and have a beach house too! J haha Either way, I will enjoy the beach to its fullest capacity, but in a calm, non touristy area. With all of this reflection time, I have really been able to learn so much about myself which in result, opens my eyes to what kind of purpose I want my life to have and the kind of person I want to spend it with (down the road of course though mom!).

Well enough of my morning thoughts! Yesterday was awesome! We started it off my enjoying The Old Biscuit Mill (my all time favorite place!) Mainly because it is like a huge costco with tons of samples everywhere and delicious smells and food everywhere!! I blame the OBM for my Cape Town 15! At least it is well worth it! I discovered frozen yogurt there yesterday, so of course I was in Heaven! Oh and they had my FAVORITE juice there as well!! Lauren and I have made quite a few friends with the owners of different booths, so it was very heartwarming when they remembered our names and waved us down from across the tent! We spoke some with a couple of other locals who shared with us some surfing tips! Today I will attempt my first surfing lesson so the insight was well appreciated!!

After the OBM, we traveled to the 2010 World Cup Stadium. This was AMAZING and something I had on my bucket list. Having such a love for the sport of soccer I naturally enjoyed every second of it. We toured every possible place in the stadium from the field to the holding cells to the locker rooms (yes, they had community showers!) (wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall in there!!) haha half way kidding of course! As obsessed as I was with the stadium, Lauren definetly had a bigger appreciation for it. She claimed she is having her wedding there, which of course I was all for, because who wouldn’t want to come back to Cape Town! But she was very entertaining to watch having me take her picture literally every 10 steps! Oh and to even take pictures of the grass! Our tour guide must have thought “what silly Americans!”

Well the morning sun has definetly risen. So I guess that means it is about time for me to begin my day! I will be absaileing (which is like scaling down) Table Mountain. And then at 2pm I will be taking my chances in this FREEZING, shark infested water here (it is winter in Cape Town) and have my first surfing lesson!! J Hope everyone has a great day!!

"Its a GREAT day to be ALIVE, the suns still SHINING when I close my eyes!"

Well, I know this has been way over due! But here is my best of trying to remember everything that has happened in this past week. Week three for the Bafanas was our education week. We spend the week visiting Robben Island, touring the vineyards, and exploring Cape Point.

While at Robben Island we got to learn a lot about Nelson Mandela and even see his own cell. The dog crate cells were bigger than the prisoner’s cells. It was really hard to understand the tour guide because of his accent. However his name was Zulu and was actually a prisoner there at the same time Nelson Mandela was. An interesting fact about Robben Island was that they allowed the prisoners so study and even gain a college degree from the university there on the island. Zulu also told us that the constitution for South Africa was actually formed there in this cave where the prisoners from different segments would get together to work on the rocks.

The next adventure we went on was to the Haut Espoir Vineyards. Here we learned about different ways to make wines and enjoyed tasting the different varieties. We also even got to have our own competition of who could formulate the best tasting wine. Our bottle was called “Splish and Slpash” and it came in 3^rd out of 5^th place. We also saw baboons on top of the roof! The vineyards were beautiful.

Wednesday night, however was my all time favorite night. I had my first drag show experience. We went to this place called “Beef Cakes” where the servers were topless over muscled college aged guys, the place was decorated with pink boas, and there were cute hats all over the tables. We walked in there only knowing our group and left with a ton of new best friends! The entertainer, he or she, (not sure what to call it) did a great job of getting everyone involved. The entire restaurant was dancing on tables together, singing, taking body shots, having jokes made, laughing our heads off, and being completely entertained!! At one point the entertainer stole Laurens purse and camera and ran outside the building into oncoming traffic (with the microphone) still singing and trying to take pictures of the cars that were coming her way. (I have posted pictures to my facebook if you want to see a FULL description!! Haha)

Today we toured Cape Point which is the most south western point of South Africa. We climb up thousands of feet high and was able to look over the ledge into the raging ocean. It made me really nervous for bungee jumping off the world’s highest bridge next week! We also got to see a lot of African penguins! They were adorable! Expect when they were changing from their fuzzy kid phase to their adult phase. But it was still cute either way.

I cannot believe this trip is almost over. We only have two weeks left and time has absolutely flown by! I am learning so much about myself, what I want out of life, where I see my future heading and what truly makes me happy! This trip has been all that I have expected it to be and so much more! Thank you mom and dad for all you have done for me and the way you both have raised me! I am one lucky and blessed girl!! J

Amy Biehl Foundation and Sir Lowery's Pass

So we have spent the last two days at the Amy Biehl foundation and then back at Sir Lowery’s Pass. While at the Amy Biehl foundation, I was one of the very few girls who decided to truly slave away and help dig up grass, shovel what I thought was dirt, which turned out to be dirt mixed with poop (monouer) (spelling?), and lay down sod. Needless to say my back and biceps are very sore today but it was so worth it! And I was really excited to get some physical activity as well since all I have been doing is stuffing my face and not being able to sleep at night. The yard in front of the school house, we did looks absolutely fabulous though!!

Today we went back to the townships and as soon as I stepped off the bus Tay-nooh came running and screaming “COOOOURTNEYYYY” and leaped into my arms! Needless to say I was just as excited to see that sweet little girl!! Tay-nooh, Roemasa (two of my favorite little girls) and I spent the beginning part of the day coloring masks and then beading more bracelets. Then, Uganda, an older boy of the township, about age 13, asked if I could help him with his history project since his team members were playing in the play ground versus contributing their part. So I learned a little bit about how to write in Afrikaans, which was really cool!

I always feel bad for the guys of our trip because they are literally a jungle gym to the boys of the township. They literally have about 8-15 kids tackling them all at once! Since, I enjoy running around and being just as aggressive, I got to experience a little taste of that as well. The kids are really sneaky, they go for your feet and flip you over! Even though there was a dog pile on me, I really enjoyed myself. Towards the end of the day I became some type of “amusement ride” for Tay-nooh, Roemasa, and her little sister and was lifting them up above my head and swinging them low and lifting the back up! Of course I didn’t mind doing this because in my head I was reminding myself I was getting a work out in! haha

As much as I love service week, I am looking forward to Friday. Haha Only because it is extremely exhausting!! We have class everyday at 830am and then break for lunch at 12pm the on the bus headed to the townships!

The lessons we had in class though were extremely helpful with being able to process everything we are experiencing and everything we have been taking in. As much as I want to give and give every possible dime I have to these amazing people its really hard to try and help them because so many times we try and impose our American values and what we think is best for their lifestyle when in reality, they have made it this far without us and they may become to dependent on our “gifts”. Also a lot of the gifts or help we try to give may also cause more harm than help since we cannot physically assist everyone. How do we decide who is or is not worthy enough to be helped? Also, if gifts of such are given, typically then men take control of the distribution of the wealth and that takes it back to the conflict of men over powering women and that also leads into more conflict.

Something that surprised me about the children was that they still perceive white people as better. They are fascinated with our looks and notice everything from our hair to our nail polish color, to our shoes. The fact that most of the children watch crappy American reality tv shoes such as the Kardashians is such a sickening thought. It gives such a bad impression on how we appear to be so materialistic. I also feel like they don’t see life as a big picture, the just live life day by day versus trying to plan. When they earn a big pay check, theyre first thought is not “oh this will buy groceries for the next month” instead it is to go out and purchase a big price item. I was shocked at how some of the kids did not even have shoes but the families had blackberry phones and plasma tvs in their home. I think they think Americans are so happy because of the materialistic items we have but in reality most of us are not happy and always want something more. The families here have a misconception of Americans being happy with what they own. I often looked at the families in the township and was jealous at the strong sense of community they all shared amongst one another. It was an open door policy no matter whose home you were in. At one point, I remembered counting how many kids were in this living room that was literally the size of a bathroom or walk in closet, and there were 28 children, all just hanging out together. It is just such a different way to live than how we do in the states.

SERVICE LEARNING

Wow, what an incredible day today! Service is a huge reason of why I decided to travel abroad this summer with Global LEAD. The curriculum we learned today in class could not have been more appropriate to prepare us for what we would encounter in the township of Sir Lowery’s Pass. Service learning was the topic. According to Robert Sigmon, he suggested service learning was only accomplished when both the providers and recipients benefited from the activities. This really opened my eyes because during class I related it back to my experience with Global LEAD last summer in Ecuador. Before they expanded the Ecuador progam to a 5 week study abroad program, I was lucky enough to spend 10 amazing days there. We worked with children from a school there as well, however it was only for one day. But during that single day, even with the language barrier, I had never felt so alive with the experience. The children there really opened my eyes. I learned a new form of happiness, something that I had never experienced before. It was not only a humbling experience but an experience that made me want to give back. I learned that helping, no matter what simple or complex form it was in, was what I wanted to do it life. It is what I feel passionately about and makes me feel alive.

Today in the townships I felt that same sense of aliveness. Being able to connect the lesson from class this morning to the experience in the township helped me bridge the link between knowing and feeling. Right when I stepped off the bus the same emotions I felt in Ecuador came rushing back. Three adorable little girls instantly grabbed my hands and started walking me to their school where we all met before we found our house moms and departed for their homes. Mrs. Rina was the mother we got to share dinner with. She so kindly invited us into her home. There was a total of eight people who shared the one bed room, one bathroom, living room, and kitchen. Nadien is Mrs. Rina’s 21 year old daughter that I got to talk a lot to. Since we are the same age, I was really interested in hearing about her life. She said her primary responsibility was to stay at the house, clean, cook, and look after the little kids while her mom worked as a cleaning lady in town.

Her second oldest child was a boy named Jason, he is 17. He spends his day at school but is also married with , either one or two kids. Both him and his wife live with his mother and father. I was really moved by Jason because I could feel the love him and his mother shared. While waiting for the spaghetti to cook he started dancing with his mom in the kitchen. He also was the one who said grace. I wasn’t able to remember all of his prayer but he said “thank you for the strength you gave us to get through the day, please strengthen us for tomorrow… thank you for the food, the people who have made it, and the visitors we have here today, also, thank you for the air..” that kind of caught me off guard. I am an avid prayer but I cannot remember a time I have thanked God for air. From Jason, I learned how many simple things I take for granted every day and how often all I think about is what I want next or what I want to accomplish next. Never do I pause and truly say thank you for the simple things, such as clean air.

Another thing that I really enjoyed seeing in the townships was the close bond is between all the children. They were everywhere playing games with one another and running around together. Even though many of the kids were not related they constantly would look out for one another. There also was obviously an open door policy because children kept going and coming as they pleased!

I am so excited to go back to Sir Lowery’s Pass and get to spend the entire week there. Like I said, this week was the highlight of why I came. I am looking forward to seeing what I learn tomorrow about myself and the amazing people who live in the township!

Go Stormers!!

Well yesterday was a blast! We woke up early and went to the Old Biscuit Mill, which is kind of like a farmers market but with tons and tons of food and samples, not just veggies and fruits. So it was right up my alley!! And it is only on Saturdays! The tastes and smells of so many different spices, pestos, desserts, sandwiches, juice, teas, coffee, (the list could go on and on,) was unreal. I had a delicious juice it was called “green pick me up” and since my mom doesn’t know how to use her juicer, and it just sits and collects dust, I think it might go missing when I get home (just like the magic bullet!) haha But the drink was so good, I stopped by again on the way out and got another one! Another one of my favorite treats were these cute little pancakes with different flavor spices and syrups on them! Oh and the humus was to die for! The best I have EVER tasted in my life! I bought two tubs of it thinking it would last until next Saturdays market but I am already out of one. L

After the Old Biscuit Mill we went back to the Green Market. I think I knocked off my huge list of who to bring back something for so I am excited!! I got a lot more cute little treasures and did not improve my haggling abilities at all! But oh well, at least I am supporting the locals economy! J

The rugby game was the next event of the day! We cheered on the Stormers as they played their rival team I think. We also tailgated and cooked out before the game! I even talked our adventure guys into letting me help cook the sausages but I was removed from the job when I accidently dropped some on the ground! Oopsie!

Then we went out to this bar called Doublins, I wasn’t a fan, but it was neat to try it out. Everywhere is way to packed. You have to weave your way through people. I almost got robbed too! But one of the guys in our group caught him in the act of trying to unzip and take things from my purse. However one girl in our group did get her cell phone taken.

Today has been nice, just relaxing some and caught up on my sleep. I have been going going going so it was nice to have a more laid back kind of day! Then we have class later at 5:30 and a big group dinner together. I decided it was about time to do my laundry. For those who don’t know, my smart self only packed one normal bra and now I just realized not enough underwear either! Currently I feel like Gracie :P haha wearing my swim suite bottoms instead!! Haha sorry Grace, had to call you out! At least I didn’t go into too much detail! ;)  

I signed up for my extra adventure activities for the trip as well! I decided on taking surfing lessons, hiking and then repelling off of Table Mountain, bungee jumping from the world’s highest bungee jump, and the sunset champagne cruise at the end of the trip. Oh and something else I have noticed that is kind of interesting to me is that the food here goes bad so much faster than in America. Even salad leaves! Which just goes to show how much preservatives are in the food back in the states!

Well, we I experienced my first night out in Cape Town, last night. It was a little intense to say the least. We went to this place called “Tiga Tiga.” It was kind of like a night club but it was located in a mall…. Very interesting concept. They had kind of a form of go go dancers dancing on the stage. The people there were very into PDA! A little too much if you ask me! The guys are extremely aggressive as well. Some of the guys and our driver, Ish, who watches over us when we go out, had to step in a few times and let them know to back off. One guy even bit this girl’s shoulder FOUR times! So odd.. But over all we all had an absolute blast and look forward to going back at least once more before the trip ends!

Class this morning was absolutely amazing. We talked about our values. We had a pretend auction where we made a list of our values and then narrowed it down to which ones we valued the most and we had to divvy our budget of $5000 amongst which ones we wanted to “win.”  I had a huge list and narrowed it down to ten, then went on from there. I took a bunch of notes on the lesson today but our journals are being graded over the weekend so I will include all my notes in here when I get it back! However my max money bid was placed on Loyalty but these are my three most important to me values:

My three strongest values were : 1. Loyalty 2. Forgiveness/Mercy and 3. Perserverance. Loyalty of course is what I prize the absolute most. I think a lot goes hand in hand with that. To be loyal to someone to me, means always keeping your word, staying faithful, and supporting those in your life that you love. In my eyes, without loyalty, you have nothing. It is the root of any kind of healthy relationship. I think this is why I have such strong relationships with my wonderful family and friends. I can honestly say that I feel like I would do anything for the people I love and always have their best interest at heart.

Forgiveness is my second most prized value because it’s obvious that no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Looking at my life and the way I relate to it, is that I’m never mad nor hold grudges. I can not think of the last time I was truly mad at someone. Life is way to short to hold a grudge. If someone says sorry and genuinely means it, move on! There is no point in wasting the time or effort in being upset with someone. Not only that, but being upset or angry robs you from your own happiness!

Perseverance was my third most valued value. I wouldn’t say I am stubborn, well maybe a little bit, but I am a very determined individual. When I set my mind to something, whatever it may be, I will accomplish it. And that’s the bottom line! I know what it means to work really hard for something and not give up, despite the obstacles. If I start something, I’ll accomplish it.

Even though I was extremely tired and going off four hours of sleep I decided to go out with a bunch of girls to the green market in the city. It was a lot of fun but I am a terrible haggler! I feel so guilty and bad! Haha My dad is the BEST at haggling so maybe I should have taken some advice before I left. But I just feel terrible for being cheap with them. After the market, we went to Charly’s Bakery, which Opera calls it the best bakery in the world and she is definitely right! I ordered a slice of chocolate cake and it had real rose petals on it and was probably the best thing I have ever put in my mouth! Everything was so nicely decorated. The cakes and cupcakes look like they had glitter on them. I took a few pictures but the pictures just don’t do it any justice! Needless to say, I am sure I will be back daily!!

Tomorrow we are all tailgating for the Stormer’s Rugby game!! So I am extremely excited and looking forward to it!! J Go Stormers!! haha

May 17th! :)

Well today was another amazing day in Cape Town! We started off with class this morning where we discussed our strengths. The teachers put an emphasis on how we should focus on our strengths versus our weaknesses. Typically if you were giving a list of 20 traits, in order, that were consider your strengths, most likely your eye would look at the last one to see what you aren’t good at and how you can improve. I confess I am guilty of it! My strengths in order is:

1.       Relator

2.       Responsibility

3.       Arranger

4.       Includer

5.       Positivity

I honestly think it described me to the T. Reading the results and descriptions of it on paper was interesting to say the least!

After that we went to one of the schools the Amy Biehl Foundation established. Kevin Chaplin, spoke to us the other day about how to be a good leader and run a successful business based on the “Table Theory,” I found it all really appealing and decided to buy the book! (I will have to waste three days on a plane ride home anyways!) However, he is the CEO for the Amy Biehl Foundation.

In short the Amy Biehl Foundation is a program established to help children in the townships to expand their extracurricular activities by hosting after school hobbies from 3-5pm every weekday. The events included dancing, singing, stepping, sports, HIV/AIDS prevention info, gardening, and so on.  We got to explore their class rooms and then they all performed for us. It was AMAZING. I could literally feel the passion these kids had for whatever their talent was. I could not take my eyes off of the boys stepping, or the kids in the choir. It is so hard to find the words to describe the feelings and emotions that came through me while being there. I felt like I was holding back tears and I had no idea why I would be crying. I guess seeing the joy and happiness on their faces with what they had and how thankful they was extremely humbling. Many of the kids did not even have shoes. I wanted so badly to take them all shopping and let them pick out anything they wanted! It’s just the simple things that we have in life that we constantly take for granted every day. While sitting and watching some of the kids perform I had the chance to talk to some of the little girls of the township. They were fascinated by my hair and kept wanting to play with it. The kid’s ages ranged from 2-17 there. And many of the older children spoke extremely good English! Some even better than me!! And while in one room I saw one of the kid’s math homework and truthfully I had no idea how to even solve the problems!! Haha I was very impressed with what the Amy Biehl Foundation has provided for all of these amazing children. You can see how grateful they are as well. I cannot wait to go back Friday to volunteer! We are getting to put on a field day so I am very eager to get to play soccer with the kids!!

I am excited for the rest of the adventures and amazing opportunities to unfold. Looking forward to tomorrow! J

Hiking Table Mountain!

Group Shot!

I learned today, that in some parts of Cape Town, boys and girls share the same bathroom. Needless to say.. it was a little awkward.

However, I really enjoyed dinner at Moyo, which was an African cuisine restaurant. The waitresses painted on our faces and gave us our all own unique tribal look! Then they danced on stage and encourage everyone else to join..... we all know how my dance moves are..... soooooooo...... hahahaha

Tomorrow is another busy fun filled day starting bright and early! :) I am looking forward to all the adventures it holds!!

Day One 5/14/12

I have never started a blog or honestly even kept a journal, so this is all new to me. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and trip that I am doing this summer and I want to be able to share all of my adventures with those who are interested in my travels and for my own good, so I can look back on a reflect on all that I have experienced and learned. SO this is the begining of my attempt to publish a blog! haha

After THREE days of travel- with NO shower, we finally arrived to our destination. Our flight traveled from Atlanta to Frankfurt, Germany to Johannesburg and then finally to Cape Town, South Africa. The first thing we did was get our apartment keys and checked in.

Our apartment is a two bed room, two bath, with living room, dining area, kitchen, and balcony overlooking the beautiful beaches of Cape Town along with a view of Table Mountain and Lions Head Mountain.

I am rooming with three other girls, Lauren (who I grew up playing soccer with)she is a student at Auburn University, Chelby who is a student from UGA, and Kelsey who is a student  from UGA as well. We all clicked right off the back, especially when I found out they love to run and work out!! We have to do everything in groups of three or more, so I am excited it won’t be too hard to find someone to go to the gym or run with!

The day we arrived we went into the town to get groceries. The grocery stores are connected to malls. It’s very strange. But what is even more complicated than that is learning the conversion of money. For example, milk costs $35 rand which in American money is $5. Pretty much we have to divide everything by 7.5 to get a better estimate on how much we are actually spending. I’m guessing as these weeks go by I will have a better understanding of it and be able to calculate it faster!

Our first night we dined at Zorbas, which is a Greek restaurant attached to the hotel. I had some kind of chicken shishcabob thing with veggies. No complaints there! J

Our first real day in Cape Town was today. We began the morning with a nice hot breakfast catered to us at the owners own home. Where we then went over orientation and broke up into our community groups. We spent the time making a chain “bucket list” of things we plan to do here in Cape Town. Here is the start of mine:

1.       Meet two new people each day and ask them about their lives.

2.       Visit Stoenbosh (which is the college campus here in the city)

3.       Go Bungee Jumping (heights and falling is my absolute BIGGEST fear in this entire world!!!)

4.       Learn some kind of African Slang

5.       Learn and do an African custom

6.       Run on the beach

7.       Try an “African Specialty” dish

8.       Ride an Ostrich J

9.       Learn to surf (even though it is winter here and the water is FREEZING!)

10.   Write and begin a blog

11.   Play soccer with the kids in sir lowerys pass

12.   Watch the sunrise

13.   Go shark cave diving

14.   Visit the stadium where the world cup was played

15.   Stay open minded to anything and everything that presents itself to me

That is what I have so far, of course I will end up adding more as I go on throughout this trip! After our orientation we loaded up the buses and headed out to a tour of the city.

The city is full of all different forms of what I consider beautiful. Although many parts are extremely poverty stricken, you can still see the happiness and simplicity of life on children’s faces as they play soccer in a field or fish around in the small sewage ponds. People have tarp houses built anywhere they possibly can find space, whether it be under a bridge, near a cemetery, or in a ditch. But what is so surprising to me is how you can almost feel such a powerful sense of affection that the families share with one another just by watching how they interact. I guess when you take so many distractions out of our everyday lives, whatever is left, is what makes life so beautiful.

We traveled two museums today. One was based off of the destruction of district six and the other museum was focused on the slave lodge. District Six was a huge area with a very closely knitted mixed population of blacks and whites. The government decided to pass a “Group Areas Act.” This act instituted the divisions of urban areas into separate townships, which were designed to divide and isolate communities. Poorly constructed working-class townships were built, separated by buffer strips consisting of freeways, polluted rivers and strategically placed military land and golf courses. In District Six, apartheid’s grand design was to remove 35,000 people from the city’s core to its distant periphery. However, the mixed community refused to leave so the government went in a demolished everything without any type of notice to the residents. That was decades ago, and now the people are allowed to move back and re-claim their land but only 3,000 residents put in applications because too many were too distraught to re-visit it because of the horrifying memories. The second museum was the Slave Lodge. I had always learned about slavery in school but today I feel like I truly understand how absolutely horrifying the conditions and treatments were. The Slave Lodge was a huge building with a court in the center. It was where the slaves were locked up at night. The horrifying details of it all made me sick to my stomach.

I’m glad we had the city tour because it gave me a better understanding of where I am and the history of Cape Town. It was a great introduction for the trip.

Our first group dinner is tonight and we will be experiencing “true African cuisine” so hopefully I will be able to knock another bucket list item off!