Second semester is underway

Two new blogs at the same time?!!? What is going on? Hah..i just got a little bored an decided to write…so here goes, this blog is the past month since being home from Bots. The WC ended a few days after we got back..I was definitely sad to see it go. It brought such a great liveliness to SA and all the people here. The day Uruguay played in PE for the 3/4th place, I saw the whole team at the gym…of course at the gym they play the sports channel and it was surreal to look at the tv and see all the players, then look over and see them in person in the gym. Hah I thought it was pretty cool tho.
One of our landlords had us over at his parent’s house for a braii, the night before Bimmy and David left, and Nicolas (our landlord) was leaving soon too, headed off to Mississippi for Grad school. Like most home cooked food in SA, everything was amazing, and I got a recipe for the most amazing thing, I call it pumpkin goodness. I made it a few days ago, so good! Im gonna make it at Christmas when I get home…so be ready Mama! I just have to find pumpkin… that’s something about SA that is so cool, pumpkin is everywhere, all yr round in the store, its like butternut squash kinda.
So Bimmy left : ( I was really sad about it, I still am. It is really the best for her particular situation tho and I know she is happy to be home. It was just hard for me and all the other girls to have someone leave us. We all came here together and were supposed to be here for a year together and leave together…Bimmy and I became extremely close and were basically always together so when she left, I literally had the feeling that I broke up with a boyfriend hah. Its so funny how things work out like they do because we both thought we weren’t going to be able to be friends with each other. Just goes to show that you can’t judge people and you really have to get to know them. She is worth is too, she is so genuine and truly an amazing bright girl, she got me through lots of dark days with her constant positive outlook and even 10,000 miles away she has taken my crying phone calls. I am really lucky to have had her here with me, and to have her when I go back home. We still talk all the time and we will be reunited at Sonoma. I love you C U Next Tuesday : )
This paragraph is for you Sebastian! An update on all the new internationals : ) This semester there is a really different group of international students. Last semester the bantry was CRAZY. Seriously it was never quite, people were always partying and it was just crazy. This semester, so far anyway, its a lot more calm and not as united as last semester. there are people from France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the 9 cali ppl left, and hmmm I think that’s it. Everyone is really nice and friendly. Everything just seems a lot more calm this semester, it could also be me personally, with the whole going out thing, kinda been there done that with all the places here. There have been a lot more house parties this semester and there were none last semester, just the bars.
The weekend before school started we (me, LJ, Aisha, Kelleigh, and Caleb) went to J-Bay for the Billabong Surf Pro. I was pretty stoked and I’m really glad we went. Of course the whole time I wished Brett was there, because I know he would have loved it and he could have explained how certain things worked. It was so cool though, I’ve never been to a surf competition and having the Billabong Surf Pro as my first is pretty legit. J-bay is such a well-known surf spot of the world. The whole weekend we pretty much sat on the beach and watched people surf, of course I was off taking pictures pretty much the whole time. It was really relaxing though and a nice end to our holiday. Loretta has a friend who lives in J-Bay so she hooked us up with a little guest house of one of her friends for the night, it was only 50R so it was legit. LJ’s friend took us out and we ate at really cool restaurant, thai food AC : ) and we went to a bar, played some pool and had 10R draughts of Castle, which is equal to 1.35$ hahah sometimes I just love South Africa..the weekend was really fun though and I have some interesting video tapes from when we got home from the bar…black mail Caleb?! : ) haha just kidding, maybe I’ll post them one day… Overall it was a great weekend and I’m so down to move to the beach one day, you know what I’m talking about Shylnn : )
Aisha and I moved to a different flat, down the hall from our other flat. We are in flat 9 now, its bigger and has a better balcony. I had a slight disagreement with the maids about it……but it’s all settled now!
Second semester started, I can’t believe I’ve already been here for this long and I’m starting second semester! This term, which goes til the end of Aug., is pretty slow for me. I only have class on Monday and Tuesday..crazy right? Dad, before you freak out I am taking 58 credits and the max is 60…so there is nothing else I can do! Anyways I am taking Xhosa again.. same teacher so that’s good bc I like him, it just keeps getting harder tho… Kunzima! (that means ‘It is tough’) I am taking Organisational Behaviour, the first business class I’ve taken in a year.. odd to be in a business class cuz sometimes I seriously forget I am a business major… I like the class though, its not too bad so far and the topic is bearable. It just sucks to be in a class that spells organisational behaviour the way it does, I don’t know how many times I have to go back and consciously rewrite my ‘organizational behavior’ by the time I go home, I won’t know which one is correct… (they are both correct but you know what I mean!) the teacher is fine, of course I stand out bc I am the only person from the states and in the class there is constant reference to the US. Last week he was talking about American people arrogant and having that ora when they walk in a room, he was like there is someone in here from the US right?! I raised my hand, and he asked me if this was correct, and I started to say well I don’t think you can generalize…then he just cut me off and kept talking…ohhh how I love Afrikaners sometimes..
Then the other class I’m taking, I’m taking for fun bc I had extra credits to fill, but not enough credits open to take a class to go toward my major. I think I had 9 credits open and all my soci/business classes are 15 credits so I couldn’t.. sooo I decided to take a freshman psychology class, it is applied child development. I enjoy it so far, its interesting to me. The only downside is the fact that it is a freshman class, so people are talking ALL the time…I forgot what that’s like… the teacher has to sush people up the whole time. I really like the teacher though, she is this funny Xhosa lady who is really personable and cracks lots of jokes. We don’t have an exam or final for the class just a paper we have to do. We have to go to a pre-school and observe a child for 90 minutes, 45 minutes in the classroom setting and 45 minutes during break time. I go to a pre-school next week to observe the child chosen for me. Hopefully it goes well, Ill tell you guys about it after I do it. Next term I am taking Xhosa, and Organisational Behaviour (it’s a semester class), and I’m also taking two Sociology classes, Women in Africa, and Crime and Society, I am SOOO excited for the crime and society class, it is ridiculous.
So what am I doing with my ridiculous amount of free time? I’m spending my time volunteering at Sinethemba two days a week again and Vukupille. I get a ride to Sinethemba from the school, but I’m not getting any credit for it like I did last semester, which I honestly prefer because we had to write journals and papers, which I seriously thought took away from helping the kids because I would sometimes focus and think about what I would write rather than focus on the kids. Words really can’t express how much I LOVE going to Sinethemba, I am seriously going to be heartbroken when I leave for good. My favorite girl Anthea is back tho!!!! She just went home for the holiday, but she came back. I didn’t think she was coming back..but when I saw her I freaked out! I literally ran to go hug her and pick her up. I adore her; she is so smart and has so much going for her. I just hope she can succeed in life, and she gets the opportunities she deserves. I really wish that for all the kids, they are all sweethearts and I have seen them grow since I first started going there in February. *this is for bimmy. The other day, the radio was on and Waka Waka came on and they all started singing it and doing the dance. I couldn’t help but smile, they are all adorable, and seriously have no possessions and they are so happy. I know I always talk about Sinethemba a ridiculous amount in every blog, but I just love going there so much.
I am also doing Vukupille on Wednesdays which I talked about a bit a few blogs ago. Basically LJ, me, Kelleigh, and Aisha are in charge of this program for the kids. We come up with the activities for the day, get volunteers together, set up transportation, and go and try a make a difference with these kids in the township. It is a really great thing for these kids, and you can tell they look forward to it all week. It is pretty difficult to come up with activities, because there are no supplies or anything, we are in the middle of a street, literally, sometimes we have to move for cars. Last week we did creativity/getting to know each other. We made nametags and did a bunch of icebreaker questions. I really like it, reminds me of working at the YMCA of leading songs at camp and being able to come up with lesson plans. I miss that job.. honestly though.. if any one has any ideas of themes or projects we could do…throw them my way!!
This month for the first time I experienced for the first time someone buying me a shot and sending it over to me..haha I felt like it was a movie, having a waitress tap me on the shoulder and point at the shot then at the guys table..hah it made my night : )
I’m surprised I never talked about this before but since being here, I’ve read a lot..well a lot more than I did at SSU at least.. I am absolutely in love with Jodi Picoult, The Pact and 19 minutes are AMAZING, and right now I am reading a book called Columbine. It is about the Columbine school shooting, it is really interesting so far. I read 19 minutes when I first got here by Jodi Picolut about a school shooting, and it sparked my interest in stopping bullying and getting educated on the topic of bullying and school shooting, and I wrote a 20page paper on Bullying in America for my Social Issues class, which I found actually really enjoyable to write. Probably one of the best things I’ve ever done/assignment I’ve put the most work into. Anyways I saw Columbine in a book store when I was in Bots and got on my Kindle (thanks Grandma!) and I find it really interesting, to figure out what really happened…anyways, that’s something new I’m going to add to my blog, talk about the book I’m reading : ) soooo I don’t recommend Say You’re One of Them, the book that was from Oprah’s book club…just wasn’t a fan. And of course I recommend The Great Gatsby…it’s one of my favorite books, I love the wording and description he uses. : ) I’ve read some other books…but just wanted to mention the best and the worst.. ok that’s enough of Jennifer’s reading corner… : )
Okay my lovely blog readers…once again thank you for your time, I miss you all and love you all so much. See you all in 4ish/4 and a half months…I don’t know when I’m coming home yet…Sorry Ashie I know you want a date!!! I’ll be home sometime in Dec…that’s a good enough window of 31 days for me to get home : ) haha

Love LOVE loveeeee!!!!

Loyally,
JD