Here comes the bad news...

So today was pretty fun! We had class, went to the archives and went to a cool holocaust museum..
We had a good supper and then came back to the hostel to play some 10 point pitch.

 I would love to tell you all more about my great day.. but unfortunately.. there are some other things that haven't made my day so great.

I can't say that I will be blogging for the rest of my trip, but I will definitely be keeping a journal to tell you everything that happens.
Tonight, while we were playing pitch, my laptop was sitting on the floor on the deck and it apparently got stepped on.. My LED screen has cracked.

I am going to attempt to use someone elses laptop to keep up my blog, but there is no promises that someone will let me use their laptop every night for it... I am hoping, but there is no promises. I will still be posting on Facebook when I have internet, but that's probably it.

Tomorrow is the safari. Pictures will be posted to facebook. I promised to get a picture with a lion (;

See you in a 2 weeks if I don't see you before then!

The Amy Biehl Foundation and Nyanga

The Amy Biehl foundation is set up for a girl who was living in South Africa in the early 1990's. She was a college student at Stanford University majoring in African studies. She came to South Africa to help fight the injustice and segregation. She was here up until the first free elections, but then she was driving home from a township and was killed by a mob that thought she was there to fight against freedom, instead of fighting for freedom.
   Her mom and dad originally came to South Africa in hopes of making peace with the death of their daughter, but they also ended up making peace with the man who killed her. Now, they have started the Amy Biehl foundation to help townships and the surrounding areas to help people with after school programs. They help educate the kids about HIV, drugs and violence, but they also provide fun activities for the kids after school to keep them out of the streets.
    Their goal is to provide opportunities to become well rounded and prepare youth to be leaders, entrepreneurs, and stable in their future. They help them support their family in their future. They also help the surrounding areas by picking up trash, planting trees and planting gardens. They want to channel the kids energy into positive things such as sports, swimming, soccer, and arts.
    This is such a great foundation, but just like any other organization, they are limited by funding. It costs about 6M rand, which is about $600,000 to run the foundation for the year, including paying the 20 full time staff, providing one nutritious meal for the kids before they go home at night, and going on outings during their holiday breaks. They hold events to showcase what the kids have been doing during the after school sessions.
   Their motto is "You can be, If you want to be." But they also say that it takes dedication.
If you would like to donate, which would be great, or read more about Amy and their work you can check it out right here.

    Then we went to a little township called Nyanga and helped at the school there. Their school is all make shift buildings. They have 40 kids in a class and over 308 kids grades 1-7 in the school. Their are broken windows and obviously not enough funding. The desks are old and they don't have enough supplies, but the kids are so happy and they make it work. Their biggest problem is when it gets cold in the winter, they don't have heaters or electricity.
    We spent the afternoon working with some of the classes and talking to some of the students. A couple of us even taught a classroom how to do the electric slide. It was a fun day!

 Then we ate super together at a cafe and had some fun. We are now finishing up and calling it a night!

Over supper our words for the day were: 

Amy: Understanding

Mirvet: Knowledge

Kelsie: Resourceful

Deb: Rhythm

Dr. Curry: Spirituality

Mine: Happy'

Another great day finished up. Tomorrow we actually have lecture and then a trip to the achirves for some research! Exciting stuff!

I am so glad I came on this trip because I have already learned a lot, just in the few short days about how people live and the differences in culture. I also learned that Peanut Butter is really just an American thing. So is turkey sandwich meat! Who knew! 

There is your fun fact for the day and I can't wait to get home and share all of my memories and pictures with everyone.

Day Three In Beautiful South Africa!

          Orientation started today, at 9 am, meaning 2 am our time. It was an extremely long day, but it was fun and worth it.

          We walked from our hostel down to a little café. We had these great things called Chocochinos. It is a mixture of Whip Cream, espresso, and chocolate. YES! It was the perfect thing for the morning after having no sleep.

          After that we all jammed into the back of our ISA representatives car and drove to campus.

          One of the girls, Kelsie, is addicted to Pepsi. South Africa is a major coke seller. We finally found Pepsi in one of the cafeterias at the college. During lunch we got onto some great conversations and were joking that “What happens in Africa, stays in Africa.”

          After lunch we went to the Slave Lodge. It was a huge museum dedicated to showing life as a slave in South Africa. It showed the slave trade routes and the boats that the slaves would be taken to Africa on. Slaves were not allowed to walk the streets unless they had a pass and even when they had passes, they were not allowed to sing, whistle, or stop on the streets to talk to another slave.

          One of the quotes said, “We are, because of them.” This was their acknowledgment that without slaves, the country wouldn’t have grown and flourished as it did. Slaves were often artists, cleaned, cooked, farmed, and other hard labor.

          There was also a civil rights portion about Oliver Tambo, who was exiled and fought for the rights of Africans.

          The slave lodge was very interesting. It was very real as far as what actually happened instead of just hiding and forgetting like the United States often tries to do with slavery.

          I also came to the realization that in the United States, in public primary schools, we actually learn very very little about the world around us. We continually “learn” American history, over and over again, but many people in the United States can’t even tell you what year the Declaration of Independence was signed.

          The slavery honestly surprised me because the United States often focuses on Africans being slaves. I was close minded to think that Africa didn’t have a slave problem, but they did. It was quite possibly worse than the United States, but they dedicated this building to their mind.

          Day 3 and I have already had that “Wow, I am American”  moment that they talk about when you talk about studying abroad. Don’t get me wrong, I love America, but I am often blinded to American problems only. This trip has already opened my eyes to the world around me. Not just South Africa, but wondering what else in history I don’t know about.

          After the slave lounge, we went to the waterfront mall, which was beautiful. There was a mall there and we ate supper on the waterfront.

          Now we are closing up day three with some time emailing home and finishing up the day and heading to bed!

          Another exciting day tomorrow working with the Amy Biehl Foundation!

We sat down at supper, Dr. Curry asked us to come up with one word every day to describe our experience in South Africa. 

Our words for the day were:

Amy: Beautiful

Mirvet: Fresh

Kelsie: Diverse

Deb: Left

Dr. Curry: Majestic

Mine: Historical

UP, UP and AWAY!

When someone suggests that you go on a 24 hour flight. Think about it deeply before you jump on the idea.

   We flew from:

            Omaha to Detroit: 1 hr 23 minute flight

            Detroit to Amsterdam: 7 hour and 35 minute flight

            Amsterdam to Cape Town: 11 hour and 10 minute flight.

We had about an hour layover in Detroit and ended up running through the airport to our next gate. In Amsterdam, we had about a 2 hour layover. These are not long enough layover for flights this long

So needless to say, the flights were extremely long and really the only thing I did was watch movies and sleep. I watched The Lego Movie, Acts of Valor, The Awkward Moment, and part of Frozen.

It was so boring and our take offs and landings were a little rough, but other than that, the flights were okay.

          We did spend a lot of time to ourselves and it gave me a lot of time to think. I am super thankful that I have a supportive family and boyfriend to help me do this. This is an experience of a lifetime and I really couldn’t have done it without them. Thanks Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Matt.

          I also can’t believe how much I miss my family though. I mean, I love them dearly. But last summer I spent 12 weeks at AIT and the summer before that I spent a 11 weeks at Basic with no contact to my family, so why is 2 1/2 weeks so hard. I am so excited to be here, but I will be thankful to be back in the United States, where I know what is going on. I feel misplaced here. The culture is a lot different and I haven’t really figured it out.

Why I Am Moving In, With No Ring In Sight.

       I guess this isn't really something that I need to broadcast, but I wanted to address it anyway. I am moving into an apartment with Matt this summer. We have no plans of marriage in the foreseeable future.
   We have found a place in Omaha that we will be moving into. I am going to school. He got a full time job! I am going to continue with my military training.

   Here is why I am addressing this. Many people have given me questionable, weird looks when I say that we are getting an apartment together. That I am switching from Lincoln to Omaha for school. I have gotten some "shame on you" finger pointing and some disapproving looks. I know that it doesn't matter what other people think, but at the same time it does matter to me.

Reasons that I am okay with moving in with no plans of marriage

1. Getting to know each other.
    For the married folks, you know what I am talking about. You get to know a person a whole lot better once you are living with them. How the brush their teeth. Do they sing in the shower? Do they leave their gross, dirty underwear on the bathroom floor when they shower.
    For some people these may not seem like a problem, but every person has their own little quirks and when you move in with that person, one thing you need to decide is whether or not you can live with those for the rest of your life.

2. Statistics
   Rates are increasing a lot within the teenage/ young adult age group. There is less stigma about getting married young, so many people are okay with living together before marriage, while they are finishing their education. More females are actually going to college as well, so there are more females who want to wait to get married until they have finished college.
    While studies have shown that those who live together before marriage are more likely than those to break up. Some studies also show that those people who do make it to marriage are happier with living together after marriage and less likely to divorce. People know the other person and they are comfortable with them.

3. I am in no hurry to get married, settle down, and have kids.
    I know this is the same for a lot of people my age. They like the idea of being with someone, getting married and all of that, but they want to finish school. I hope to finish my 4 year degree, then move on to a masters program. I am still unsure what I want to do as far as a job after than, but I have a general field that I want to go in.
       Personally, I want to focus on career success before I have another little life to worry about. Many people are continuing to work on other things and the average age of marriage and first kid is getting a lot older than it used to be. I have a long time before I think about starting to plan a wedding. Sure, every girl is mentally planning it and thanks to Pinterest, who isn't planning some wedding ideas (even your second wedding for some of you).
     Even if I am planning my wedding to some degree, it doesn't mean that I want to actually be planning it anytime soon.
   Personally, we have been together for 8 months today, by the time we are fully moved into our apartment, it will be 9 months. It is longer than some, but still not very long. I want to be together for at least 3 years before I think about marrying someone. Granted, Matt and I dated my freshman year in high school and kinda stayed friends throughout. He was my best friend (other than Katelin of course) before we started dating. But like I said before, I am in no hurry.


4. Because my first marriage is going to be my last.
    I have heard this so many times. I have seen it on the internet, but this is true for me. If I am going to commit to marrying someone, I want to make sure that it is the right person. I want to know who I am marrying, their goals for their future, and their lifelong plans. If something goes wrong, we will work together to fix it. I don't plan to get divorced.
    If I know that he leave his underwear on the bathroom floor, I can either get him to work on not doing it, or I can learn to pick up after him. In the first weeks of marriage, I don't want to be learning about the things that drive me crazy about him. I want to be spending time with him. Cooking dinner together and not fighting. I want to have some of that little stuff out of the way, so we can move on to the bigger stuff like buying a house, traveling together, talking about kids.

5. Money is tight.
   I saved this for last because it is kind of a lame reason. He is fresh out of college and just starting in the job market. I am still in college, living off every military dime that I can. I am paying for a study abroad trip and I am saving every penny for that. I don't plan on living in the dorms again because they are outrageously expensive. I don't have a ton of close girlfriends who are in the area or that are interested in getting a place together either.


Between Matt and I, we will learn to take care of our bills, grocery shopping, and having fun together. We will have good times and bad, but we will make it through it together. I guess we will see what the future brings to us.

Also, as far as I know, Matt doesn't leave his clothes on the bathroom floor, so we should be okay!

Do you have more reasons why to or to not move in with your significant other? Let me know!

Big Thanks Goes tooo..

UNL: For setting up the trip, making sure everything went okay, and giving me a $750 scholarship!
Dr. Curry: For putting up with all of us crazy college kids for 3 weeks!
Robin Anderson: Who printed the letters for me to send out informing everyone about my trip and requesting a little help.
Gage County M.A.P.S. coalition for donating envelopes and labels for the letters.

Some of the Money Donors:
Kiwanis                                                     Verla Light
Grandma Jan and Grandpa Roger                Grandpa Earl and Grandma Vera
Grandma Cindy                                         Grandma Judy and Grandpa Gene
Roger and Dianne Aveyard                         Dawn Kendall
Roger and Jane Aden                                  Ernie and Jan
Bette and Marvin                                       Janice Waltke
Diane and Doug Swanson                           Troy Kendall
Mom and Dad                                            Pat May

Everyone who bought cookies from me, helped me with my letters, and supported me along the way!
Grandma Ida, Jessie and Dennis, Dad and Robin Anderson: for donating some extra stuff for the garage sale which was a HUGE help for getting the money for the trip.
A special thanks to Matt. Who helped me lick envelopes, place stamps, and supported me when he wasn't exactly excited for me. Thank you so much for unconditionally supporting the things I do. (:
Also, a huge thanks to my parents for supporting me with a little bit of worry. I wouldn't know what to do without you guys!



Now, I am getting to the packing point. I have less than a week left before my trip and I am extremely excited.

Things I am excited about:
Seeing the old architecture                            Making new friends
Taking MILLIONS of pictures                      African Safari
Wine Tasting                                               Staying with another family
Going out on the town with the girls               The sights
The experiences that I will come back with      Learning about the military of the country
Learning more about differences in culture


Things I am nervous about:
A LONNNG flight                                          Forgetting something important at home
Not knowing what to do                                  Something going wrong while I am away
Making a fool of myself because of culture differences
Being away from home (Crazy, since I have been gone for 11 weeks straight.)
Missing America                                              Realizing how "American" I am
Not being able to speak some of the language


I am so excited, but also very nervous about this trip. It is going to be chilly.. but I am extremely nervous about not packing the right things for the country's weather. I am trying to pack some warm weather clothes and some cold weather clothes. I don't want to pack my winter coat, but I don't want to be without it if we need it..

I am very excited to see all of the pictures that come from this experience as well as the fun memories that are there! I can't wait to share this experience with all my loved ones! Thank you so much!

Thank you everyone, for your love and support.
In just a week, I will have landed in this beautiful country and be spending my time learning and having fun.



If you have missed some of my South African experience so far! Check out this link to read the rest. http://tragicbeautifulthingcalledlife.blogspot.com/search/label/South%20Africa