First Week of School

It's only the first week and I am tired... But it's been a good busy week.

I started classes on Monday with Photojournalism at 7 p.m. That is going to be a fun class with a medium amount of work which is always nice. And I have an excuse to buy a really nice camera!

Tuesday I had Copy Editing at 9:45 a.m. We already had homework to turn in and were given a bunch more for Thursday and the next Tuesday. That is going to be my hardest class with the most work. Yet it is going to make me a better writer and have a skill that is in high demand in the journalism world so I guess I'm OK with the work load. After Copy Editing I had Rhetoric and Public Address. Basically its a speech class. I'm a little nervous about it but the professor seems very good at what he does and I want to be able to become a better speaker so there ya go.

Wednesday I didn't have any classes but it was time to get back to work at The Collegian. We put out our first issue of the year that night and it turned out pretty well. It only took until 3 a.m. so we're off to a good start. And now we have Martin to help us out. Martin is Emily, our Features editor, new Miniature Schnauzer and he is adorable! Whenever I need a break, Martin is there to keep me company.

I wrote an article for this weeks issue which you can see here.

Thursday I had Copy Editing and Rhetoric again and then the practicum for Rhetoric. I had to give a surprise speech, as did all the other students, and we we're definitely nervous but it went well. We got some good pointer from out TA for our first speech that we have to give on Tuesday in class. Thursday night we had our first CSF event of the year, Coldstone! What better way to get people to come to your group then free food and ice cream?

After Coldstone I attended the Democratic National Convention Viewing Party and watched Obama's acceptance speech, asked a few people what they thought and then wrote an article for The Collegian online. The new website is awesome, very well done.

And now it's Friday. No classes today either, which is awesome. But a lot of homework to get done for Monday and Tuesday.

And of course throughout the week I've been doing homework, hanging out with friends and Josh. You know, trying to have a social life. And it's been storming and raining all week. All in all it's been a good week and I'm glad things are going again.

I need a nap.

The New Apartment

It's official! I am moved into a new apartment in Richmond, roughly 10 minutes from school. It is a nice place with a large living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a full bath. I'll be living there during the week and back in Charles City with my Grandmama on the weekends. This will definitely cut down on my commuting time and gas costs. Now I'll have more time to do my homework! Yeah!... :\

So far I have bedroom furniture and we have a coffee table and a few dorm chairs in the living room. Tomorrow we're bringing over a couch that Grandmama is letting us take from her house.

This should be pretty sweet.

The Beach House

I do love vacation and the beach so having them both at the same time is pretty sweet.

Grandmama, Charlotte, Leslie, Curry, Josh and I started driving down to Oak Island, North Carolina on Tuesday. We were having a pleasant drive but weren't exactly sure where we were, thank you Map Quest (not!). When we reached Wilson, NC Grandmama smelled burning rubber and realized she didn't have much control over the van so she pulled over. Josh, Curry and I were following in Josh's car so we pulled over behind her and got out. That's when Josh spotted the black smoke coming out of the van's front driver side wheel. So we called the fire department and about 10 minutes later there were two fire trucks there and a bunch of firemen with their water squirter to put out the not-so-flaming flames.

About half an hour later a tow truck came and picked up the van and we followed it the Dodge dealer in Wilson. They told us it was the caliper and that they would need to keep it for a few days. So we rented a newer version of Grandmama's van and headed for the beach house!

We got their just fine but a lot later than we intended. The rest of the week we spent on the beach sunbathing, swimming, reading, watching movies and various other vacation-y type things. Grandmama's sister and her husband, Aunt Winn and Uncle Eddy, were already there.

Josh stayed until Thursday morning and drove back to Richmond to get back to his house sitting job. While he was there we all watched "The Princess Bride" he bought just before coming. When he left Curry kept it and watched it three more times until Uncle Eddy told him he wasn't allowed to watch it any more. I think it's time to buy him his own copy and get the kid into some fencing lessons. His new goal is to be just like Wesley which won't be too hard, except for the fact, as Curry pointed out, that Wesley had blond hair.

We also took a trip to Surf Cinema and watched "Mamma Mia!" and it was awesome. It had all the right elements: comedy, romance, drama and lots and lots of singing and colors. Good times.

The day after that we took a trip to the Leaky Tiki where we had homemade ice cream and sang a little karaoke. The girls and I made Curry get up with us once and sing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Poor kid...

It was a great relaxing trip and I wish we could have stayed longer but it was time to get back to the real world. I definitely look forward to going again.

See the rest of the pictures here.

Namibia Video

I promised it so here it is!



The song in the beginning is in Africaans and says, "Jesus made me beautiful/Jesus made me beautiful, Jesus made me beautiful/From my head/These are my hands/These are my feet/Shake your body, shake it!" The kids are in a classroom we worked in at Rehoboth High School during out third week there.

The next song is "Mine, Mine, Mine" and is also sung by the kids at RHS. Then there's "Marching in the Light of God" and they go from English to Africaans to Nama, which has the clicking sounds.

After that there's me singing and playing "Sufficient for Me" by Scott Cunningham.

And the video ends with a group of RHS girls singing "When My Jesus" in English and then in Nama.

Some of the pictures are from the high schools we taught in, Dr. Lemmer, RHS and M & K Gertze. We were in the high schools on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays most weeks teaching their Life Skills and Religious and Moral Education classes. Sometimes we were substitutes for the teachers who were not there that day. Most of the time we would introduce ourselves and then let the kids ask questions about America. In every class we were asked "Have you ever met any celebrities?" Needless to say our answer was no and we explained to them that there are about 400 million people in the U.S. so the odds of seeing a celebrity without paying for a concert ticket were pretty slim. They also had good questions about what the high schools were like and what America looks like, if everyone has blue eyes and what our families and hometowns are like.

Eventually we got to ask them a few questions and got into a conversation about who God is to them. In Rehoboth roughly 90 percent of the people go to church but not many of them, especially the teenagers, do not know why. So we talked to them about that and they had some very good questions that led to great discussions and a few friendships. I believe we made the most impact in the high schools because we were able to build friendships with some of the kids. They feel more free to talk to us than their teachers so we talked to them about what was actually going on in their lives and the struggles and problems they deal with. Those kids have a lot of enthusiasm and potential.

On the other days we worked at the Soup Kitchen and did community outreaches in Block E, the poor section of Rehoboth. The Soup Kitchen is run by the Rehoboth Covenant "Tent" Church that Hannah and Emily's host father pastors. They are still in a tent after 15 years of being a church because instead of spending their offerings of getting a building, they are reaching out to the community. One of those outreaches is the Soup Kitchen. Every Wednesday morning a few people get together, go grocery shopping, make a huge pot of soup and distribute it to Block E and a few other places within the town. When we were there we would cut up the veggies, wait for the soup to cook and then take a big container full to a "house" in Block E where the children would come with their bowls and tupperware containers and be served some soup. Then they would either take it back to wherever or sit and eat it with their hands since none of them had spoons.

The first time we helped out with the Soup Kitchen was also the first time we saw Block E and we left speechless and devastated. We were overwhelmed by the condition of the houses and the appearance of the kids. We learned that many of the children do not eat but one meal a day if that. Block E also does not have any running water except for one tap on the far south end so the kids do not bath regularly or wash their clothes. It took all we had to not break down and cry on the spot.

But the more we went the easier it got and the more we could see how much we were helping. Not only were we giving the kids a healthy meal, we were also showing them that people do care for them and that they are not forgotten. The Soup Kitchen was definitely one of my favorite things to do and I always looked forward to Wednesdays.

During the first week we were there we were also able to visit a few primary schools or kindergartens. The kids clung to us instantly and we had a great time playing with them and singing songs. They were extremely cute and photogenic so they are all over the video.

It was such an amazing trip and there are so many other things to say and I have no idea where to start on the rest. So if you have any questions just post them in the comments and I will get to it.

Thank you to everyone who supported me. You were definitely a huge part of all the good that was done and I appreciate it.

Pictures!

Here are the links for some of my pictures that I've posted on Facebook. More to come soon!

Namibia Part 1
Namibia Part 2
Namibia Part 3
Etosha

Home Again

I've made it back to the U.S.A.! I flew into Newark on Monday and got back to Grandmama's at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. The flight went a lot faster than the way there since we didn't have a 12 hour layover.

I have so many pictures and video and everything to share and am working on getting that all together for everyone. It shouldn't take too long but please still be patient with me.

It is so great to be home and where everything is familiar again but I do miss Namibia and all the people I was able to make friendships with.

Namibia is pretty awesome

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, my internet time is limited...

The trip so far has been awesome! We've been in the high schools, talking to the kids and hanging out with them. We've done a soup kitchen and some community outreaches in the poor section of town and a lot of just walking around and experiencing Rehoboth.

I have so many pictures and videos and everything that will be up soon after I get back to Virginia in about 17 days!