I think I’ll Build a House Today.

This morning started off like any other morning does on our program – early, rushed, sleepy seeds still in the corners of our eyes. After not enough sleep last night, I woke up at 6:30 to make the bus that was going to the house building project in the Mflueni township. There were volunteers from TSiBA (students, faculty and staff), Northeastern University, and from Metropolitan Health.

The day was very structured and well run. We were broken down into groups of 8-10, then sent to various locations in the township where houses had been started. My group leader, Hugo, and several contractors showed us how to lay concrete blocks and concrete to assemble the inner walls. But first, we had to transport all the concrete blocks from outside to the house. We had a great assembly line going. And those blocks were HEAVY. [I have done Habitat for Humanity in the past, and this was probably 5x more strenuous than Habitat] Then we actually started putting up the walls. Again, everything is harder than it looks. The contractor showed us how, and he made it look so simple. However, when you have to mix your own concrete, things get a bit tougher.

3 Parts Sand, 1 part Lime, and lots of water. We mixed our concrete on the floor of the house with shovels. First you need to combine the dry materials, then create a little pool in the middle with water. Then mix well. It seems easy, but it’s not. We learned a song that miners sing, so that made the process go a little faster, but it was difficult nonetheless. After mixing the concrete, we started assembling walls. It was tough to keep the walls level though, and we had to make many adjustments. Jen and I made a pretty good team though laying the blocks. I was impressed. Post block laying, you have to “bag” the wall to fill in the gaps with more concrete, and smooth out the wall.

This lasted all day until we finished the walls. It was pretty cool to see all our work at the end. The house itself was very small in comparison to American homes (it was about the size of my living room at home, maybe smaller) however it is going to make some family or person very happy. The way it works is that they can apply for a house at this organization, then if selected they agree to mortgage terms which are usually quite long. If the person can’t pay it at first, they offer a very long grace period. It’s incredibly empowering, as at the end of the day we presented a woman with her finished home. She had never lived in a home before and the smile on her face brought tears to my eyes. As the cut the ribbon to open her door, all the volunteers erupted with applause. We were a part of giving this woman a safe place to live. I will never forget the smile on her face.

I’ve done many service projects in the past, but this one was much different. I think it was so different because of the location. We were in a township. Townships are fascinating to me in that it is really a community, not a neighborhood. There are always children wandering around, smiling, and wanting to talk to you. [Side note: They were yelling ‘unlango’ to us as we walked past, I later learned that this meant ‘whitey.’ They don’t get out of the township much if at all, so seeing a white person was shocking and new to them] People are always sitting in groups, playing cards, drinking, etc. Water is communal. There are braiis going on everywhere (barbeques). Countless “hair salons.” I have so many pictures of townships because it really is a different type of life that I wish I could fully understand. All I know is that it’s very unique and something that I’ll remember long past this trip.

Today is the last day with the TSiBA students. We are going to a dinner tonight downtown in Cape Town – the Fat Cactus, yummy tex-mex. It’s going to be weird saying goodbye to them. They have become so close to us and I only wish that we had more time. Together, our group has made a huge difference in such a short time.

Tomorrow we leave for Durban to go to God’s Golden Acre. We have to leave the hotel at 4:30 AM. These days are so busy, but so rewarding and wonderful. I can sleep when I’m dead.

-Hills

It's Coming Together.

Last day of classes was today. We had a final discussion on P&G’s Clean Water Initiative and Toms’s Shoes. We were focusing on weather the company’s were starting these initiatives for Profit, People or Public Relations. It’s kind of a difficult conversation to have in a group because while my initial reaction to P&G’s Initiative would be solely for public relations and that’s bad… one must remember that it’s a business. P&G is an American company whose goal are profits-and this program may be driven by profits. By this project, they are in turn getting R&D in the low-income market and branding their name which may lead to profits in the future. Is that necessarily a bad thing when you’re in business? I would say no but many disagreed with me, and with legitimate reasons. I trying to go into these discussions with a very open mind and really listening to my peers. It’s definitely going to (and has already) had an affect in the companies that I support.

Post last day of class, we did a bit of project work. Jen and I finished up the research on free financial education and found two courses we’re suggesting to Christophe on Friday. SO glad to get that piece out of the way. It has been hanging over our heads; what seemed like an easy task (free online training) was actually much tougher than we thought… like most of the project.

Then we took a short tour of the South Africa Astronomical Observatory. It has the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a very old observatory, but the buildings are all in pretty nice shape.

Headed back to TSiBA for another meat-heavy lunch then project work. Luckily the internet was in full force today, so we got a lot of work done. We finished out PowerPoint presentation for Friday’s ceremony and also compiled all the templates, resources and articles that we’ll be presenting Township Patterns. Now that all of the deliverables are set up and clear, I’m feeling really good about the project. I’ve learned a lot about the South African culture in regards to personal finance: there isn’t much discussion or planning around it. I only hope that these resources will help the women that work at the Co-Operatives because they deserve that. Women are supporting huge families on their salaries, but somehow are unable to make financial goals and properly plan for their futures. And it’s not their fault – they simply haven’t ever received education on the topic. While this project primarily benefits Township Patterns as a governing company (in regards to production, cost reduction, loans), it also has an enormous potential to help families get out of poverty. That is among the most difficult parts of this project – to see beyond the two weeks that we are consulting. If we didn’t find a way to do that, we would have failed. However I’m quite proud of the work my group has produced and I’m looking forward to presenting it on Friday. Our group has made some great progress both individually and as a group.

After project work, we visited Khayelitsha Cookies which is a company that makes high-end cookies and sells them to grocery stores, hotels and other companies. They are a for-profit company but haven’t profited yet because they really take great care of their employees. They employ non-skilled women from the Khayelitsha Township and teach them how to bake, fill out paper work and run a business. The women get great benefits including transportation, sick days, and seem to be in high spirits as they work. I was very impressed by the company, but was shocked by their prices. They were incredibly under priced. Everything is done by hand – no machines (the idea is to keep the women employed) from the packaging to the mixing to the cutting of brownies, yet a package of 5 cookies only costs R 8, the equivalent of about $1. It’s absurd. They would sell for 5-10x as much in the United States. Nevertheless, I bought a bunch, as did Northeastern for our final presentations.

Finally home after another long day. We’re doing our last Potluck Dinner tonight. Kind of sad, but it’ll be a great time. The friends I’ve made here are wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for a better group.

Cheers.

Extreme Southwestern Tip

Today we had a busy day planned – Cape Point. It actually is not where the Indian/Atlantic Ocean meet, contrary to popular belief. [Cape Point is often mistakenly claimed to be the place where the cold Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean collide. So unfortunately, we didn’t see the so-called “line in the ocean,” which is a popular myth.]

We started off the day at Boulder Park to see the penguins! It was this gorgeous area where there was a great beach that penguins have flocked to. They were African Penguins. This area is cared for by the park, but the penguins are not constrained to the park so they can migrate whenever they want.

Next on the list: a bike ride around and to Cape of Good Hope. Why not take a Sunday morning bike ride? It was absolutely gorgeous. We biked past baboons and ostriches. Baboons here are very aggressive, and we passed one that had grabbed a tourist’s bag, ripped it open and took out the camera. We were encouraged to keep our backpacks close and not to eat food around them. After a bike ride we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a rocky beach, but just down the shore from actual Cape Point. We hung out there for a while until we embarked upon our hike up to Cape Point.


Our hike was absolutely wonderful. Natural beauty at its finest. The shoreline, the mountains, and the beautiful white sandy beach that we found. The small group I was hiking with decided to take a dip – it was certainly chilly, but definitely worth the swim and the long path we had to take to reach the beach! After our swim, we headed back to the visitors center, where the cable car takes people up the lighthouse and met up with the rest of the NU/TSiBA group.

After loading into the van, the NU/TSiBA group went to an ostrich farm to feed them! They were actually quite docile, but managed to nibble on a a few fingers.. no harm done! After a quick feeding, our buses went our separate ways and the exhausted NU crowd basically slept the entire bus ride back.

This week is our final week with TSiBA. I don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye to it – the students, the classes, the institution. After two weeks, our group has gotten so close and I’ve learned countless things from each and every student I’ve met, the places we’ve visited and the education we are sharing. Leaving will be sad, but knowing that we’ve done everything in our power to make a difference will make us proud. This week will be another busy one – time to get down to business and achieve these goals we’ve each set for ourselves.

Promote Pathways

Today was a new day. It was a day for me to calm down, figure things out and to learn. After an extremely stressful day yesterday, I realized that I need to step outside of myself and assess both the situation at hand, and what I can feasibly accomplish in about 8 afternoons.

My group went to visit two cooperatives today in Khayelitcha and Manenburg. We got picked up at TSiBA in a white van with: no seats, no windows, many boxes, and fabric. This was the delivery truck for Township Patterns when they go to the cooperatives. Township was generous enough to provide us this transportation for our two visits. It was definitely an eventful visit in that our driver made lots of U-turns, abrupt stops and some Xhosa jokes that I wish I could have understood.

The first cooperative we visited was Somulele in Khayelitcha. I don’t know what I expected, but this was not it. The cooperative was literally just a room with about 10 sewing stations, a MOUNTAIN of Pick ‘n’ Pay green bags, and boxes of fabrics. The women were very quiet when we visited. The leader, Patricia, was busy when we visited at 2:00 PM but agreed to speak to us more at their break time at 3 PM so the students that spoke Afrikaans stayed behind while we went to the next cooperative. I learned a lot about the black culture today in that when they work, no disruptions whatsoever. We were intruding on their work time, which is their income. It felt uncomfortable for me, but something I wouldn’t fully understand without the visit, without seeing the sense of fear in their eyes.

While Nolwazi, Cindy and Jenn stayed behind to speak to Patricia at 3, I got a ride to Manenburg from an employee of Township Patterns with the other members of our group. The Manenburg Township is a colored community, and I was told that it would be much friendlier and laid back. The second I walked in, the team leader – Jennifer, greeted us with open arms, introduced herself to everyone and encouraged us to sit around with the women and talk about their personal savings, finance and educational goals. It’s very awkward to sit down with someone (especially a stranger) and ask them such personal questions. However, we were encouraged to just be ourselves and chat. I wasn’t prepared to do so as we had already decided that the South African students would do the interviewing. But, when I sat down with one of the women, the conversation just flowed. We spoke about everything from her family to her education to her relationships at Township Patterns. She was incredibly honest with me which I respect immensely. She was 57 years old, had been working for 30 years, and was having trouble saving because she both supported her family so much and had a soft spot for her grandchildren. We discussed a preliminary monthly budget, computer training, and her goal of a trip to Mecca, which would cost her about 40,000 rand. I left the cooperative feeling so much more connected to this project because I wanted to help her save and to help her understand the power of her earnings. For a woman who works as hard as she does, she deserves so much more, and she even admitted that.

On the opposite spectrum, I spoke to Jennifer (the team leader) who does indeed save her money, and made sacrifices to have an emergency fund. Working in the same room together, making the same exact salary every month, there was a woman who is in complete chaos with her well-earned finances with a woman who diligently saves and is able to reward herself at the end of the day with whatever she chooses. The two interviews couldn’t have been more different.

After two very successful visits, we headed back to TSiBA and met up with the other groups. The consensus among us is that we need to set some attainable objectives. We can’t promise a full out business plan, a high-tech website, an investment plan… it’s simply not logical. However, Jen put it perfectly when she said – We need to promote pathways to opportunity. That is what we will deliver at the end of this. That is something to be proud of. As long as we give them the resources, tools, and inspiration, I will feel that this project is a success.

Cheers,
Hills
Tomorrow: an hour of class followed by a visit to Khayelitcha for a “cultural experience.”

First Day of Consulting; Dinner with the Dean.

This morning was like the first day of class. For me, I was quite excited as I have taken Professor Shaughnessy's Social Entrepreneurship class and knew exactly what we were in for - engaging lively dicussions that push my boundries of thinking. Others may have been a bit more apprehensive as we have had quite a nice break from classes and there was a feeling not unlike returning to fall classes after a perfect summer.

Although I was eager to jump straight into the "nitty-gritty" details of South African entrepreneurship, I have to realize that not everyone on the trip has the same levels of prior knowledge. So Professor began with a concise foundation of what it means to be a social entrepreneur and ways to define the many different forms of entrepreneurship.

After lunch we met with our consulting groups to embark upon our missions. After listening to all of the presentations yesterday I am quite confident these projects will be a lot of fun, as well as teaching everyone involved a thing or two. (More like three or four.)

Yet, all of this was outshined by the night's dinner activities. The Dean of Northeastern's Business School is visiting us until tomorrow, and it has been quite a pleasure to be able to share our personal experiences with him. So tonight we had a group dinner at Mama Africa, where we had an absolute blast! I tried kudu, springbok, osterich, warthog, and crocodile... but I think the springbok was my favorite.

Dean Moore was a great addition to our crew and fit right in. We were all very eager to talk with the Dean about why we were on the trip and what it meant to us, and he was more than eager to listen. Ben and I had a great covnersation with him over dinner about our various travels outside the US, and the different experiences we have all experienced.

The night closed with delicious cakes made by one of the companies we are consulting; Comida Catering.

Now it is time for bed. Until next time,

Jason Morris

Entrepreneur Introductions

Hi All

Today was the first day of our official consulting project. It started off early at 7:45 AM, but unfortunately because of the flooding and sudden influx of rain, we were a bit behind schedule.

We got to TSiBA to start the entrepreneur presentations; there were 10 companies, each having 6 students to work with them, 4 TSiBA students and 2 NU students. The projects range from catering companies to stationery and micro finance companies. Mine, however, is a bags/textile company. It's a great concept because there is Township Patterns CC which supports NPO Township and Township Cooperatives. We will be working with the cooperatives who are groups of women that are given orders by the company and then fill the orders, and in turn invoice Township Patterns CC. It's an incredibly successful company; they did all the bags for Gap in the red campaign, and are also promoting green bags for Pick 'n' Pay (the local grocery store chain here). I'll be sure to pick up a few to bring back to the states. Our primary goals with Township CC are the following: to research the textile industry and compare labor costs, to train women in the cooperatives on the basics of financial management and personal finance, and then to leave the cooperatives with tools for success in their future at Township. We are going to visit their corporate headquarters on Wednesday which is in downtown Cape Town. Then on Thursday we will be taking a truck ride to deliver materials/orders to two of the township cooperatives. Can't wait to see where they work! It's definitely a lot to do, but I'm looking forward to it. In the process I'm sure that I will learn a lot from Christophe (the owner) and my fellow NU/TSiBA students.

Alright, back to work on my project about a South African entrepreneur - Patrice Motsepe. On tap for tonight: project, sleep and prepping for a busy day of figuring out a game plan for our consulting project.

Cheers, Hills

Weekend Team Building Exercise

Saturday has finally come, which means it is a time for all of us Northeastern and TSiBA students in Cape Town to relax. Maybe not, actually! We got up early to catch a bus to Table Mountain to potentially hike it. It’s funny how none of us actually realized what we were getting ourselves into. Half of us weren’t dressed properly – we were wearing shorts and a top. Let me remind you that it’s winter here. However, to give us some credit, we’ve enjoyed absolutely beautiful weather since we’ve arrived in Cape Town almost a week ago – I’m talking about shorts and t-shirt weather. The top of the mountain was invisible to us; the dark clouds blanketed the top half and sent down a cold, shivery breeze. And although a few of us were feeling adventurous, it was suggested as a group to make other plans that wouldn’t put us in potential risk of hypothermia. So we decided to hike across the mountain from Canstantia to Kirstenbosh – about 90 minutes of dirt trails, woodsy paths and stream crossing, to the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

Once we collectively crossed the mountain, we hopped on a bus that took us to District 6, specifically into the Bo-Kaap district, where we had lunch at one of Cape Town’s most famous Cape Malay restaurants called Biesmiellah. I didn’t identify most of the food that was served, aside from the chicken marinated in curry sauce and the rice, however, it was delicious and well deserved after a shin splinting hike.

Once again, it was a pleasure to spend time with the TSiBA students and bond. Call it what you will; a teambuilding exercise, but it was nice to see everybody share stories and laugh in happiness or in hopelessness over a long, tiring hike. In between the discussions along the hike, some of the students, including myself, would just stop and look around to enjoy our environment, listen to the creatures of the wild, and fully take in the beautiful Cape Town, South Africa.

Learning about HIV/AIDS in South Africa

On average, one in four South Africans is HIV positive.

The HIV & AIDS pandemic is a very controversial issue in South Africa. Older generations have unclear perceptions of the issue, the government is unclear on their policy toward it, and everyone is dealing with the consequences. Our day was spent exploring this topic in great depth by visiting different HIV/AIDS focused centers and listening to speakers at each. After meeting at the TSiBA campus at 8:30am, we departed for our first site visit, the Emavundleni HIV/AIDS Centre in the Crossroads.

The Emavundleni Centre was named by the community, after a local gang that used to be in the area. This represented both a sign of growth and connection for the community. At the centre, we learned about the programs they were involved with, and what research was being done on this disease.

We discussed the specifics of the HIV strands present in the Western Cape and South Africa compared to the United States, and we learned about what research and testing was being done to produce local cures for local strands. We also learned about issues the centre was having with engaging the community in an active dialogue about HIV, and why it was sometimes difficult to create local involvement. Although I did not realize it at the time, this specific issue would be prevalent throughout the day, and be one of the most debated issues in our following discussions both inside and outside of the classroom.

After Emavundleni, we proceeded on to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. This hospital is one of the very few hospitals in the country, and even Africa, that provides free services to many of its patients, and heavy financing for the others. Here we were able to learn about what the Hospital and South African Government is doing to improve children’s health both inside and out of the hospital, including HIV & AIDS. Additionally, we were given a walking tour of the hospital and were able to visit a few of their children’s wards.

Before heading to our final destination, Professor Kraan surprised us by bringing us to a nearby township where we met one of the local entrepreneurs that he is working with. This was a tremendous experience for me, as it was my first (but not last) exposure to a truly depraved township. The local entrepreneur showed us his leather working shop, proudly explaining how all of the leather he uses is recycled, and how he constructs his various leather items. He held a deep reverence for both us as students, and of Peter as a great friend and mentor. This was a hugely motivating experience and was a nice break from the sometimes more heart wrenching topic of the day.

Lastly, we travelled to the Desmond Tutu Foundation, located at the University of Cape Town’s MBA Campus. Here we were able to speak with a young doctor at the Foundation. He talked for about 30 minutes, giving us a great overview of the more technical aspects surrounding HIV & AIDS, including the complicated aspects of ARVs. After that, he opened the floor to questions, which there were plenty of. Personally, I think that our Q&A sessions are the most beneficial aspects of any of our site visits. To sit side by side with local TSiBA students and to have the ability to bounce questions and ideas off them, while having such a great resource as the young doctor to be able to articulately answer these questions is truly incredible.

Our questions seemed to mainly address the topic of ARVs and after discussing the hard and sometimes very controversial issues surrounding the whole issue for another 45 minutes or so, the young doctor had to leave.

Today was a long and sometimes stressful day. The topic at hand was controversial, frustrating, motivating and depressing – all at the same time. (Having the TSiBA students share their experience helped tremendously, but to see their frustration burn far more intensely and more personally than my own, only shows how large of an issue this really is.) After the doctor left, we drove to a local toy store, where we split into groups and bought various toys to donate to the children at the hospital. Then we headed home to digest all that we had learned.

- Jason Morris

Guest Speaker & Trip to Robben Island

Today was our first time entering the TSiBA school. There, we gathered in the auditorium with the students we met yesterday while touring the Langa Township. Most of us sat next to our new friends from TSiBA, which made the room mirror a “rainbow nation” as Desmond Tutu would so eloquently put it. We sat there patiently and with anticipation until our very special guest speaker took the podium. After formal introductions, Ahmed Kathrada took the stage and began to share heartfelt stories about his past fighting for the country that he loves so very much. His quick wit and exceptional story telling talent made this 80 year old man a pleasure to listen to and kept his entire audience – South African natives, as well as Americans, fully engaged. One of the points he stressed was the importance of education and continuous learning.

Mr. Kathrada told stories about the time when he and Nelson Mandela were kept in maximum security prison at Robben Island. They were banned from reading books beyond a certain hour, or sometimes not allowed to read at all. However, given these barriers, they still found a way to further their education and continue to learn to the best ability. The point was that there is no excuse for our children today to not educate themselves even under uneasy circumstances. We should all take advantage of every opportunity we can to learn and expand our minds with knowledge all while being responsible. As Mr. Kathrada said, “At the end of the day, we owe it to ourselves, our family, and our country.” The discussion concluded with a question and answer session where one of the students said something that touched my heart: “Thank you for sacrificing your youth so we could have our freedom.”

We then made our way to the Waterfront and awaited the ferry to bring us to Robben Island. I envisioned the island to look somewhat like Alcatraz; a large prison sitting on a lone island. Instead, it was more like a camp; a torture chamber; a place for prisoners to do monotonous activities until they lose their spirits and morale. Once arriving on the island, we gathered on a bus which would then take us on a tour of the island. Reality sunk in when we pulled up to the Lime Quarry. I began to imagine Nelson Mandela tediously hammering away in the blazing heat and intense sun, without shade or sunglasses. My throat became dry as I felt a tear run down my cheek. On the quarry was a pile of rocks that has recently been laid down by the prisoners of Robben Island as a sign of reflection. The first rock was placed by Mr. Mandela himself. This man forgave those who caused his blindness that he is still suffering with today.

Both the speech given by Ahmed Kathrada and the visit to Robben Island taught us all in a way that we would not be able to learn in books. We listened to firsthand experiences and walked through the halls and fields that major historical figures walked over. This was a truly a real experience that will stay with us and inspire us for the rest of our lives.

- Christine Caserta

First Day & Langa Township Tour

Hi everyone!

Today was our first full day here in Cape Town, SA. We woke up this morning to a spectacular sunrise over Signal Peak directly behind our apartments, and the day only got better from there. We started with a trip to the Waterfront; a nearby mall which reminds me of the Natick Collection outside of Boston. There, we spent the morning buying groceries for the week, figuring out the phone situation, eating breakfast, and exploring.

Around 12pm we met Peter Kraan and travelled to the TSiBA Campus to meet their students for the first time. After some time mingling and hopelessly trying to learn each other’s names, we all consented that it would come with time and got into buses headed off to the Township of Langa, where we met our tour guide, MC.

Townships were created due to the enactment of the Group Areas Act of 1950, which decreed that ethnicities must live in separate areas; effectively banning all non-whites from living in the cities with the white South Africans. If you would like to learn more about South African townships and what their role in apartheid was, and what it currently is in post-apartheid SA, you can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Township_(South_Africa)

MC, who started his own township tour guide business, participated in the NU SEI/TSiBA program last year and was eager to show us around Langa. The Langa Township is representative of a vast majority of South African townships. Is has three major economic classes; poor, middle class, and wealthy. What makes this so unique is that all three are tired together through an astounding sense of culture and community. MC explained to us that even the residents in rich areas, the doctors, lawyers and teachers, could all easily afford to live in the suburbs, but choose not to on a basis that they had cultural ties to their community – whether it is religious, or other any other reason. It was quite a moving experience to be immersed into such a strong sense of culture.

MC and his tour guides took us throughout the township, showing the many facets of township life, and the members of the community were very gracious in letting us into their personal lives – down to stepping into a hostel of three beds, that housed three families, one bed for each. After the tour of Langa, we all headed over to have a group dinner. It was a great chance for us to bond with the TSiBA students, and I came to the conclusion that I am profoundly jealous of their vibrant sense of humor. After dinner we said our ‘good byes’ and headed home. I don’t think I could have imagined a better first day. Tomorrow we head to Robben Island.

-Jason Morris

Arrived in Cape Town!

Well, I now have a new definition of "puddle jumper" which was our 7 hour flight over to Amsterdam. It was a smooth flight, and then a LONG one (11 hours) from Amersterdam to Cape Town. We arrived at about 9:30 PM so it made for a 24 hour long day of travelling.

Our apartments are wonderful! My roommates and I lucked out with a 2 bedroom which includes: a plasma tv (the only one in the resort), washer/dryer, beatuiful tub, porch, views of table mountain, the new FIFA stadium, and a lovely golf course. We were all stunned and pleasantly surprised to see a gorgeous apartment. The whole group has been having fun already and we're looking forward to the next month.

It was definitely shocking to drive past the townships at night as there was no electricity. Our "party van" got pretty silent when we passed. I can't wait to see Cape Town in the daylight and to really absorb this beautiful and unique place that we'll be living in for the next month.

On tap for tomorrow: a township tour, orientation, and hopefully a trip to the grocery store. And perhaps, adjusting to SA time. I slept for about 5 hours during the entire trip, but am still wired. In fact, we're going to grab some pizza for the group, so I'm out.

Keep following my blog - I'll be updating daily :)

- Hillary Gras