Mardi Gras.

Sorry it has been such a long time since I’ve sat down to write. I had a test today which I have been studying for. I’ll start from Friday and work my way up till today (which is Thursday). Friday was a very relaxing day. I sat out by the pool most of the day and made a trip to the grocery store. Not really much to say, other than I have never been this tan in my life. I love have a pool 20 feet outside my door and the beach maybe a mile away. I ride my bike everywhere now which is nice and I get to places so much faster. Also, it is good prep because I hear that gas prices are on the rise at home so I will be riding my bike everywhere when I get back. The gas prices also have effected us here too. The prices of a cab went up about 10 rand, but cabs are still way cheaper here than anywhere at home. It costs us about 50-60 rand for about a 15-20 minute drive past the airport, which is about 7 dollars. Then we split that between 5 people so it usually costs about 10 rand each or like a $1.50 ish. Saturday Becca and I woke up pretty early and ran down the beach for our 7 mile run. There was a triathlon going on so we kept running into the racers. Everyone here exercises, I love it. There must have been a 100 people out running, riding or walking that morning! Later, we rented a few cars and a group of us went out to Wacky Woods. It was like a music festival that played music all weekend, nonstop, throughout the nights. It was really cool and we all got out faces painted. There was a pool, bonfire and then the dancing tent with a bar. I stayed up all night and we left very early in the morning because everyone was exhausted. I couldn’t even fall asleep right when I got home either because I was on my second wind. Sunday was a pretty boring day. I napped for awhile and recovered all day until I skyped with my parents and baba that evening. We talked for about an hour just about everything. It is always nice to talk to them, but I always get a little home sick after I get off with them. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all pretty laid back. Monday I had class, which I was falling alseep in because there was a breeze blowing right into my eyes and it made me so tired. That class is on the 10th floor of the main building so it gets chilly sometimes. Monday night, we went to the rugby game. The game was so much fun and intense even though I don’t understand rugby. We ended up winning, which was the first time in 2 years winning on our home field. The crowd went nuts and everyone was so excited!!! After the game they had a relay race for some student who signed up ahead of time. The race consisted of 4 team and a wheel barrel. The team had to have one person sit while the other wheeled them down and around a keg and when they got back the next person to get in the wheel barrel had to chug a beer then be wheeled down and around the keg again. Once they were finished with all 5 people they had to sit down. This being a school event and involving alcohol would never fly at Lake Erie. Although it would be cool if we did stuff like that at home. After the game we went down to Barney’s which is right on the ocean and celebrated with everyone. It was so crowded and every time the music changed or stopped for a second everyone would chant the NMMU cheer. We basically got kick out of the bar that night because we were like the last people there. When I got back, I chatted with my mom because she was online and it was a descent time for her and like 2 or 3 am my time. Tuesday was Mardi Gras as everyone knows and they really didn’t celebrate here, but I did. I met Kristen at Spar and we picked up ice cream and brownie mix to make a volcano look-a-like from the Rainforest Cafe. We baked everything at her place since she has a nice oven then made our way to Annie’s to put it together. There was a storm on its way so we booked it as fast as we could so that we wouldn’t get soaked. We made it just in time for tacos that we all chipped in for. It was a great last meal! After dinner we put the volcano together and everyone dug in and it vanished in seconds. So good! It started to rain a little later and there was a spectacular lightning storm where you could basically see each individual bolt for a few seconds each time it struck. It started to pour so we were all in Chelsea’s room just hanging out hoping that it would clear up so we could go out and celebrate the holiday. It finally did and we got a ride with one of Hannah’s friends to captain, where they have karaoke nights every Tuesday. There weren’t very many people there, but I had a lot of fun. We sang the spice girl’s song Spice Up Your Life and it was hilarious. I got McDonalds with Coleen and her boyfriend afterwards, which I considered to be my last meal. The next day, Ash Wednesday, I would only be eating bread to see if I could do it. It was tough, but I did well. Becca and I ran a short 3 miles down along the beach and back. I studied a little for my test on Thursday during the day and then had my volunteering. Today was a very laid back day at Masifunde. When we first got there the younger kids were still there so we were instructed to help them with their work. I sat down with a little girl at first and she read me a book about a rhino chasing some kids and ended up just wanting to be their friend. The book was in english and she had some trouble reading it. She was only in grade 1 so I could see that she was still learning. I helped her with a majority of the words, but she seemed to learn the words as I said them because if they popped up again she remembered. Next I helped a little boy with his math homework. He knew what he was doing and had very few errors with his subtraction. Next I helped an older girl who I believe is in grade 7. She knows english very well and was preparing for her EMS test, which is like economics. We went over everything from consumers, to producers, and supply and demand. Her test was the next day and she seemed very confident once we were done. She had to study a pyramid of what is important like wants and needs and she was having a hard time with it. So I showed her how I study is by high lighting each individual thing a different color so that it sticks out in my mind. Once we did that she flew through the pyramid and shouldn’t have any problems with her test. We cleaned up a little early today because most of the kids were going on some sort of field trip so the homework club wasn’t as full as normal. The kids are really starting to get to know us and they love asking us questions. I learned today that not only is the material we go over for their homework important, but the way they learn is important too. I was glad I could show the last girl I worked with a new style of studying and I hope she can use that throughout her studies. This may sound very general, but today I realized I need to learn all the kids names. Even though they may be hard to pronounce, I still need to give it a shot because today some of them remembered my name. I think I might have them write down their names for my next week and maybe something about them so that way I can almost study it when I go home. The rest of the night was consumed with me studying frantically and cramming for the test because I didn’t study as much as I had wanted to. I wasn’t up very late and I felt really confident going into the test today, but I feel like some of his multiple choice questions were alittle tricky. I hope I did well because I got my paper back and I did well on that, so I want to keep the streak going! When I got my paper back though, I received a 68 and my heart automatically dropped, but a 68 here is like a high B so not bad. I don’t know why their grading system is different or even how it works, I just always ask if I don’t know. I spent the rest of the day today on the computer on campus soaking up all the free internet I can. I am sorta jealous that everyone back home is on spring break and ours isn’t until the end of April, so I still have more than a month left. I should be in Ft. Lauderdale having a blast with my best friends, but I just keep thinking about next year and what I will be doing for spring break! Well it is now the weekend for me. I promise to write more often! Although a paper that is due in 2 weeks will probably take over my life again. Tonight is ladies night, so that means we go out dancing, but not before Becca and I get some miles in. It rained all morning and I was hoping it would continue to rain so it would be cooler, but now the sun is out and it is steaming hot out. We also might blow away with all this wind! Cheers!