Interviewing Alumni

I'm in South Africa and we've been interviewing alumni all week to understand how this program helped them and how it can be improved. So everyday we go to different towns and meet 18-24 year olds at school or at their homes. Seriously,I've seen poverty before but it hurts so bad to see these sweet, sweet kids, that we get to know so well, living in these conditions.

All the neighbors, really. We can wave to any of them and they smile big and wave back.

Meanwhile, a little girl is pulling down her pants to go potty in front of an outhouse that she can't get into...a dog has been scratching his leg for so long that the fur is gone in that spot and his dog buddy has weird diseased splotches all over him...a typical family of 6 lives in a shack the size of our dining room.

And all of this while reading books about their history. I can't even read the stories of what these people have gone through anymore without crying. I'm not just talking about poverty (these books talk apartheid, not poverty)...I'm talking about being treated worse than animals (I'll write some examples later).

For now I'll end by saying that it's just not right.

South Africa

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, but I'll create those posts later...

For now, just know that I'm in Stollenbosch, South Africa which is about 20 minutes outside of Cape Town. We've had some great experiences so far, but I figure you're more interested in the scary stuff:

1) We have two front doors for our apartment. One is normal, but you know those metal bars that go over windows? Our 2nd door that sits in front of the normal one is made of that with a big, fat lock on it.
2) There's a couple decorational windows on the side of our apartment building and one has a bullet hole directly in the center of it.
3) 3 individuals from my team were at the ATM today. A street beggar asked them for money and when they wouldn't give him any he told them to be careful. Before walking away, he commented to the girl that he likes her necklace.
4) Our host gave each one of us pepper spray. I used to carry during undergrad so I gave the team a few tips.

But seriously, there are a lot of college students around, several upper-class roaming the streets shopping, and police every where. It's a great place overall and I can't wait to go to all the wineries!

Policia

The title doesn't represent the most exciting story, but I think it's cute. I saw my nephew, Gage, over the last few days and he has a hard time saying, "Felicia." Instead, he calls me "Policia." Nice...my nephew speaks espanol.

Anyway, my brother Steve helped me pick out a little train and truck for Gage, but I don't know if the latter was for Gage or my brother.