Week 7: Finals, Battlefields and Sunday FUNDAY

Another week and another weekend have passed, and I'm still so joyful to be in this place. It was a jam-packed week, but we all survived and are ready for this new one.

We had our final exams for our electives on Wednesday and Thursday, so there was much studying to be done. We had our last class sessions on Monday and Tuesday. After that, we studied hard until the last exam on Thursday afternoon. I can now say that I have successfully completed Life and Teachings of Jesus and Humans and the Environment!

Now, we all continue our Intercultural Communication course and we have just started Principles of Community Engagement today. Our history and culture course has been put on hold and will resume when we move to Cape Town the second week of April.

Thursday, though a dreary, cool(-ish…this is summer after all), wet day, was full of relief from everyone! Second tea time marked the end of finals, and everyone was just so lighthearted and ready to relax and play games. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy each other without worrying about schoolwork!





We took off to tour the battlefields of South Africa early Friday morning. I rode on the luxury coach, and let me tell you, we felt like kings and queens. There were 30-something of us on there, and when we weren't sleeping, we were talking, laughing, joking, playing games and telling stories.

I must report honestly: the battlefield part was really hard to keep my interest in. We had a very enthusiastic guide, but it was so information dense (and the sun was beating down hard) that it was hard to pay attention.

On Friday afternoon, we had some time to relax before an amazing dinner in the country hotel (that we completely filled). We enjoyed each other in the form of playing nerts, a fast paced group solitaire-like game that I was introduced to last school year. It got pretty heated and loud and definitely worked up our appetite.



After the 3 course feast, some of us headed out to the lobby and sat on the couches and chairs for a chat with Reg, the executive director of the program. We talked mostly about the Bible and South Africa, and it was so interesting to hear from him in a casual setting. He is such a wise person for whom I have a LOT of respect. Students from past semesters have raved about him, and I had some pretty high expectations. He has exceeded them all.

Sunday was such a wonderful day of fellowship! The church that I've been going to and plan to continue for the rest of my stay here is called God's Family Life Center. It is a church full of joy and unashamedness, so friendly and loving and welcoming. I get more hugs on Sunday mornings than I do the entire week…and I'm a pretty big hugger.



So I took of for the 8am service and enjoyed the time during the service itself. But church didn't end after the sermon was over. The pastor and his wife invited us and a few others over for a braai (bbq) and swimming. Not only was it a beautiful house with a cool pool and green grass for lounging and cricket-playing, but the late morning and afternoon were full of cultural conversations. I got to know several members of the church better, so we had some great conversations about living in South Africa. The youth director is actually from Canada, so it was cool to talk to him, too, since he moved here 3 years ago and is closer to our age than the others.

When we came back to African Enterprise mid-afternoon, Sunday FUNDAY was in full swing! The activities committee decided to get some friendly rivalry going to encourage chalet pride. We're having some kind of event every Sunday where we can earn points towards the grand prize at the end of the semester.



Other APU-ers had already done the slip 'n' slide and everyone was getting ready for the relay race. Mojalefa, my chalet, was dressed in purple, and we got pumped for the race! Dubie swallowed a spoonful of salt, ran across the lawn, chugged a bottle of water and ran back. Then Jamie pushed me wheelbarrow style to the other side and we switched for the way back. It wouldn't have been a real relay without Dee and Alyssa's 3 legged race, Kristen's egg-on-the-spoon and Carisa's search for mentos in whipped cream…with only her face, of course. We finished it off by passing an apple by our chins and chests, ending with me. I had to eat the apple, sprint to the other side of the lawn to throw the core away and sprint back.


I am VERY proud to say that Mojo got 3rd place! Only the 2 boys' chalets beat us! We're getting excited about this Sunday Funday thing and we're going to get really competitive next week. =)

For all of my latest pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050137&id=1037910026&l=65b6d995ab