Luckily, I've been able to get into the computer lab again! Unfortunately, that means I can't post any of the incredible photos I've gotten over the past several days, and today particularly Last update was yesterday morning, I think, and a lot has happened since then so I'll try to keep this interesting. We met yesterday afternoon with our Univen students, which has now been taken down to the 5 original players that are truly invested in the project (as I had hoped for and predicted). The nursing students were supposed to come to the 1430h debriefing yesterday but none of them showed, so it was clear that we were moving forward without them. We finally had a highly productive meeting and debriefed about the meeting with the water committee from the day before. They voiced that their main concern was water accessibility to the whole village, not necessarily the cleanliness, and the flow of the water which has also been an issue. Many of the villagers have access to water via pipes that are present in their backyards, or their neighbors', but there are still many households that have no water access and must fetch it from far away and carry it to their homes. It is believed that the size of the water pipe (which is currently 50mm) is too small, so they want to install a 100mm pipe so improve flow and accessibility.They also discussed that they wanted the roads to be improved, and for a creche (preschool) to be built in the village, as right now they must transport their children to a neighboring village, and pay to use theirs.We also strategized in the meeting about logistics and plans for the community visit we did this morning (Thursday), and developed who would work with which group. It was decided that the original folks would stick with the water group, and that Kwathiso, Miriam, and I would conduct the Elderly Women's group at the same time. Joe, Foster, and Elly were assigned to go around the village to folks that they knew and recruited men for the business group.

We wrapped up our meeting and headed back to Acacia, where we hung out for a bit and then, as per usual, I got started on dinner. We wanted to use up as much of the fresh stuff we have as possible before we head to Kruger for the weekend, so I made a sweet potato and carrot mash with orange and local spices, rice, and green beans with garlic and ginger. I should note that I mashed the potatoes and carrots with a liquor bottle. Very classy, I know. Sid went to the store and got a case of the Castle Milk Stout, which was delicious! Sid, Joe, Julie, Cassie, Miriam, and I played cards, had dinner, drank beer and whiskey, and called it a night.

This morning, we had to be up early to meet our Univen partners to load into the van (yes, van. Not bus. Thank God.). The van was also on South African time, so we were late to the village again. I was less than thrilled. Luckily, the folks coming to the meetings hadn't come outside too early because it was quite chilly, and many of them arrived when we got there. Miriam, Kwathiso, and I joined the elderly women on the ground under the big mango tree at the chief's house and introduced ourselves.Kwathiso introduced the project and explained things to them,and we got started by asking them how they pictured their community if it was perfect. They discussed the water accessibility, and how they wanted everyone to have water, first and foremost. They also expressed that they wanted to be able to knit and sew for the community, and how they needed a sewing machine to be more efficient. It was fascinating to hear them brainstorm ways in which to purchace a sewing machine, including sewing and beading things by hand to sell at the markets and using that money towards the purchase. They also discussed how they could see if everyone could contribute a little bit of money towards the purchace, and that they would sew clothing for those people. What I found to be most exciting was their desire to have a community garden/farm, where anyone in the village was welcome to the food grown on it and then whatever was leftover could be sold at the market. The money made would be used for community projects, as well as to keep the garden going. As with the Water Committee, these women expressed the need for a creche, as well as road improvement to the creche that is being used currently. It was enlightening to hear these women discuss these things, particularly because the ongoing theme was that they wanted to do things for their community. Every personal contribution that they suggested was ultimately for community improvement, and I found it to be so inspiring that these women are so selfless, and that the community seems to be pretty selfless in general. I would love to see an attitude like that, even in the slightest, in many communities in the US.

After the meetings wrapped up, we all walked a ways to look at the pipe system currently in place. We ended up in a woman's back yard while she was using the system to wash some clothes. She had two children (assuming they were grandchildren) in the yard with her. While the men were checking out the pipe system, I got distracted by the kids, who loved my camera. We played with them and took pictures, and showed them the photos. They were delighted! One of the male villagers, Jonas, also wanted to take pictures with me. He was kind of creepy about it and was reluctant to let go of me after the picture had been taken (he had his arm around my shoulder). I'll upload photos as soon as I can. Promise!

After a long morning in the village, debriefing with the team over lunch, and sneaking into the computer lab to write this novel (sorry it became so long), I'm pooped. Hopefully I'll be able to update after going on Safari this weekend complete with pictures. And of course epic stories of me saving my entire team from an angry elephant bull, park police discovering a lion cub in my suitcase, and giving a bottle of whiskey to a monkey to see what happens. Signing off, ya'll!

Yay! Cassie and I finally weaseled our ways into the computer lab at the library at Univen, so I can actually take my time and catch up on e-mails, and this thing. The past couple days have been interesting and eventful, as has the rest of the trip thus far. Yesterday morning, we headed to Univen to meet our partners at 0800, as we were scheduled to meet our first group in the village at 0900. All 20 of us (yes, 20) piled into a bus and headed towards Tshapasha. It was not a smooth encounter, to say the least. First of all, the bus was late, meaning we were late. Since the beginning of this project, meaning months ago when we began planning, it was drilled into our heads that it was of the utmost importance to be on-time, every time, when dealing with this village. Secondly, there were twenty students engulfing this tiny village all at once, which was clearly overwhelming to the villagers. Cassie and I had been very clear with our advisor, as well as the advisor for the 10 nursing students that joined last-minute from Univen (I'll get into that fiasco later), that it was a bad idea to all show up at once. Despite our efforts, we were not listened to and we showed up to a very unhappy Water Committee, which was the group that had planned on meeting us that day. Apparently, Mary (the Univen advisor), despite not being at the meeting on Sunday when this was planned, thought that every group that we had formed at our Sunday gathering would be meeting that day. It was decided by the Committee as well as by the UVA and original Univen students, that a few of us would do the Water Committee group and the rest of us would just...kind of...hang out on the road until it was over. Cassie, Sid, and Styles had a very successful group session with the Water Committee, and it was decided that we would return on Thursday for a follow-up. Upon the conclusion of that meeting, a female elder approached us and asked if we would meet with the Elderly Women's Group on Thursday as well. Miriam, Kwathiso, and I will be running that meeting while the Water Committee has their follow-up.

After this situation, it was very clear that things had to change. Cassie and I were very firm with our advisor on the bus on the way back that we absolutely could not have 20 students involved in this project. Miriam had also informed me that the 10 nursing students that came on last-minute did so as an alternative to doing 'research', and were also told that they would be receiving breakfast and lunch every day. It was clear that the original Univen students (Styles, Elly, Kwathiso, Foster, and Walter), and the 5 UVA students (Cassie, Miriam, Joe, Sid, and I), needed to be the core group to figure things out, and communication and coordination were impossible with such a large group. Anita met with Mary, and it was decided that the nursing students would be on the project on an 'on call' basis. We were finally a little less stressed out about the whole thing, and relaxed by kicking around a soccer ball for an hour or so while having a beer. We were also able to plan for our trip this weekend to Kruger Park for Safari, since Acacia is booked for Saturday night for a wedding. Why anyone would want to have a wedding in that place I will never understand. We are all very excited to head out for Safari, as most of us have never done it before, and will likely never be able to do it again.

I thought it would be a good idea to have the 5 Univen students over for dinner and to strategize, so last night they all came over and we discussed plans for our return visits, as well as discussed a time-line for when we want certain things to be accomplished. I made dinner (of course!), which included a sweet potato, white bean, and swiss chard stew with lots of ginger and garlic. I also threw in some vegetarian sausages left over from the night before. I served it over rice, and it turned out really well! The spices here are fantastic, especially peri-peri, which is super spicy. Sid grilled some steaks, and when I realized that these folks eat a ton, Cassie and I prepared some spaghetti and fresh tomato and garlic sauce. Good thing we did, because there was literally not a single bit of food leftover. We wrapped up the evening with some South African macadamia nut and fruit liquor that Styles insisted I try, and headed to bed.

This morning, we got up somewhat early to come to Univen, as there is a conference going on here (PASA, which stands for Population Assessment of South Africa, and is focusing on Reproductive Health Awareness this year). The Minister of Health for the entire country was going to be speaking, and we were invited to check it out. It was supposed to start at 9, but it has been very clear since we arrived that South Africans don't really have much of a concept of time. Unfortunately, when Cassie and I heard that we could come to the computer lab at 10 to FINALLY be able to catch up, we walked around campus to look at the monkeys and the rugby stadium and came to the beautiful oasis also known as the computer lab. With internet! That's free! Yay!

Hopefully, I'll be able to come here periodically to check out e-mails, update this nerdy thing, etc. Keep your fingers crossed for me back home! Sending lots of love.

The past couple of days have been many things, including exciting, fascinating, eye-opening, and of course, awkward (because when am I not awkward?! SA is no exception). We got up at 0600 on Sunday morning to leave Acacia Park for Tshapasha, as we had to be there at 0730 for their weekly community meeting at the Chief’s home. As we hit the dirt road that led to the village, we noticed several police cars and a group of people standing around a ditch. We didn’t think a whole lot of it at first, but when we arrived at the Chief’s house, he told us that he had a party the night before (which was obvious, due to all of the trash in his front yard), and this man had gotten very drunk. He was found in the ditch that morning, dead. People were not sure whether he passed out there and died, or if he had hit his head upon falling. Either way, it wasn’t the greatest mood in which to arrive for the first time. It was also strange to arrive in the village and have to meet the chief so soon after arriving. We were not given the opportunity to learn proper greetings, or anything for that matter, so when Vhonani (our Univen advisor) got completely on the ground at his feet to greet him, we weren’t sure what to do. Luckily, he could tell that we were fish-out-of-water and chuckled at our attempts to bow in a proper greeting.
The community meeting took place in the Chief’s front yard under a mango tree. The villagers knew we were coming, so they set out plastic chairs for us while the villagers sat on the ground or on tree stumps, and the elders of the village sat in front of us in chairs. The women and men are separated on each side, and the women almost always sit on the ground, while the men sit up a little higher. There were probably 30 or so people that attended of all ages, and everyone was very nice and greeted us with smiles, though most of them spoke no English.  The meeting began with a prayer, and we were then introduced to everyone and our project was also introduced. They were receptive, and they formed focus groups that they thought would be beneficial to our project (including elder women, youth, businessmen, builders, water committee, home care workers, and middle-aged women). Near the conclusion of the meeting, we realized that many of the women in the community had congregated in a group behind us on the road and had begun cheering and yelling. They then formed a line, and began chanting/singing, led by a woman with a huge leather drum. It was absolutely fascinating to watch them dance and sing, as it was literally like something you’d see on the Discovery Channel. We learned that it was a celebration of the young men returning from their month in the bush, which was their first step to becoming men. Apparently, a circumcision ceremony was soon to follow.
We left the village, hit up a roadside stand for some sweet potatoes,  and were able to go grocery shopping. We hadn’t gotten dinner the night before, or breakfast that morning, so we were thrilled. We went to the local ‘ShopRite’, which reminds me a lot of a small-town IGA type grocery store or something. The selection of stuff was pretty interesting, especially for this foodie!  We ended up with a lot of rice, lentils, potatoes, bananas, oranges, onions, spices, yoghurt, tomatoes, etc. Sid also got a bag of chicken for the braai (grill). We got back to Acacia just in time to unpack groceries and then headed to Univen to meet our partner students there and for a brief orientation. There were about 15 Univen students, and everyone was so nice, and thrilled to meet us. A few of them were also thrilled to play with my ‘doll hair’, as they put it, and had many questions about how often I washed it, how I styled it, etc.
Finally, we were free for the day, so our new friend Styles piled into the car with Joe, Sid, Miriam, and me, and we went searching for beer. Since it was Sunday, almost everything was closed, but Styles knew of a place that sold illegally on Sundays and we went there. It was literally the sketchiest place I’ve ever seen, and I was told not to even get out of the car. We were in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by men grilling, drinking, smoking pot, etc. Luckily, Styles and Sid made it out with 6 tall-boys of Zamaleg and we headed back to Acacia. I took charge of dinner (of course), and made a lentil and potato stew that I seasoned with ginger, garlic, peri peri, and some other spices from around here. I served it over rice and Sid grilled some chicken. It went over well with my little family here and I will likely be making the lentil stew again tonight. We drank beer and whiskey and Styles taught us a South African card game. Overall, it was a good, but exhausting day, and we called it a night pretty early.
Today (Monday), was pretty laid back. We went to Univen at 0900 to meet with our partners again, and had an Appreciative Inquiry workshop (AI is the process we’ll be using for our study here). It was laid back, and we got fed a fantastic lunch of sweet potatoes, beef stew, pap (kind of like grits, which is the local staple here), beet salad, and cole slaw. We’re now back at Acacia, being lazy and discussing plans for the rest of the week. While Joe and Sid napped for a bit, Styles and I hung out on the porch discussing differences between the US and SA, which was extremely eye-opening for both of us. Apartheid in SA and segregation in the US are a lot more similar than I’d realized, and although Apartheid is technically over here, it truly is not.
Well, that’s about it for now. I miss everyone back home so much, and have certainly not had time until today to become homesick. Sending  lots of love, happiness, and good energy from Limpopo!

Well, after 19 hours of traveling, we finally made it to the hotel in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on 7.6 at about 1030 in the morning. After power-napping and getting lunch, Cassie and I joined Joe, Sid, and Miriam on an adventure to the Apartheid Museum, which was about a 30-minute drive from the hotel. We were able to see a lot of Johannesburg, which is an interesting city to say the least. Everything is surrounded by huge cement walls topped with barbed wire, which makes sense considering the high crime rate (Sid mentioned it being the #1 murder capital in the world). The museum was fascinating, and reminded me a lot of the Holocaust museum in how it was set up. After that, we came back to the hotel and showered up before heading to dinner at the casino. Because JoBurg is so dangerous, the hotels in our complex connect to this enormous underground casino and ‘boardwalk type’ area with restaurants, a movie theatre, etc. We had dinner at this buffet place, where I was determined to try anything different. I went with ostrich stew, stewed chicken livers, pickled fish, and of course rice and various vegetables.Considering it was a buffet, it ws quite good. I also discovered my go-to South African beer called “Black Label”, which the waiter taught me was called “Zamaleg” in Zulu. Of course it didn’t take long for me to locate the best local beer. You all know me, right? Post-dinner, Sid, Joe, and I played some black jack in the casino with a Portugese Afrikkaner, who said that my accent was ‘different’ from most Americans. I told him I was Southern, which he did not understand in the slightest. When I used the term ‘Redneck’, he was well aware that I hailed from the land in which KFC was born. Apparently they love that stuff here!
This morning, after hitting the local mall for cell phones and modems, we set out from JoBurg to Thohoyandou, which is approximately 6 hours. At first, the view was very…brown. The terrain was stereotypical or the American view of Africa (or at least mine), with fields of sparse trees and low, brown grass. We passed several shanty towns as well as a couple of ostrich and cattle farms right outside of JoBurg, and slowly the ride became more and more mountainous and green. Right after passing the Tropic of Capricorn, we stopped at a petrol station and gassed up and ate burgers before finishing up the last two hours. They were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We drove through the mountains, surrounded by banana, avocado, and grapefruit trees, and drove through some true rural South African towns with produce markets, women carrying baskets on their heads, and children playing soccer in red-dirt fields.
At about 1800 tonight, we arrived in Acacia Wildlife Resort (which is hardly a resort, as I’m currently assigned to sleeping on a pull-out chair. Not couch. Chair.) in Thohoyandou. After semi-unpacking, I’ve finally been able to shower and unload a bit. Have I mentioned that the water here is undrinkable? Meaning that you can’t even let any get into your mouth while you shower? Try it, folks. It’s much harder than you’d think.
Currently, I’m hiding out in Sid and Joe’s room because they’re computer geniuses. It’ll be an early night, though, because we were informed upon our arrival that we have to be in Tshapasha (the village we’ll be working in) tomorrow morning by 0730, and since it’s about 45 minutes away, that means It’ll be quite an early morning.
Thanks for checking in, ya’ll! Sending lots of love from middle-of-nowhere, South Africa.

I never thought that I'd be a blogger. I've always thought it was completely self-indulgent to assume that people care at all what's going on in my day-to-day life. Admittedly, it's not very exciting. However, I figure the next month will be a bit more atypical, and that this would be the best way in which to update family and friends on what I'm doing in Thohoyandou, Limpopo. (No idea yet how to pronounce it). It's located in the upper-mid right side near Kruger National Park. I hadn't realized until I looked it up this morning how close we're staying to the park, which apparently is considered one of the best places to go on Safari in all of Africa. I can't wait to go help nurse baby lions, dance in the rain with monkeys, and enjoy a cocktail on the back of an elephant.

Today is the last day of packing, and then I get to spend tomorrow and tomorrow night in DC. I suppose it's appropriate that I'm spending July 4th in the capital, and then leave all things American for a month. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, no phone! So e-mails (akb8879@gmail.com) and Skype (akbradshaw) are how to find me until August 6th. I welcome messages with words of encouragement, drunken ramblings, or details of your most recent make-out sesh in Denmark.

Love to all!