Crossroads Clinic

Crossroads clinic was where Noelle and I worked for the nine days of volunteering. Our experience was a lot different than the others’ because we were primarily working in a pharmacy!

One of the first things we did was separate and put away small bags of medicine. For people with chronic illnesses, the hospital will pre-package their medicine and send it to the pharmacy so all they have to do is come on the correct day to pick it up. If the patient does not pick up their medicine within ten days, the pharmacy will open the package and use that medicine for other people. Noelle and I separated hundreds of packages (there were at least fifteen boxes full of them) and ended up with over seventy-five different kinds of medication to put away.

Many days we would put labels on the new shipments of medicine they got in. The stickers made the directions a lot easier for the patients to understand. They had three little boxes on them so the pharmacist could write in the number of pills they needed to take in the morning, afternoon, and at night.

Another task we did a lot was putting pills from bigger bottles into smaller bags with the correct dosage they would actually give out to patients. For example, one medicine came in a package of 58, but a patient would only need 14. I would write on the bag the quantity, name, and weight of each medicine as well as the batch number and expiration (or ‘expiry’ as they called it) date, and Noelle would count out the correct number of pills to go in the bag. Working together made it go by a lot smoother and faster, and it also allowed us to talk a lot and get to know each other. We had a lot of fun AND got so good at doing our jobs that the other people who worked in the pharmacy had to try to find new things for us to do all the time! They were all extremely nice and welcoming and it was fun getting to know them a little bit. They even taught us a little bit of Xhosa!

On a couple of the days we had the opportunity to go into other areas of the clinic and observe. I sat in on vaccinations for a couple of hours and then Noelle and I both were able to observe in pediatrics. It was very interesting to see and compare to what a doctor’s appointment is typically like in the United States. We were also glad to get to spend a little bit of time with the patients… especially the children. =)

It was really cool to see a little bit of the public health system in South Africa and I really enjoyed my time working at the clinic. I hope that some day I’ll be able to go back and say hi (or ‘moloweni’) to all of my friends at Crossroads!

1/17/11: Fairy Glen Cape Big 5 Safari

Lions and springbok and giraffes, oh my!

Unfortunately, the trip is coming to a close, but to keep our minds off of our departure, we journeyed 1½ hours to Cape Town’s only free roaming Big 5 Safari called Fairy Glen. In case you didn’t know, as I didn’t either, the Big 5 consists of the lion, the African elephant, the Cape buffalo, the leopard, and the rhinoceros. The members of the Big 5 were chosen for their difficulty in hunting them.

After eating at the breakfast buffet in the lodge, we all climbed into the Safari Jeep/tractor-looking vehicle. Our Safari Ranger was extremely knowledgeable and answered every question we threw at him. Do you know what a diamond and a zebra have in common? Well, this question stumped us for a length of time and then finally Allie connected the word ‘dazzle’ to zebras, and we learned that a group of zebras is known as a dazzle. In this dazzle of zebras that we saw, there was a 4-day-old zebra. Precious.

“Wildebeests look like they were put together by spare parts.” That is what our ranger said about wildebeests, which is also what the face of the Beast from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is based off of. Interesting fact: when a wildebeest is three days old, they can run as fast as the adult wildebeests. CRAZY!

At Fairy Glen, there used to be 14 giraffes but then the head male contracted a virus that spread to the rest of them. So, currently there are only two giraffes there. But, the two that we saw were so graceful looking. I am a HUGE fan of giraffes, so any giraffe sighting was exciting for me. We learned that both humans and giraffes have 7 neck vertebrates. That is very interesting to think about because I don’t know about you, but my neck is definitely nowhere NEAR as long as a giraffe’s.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where a lion is charging you, then we were advised by the ranger to keep eye contact. I guess I’ll try to maintain eye contact while high-tailing it out of there haha! We saw a male and female lion just hanging out underneath a bush. We all were very quiet as we approached these lions, even though I know I wanted to bust out some Lion King tunes! After seeing those lions, we went to a different area of Fairy Glen where 9-month-old cubs were enclosed in and where they were also laying in the shade. There were three cubs in this area and even from spending a few minutes around that area, we could tell what their different personalities were, such as who was more energetic and playful and who was more easily spooked.

At the end of the safari, we ended the same way we began…with a lunch buffet! It was glorious. On the ride out of Fairy Glen and back to our bus with Sedick, we came across an elephant playing with a tree log. Not a twig or a branch, it was an entire tree log, minus the leaves! Elephants look so majestic. It was the perfect end to a great day on a safari! 

Johannesburg!

We spent our last weekend in South Africa's largest city, Johannesburg. On Friday, we said our "goodbyes" to the people and children at our volunteer sites. Shortly after, we headed to the airport for the 2 hour flight to Johannesburg. After the flight, we ate supper at the airport and then headed to our hostel, Gandhi's Backpackers. As the name eludes, Gandhi himself stayed at this place. We were a little apprehensive about the idea of a hostel but it turned out to be pretty neat and very safe. Most of us stayed in one big room with 8 bunk beds, taking us back to the days of summer camp! We all were in bed by 9:30 pm!

Saturday morning we toured Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill is the new home of the Constitutional Court, the protector of the people's basic rights and freedoms. Constitution Hill is also the home of a couple notorious prisons. We toured the women's jail which held black and white women in separate sections. Prominent activists such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Albert Sisulu, and the infamous murderess, Daisy De Melker, are some of the well known people that were held here. Due to overcrowding, they built tin rooms outside to hold more people. We were able to see how small the rooms were and heard stories about how sometimes 4-6 women would live in one. We also toured the Old Fort Prison Complex, commonly known as Number Four, where thousands of ordinary people were brutally punished. Many of South Africa's leading political activists, inlcuding Nelson Mandela, were kept there. We learned about how the men were treated and saw the outdoor showers. There was lots of interesting information, stories, and testimonies about life in the prison that shed light on the terrible conditions the prisoners endured. One quote from Nelson Mandela said, "A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones- and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals." After seeing the prisons, we were able to go into the Constitutional Court. The design of the room was so unique because the details represented their history and the values of the court. They wanted it to be open, accessible, and transparent for all people.

After lunch, we headed to the Apartheid Museum. Our admission tickets grouped us as either a "White" or a "Non-White" which determined which entrance into the museum we took. The tour started with segregation because that was what started apartheid. The museum consists of pictures, videos, quotes, displays, and information about the atrocities of apartheid. We spent a couple of hours walking down the walls of information and taking in the tragedy and heroism the museum displayed. To thoroughly read all of the information it would have taken days for us to get through it all! It was nice to tie the end of the trip back to all of the history we had learned about.

On Sunday, we went to the Soweto Township. There are approximately 4.5 million people living there. We took a bike tour of Soweto and were able to see many interesting sites along the way. We saw where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived. We also saw the memorial for the Soweto Massacre which was when students were rallying against apartheid and the authorities open fired on them, killing 23 students. We also ate at a local restaurant in the township. From the bike tour, we headed back to the airport to get back to Cape Town for our last night in South Africa.

Sunset Cruise!

After a full day of volunteering, the evening’s event was a sunset cruise around the beautiful V&A waterfront. We were joined by Ivy, our cook, for cruise as well as Jan, Jess, and Sean. When we got to the docks (after a little souvenir shopping) we boarded our sailboat. Once we settled in, we realized we were in for a treat! The wind was a little strong at times and before we made it out of the harbor we were drenched. That is when the trip started to turn educational as Ivy taught us some Xhosa. It could have been a miserable journey to watch the sun set over the water but the group kept a positive outlook and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. The sunset was beautiful and the crew of the boat was great! Along the way we saw the stadium from a different view as well as table mountain. It was a good thing we had previously toured Robben Island because the crew of the boat tried to convince us that it was Australia.

After the tour and sunset we journeyed into the nearby mall for dinner. Everyone was exhausted after a long day of volunteering and sightseeing so sitting and enjoying a meal was high on most people’s lists. After a delicious meal, Sedick drove us home for the night and we crawled into bed after a wonderfully exhausting day.

Bridgett Husk

St. Joseph's Home

It is ironic that on my day to blog on St. Joseph’s Home, a home for children of varying health conditions, I myself, am home sick. It has served as a reminder of how sickness can greatly affect your spirit. It is quite easy to forget this when we walk through the doors and are greeted with hugs and smiling faces. Clarissa, Aleshia, Paul, Bridgett, Allie, Hannah, Jackie and I have all been placed to volunteer at St. Josephs home. We are all split between three different wards; sunflower, daisy and sweet basil. One is for boys, another for girls and a separate one for HIV positive children. You would never know that any of these children are in anything less than perfect health because of their energy and playful attitudes.

At St. Josephs home, our main responsibility was to play with the children. That being said, it is common for people to feel as if we aren’t doing much to “help” the children if we are just playing all day. In reality, play is the center of children’s lives. It is how they communicate, alleviate stress, ask for help, relax, learn and teach their peers. It also helps to eliminate the language barrier we experienced with the children in our wards because play is a universal language.

We quickly found that most of the little guys at St. Joseph’s have larger than life personalities. The wards were never short of laughter and tickle matches as well as the occasional dance party. Most of the children also loved to go to the pool inside of the facility or even just be sprayed with the hose to cool off on a hot day. Something interesting I found during my time in my ward was how caring and protective all the children were of one another, especially the infants. They often helped with bottle feedings without even being asked and tried to help their peers if they saw they were upset. The community among them was strong and united; perfectly indicative of the South African culture.

During our time at St. Josephs home, we truly bonded with the children in our wards and built relationships with them in the short two weeks we spent together. I find it fascinating that in my intentions in working at St. Joseph’s home to help children, I have found that they have come to help me as well. It is common for people to envision pain, suffering and sorrow when discussing seriously ill children. However, I found that the children I worked with daily, lived their lives more fully than most adults I know. To be clear, I am not trying to glorify illnesses in children or romanticize the gravity of the topic. It is a sobering lesson that it is imperative to learn from your own experiences instead of following and contributing to stereotypes.

I believe the children at this home have touched all eight of us in very different ways and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to share my personal experience with others. St. Joseph’s home is a unique place of healing and I was lucky to have been in such great company during my time there.

Heaven's Nest

Heaven's Nest is a home that houses a mix of children who are orphaned or who are waiting for their parents to be deemed “ready” to parent again. It is well funded and the children receive great care. There are usually 2 staff at all times taking care of the children as well as other volunteers. We have seen at least 8 different volunteers stop by Heaven's Nest over the two weeks that we have been working there. Volunteers who stop by shower the children with love. It's been cool to see that so many people deeply care about the kids.

Parents are allowed to visit their children every day from 10-3 but many parents choose not too. Two parents have stopped by over the time that we have been there. It's hard because of course we are happy to see that their parents have come and the children seem happy to have someone to play with, but when their mothers leave the children don't cry and don't seem to miss her when she's gone.

There are 10 kids living there currently- 4 girls and 6 boys. The children are really sweet and Marissa and I have really been enjoying our time here. Although they choose not to listen sometimes, they are always so excited and happy to see us and to play.

The home that the children live in is very nice. They have a spacious backyard filled with swing sets and toys that the children love to play with. The children love to swing and typically sing songs while they are swinging such as “Baby” by Justin Bieber- it is the most adorable thing. There are three separate bedrooms upstairs for the boys, girls, and infants with a nice bathroom for bathing and changing. Also upstairs is a therapy room with a wide variety of toys where you can bring either a group of children up to play with specific toys or children can be brought up individually to really specialize the kind of play you want to engage them in. The downstairs living room/play room is stocked with many books, toys, and a TV with VHS and DVDs to watch.

Our time at Heaven's Nest has been a lot of fun. The kids were easy to connect with so it was tough to say goodbye to them today but we are definitely planning on keeping in touch! The children asked repeatedly everyday to see our cameras and take pictures with them so we are hoping to print some pictures out and send them to Heaven's Nest so the kids can have something tangible to remember us by.

Heaven's Nest is doing great things in the lives of children here in South Africa who don't have much. Check out their website if you want to learn a little bit more or help support them! http://www.heavensnest.org.za/Home.html

Emasithandane Children's Organization

Over the past few weeks, three volunteers from our study abroad program have dedicated themselves to Emasithandane Children’s Organization. Located in Nyanga within the Cape Flats region, this primarily black township is one of oldest as well as one of the most dangerous and poorest. Unfortunately, these innocent children from this deprived orphanage are stricken with conditions and obstacles no child should ever face. Despite their horrendous circumstances, the endless love emanating from each and every child and staff member guides their positive outlook towards a brighter and more hopeful future.

Affectionately known as Emasi, this home/shelter’s overall motto is to provide a loving safe environment for abandoned, abused, orphans, vulnerable children, and those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. They supply education, food, and extra mural programming for all of infants, toddlers, and adolescents they take in. There are approximately 39 total children living in these confined quarters and over 25 additional children in the neighborhood are fed for in the community kitchen. The majority of the people from this orphanage speak Xhosa, one of the 12 primary languages of South Africa; in turn, making it fun for the volunteers to learn the bare essentials of this language. The children are from different, difficult backgrounds and arrive at Emasi for a variety of reasons; however, all are affected in some way by HIV/AIDS and the grips of poverty. Some are there for a short time while others are there permanently. After a few weeks, the children start to gain weight, feel loved, and enjoy themselves. The chief goal is to re-bond the family and the child when they are eighteen, whereby they can defend themselves from a previously abusive situation. The aim is to keep the children energetic, active, and busy.

The orphanage’s humble beginnings started with Mama Zelphin Maposela and her colleagues door-to-door mobile clinic to visit those who couldn’t help themselves. As many of these patients laid in bed dying, they worried about their children’s stigmatized future as AIDS orphans. So Mama promised to find them a safe home. When she couldn’t find foster homes for these children, she decided to create one herself and stay true to her promise. Because Mama Maposela grew up as an orphan herself, she knows exactly how difficult it is to be in that situation. In 1994, she became an official foster parent to three of these AIDS orphans. Emasi became an officially registered safe home with the South African government and primarily relies on private donations because of constantly jeopardized government funding…so think of Emasi when giving backJ

The forged relationships with all of the children are dear to our hearts and will be cherished forever. Simply being a jungle gym or hair salon for these giddy youngsters is always appreciated and reciprocated with a hug or smile: a universal language. In spite of the surrounding area being notoriously rough and unpredictable, the community certainly does everything in its power to protect these precious children. The lively township constantly blasting Rihanna or Michael Jackson undoubtedly creates for a vibrant atmosphere where even the babies have a bounce in their step. What Americans would think of as “madness” such as neighbors constantly stumbling in to chat with the children or us and slaughtering poultry for meals just beyond the gate, subsequently depicts character of this township and accurately represents this culture most know little about. Even though these children aren’t blessed with overflowing toy chests or Baby Einstein dvds, like any child in any country, they crave and deserve attention and unconditional love.

If you would like to contribute to Emasithandane Children’s Organization, please contact them via their website (www.emasithandane.org.za) or email (info@emasithandane.org.za). Any little bit helps and is greatly appreciated!

Shark Cage Diving

Today was technically our “free day” and we were able to spend the

sted at the house, and others went to church with our cook Ivy. For most of us however, today was one of the highlights of our trip and perhaps one of the most exhilarating events of our lives – shark cage diving.day relaxing however we chose. Some people took a trip to the mall and re

The group of us who went shark cage diving consisted of Hannah, Allie, Jackie, Maggie, Noelle, Bridgett, Carrie, Amy, Marissa, Diandra, Ashley, and myself, Ashlyn. We got picked up at 8:30 this morning (which was nice compared to our other option of 4 am) and mostly slept on the two-hour drive to the White Shark Projects location. We were treated with a great breakfast, preparation as to what to expect on the boat, and we saw the pictures of when Ricky Martin and Nicholas Cage were there a couple of years ago doing the same thing as us!

The boat drove about 20 minutes out to the middle of the waters, and through all of the mist, at first we couldn’t see any land – it made for a much creepier atmosphere! The process of attracting the great white sharks included throwing “chum” into the water and luring the shark with a tuna head. The chum is made up of mostly fish oil and pieces of tuna to make the sharks follow the smell towards the boat. The tuna head isn’t for food necessarily, just used as a visual and a distraction for the sharks to follow something right beside the boat. There is no real food or medicine involved – just the sharks in their natural state.

We all wore 7 mm thick wetsuits because the water was absolutely freezing. The wetsuits came with booties and a hood to keep us extra warm, and we each got a pair of goggles. As soon as we arrived to our destination we all geared up in case a shark came soon and we needed to quickly alternate spots. The cage was hooked onto the side of the boat and large enough for five people at a time. It was far enough out of the water so that our heads and shoulders were above water while we were waiting. We would climb in and hold onto the top of the cage, but as soon the instructor saw a shark they would scream “DOWN DOWN!!” and we had to grab onto the red bar about 2 feet under water. The water was so murky that in order to see the shark our faces had to be right against the edge of the cage – we could only see about 2 meters in front of us. This meant that we would be staring into nothing, unaware of what direction the shark was coming from, and suddenly see it swim not more than a foot away from us. Everyone in our group saw the same 3-meter shark, and it was a fairly big for the great whites they had recently been seeing, especially because we came at the slowest time of the year. Also, sharks do not live in one spot so there are no guarantees that there would be sharks at all.

The instructors were also telling us that great white sharks are on the top ten endangered species list, and are not expected to be around 15 years from now. It is because people hunt them for their jaws that can be up to 100,000 US dollars, and they hunt the biggest sharks so they cannot repopulate. Also, over 200 million great white sharks are killed every year for their fins. In many Asian countries shark fin is considered a delicacy, a sign of wealth, and some even think it can make you wise. If the sharks become extinct the entire ecosystem will change and could be detrimental. Unfortunately, it is in high demand and will be until more people are educated about the risks.

A couple of people in our group bought the DVD they made and promise to try and put it up on facebook so that more people can see the sharks. Also, a lot of us got great videos and photos.

The rest of the day consisted of more relaxing and eating, something our group needed. It was a fantastic day!

1/7/11

Today began our first weekend after a long week of volunteering. We started our day off at our work sites for three hours as opposed to the usual six. Our bus picked us up promptly at noon and after a quick lunch on the bus we immediately set off for the Waterfront. The Waterfront is a beautiful touristy shopping center where boats can dock and people can shop and explore Cape Town. This site has also been seen in movies such as Blood Diamond. This is also where the boat for Robben Island picks up passengers. So, after an hour of browsing the shops we all boarded the boat for Robben Island.
Robben Island was originally a prison made famous during the apartheid years for housing freedom fighters. It’s most famous inmate: Nelson Mandela. Now the entire island is considered a museum and the new government has given houses on Robben Island to former inmates. Several inmates work at the museum. During the apartheid Robben Island was overcrowded, overrun with disease and abusive to prisoners. The prison was divided into A, B and C sections depending on the behavior of the inmate. The C section was a group cell where as many as 50 men would share a 50x50 foot cell. The B section was were Nelson Mandela stayed for the majority of his section he was allowed two visits every four months and one letter every month. All personal visits were required to be conducted in English or Afrikaans. We got to explore Mandela’s cell which was quite moving because that is where he wrote the much of the manuscript for The Long Walk to Freedom, which we read prior to class. The trip to Robben Island was both informative and moving. Seeing the cells, the work sites and the prison yards made the apartheid movement more real. Being at the place where many of our modern day heroes suffered for the benefit of others was an amazing experience that will not be taken for granted. The opportunity to stand in Mandela’s former cell and appreciate the time he spent there was truly amazing.

1/8/2011

We started off our Saturday by returning to the African Market to finish buying some souvenirs. The weather was great; it was warm and sunny with a nice breeze. Then, we headed to South Africa’s oldest wine farm, Groot Constantia, created in 1685. The vineyard was beautiful! We took a tour of the inside of the winery to see where the wine is made and stored, and then we were all able to do some wine tasting ourselves. We sampled 5 different wines, and learned about different ways on how to tell the quality of wine. We were able to purchase wines after the tour. After that, we headed over to Spier, another vineyard. We had lunch outside on the grass, and then also did some more wine tasting at this vineyard. Located on the other side of the vineyard is the Cheetah Outreach Reserve Center. Here they have cheetahs that they are trying to protect, and you can choose to go into the cages to the pet the cheetahs. A lot of us chose to pet cheetahs, such as Amy, Ashlyn, and myself, and it was a great experience! We learned that cheetahs in the wild live approx. from 4-8 years, and they can live up to 14 years at the reserve. After that, we went and looked at the grounds of one other vineyard and then headed back to Spier for dinner at Moyo’s. Dinner was amazing! We sat at this table up on a large deck, and they brought us all blankets and painted our faces. There was a huge buffet with many choices, from fish to steak to native African dishes! The restaurant was mainly outside, and there were tables set up under neat little “Moroccan” inspired tents and people were going around to the different areas and performing different dances and songs. We headed home around 10:00 p.m., and had a great day!

Table Mountain

We just completed our third day of volunteering and are now well acclimated to the sites. When we arrived back in Observatory after a day of hard work we had some time to shower and change before we headed to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a popular site to visit in South Africa. The mountain has a flat top and overlooks the city of Cape Town.

When we arrived at Table Mountain it was packed with cars, buses, and tourists. We took a quick group photo before getting on the cable car. The cable car holds 65 people and was completely filled. The floor of the cable car made a 360 degree rotation which allowed us to see the coastal views and back side of the mountain.

When we got to the top of the mountain we found a spot to sit and eat dinner together. Ivy, our cook, prepared a delicious meal of macaroni and cheese with vegetables. After eating we broke up into smaller groups and explored the mountain.

At 1,067 meters above sea level (approximately 3,500 feet) the views were breath taking. We spent two hours at the top of Table Mountain. We all took tons of pictures but everyone seemed to agree that no pictures truly capture the beautiful views. We watched the sunset and then got in line to take the cable car back down to the ground. The mountain was packed so we had to wait in line for a while but none of us minded because it allowed us time to catch up with everyone and the view of the city lights was amazing.

This is a picture of Jackie, Amy, Hannah, and Ashlyn spelling out CTSA (Cape Town, South Africa) with our arms.

St. Anne's Home

Maggie, Carrie, and I are volunteering at St. Anne’s home. This shelter has been helping abused women and children in South Africa for over 100 years. They provide many resources and guidance for both the women and children. Mother’s are given basic skills training, typing classes and computer literacy, along with skills and assistance with job searching. In addition, they are educated on many other things such as HIV/AIDS and self-esteem. While the mothers are at work the center provides care for the young children ranging from age 1 month to 5 years. Educational tools are used to stimulate the toddlers’ along with recreational play. The babies are looked after in another room where the play and sleep. There aren’t many children in the shelter right now because the parents leave during the holiday. The children that we have cared for thus far are adorable, energetic, loving, and entertaining.

Within the past couple of years the shelter’s fallen on hard times due to loss of funding. Our mission coming here was to help and contribute to the community the best way we can. With that goal in mind, the 3 of us gathered a list of supplies the shelter needed and bought them. Today we delivered the materials to them, which included diaper cream, baby wipes, a thermometer, teething powder, baby formula, baby wash, cough syrup, Vaseline, bottles, gloves, insect repellent, hand soap, and various other items. They were very grateful to receive the supplies. One of the teachers told us,“ You saved my life.” The satisfaction of knowing that we are making a great difference in their lives made today a great day and makes this trip all worth the while!

First Day at Work Sites

Today was the day we all have been waiting for, to get the chance to work with less fortunate South African boys and girls. We all were excited and anxious to meet and play with the children. We had to be up and ready by 8:30 am to depart for our various work sites. The work sites include Crossroads Community Health Center, St. Joseph’s Home, Heaven’s Nest, St. Anne’s Home, and Nyanga Orphanage. We were at our work sites from 9am until 3pm.

I was assigned to the St. Joseph’s Home for Chronically Ill Children. The home is divided into three different wards. The ward I was in was the boys’ ward also known as “Sweet Basil” along with Clarissa and Jackie. Allie, Hannah, and Diandra were in the Sunflower ward, which consisted of children with HIV/AIDS. The third ward was “Daisy” or the girl’s ward where Brigette and Paul decided to volunteer.

The boys in Basil were welcoming and excited to see us come into the room. They range in age from 2 years old and up. They were pulling us in every direction to play or to walk across the tires. No one could ever tell they were ill by the amount of energy they exhibit. They were jumping on our backs, playing with our hair, and sitting in our laps. After all the playing and jumping around they still managed to have time to flirt with the three of us. Most of the morning consisted of us playing outside on the playground and then we took them inside so they were out of the sun to play catch and watch movies. The cultural barrier of how race classification is established in the States shocked one boy. He asked me if I was coloured and when I told him no he was surprised. I explained to him that in America I am considered black and there is no classification for a mixed race. One of the boys wanted to know what languages we spoke beside English. We taught him and another boy some Spanish words and phrases and they taught us Xhosa. One word he taught us was “Ndzakubona ngomso” which means “See You Tomorrow”. The day was full and exhausting but exciting all at the same time. The boys were an amazing and awesome group to work with and I’m excited to see what they have planned for us tomorrow.