Woke up yesterday morning to a pack of about twenty monkeys in the mango tree behind my room. They annoy half the other residents but I think they're awesome. So, yes Dad, I got them on film for you ;) crazy monkeys! Check out the pictures online. In other events its back to class after a lovely spring break. My dance class is so much fun though, African drumming and dancing, I'm loving it. I'm doing a lot of research on HIV/AIDS policy for a couple of papers, and thoroughly enjoying the company of my friends at UKZN, they're amazing! I've just been connected with both an orphanage and a township that I will hopefully get to start volunteering in soon. Just tough to get around when its not safe to walk and there's no reliable public transport. Sigh. But I'm going to tag along with friends to go, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Posted by Lauren at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Hello from the other side of the world! I'm back in South Africa, refreshed and loving life! Evan after a couple days of buses and not being able to get the sand out of anything for at least a week I'm sure, Mozambique was well worth it! The country still has many visible scars of civil war, and is one of the world's poorest; yet the people are so friendly and the culture so rich. I loved hearing the Portuguese (it made me want to learn more about my own Portuguese heirtage), and seeing the incredible colorful markets. The picture of the buckets of fresh squid and tables and tables of fish will stick with in my mind for a long while. The first day in Maputo we took a ferry to the other side of the bay, a rural area that was so beautiful! The women carry all kinds of goods on their heads (including large logs, massive amounts of oranges or tomatoes), and the fish markets are big business. I bought a coconut from a guy near the ferry for ten meticas (there are 25 to the American dollar, that should tell you how inexpensive things are for foreigners) who took his machete and lobbed off the top and stuck a straw in for me. What an experience. The police and guards in Mozambique carry AK-47's. That's a bit of culture shock for sure. And land mines are still a big problem, it is a common site to see people on the streets missing limbs. But I'll tell you, it doesn't get them down. The people I met are resilient, happy, and incredibly inspiring. I think I'm going to go back to explore Mozambique further, if you ever get the chance, GO, hands down! Its kind of odd to come back "home" to South Africa, but it's great! Let me know what you'd like to hear about. Things are going wonderfully well, and I'll keep you updated!

Posted by Lauren at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)