Back to Reality

It's been over a month since I've written my last post. There are two reasons for my absence: (1) I was on vacation and (2) I broke my internet phone.

I'm going to start with the explanation of how I broke my phone b/c, interestingly enough, it's more entertaining. Let me give a little background information first. Some of you may or may not know this, but South Africa has a bit of a crime problem. As a tourist or resident of SA, it’s important to always stay in a constant state of awareness. What I like to do is hide all my valuables (cell phone, money, and chapstick) on me so that if someone does grab my shoulder bag, they'll get nothing that I really care about. And yes....chapstick is VERY important to me.

I keep all my valuables in my bra! Clever but not uncommon. I never ever ever ever thought I would be the cause of damaging my cell phone. I keep very good care of my valuable b/c I know I'm WAY to cheap to purchase a replacement. Well...I should have thought about this, but just because a cell phone looks undamaged doesn't necessarily mean it isn't damaged....on the inside. Did you know that if you hide electronics for long periods of time in places where they could get wet, they will actually begin to erode on the inside and you (the owner) will have no idea until (one day) the item just STOPS WORKING?!?!?!?!?!

Needless to say, my cell phone experienced irreparable damage. I sent it to the village phone repair man (aka the Pakistani man who owns the local mini grocery store and sells days old bread that begins to mold after 2-3 days), but he was unable to fix it. Instead of sending it to another repair man and possibly being w/o internet for another 3 weeks, I broke down and bought another phone.

As for the second reason I've been unable to update my blog: VACATION. Most people are excited and ready for vacation because they've been working so hard and need to time relax. I was excited and ready for vacation b/c I hadn't been working hard and needed something to do! With 7 of my closest friends, I traveled around South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland for three weeks. It was, by far, one of the longest and adventurous trips I've ever been on. I had a GREAT time!

This part of the world is beautiful and so diverse. While in Mozambique; I swam in the Indian Ocean, ate crab legs the size of bananas, purchased fresh prawns at a seafood market then immediately had them prepared in a restaurant, and enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL sites/sounds of Mozambican men and women. While in Swaziland; I camped out near a lion's fenced-in area, listened to this lion roar throughout the night, and pet the same lion the next morning. While traveling around South Africa; I danced the night away to house music, experienced breathtaking views of nature, saw hippos lounging around, and ate amazing food.

Being a tourist for three weeks was great, but now I'm back to reality. School starts in a few weeks, and my goals and ambitions for the new school year must now become a reality.

And to make things more difficult, I’ve been dealing with a serious bought of homesickness. It was fueled by my vacation because I became accustomed to “living a life of luxury” (ex. flushing toilets, showers, restaurants, etc) for three weeks. Those amenities are not a part of my everyday life here, and thinking about them only increases my homesickness.

Till next time or at least sooner than the last time……