I have arrived!

Katie and I arrived yesterday to St.Lucia South Africa. We had a long 2 nights on the plane and were absolutely exhausted upon arrival. We were picked up by our project coordinator and rode in the back of a pick up truck to the house. That allowed us to get a great view of the African wildlife and beautiful scenery.

We did not expect to have such nice accomodations so we were blown away when we walked into our beautiful home. We have a pool in the back and our own room with air conditioning! So no one has to worry about us living in some sort of a hut for a month. We were introduced to the other volunteers and discussed our projects over lunch.

Homesickness hit once I was alone and realized just how far away I am. I can't just pick up the phone and call anyone so it is very hard right now...but I know it will get better. I had a good cry and just moved along with the day. Our guides took us to the beach to see some amazing views! I have never seen so much sand in my life!! We saw crocodiles and a few hippos while we were there. It is very dangerous so there is no swimming at this beach...not like the beaches at home. We slept really well because we were so jetlagged (and still a bit).

I slept the whole night knowing there was a lizard on my wall!! I woke early in the morning to use the bathroom and was startled by a bat flying just above the toilet! I did not scream but calmly went to the OTHER bathroom. I eventually got back to sleep after that scare...

Today we took a tour of the Zulu village we will be spending most of our time in. It is much larger than I imagined and even more dilapitated than I could have ever pictured. We met a few of the orphans...they were so cute and very friendly. I took a few pictures. We were also welcomed into a woman's home that was built by previous African Impact volunteers. They built this small home for a woman that has had both of her legs amputated. It was literally the size of a bedroom or a kitchen and had nothing to it but a few mattresses crammed up against one another and a small kitchen full of pots and pans. There was hardly any room to move in there...yet this woman was SO grateful for what she was given. We saw the AIDS clinic and the church that we teach the HIV classes in. I can not even describe the conditions of this village so you will just have to see when I post some pictures very soon.

Later today we went on a hippo and croc tour. Very peaceful, and let me tell you hippos are just enormous and we came about a foot from them.

Alright, my internet time is running up!! I will gladly post more details soon.

Until next time... I MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!