DAY SIXTEEN:

I LOVE CHILDREN!!! That is what I learned today haha. Through all the academic terminology and journaling, that held true. I am obsessed!! Today, I got to sleep in a little bit again cause we didn't have class until 10:45. I even made my own breakfast this morning...eggs in a pot. In case you were wondering, it is possible to make scrambled eggs in a pot. We get inventive here in Africa. After breakfast, we went to class where we got an introduction into our service week. We learned what to expect and how we should behave in the township we were about to spend the next five days in. Basically just the dos and don'ts. One thing that stuck with me: don't pet the dogs, you will  get rabies. Therefore,  the entire time we were in the townships I was the freak running away from the little cute dogs. We also got to reminisce on the adventures of the Garden Route by taking turns telling stories from the trip. It was so much fun laughing at everyone's funny, embarrassing experiences! After class we had about an hour break for lunch which presented another cooking challenge....grilled cheese in a pot! SUCH A FAIL!! The butter was too hard to spread on the bread so we had to just put it in the pan. But, then it wasn't cooking enough without burning, so I ended up with two pieces of toasted bread with a slice of unmelted cheese in the middle.....I am going to be a great wife one day haha. After lunch we boarded the buses and headed for Sir Lowery's Pass, the township we would be visiting for the week. As soon as we pulled up, I knew I was going to fall in love with this place. There were hundreds...literally hundreds...of children running after the bus waiting for us to get off and come play with them. They had no idea who we are, where we cam from, anything, but as soon as we got off the bus at least five children ran towards you, attaching themselves to your hands, arm, legs, back, begging to be carried, loved on. Anyone that knows me can probably already tell that this place was my heaven. They were all so intrigues with my long, blonde hair again. Even the boys were playing with it haha. Probably one of the coolest thing of the day was that I wore my toms today and so many kids had them on too! They would run up to me and point to my shoes and then to their shoes. I don't know why I thought it was so cool, but I loved seeing that the tom company was true to their word. Seeing that me purchasing this pair of shoes actually did give a child without any shoes a pair was amazing. Therefore, when I return to America, I fully plan on purchasing toms after toms after toms because so many children are still walking around barefoot! After we made our way through the masses of adorable cuteness, we went into the school where we were introduced to the moms who would be hosting us for the week. Then the children of the town all sang and danced for us, their way of welcoming us to their neighborhood. Once we left the school, we were divided into smaller groups and assigned a mom to spend the rest of the evening with. I was lucky enough to be paired with Ms. Cheryl, who is the head mom of the interactions between Global LEAD and Sir Lowery's Pass. She has the biggest heart. You can really tell that the whole community respects and looks up to her. We met her daughter, Candy, and her son, Duncan, and her granddaughter (Candy's daughter), Courtney. Courtney was actually named after one of the founders of Global LEAD, Courtney Doran. That is just mind-blowing to me, that we have that much of an impact on these people's lives that they name their children after us. We were told this has happened on multiple occasions...Can you imagine?? Candy is 30, Mrs. Cheryl is 49, and her son Duncan is 16. We also got to meet a few of Duncan's friends, who Global LEAD is trying to incorporate into their program, so they can continue the service after we have tot leave. Duncan and his friends are all hip-hop dancers and/or rappers, so I was able to bond with them over our mutual love for Chris Brown, Jay-Z, and Ludacris. They thought I was sooo cool when I told them that I was from where Ludacris lives haha. After we all got to know one another, we made dinner together for the family, but then unfortunately, we had to leave. On the way back to the bus, all the neighborhood children swarmed us again, clutching onto us, asking us to stay. I seriously HATED leaving them....like no joke near tears. I can't wait to go back tomorrow!!

Unfortunately, no pictures today. We weren't allowed to bring our cameras the first day so we could get to know the families on a more personal level and not through a lense. It makes sense; we don't want to make them feel like they are an exhibit. Buuuuut, as soon as we are allowed to bring cameras it is absolutely guaranteed that I will be taking pictures on pictures of these adorable faces! Stay tuned!