A weekend to turn 20....

Valentines Weekend and my 20th Birthday!!!
This whole last weekend was amazing! It all started Friday, and turned into a very fun and crazy 3 days that made an amazingly long celebration just in time for me getting old(er)…
Friday I went to an Art gallery for a class and went to a fancy British coffee bistro with friends and the professor afterwards where we drank cappuccinos and talked about art and about which cake we ordered was the best. When we got back I did absolutely no homework, and spent the day being lazy and hanging out swapping good music from people’s computers.
On Saturday we went to a marketplace in Durban where we bought gifts and souvenirs and jewelry for amazing prices. The market was busy and fun and I found some really cool artwork that I haggled to get for a good price. A friend and I decided to venture out into the outside marketplace to look for more things, and the city was exciting and scary. It was cool to get away from our massive group of white faces and be immersed in the actual daily life of Durban. However, it was also very frightening. We witnessed a massive and vicious fight break out, so decided to walk by quickly and got by just fine. I also witnessed some guy trying to break into a ladies purse while she was walking, and the poor woman didn’t even realize what was going on. So I decided to be brave and stepped in between them and just looked at him and said “HEY” in a really loud awkward way. I meant say stop or get away, but “hey” is all that came out, hahaha but he walked away quick so I guess it must have worked….
After the market we went to a beach and swam in the beautiful Indian Ocean, and tanned and drank milkshakes and took silly pictures and played some volleyball. It was all swell until the tide came in way too soon and hit most of our things. Luckily, my own stuff was up high up enough, but some people lost some shoes and towels. When we got back, a group of people and I headed over to the “Keg and Hedgehog,” a nearby pub, and spent the night watching a rugby game, listening to live music, dancing, and eating and drinking delicious things. The room also sang me Happy Birthday after one of the guys mentioned I was turning 20. It was fun.
On the actual birthday day, I woke up to my chalet hall decorated with balloons and a giant birthday card with things written from all the people here. I went to an Indian Church, and on the way there one of the trip coordinator’s fiancé sang me an Afrikaans birthday song, which obviously I didn’t understand, but it was very sweet. After church, of all the places in South Africa, I went to McDonalds! I had a lovely birthday mcflurry and hung out with amazing friends. Around 4, for our “second tea time”, I walked into the dining hall to find everyone lined on the sides of the door using their arms for a bridge to run under, which led to a lovely birthday cake the staff made. The group sang and I blew out my candles. As we all ate cake and had our tea, I opened my card and birthday gift; which was a pretty strapless dressed from a store we all love called “Mr. Price.”
Later in the evening I wore my pretty new dress and attended a Valentine’s Day party that the planning committee put on. It was decorated with candles and beautiful flowers, and we ate chicken Alfredo and garlic bread, and had a valentine’s gift exchange between all of us. Then we took many pictures and spent time swing and salsa dancing. After the event, we all huddled into a classroom and ate popcorn and watched a romantic comedy. Overall, it was an amazing and wonderful birthday, one of my best ever, and a great way to enter my twenties. The friends here made it amazing and made it a very meaningful and special day, and also a great end to a wonderful weekend.

Update from South Africa

Sawubonani!!!! “Hello Everyone”
I hope you all have been well in nearly the last month. I have been here in South Africa just over 3 weeks, and am absolutely in love with the country. I have settled into the African Enterprise Campus and have been VERY busy with my classes. Although they are difficult, they are also very stimulating and interesting. I have gotten close with the other 52 students, and together we have formed a little American family while abroad. Culture shock hasn’t really reached me because I am always with the group or at least some of it.
In my free time here I go walking through a game reserve that is right next to the campus. I have seen a lot of zebras and other animals. There is also a nearby mall with super cheap things, and an amazing ice cream place to make me feel right at home. Oh yeah, and we also shoot the monkeys with paintball guns…. (they are evil and will take things.) They even run into classrooms and the dining hall, always looking for food… I love my little chalet, except for the fact that there is no HOT water in ours, so I have taken some very cold showers. I am now also addicted to tea and peanut butter/jelly sandwiches (the later just being random, not really connected to this country at all..)
In the last few weeks there have been a lot of new experiences. I have tried out new churches, met many new people, and have tried new foods (including some very authentic Indian food, and a banana and bacon sandwich- which was really good!). I spent one Saturday seeing birds or prey and actual wild lions, not zoo ones. I also spent an entire weekend in a place called Umzinto, which is outside Pietermaritzburg. On the way there, one of our 5 caravan vehicles broke down, and we got stranded in the middle of nowhere for 5 hours! That weekend some others and I preached at an Indian church (which I was unaware I had to do until the moment we arrived), and had lunch with the pastor and his family. The Indian culture is very interesting and different than our American one, and it was a great opportunity to be the minority in a place and experience life, and Christianity, outside of the “American” way. I also took my first steps in the Indian Ocean, and watched the sunrise over it early one morning. It was amazing!
This upcoming weekend I am going to a beach in Durban, and then will also be turning 20 on Sunday! So very strange, time goes by too quickly. I will be done with a few classes in 3 more weeks, and then starting work at service sites in nearby communities. I look forward to interacting more in the communities through the service sites, and continuing to see what God has to show and teach me about people, life, and Himself through this experience.
Inkosi mayibe nawe ngalo- “May the Lord be with you always.” (I hope I spelt that right…)
Sincerely,
-Emilee Cook