Voices of a South African Village

A job may have been my avenue for going to Africa, but it wasn’t the driving force. I didn’t choose the job with a minor detail being “Located in South Africa”. I chose the job because it was located in South Africa. I love Africa for it’s beautiful landscapes and warm-hearted people, and I love […]

Read More

Blyde River Canyon

Blyde River Canyon is the second largest canyon in Africa (after Fish River Canyon in Namibia) and one of the largest in the world. Located in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa, it was a short drive from our villages. We took our students here on their final excursion for the summer just a week […]

Read More

This One Time, I Kissed a Hippo

I never thought I would use the words kiss and hippo in the same sentence. But as Justin Bieber has taught me.. never say never! (I know it was cheesy to throw out a Justin Bieber line, but cheesy very much characterizes what you are about to witness.)

Read More

Montage Monday: African Safari in Luxury

One of the perks of my summer job was a safari in South Africa. And this wasn’t just any safari… we’re talking a five-star safari that I will probably never go on again unless I win the lottery. We spent two evenings on a private game reserve at Thornybush and went on four game drives. […]

Read More

Random Things I’ve Done in South Africa

My internet sucks. You can’t do a safari post without photos, and the internet isn’t my friend at the moment. So instead of hearing about my amazing and luxurious safari, you’re going to have to settle on second best: a random list of things I’ve done in my 8 weeks of living in rural South […]

Read More

Dead Aid: Thoughts on Development

Working in the field rather than in an office is rewarding. It’s hands on, always changing, and exciting. But… it’s also very exhausting mentally. Trying to synthesize all of the information I’ve gathered about a new culture while trying to develop business strategies is challenging to do in just seven weeks. One of issues we […]

Read More