Siya and Becca, doing what they do best.  March 2010.

Gah, that face!  Smiso.  St. Theresa's, December 2010.

Feeling patriotic as the World Cup begins.  Durban, June 2010.

prayers needed.

I want to take a minute to thank all of you friends and family for keeping up with my blog this long, especially since I have been home from South Africa for almost two months now. It was very hard to leave, and even taking the effort to choose a photo to post each day is almost heartbreaking.  But one of the best things about the Augustinian Volunteer program is its sustainability, and I took a lot of comfort in the fact that after Meg, Mary-Kate, Becca, and I left South Africa to come home, another group of volunteers would be taking over for us as the new year began.

Though I have only met Erika and Damien, they, along with Jenny and Tyler, are incredible young people with a passion for service that will do them well in their year ahead.  But unfortunately, this group of people has already encountered more hardship than I think I faced all year.
Your prayers are needed.

One of this year's volunteers, Jenny, who replaced me at St. Leo, is in the hospital and about to undergo very serious and risky open-chest surgery.

And in addition, Tyler, another community member, has a brother named Kyle who is currently in hospital in Johannesburg with a brain infection.

During my year in South Africa, I learned a lot about the unexpected turns that life can take, but I have to say that since being home, these tragic surprises have been much more numerous and much more unexpected.  We just have to keep trusting that we will be taken care of.

Please keep this AV community and their families in your thoughts for the next few days, and, most especially, in the next few hours.  Having a strong network of good people sending positive thoughts their way may just be the magic touch.  Thanks.



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Oh Bheki, how I miss you.  St. Theresa's, December 2010.

Early-morning coffee & rusks.  Mosethla Bush Camp, September 2010.

Luke.  St. Theresa's, April 2010.

Assembly.  St. Leo, March 2010.

 Chez Tomlin.  Cape Town, April 2010.

Another amusing South African town.  South Coast, July 2010.

Sboniso, Zama, and Sno.  St. Leo, December 2010.

Sfiso.  December 2010.

Andrew and his patriotic pants.  Durban, June 2010.

Elephant mud-bath!  Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, April 2010.

The walk home.  Drakensberg Mountains, March 2010.

"Robot" straight ahead!  Simon's Town, August 2010.

"Look Miss Sinead!  We're Adidas!"  Siyabonga, Qiniso, and Sabelo.  St. Leo, October 2010.

All smiles in the shade.  Pomeroy, November 2010.

Zebra: stripy and hungry.  Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, April 2010.

Lindani.  Heritage Day, September 2010.

Sari'd!  Essenwood Market, August 2010.

One would hope that means "smooth"...?

Mean Girl Becca, ready for the Drakensberg.  March 2010.

Heritage Day at St. Leo.  September 2010.

Zebra-eye view?  Madikwe Game Reserve, September 2010.

Penguins.  Robben Island, March 2010

Field trip to Durban, March 2010.  Ayanda, Sizwe, Wandile, Lusanda, Lihle, Lindo, & others.

Because everyone loves stickers.  Especially Lungelo, Luke, Baby Sfiso, and "Shorty" (Mthokozisi).

a good year.

When I think about 2010, I feel quite short on words.  I've been asked, "So how was your year?" or "How does it feel to be home?" and of course, my year was life-changing and it feels really good to be back at home, surrounded by familiar faces and simple wonders that I will never again take for granted.

But I still feel that I haven't done any justice to the year I spent in South Africa.  I don't know how to go about telling my story, so I've decided to share some photos, maybe an accompanying story, and piece together my year this way.

The next community leaves for South Africa's sunny shores in just a few days.  I'll spend a few hours with the four of them on Saturday evening, and I feel so excited for the adventures they're about to experience, yet a part of me yearns to be stowing away and tagging along for the ride.  Now that the holidays are over and I've been reunited with the people and the country I left behind one year ago, I feel as though I should be going back-- back to school, back to St. Theresa's homework time, back to karaoke on Wednesday nights at The Highlander and Durban's beachfront and rugby matches on the weekends and Robson's delicious microbrewed beer.  Thinking about it all makes my heart hurt a bit.

As for the here and now, I'm frantically applying for jobs whenever I can in education, housing, and academic non-profits in New York and Philadelphia, and recently applied to a few graduate programs as alternatives, in case the whole employment thing remains out of reach.  I'll find something, I know-- and for now, I'm content to enjoy the snow while reminiscing about the Durban summer.

Enjoy the photos, but I'm pretty sure that there's as much for me as they are for you.  And thank you, ngiyabonga kakhulu, for keeping up with me.




P.S. I'm also back on my old blog.  Though life is not as "different" as it was this time last year, I still like to think there are things worth noting.


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