Going Home...

Tonight is my last night in Mmabatho, South Africa. It has been such a wonderful experience, it's hard to leave. I have met so many new people just from working in the university...it's sad to say goodbye. I have a feeling though I will be back. Whether or not paths cross again will be up to God, but I think it will be fun if they do. I have learned so much from being here. What I learned is on other posts, but some things that I have learned I can't even tell you yet because I am not quite sure. I do know that I am not the same person as I was on Sept 15th when I started my journey.
I am happy to go home though. I get to tell you all things in person rather than you reading it or emailing it to my parents. I did learn that I really need to study the Bible more. Some of the Baptists here know it inside and out, while I could just tell you the most famous Bible stories and not in any detail either...it's actually quite sad. I do know some verses though, but these people quoted things like crazy. I also have to keep myself more up to date on politics and world events. It's sad how much I don't know.
The Ulrich's have been like family to me this past month. It's like I have two younger brothers and another younger sister. Micah (AKA "Squishy"...refer to Becca's blog) hides my pocketbook all the time...like now for instance...he stuck it somewhere and ran off to go play football...so now i have to go track it down...boys...It has been fun though..I will miss them all...Hopefully I can come back before they leave, who knows...I hope so.
Well tomorrow at 8am i will start my journey home and will be there at 11:08pm (that's what my ticket says) Friday night! I hate layovers...11 hrs in Jo-berg tomorrow...yuck
See you soon!

my parents were "punked" last night

These are students from NWU. I really only know the one on the bottom, but he is a good friend.



As the loving daughter that I am, I decided to entertain my parents a little...far far away from smacking distance...They have Skype and so do I so I video cammed them and Paula gave me her wedding ring...This was an Ulrich approved prank by the way...they actually got popcorn and were sitting in the same room out of the way of the camera...snickering might i add...so i told my mother that I was engaged and showed her the ring...I wish we recorded it so you could all see her face...it was wonderful...I told her it was this guy i met in the clinic and that he was really nice and he asked me and i said yes. She was like, "What!??" and of course the Ulrich's are in the background laughing and Mom was like, "Is this a joke??" Then the Ulrich's came out and all laughed, but i still had to actually tell her it was a joke, because i think she was really confused.
Then my dad came home with Rebecca. So i had Mom play along with my joke...haha Dad looked at me through the camera and actually walked away...and Rebecca just stared with her mouth hanging open...then Dad came back and said, "Why on Earth did he ask you??!" So then i said JUST KIDDING! I think my dad was going to have a heart attack so i figured it was best to come clean at that point...so the Ulrich's once again laughed and laughed at the expense of my family across the ocean....good thing they were across the ocean...i probably would have died...
But what made this work out the best is that when i started helping in the clinic and still today there have been several guys that asked me out...it's very funny...Tim and Paula told me I should ask my parents what my bride price is (how many cows they want for me) or Lobola...so I already talked to them about all these guys...it was very funny....

I am a wimp!

I have been working in the Animal Clinic with Paula Ulrich on North West University campus (NWU). We have only been in the clinic because some of the students are on strike...they have burnt down a couple of buildings...the strikes have never been this violent before but classes have been on and off this whole month (sept.) I asked one of the students why he was on strike and he just looked at me and never answered...so the students dont even know why they are on strike...but because of the violence in this strike the other students that want to go to class can't because they are threatened as well.

so i have been in the clinic. I have come to the realization that I am such a wimp...it's ridiculous...i have absolutely no problem watching Paula do a surgery on an animal or seeing blood. Actually yesterday i was watching a dog surgery and my stomach started growling...I was starving! But when the sick dogs come in it just grosses me out...Some are so sick with blood parasites you can count their ribs, they go to the bathroom all over the floor and i have had to clean up after them and honestly i am surprised i haven't pucked yet. Paula and some of the other students have to hold down the animals and i just don't even want to pet them. The other day she asked me to hold down a dog that was attacked by a bigger dog and it had a nice hole in its neck from where the dog bite him...and i was like what kind of diseases can i get from these things?!! Then other dogs have fleas crawling all over them. I watched a dog be euthanized, but no that didn't bother me...i was much more disturbed about the living, breathing, sick animals that actually needed help...this makes me sound terrible..haha Paula doesnt know that I feel this way either...SHH! don't tell her! I do it anyway though...everything she tells me to do, I do...she wouldnt let me do anything that put me in danger anyway. So i better just do it and suck it up! So i have been...

I really don't understand what dealing with sickly animals has to do with me...but I am sure it has some lesson to it. Maybe it means that when God asks you to do something and even though you really dont want to...you better suck it up and take it like a man! and do it anyway..he knows better than we do. There will probably be an amazing outcome if you do it anyway. Paula does it everyday...I think she saved a dog's life yesterday, but i was worried about touching it because it had fleas and was sitting in its urine all night probably...see i am a completely ridiculous, the dog is like dying and i am worried about fleas...but no no Paula has a job to do, so she does it. hmm i think i mught have just answered my own question about what lesson i am supposed to learn from this...but please feel free to enlighten me more...please!