Getting to Know the Area

 Rachel and I have fixed the issue of cold winter nights!

 Please don't think we are being irresponsible- just creative! We keep an eye on the stove and make sure nothing is near it. But honestly, it has helped ease our minds since we are now much warmer. We were even able to eat dinner in the kitchen for the first time yesterday! 

In other news, today Rachel and I had our first experience calling a cab. Up until this point we hadn't needed to because we walked everywhere or relied on our friends to call.

After an hour of figuring out how to install our "airtime" (otherwise known as cell phone minutes), and calling random numbers that we thought were the cab companies we finally got a cab. Our driver, Chris, was the nicest driver yet. When he picked us up later, he showed us the school we will be teaching at. It was on our way home. We begin teaching on Monday and I was glad we got to see where the school is in relation to where we are staying.

After we got back to the apartment, Rachel and I went for a run. There is a path right beside the beach that lots of people use to walk, jog, or bike. If everyone got to experience the run we had today, no one would complain about exercise ever again!

The way the sun hit the water was stunning.

 ( I wish I had my camera for it. Here are some other pictures we have taken...)

There are lots of rocks in the water near the boardwalk. While the rocks are beautiful, we found the beach entrance near our apartment much easier to walk and hang out on because it was soft sand. (no rocks)

Rachel and I spent some time sitting and talking while watching all the surfers. 

YEP- I SAID WATCHING ALL THE SURFERS! 

REAL EVERYDAY SURFING!

 It was incredible. I have only seen surfing on TV but this was way better.

 It takes a lot of skill. We will try to take some pictures of it tomorrow.

Well, we finally settled in and are completely unpacked. We plan to spend tomorrow on the beach soaking up our last couple of days before we start teaching.

Hope you all are doing well!

Love,

Casey :)

Our First Two Days

First meal in Port Elizabeth

Rachel and I are lucky enough to have three friends, Sarah, Dianna, and Amy, who spent this summer (or winter because it is still winter in South Africa) in Port Elizabeth student teaching like we are about to do. We are all part of the same education cohort at the University of Georgia.

Not only were they nice enough to show us around the past few days but they also served as our alarm clocks for our first morning!


Day One:
We started the day off at a coffee shop called Kaffeine(a fitting name). It is less than a mile from our apartments and we really enjoyed it.

We then took a taxi to the "mall" where we got a phone to use locally, the girls bought some gifts for their teachers, and we went to the grocery store. We ate lunch at a fun place called Mugg & Bean. Later, Rachel and I went to dinner at a trendy pizza place called Charlie's. It was recommended by the other girls and we loved it!

Hazelnut Latte at Breakfast

Grilled Chicken Greek Salad at Lunch

Artichoke Pizza and Coke for Dinner

Rachel and I fit right in with the people of Port Elizabeth except for the fact that we are SO SHORT. All of the women we saw walking around were considerably taller than us. Besides that, we are blending in quite well. :)

It is colder than we expected here. Rachel and I spent our first afternoon bundled on the couches with multiple layers of socks and clothing. We looked ridiculous but it was better than continuing to freeze. There is no heating or cooling in the apartment so our room temperature is subject to the weather. Today and yesterday just happened to be colder than most.

We Made It

Me and Rachel! Ready for South Africa! :)

My sweet friend Casey who dropped me off at the airport

WE MADE IT WE MADE IT WE MADE IT!

        ( We weren't always sure we would)

The flight Rachel and I took from Atlanta to Johannesburg was more than just a little rocky. In fact, I found hope in writing this blog post simply because it would mean I had survived. Rachel and I were not sitting together on the flight but we agreed that it was a tad bit miserable. You know it's gonna be a long flight if the first four hours of a 15 hour flight are straight turbulence.

After we got off, we swapped horror stories. Hers being that at one point the turbulence was so bad that a flight attendant near her screamed. And mine was that around the same time Rachel was dealing with that, I unashamedly whipped out my bible and read every verse I could think of on anxiety, fear, trust, and God's promises just so I wouldn't burst into tears from fear. Which made me think-what would you do if the person next to you on a plane started crying?!? Pat them on the back? Offer them a tissue!?! How uncomfortable! (and slightly hysterical) Thank goodness we held it together. We did wonder if that was the end for us... BUT IT WASN'T! God provided and we are alive and kickin'! :) As the plane landed in the Johannesburg airport, that is when I learned what complete joy felt like. 

We made it to our second flight which was a wonderfully smooth two hours of NO turbulence from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth. WOO HOO! The Port Elizabeth airport was small, peaceful, and we easily found our program coordinator, Prakash, who took us to our apartment.

We slept that night feeling quite accomplished and ready for the months to come!

I will write about our first full day in Port Elizabeth in tomorrow's post.
We are so excited and grateful to be here!

Love, 

Casey :)