The feeling of arriving back on African soil has been more ‘normal’ than I could have hoped for. Yes my home will always be Sydney, Australia, however arriving back in Africa feels like I have just come back home. I can’t describe it more than just such an ease of being here and such an excitement of what lies ahead.
The trip over was incredible. Totally blessed to be upgraded to premium economy for the flight over (thanks to my amazing Cousin Kat!) which made for a very comfortable flight on which Leyton and I could both get a bit of sleep and really stretch out, relax and enjoy the flight! On the bus ride up to White River we experienced the most spectacular lightning storm for a solid hour or so with lightning bolts every 10 seconds or so. African storms are the best!
We have had a very relaxed weekend settling in and attempting to get over the jetlag quickly…however I still seem to be waking up at 4am each day so far! Thought I would make the most of it this morning and got up for my first workout in Africa. Hoping that will make me more tired today to sleep through tomorrow morning! I LOVE the greenery and mountains…the most scenic location to work out in. Will post pics soon! It’s been fairly overcast/foggy in the mornings so I haven’t managed to catch an African sunrise yet.
We have our Orientation schedule for the next 5 weeks and it is jammed packed! There are 8 new international volunteers this intake: Leyton from Australia (my travelling buddy), Mariah from Canada (my lovely roommate J), Jess from the US, Dave from the UK, Alicia from Canada, Joe from the UK, Russell from Canada. All great people…it’s going to be fun!
Weekdays will be spent mostly out in the different communities, spending time with the care workers and the kids, and learning all about how Hands at Work operates. Can’t wait to get out and get into it! And very much looking forward to heading back and visiting some of the communities I spent time in last trip, reconnecting with the care workers and the kids. And once I do…I will have lots more stories and experiences to post about 🙂
Weekends have also been planned out for us and the new few look amazing! Next weekend we will spend Saturday at some waterfalls where we can swim etc., the following Saturday we will Safari in Kruger National Park, and the third weekend we have our Community Stay, where for 4 nights we will sleep out in the community with an African family to really experience life as they do!
Have I mentioned recently I LOVE AFRICA! And it’s so good to be back!
More adventures, stories and pictures to follow soon… 🙂