
A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE: How I found the Spirit of Christmas on the
This Christmas started out absolutely devoid of the Christmas spirit- I was left feeling like I was in a twilight zone where Christmas didn’t exist. Sure there are a few trees up in the halls and gingerbread houses around, but it just didn’t feel like the Holidays out in the middle of the Ocean around a bunch of old people I don’t know at all! I found myself deeply missing all of my Christmas traditions, and pitying myself for being stuck doing table tennis on Christmas. I fe


Port Elizabeth, South Africa
This was a difficult day. I took a tour that brought us into the Townships- basically our version of a project. It’s the part of the city that is government provided. However it is the majority of the city, we drove through miles and miles of Townships, and it was very difficult to see. These houses that are provided by the government, are literally made from scraps of metal. They are given to those who make less than 3000 Ran a month, which is the equivalent to about 200 dol


Zanzibar, Tanzania
Zanzibar was a city truly living in simultaneously the past and present. Full of life, it is a city embedded deep in African culture that is being tugged slowly forward into modern times, held back by poverty and a rich love of tradition. In the market you may see someone selling smart phones, but the "store" is a rotted out box on the street corner- the "store owner" sits with no shoes, his dirty, worn feet are propped up on a crumbled foundation that used to be a wall and h


Cruise Life Pt II (And a word on Africa)
Well, if feels like it’s been a long time since you last read a post of mine… it has been! In these past six weeks our lives have probably looked very different. You all have had snow and Thanksgiving and Santa is back at the mall posing for 20 dollar pictures. I on the other hand, have been snuggling with cheetahs and riding elephants, with no concept of winter or the holidays or any part of normal American life like free wifi, a day without make up, or taking a whole shower