Clinicals ^_^

This was my first day of clinical

Bright & Early. Equipped & Ready!

Eating lunch at the Family Center, Ethembeni at Mpophomeni

Posing it. \\//

Cheesing it with Sno (:

Love this place! One of our beautiful clinical sites in the rural area.

Peanut Break aka Tea time. lols

Mason's! In front of the ARV clinic.

I love being out in the rural area for some fresh air!

Lauren and I cheesin' it.

The ride back home is cheerful .... we're tired!

Back in the room of our chalet. Reflecting after a good day.

Group photo after our Dental Teaching Project (:

Loving clinicals! Touched by God's people every day!
More photos to come from weekend excursions ^^

<3 michie

Life's Good in S.A.

Hello everyone. I'm sorry it's been a while since i've updated. It's been quite busy lately with assignments and all the activities that go on (not to mention I have been watching anime lately (Anime)...

So yesterday (26 February) we went to Karkloof Canopy Tours for our zip-lining extravaganza! It was so much fun!!! I loved it! We left around 0930 AM and took about a 45 minute drive to a beautiful place filled with various species of trees, butterflies, and birds (not many birds that day, however). We zip-lined a total of 8 times and had one drop. It was amazing! I love it and would LOVE to do it again. We had a snack during the half point (Apple Juice and Chomp Cadbury Chocolate Bar). It was cool eating amongst the trees, plus it was totally unexpected. After we finished zip-lining we went for a hike back down to our lunch! We had sandwiches that tasted like pizza, potato salad, and corn salad. Very yummy (:
Last night we watched The Wedding Planner in the Training Room (one of the classrooms) and then I just journaled & went to bed.
Woke up this morning to go to church and now i'm just chilling and finally finding time to blog!

So here's what I left out since 17 Feb ...

This past week has been chill. We had a few assignments to complete, in addition to research homework and our teaching project write-up. All in all they were not too hard to overcome. I just thank God we have the opportunity to study in such a beautiful paradise.
I was at Caprisa for clinicals on Tuesday and Thursday. AWESOME experience with the sisters and patients.
The week before that I was at Walk in the Light, Thursday and Mpophomeni H.S. for Tuesday.
Chyeah ...

So last weekend ( 19 Feb), we went to uSHAKA Marine World and Water Park. It had the 5th largest aquarium in the Southern Hemisphere as well as dolphins, penguins, and other great sea animals like jellyfishes and sea turtles!! I loved it (: After our couple hours of marine fun, a group of us (Miranda, Yo-yo, Shayna, E-kat) went to the other side where the water slides were. It was bomb! We went on tube slides and the lazy river with waterfalls. Everything was just fun, relaxing, and cool!
We went to go get fudge ( i split a walnut fudge! YUM-o!) after our fun in the Village Shopping Center just outside of it as well.
Not to mention that I met a Filipino family that was so nice. Apparently there are Filipinos in South Africa that live near PMB in New Castle! Cool, right? I was so excited to speak Tagalog (:
After fun at uSHAKA, we went to a Sharks Rugby game! We put on face paint (I kinda took on the roll to get almost everyone decked out) and our team won! We even had some hotdogs and Coca Cola. lols.

BTW, I'm missing Mei Mei too much. My number one, fsho....

So yeah, everything has been chill. Its fun going to Coffeeberry runs and getting a coffee shake. The food is good but I miss Filipino food and sushi/seafood. I also miss Bryan and his family's cooking.

I REALLLLLY miss the family and messing around with my brother. Mom and dad are doing well. Lola Ana is keeping busy. My brother is also having a good time going out and kicking butt at work (:
 I miss MEI MEI a lot. She is the apple to my eye.
Missing Bryan, of course, he is in my heart <3

Well, God is continuing to bless me and everyone else here. We are having great conversations in D-group, having good fellowship with each other, and enjoying our runs/walks to the game reserve or down Nonsuch Rd.

I can't wait for my packages! I can't wait for the other EXCITING excursions. And I can't wait to continue God's work.

Love you all! xoxo

<3 Michie

Giants Castle & Cave Paintings

Today we went on our third excursion to the Giants Castle Game Reserve where you can experience an AMAZING/BREATHTAKING/EXQUISITE/WONDERFUL/MIND-BLOWING hike! It leads up to original cave paintings done by the San (Bushmen) people who lived up in the mountains. This was located in Central Drakensburg, South Africa. It was absolutely beautiful. The hike took about 45 minutes, so it wasn't too bad. It actually rained 35% of the time we were there, so we were kept cool. I LOVE nature!! Africa is SO beautiful.

Picture time!

Lots of maize. Mmmmm MAIZE.

Farmland and whatnot.

Cows are rampant.

The road, on our way to Giants Castle aka 2.5 hour drive

I ate that.

Beautiful. I mean, the scenery.

This one's for you, mom.

A close-up for all my fans.... *wink*

I thought this was worth posting.

Love it!!

This was not photoshopped

Kelly, Lauren and Kristina eating their lunch on a rock.

Wow (:

Lunch is pretty serious

Me and Allie looking cute on our hike

We arrived at the caves!

Depictions of the San (Bushmen)

I fit in, don't you think?

Yah, it's pretty intense.

Advanced Rock Art 

I never knew Middle-Earth existed in Africa.

Baby, I know.

Pretty legit.

Apparently these are drawings of humans with animal body parts...
o....k...

Musa was my guide going back. He's great!

Okay, that's all for now loves!

<3michiko

Venting.

I've had about 3 breakdowns since I've been here.

So let me just say...

A) I hate HIV
and
B) God, I pray for peace and understanding.

Love,
Mary Bette

Updates are nice (:

Hello everyone! I'm sorry i've been so bad with my updating, I promise to try and do better, ok?

So another week has past and we are in our third week here in South Africa.
In the previous post you saw how we went to a Birds of Prey exhibit and showcase which was legit.
This past weekend, February 6th, we went to Umhlanga Beach in Durban! It was awesome. The nursing girls got to go on this separate excursion. I touched the Indian Ocean and swam in it. Haha. We soaked in the bright, bright sun and had a relaxing time. I was able to read and have some time with the nursing girls. After taking a quick shower, we headed off to the biggest mall in the Southern Hemisphere! It was HUGE. It had rock climbing, a theater (the Barnyard), a movie theater, restaurants, eateries, and hundreds of shops! Popular stores here are: GAME, Woolworths, Pick N' Pay, Clicks, and many others. I like how everyone here is so friendly and you can just talk to anyone. A popular cafe here is Mugg and Bean. All the students love it there. They have an excellent menu as well as great coffee and other drinks. After two hours of mall fun, eight of us girls plus Janet and SJ (our coordinators) went to a 70s themed concert at the Barnyard Theater. It was great and so much fun. It reminded me of my dad and all his favorite songs.

Clinicals on Tuesdays and Thursdays have been good and life changing. I love the people of Africa and I cannot stress this enough. My first week of clinical I was at East Boom Clinic which exposed me to HIV/AIDS first hand. My second week I was at Ethembeni in Mpophomeni. Ethembeni is run by volunteers. They give out food parcels and other needs to the community who are suffering with HIV or other ailments. They are Christian centered (as over 90% of South Africa is Christian) and therefore give spiritual care as well. We have home visits and check up on families. Most of them live in mud-houses that are dirty with flies everywhere. They may not have much, but they are rich in their faith with God. I am so happy that nursing is not only a profession, but also a ministry to the people. I know God has a purpose and I feel myself changing in ways I cannot explain.

Yesterday I was at Mason's Clinic. This clinic is not as "top-of-the-line" like East Boom, but it is wonderful nonetheless with the friendly staff and the amazing work that they do. I feel so much more respect for nurses and nursing as a profession being here in South Africa. They deal with a lot of frustration with non-compliance here, and I don't blame them.
I was able to draw blood for laboratory today! WHOO! (Yah, it's that big of a deal). I was so excited! We also saw some pretty crazy things like anal warts, an infected boob, a weird cyst on the vag, and planar warts on the face and legs.

Life here is good. Tea and eats are always nice. I weighed myself on the scale at Mason's clinic (haha) and I lost 4 pounds! Whoo! I think it's because we eat regularly here and get much needed exercise. Yesterday we had mini-apple pies for tea time which were divine!

Did I ever type out my schedule? No? Here it is:

Monday: Class All Day til 1600
Tuesday: Clinical 0800-1430
Wednesday: Class at 0800-0900. Free time. Class at 1845-whenever
Thursday: Clinical 0800-1430
Friday:Class All Day til 1600
Saturday: EXCURSION DAY!
Sunday: Church at 0840. Free time.

Food schedule: yah, it's that important [:

Breakfast is 0730 every day except on Tuesday & Thursday its at 0700. We pack our lunch on clinical days and leave by 0700 to be at our clinical sites at about 0800.
Tea and eats at 1015 ish
Lunch at 1300
Tea and eats AGAIN at 1600
Din Din at 1800

Yes, we eat a lot here but sometimes I skip breakfast and have a late breakfast at tea and I usually skip tea at 1600. It all depends on how tubby I feel. lols!

So yah, life's good. This Saturday's excursion consists of a hike in the Drakensburg to go see original Bushmen cave paintings as well as other famous landmarks. I will share these with you again next post.

Take care all! (:

Birds of Prey

Okay, i'm sorry that i'm lagging. I really should be updating more! Sorry everyone ):
But.. ENJOI anyway (:

He was flapping his wings for me

Eagles!

I loved this owl! HEY WAKE UP!

This one was talking to me in Zulu.

Look at those eyes! They were the size of your hand! Crazy!

Bird show.

These ones can fly up to 230 mph!

I loved Birds of Prey!

That's all folks!