hello at last,

I am finally home from a fantastic three week vacation as well as starting at work.

Aerin and I took a trip south along the coast stopping once in each region along the way. Our stops included the heart of Xhosa country at Port St. John's and Jefferies Bay, and continued into the beginnings of Afrikaaner SA in Wilderness and Swellendam. We travelled through African jungle, endless plains and huge mountains and it was quite the site seeing adventure. Our last week we travelled to Zululand with some of our housemates. Now to try and give you all the details I think would be impossible in my time on this computer but to give you a taste we hiked, took a river cruise, rode horses, galloped on the beach, surfed, snorkled, had some briaas, went on a game tour in SA's most beautiful reserve, bummed on the beach and more. It was quite an amazing trip that really revitalized me.

When I arrived home on Tuesday night I was told that I had to leave for my first camp at 8 in the morning. I had no clue to expect out of this but it turned out to be a fantastic three days. We were running a leadership/ team building camp for some high school prefects and it was alot of fun with many activities, good food, and some crazy hikes. My job lies somewhere between camp counselor and guide. In fact, one of the hikes I ended up leading because I knew the way from my time visiting L'abri before and the others were helping campers down some of the more difficult parts. At the end, I got to swing off a rope into a big water fall pool. Our other hike was three hours over a very difficult trial, with the reward of jumping from a 10 meter water fall. I was the first one over the edge on account of everyone else being too scared. The campers agreed that I was quite an insane person which greatly tickled me. Now somehow I was able to come out of my shell and really bond with people which is something for me because I am usually a pretty shy guy. Anyway, I'm feeling really positive about my new job and I can't wait for my next camp this friday.

In the meantime I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the house while everyone else is at work. I think I am going to need to find something to occupy myself with while I'm not at L'abri though.

Ok so I know this is a short post for me being away so long but there are really too many details and I am still adjusting into my normal schedule. But let me say that travelling gave me some interesting new perspectives of South Africa because I was able to interact with the white population here. As synical as they are about their country and all its flaws, most of them really appear to have a deep sense of responsibility to prevent this country from becoming like the rest of Africa. They are also trying hard to shed the stigma attached to being a white South African because much of the world views them as racists. While I am certain that these people exist, those whom I met on my trip were down-to-earth, friendly and in most cases extremely helpful when we needed it. Coming back home to predominantly black PMB has almost evoked a question of where do I fit in in this country. You don't really notice how out of place you appear until suddenly you are surrounded by people of your color and culture. Anyway, I would like to believe that I am something more than just the white foreigner and my collueges at work certainly helped me feel like I had a place here.

So there is a huge line behind me and I only have six minutes left. I hope my last comments weren't too scatterbrained for you but the more I think about it now the more I realize how complex the world is as well as finding your own niche in it.

So long for now