First day of classes

Actually, the title should read "first day of class" because there's only one a day. Today's was African Worldview. It looks to be a really interesting class--diving deep into African traditional religious beliefs and how they've interacted with the church in Africa, particularly Southern/South Africa. There's really no better place to study it--a third of my classmates have first-hand experience growing up around traditional religions.

Here's an interesting thought too: ancestor worship--only a part of Africa, or in the US? I think I'm going to post it on Facebook and see what responses come up.

This weekend was really busy and crazy-fun and adventurous. We tried to go to the wild animal park again. This time is was me, Orit, Ruth, Manachem, Orit's two nieces and one nephew, and the friend of one of the nieces. We were all loaded up in the 4x4 with plenty of food for a picnic--and then about a mile or so into the park, the radiator in the 4x4 goes kablooey with a big, smoky puff! *laughs* Fun, eh?

So Ruth calls AA and Manachem figures out how to back the vehicle down the whole way back. It's going at a snail's pace, so Orit and I each grab two kids and head off back to the braai-ing/park/pool area. Orit tries to take a short-cut; I opt for the main road, because I don't trust my sense of direction out here, nor hers particularly. The walk is uneventful, involving pictures and water breaks and mixed nut breaks and lots of talking; afterwards I take the girls out for ice cream at the park tuck shop and, after searching around for Orit, we meet up with Ruth at the playground.

Meanwhile, Orit's gotten lost with the other two kids, calls Ruth, and ends up being fetched by park employees--turns out she was on an old four-wheeler path. They DID get to see a lot of animals up-close though, including zebras and springboks. One of the kids had left their shoes in the 4x4, so Orit had to walk barefoot because she gave the kid her flip-flops! After this whole incident, I was dubbed "Safety Lady" by my two girls. *rolls eyes and smiles* All credit goes to working at Camp Susque last summer. I'm just glad Orit made it out alright with her two kids.

Then we had a picnic, I played with the kids while Orit and Ruth sorted out the car-towing stuff, and then we went back to Ruth and Manachem's, I chilled out on a chair, and then we had a nice braai.

Sunday was spent praying, studying, working on a Vday package for Someone Special, and yeah, more reading and studying.

Load shedding--just plain annoying! I wanted to skype some people today, then Blip! Out goes the power for three hours! Canned tuna and raw veggies for supper--pretty good actually. Life remains interesting here in South Africa. Bye for now.

PS--By the way, I chose Peacemaking and Reconciliation--or rather, I think it chose me. First class is tomorrow!