January 12: 5&10

I learned something new.  The famous 5&10 has a bar (Hugh Acheson from Top Chef owns/cooks there).  Mallory is moving next weekend, and I'm going to miss her being so close.  She has been such a dear friend these last three and a half years.  Wow, I can't believe it's been that long.  Her friendship has been a God-send.  From sharing life through breakups, classes, writing retreats, snowpocolyspe, surgery, and so many other memories, I am incredibly grateful for Mallory!

We went to the 5&10 bar for drinks.  It was a wonderful time catching up and talking about the next stages of life.  Ohh, and the drinks were great too.

December 23: Wrapping

Today I finished my Christmas shopping and (most) my wrapping.  Aside from that, the day was spent on the couch with some kleenex.  I enjoy seeing the presents with bright colors and glittery bows under the tree.  I also enjoy wrapping here because my mom has such great paper and ribbon options.  It's also nice to have it done (a little) in advance.  The tradition usually is a scramble on Christmas Eve (everyone is separate rooms) wrapping presents.  I don't know what I'm going to do with all this free time I'll have after our Christmas Eve service ;)

December 20: Wintery Mix Gone Rogue

When I arrived in PDX early Friday morning, I checked the forecast.  Portland was going to greet me with a wintery mix that morning.  Alas, it just rained :(  However, a highlight from the day (aside from seeing my family!) was driving my sister's new car!  Yep, her old one was giving her more trouble than it was worth and she got a steal of a deal on this new Nissan Rogue.  I love it (and may even consider the rogue when my little honda's transmission bites the dust).

December 10: Winter Dream

Last year after ASHE in Las Vegas I experienced my first cup of this deliciousness.  It's a little piece of heaven in a cup.  Yesterday, this package arrived in the mail and today I had my first cup of goodness.  Thank you Kristin for this wonderful treat!

December 5: Athens Christmas Parade

Today I had a phone interview for a faculty position at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.  The position would involved teaching (and research) in their master's program.  Phone interviews are always awkward (and it was my first for a faculty position)...especially when they start by asking you if they can record it.  What?! Yikes?! Ummm, okay.  Here are my notes, curriculum vita (CV), and cover letter.  Having notes helps me feel like I'm prepared...although can you ever really be?! 

Tonight we also had our annual UGAspa (masters & phd) holiday potluck dinner followed by the Athens parade.  Here are some pictures from the parade and some highlights of the event.

Yep, those are storm troopers.

Yep, and a REAL camel.

Tiphaine and I...and last but not least, Santa.

November 28: Thanksgiving

Megan and I made a wonderful brunch on Thanksgiving.  That evening the eight of us went into town to have a nice dinner.  We ate at a great seafood place.  I have much to be thankful for this year (and always).

November 27: Excursion

The excursion may have been my favorite part of the trip to Cabo this year.  Megan and I got up early Wednesday morning to watch the sunrise.  Yes, I got Megan out of bed before 8am ;)  It was absolutely breathtaking.  As much as I love a good sunset, there is something about a sunrise as it breaks through the darkness bringing newness and new promises AND you have to be intentional to see them.

The first part of the excursion was a city tour.  Our tour guide (for just the four of us) included a glass blowing tour, shopping, lunch, glass bottom boat ride, kayaking, and snorkeling (which was my favorite).

November 13: IEW Dessert Reception

We held a dessert reception on Wednesday night honoring those students who completed our global leadership certificate, and who doesn't love desserts from around the world.  We purchased many of the  items and our students also contributed many of the selections you see in front of you.  I tried a bunch of them!  The plantain chips were maybe my favorite.  Yumm.

November 10: Boybutante Brunch

Today I attended the Boybutante brunch as a fundraiser for Aids Athens.  It's a lovely lunch at The National and a drag show.  The brunch was a-ma-zing and I laughed a lot during the 'show'.  The drag queens and kings lip-synced and danced…and some did so in 6 inch heels (that's impressive).

November 9: Game Night

Ginny and I hung out Saturday night.  After a day of cleaning and trying to be productive, it was nice to grab dinner, ice cream, and play games with a dear friend.  We played two rounds of Ticket to Ride, or what I often refer to as, trains.  I won the first game!  And the second...take a good look, we tied at 110pts.  I'm not sure that's ever happened to me in this game...maybe it just means I need to play more often.

October 19: Carving Pumpkins

I'm not sure what happened to this post, but I realized I skipped over October 19th when updating my blog.  No, I didn't skip over it.  I remember writing this post, but where it went, I have no idea.

On this day, my sister and I went shopping for pumpkins in my churches pumpkin patch.  Yep, my church is the 'pumpkin' church, but that's another story & not the point of this post.

Also, this was Tiffanie's first ever pumpkin carving.  I think she did an excellent job!  We sat around and watched Halloween movies (Practical Magic) while we carved pumpkins.

Ps. I know this is way more than one picture, but no one said I only had to do one picture a day. Also, check out my stylish look with a stripped shirt and my pumpkin pants. Yep, I'm fashion forward.

October 16: Favorite Things

I don't want to go into a picture a day post thinking I'll fail, but it is hard to think about a picture to represent my day. I may be over thinking this. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, so maybe this will get easier as it goes.

Anyway, I'm going to attempt this picture a day thing... on October 16, 2013, I turned 33. The day was filled with lots of reminders that I'm loved. Moreover, my sister also came into town (both for work and for play). After picking her up in Atlanta, we went to dinner and then headed back to Athens where we picked up some ice cream cake bites for dessert! I do LOVE ice cream cake. Having her in town until Sunday is also a special treat.

Leaving Cape Town

On Sunday morning, June 17th approximately 80 students, Chase, Lori, Christina, and I headed to the airport for the trip back to Atlanta (Chase & Lori headed to France)!

Those rearranging to meet weight requirements

Christina and I are ready to head home (bitter sweet)!

I had to get a picture with Ish. Sad it was on the last day. He's a remarkable man.

Leaving Cape Town (this was actually taken by a student as we arrived; but still an amazing photo with the South African flag on the wing and table mountain in the background!)

On the way out to Cape Town, we had a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt. Thankfully, the layover wasn't that long on the return, however, it was still long enough to leave the airport and head into the city!
Sharanya and Claire in front of the train station

We found  a nice coffee and pastry place to have breakfast!

The pastry place where we had breakfast

Haha! Reminded us of home, even in Germany!

We were in the heart of the city

DB: a really large train station in the heart of the city

Random: but the walk and don't walk are green & red (no little white man telling you what to do)

Old fashion departure flight board; Frankfurt is one of the busiest airports in the world

Back in the airport with our train tickets.

And then we were on our way home.  We left Cape Town at 10:30am on Sunday and arrived home in Atlanta at 4:30pm on Monday.  Calculating time difference and travel, we estimate 38 hours of travel almost 21 hours on a plane.

Upon arriving in Atlanta, my luggage, however, was not there to greet me.  I took some comfort in the airline knowing it wasn't going to arrive :/  Yet, I was nervous because I brought back a couple of bottles of wine (and I was hoping the delay wasn't due to some sort of luggage catastrophe).  But the luggage arrived on Wednesday! WOOHOO!

All in all the trip was a great experience, but I was happy to have my feet on the ground and to sleep in my own bed...and even better when my luggage and me were both safely home!

Last Week in South Africa! :/

The last week was filled with lots of wonderful moments and it was the first time in weeks that all 143 students were back together!

Gerard's house where we had class

Monday: 

After class the academic staff went to the Mount Nelson hotel for High Tea! What a wonderful time!

 

Lori, me, and Mallory enjoying our tea and delicious treats (sweet and savory)

Our terrace overlooked the fountain and the grounds

Mallory taking a dive in the fountain

I became the holder of stuff :)

The academic staff (& Lori who we were happy to have!)

The Mount Nelson (from the backside)

The grounds were incredible.

After dinner I met up with some students at Bombay Bicycle. It's a fun restaurant that specializes both in ambiance and local South African cuisine.

Claire, Karishma, Michelle, and me

The chairs were swings hung from the ceiling!

So fun!

Although we didn't sit here for dinner; we got to snap a picture and sit as we waited for our taxi!

The taxi back was packed (21 people!) yikes! But it meant a cheap fare!

Wednesday: Final township celebration

All 143 students and staff headed back to the township for a final celebration. There were performances by both the global lead(ers) and the people from Sun City.  We also had a chance to visit with our family one last time. Each group was partnered with a soup mom or other family during our week.  Ms. Veronica and her family was our South African family for the week.

Emma, Kelly, Emily, Ms. Veronica, Anna Claire, me, and Elena

So sad about the shadow on Samatha's face. These are two of the young women I connected with throughout the week.  Baby Kelly is named after a former Global Leader.  Kaylee and Samantha are both extremely smart and I hope the best for them in their futures!

Thursday:

As we encouraged the students to think more about their transition back home, we did a poverty simulation to help them better understand poverty in the US. 

Friday: 

The reading rebels came and visited with us during class. The program (in Sun City) is supported by Global Lead. It targets students who are in gangs/fighting and hopes to turn them into productive members of society by giving them money in exchange for reading a book a month.  That evening I did some shopping and had dinner at the V&A waterfront.

Last amazing sunset

Friday night was then spent grading blue books!

Saturday: Old Biscuit Mill

Back to Old Biscuit Mill! Delicious latte!

If I haven't talked about the Chocolatire and the delectable homemade chocolate ice cream...there are no words for JUST how good it is! They would even pour chocolate shell on top. Yumm.

Claire, Haley, and me 

I talked everyone into ice cream. They didn't regret their decisions!

I was sad to say goodbye to Old Biscuit Mill, however, I'm sure all the delicious treats contributed to bit of extra weight I brought back with me from Cape Town ;)