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"If I say, 'surely the darkness shall fall on me,' even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shine as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You." -Psalm 139:11-12

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Learn the Culture: 1st Thursdays Every first Thursday of the month in downtown Cape Town some of the art galleries open for free, and food places have deals on food and drinks. I was able to have the opportunity to take part in the festivities this past Thursday. We started by going to a digital media studio that served free wine and provided us with space and material to play around with our own art. I had my first drink in SA there; a dry white wine. I don't know if it was good wine or not; I've never been a fan of wine. Communion wine is good 😜 I used pencil, which is the medium of art I have by far the most experience in (besides engineering, but that's a topic for another day). I was thinking about Jesus! Thankfully too, the glass of wine didn't effect me. Contemplations Over a Glass of Wine We went through one small art gallery, and one persons art particularly intrigued me. It was done by a lady who was coping with fear. The colors and themes of wing

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." -John 14:2-4

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Learn the Culture: African Dance I pray that I can portray accurately to the extent of my knowledge what is African dance and what it means to the African people. As you know I'm in the process of learning the Zulu warrior dance, and have just purchased my first lappa for next Wednesday's dance! A lappa is basically a long skirt, but the patterns, like the dances, are stunning! Professor Rani told us to get one that "speaks to you, so that you can look at it and remember these times." I originally wanted one with green, like Rani's beautiful pants, but after seeing some patterns with red, I realize I need some red in mine, the color of war. I picked on out that has beautiful circular patterns of red and blue in concentric circles with white contrasting brilliantly with them. Later I realized I had picked the color's of my country. Enough of my treasure hunting! I would like to talk about some of the things I've learned by ear and eye of African dance.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." -Psalm 46:10-11

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Learn the Culture: Poverty and Crime in Cape Town After church last Sunday, where I learned that my friend Mitchell had been stabbed, I said hello to a man I assumed was a part of the congregation, taking part of the coffee after the service. Only after he blatantly told me, "I have been 15 years on the street," did I see his clothing and backpack and realize he was a homeless man. He wouldn't make consistent eye contact with me as he told me of his 'secret,' that he had a son and he quickly asked me to come with him a couple blocks down the street to 'buy his son a meal' at the fast food place there. Thankfully I was riding home with Wesley (our missions mentor) so I pawned off the responsibility easily to him who had a better understanding of dealing with poor folks in town and so that I wouldn't compromise my own safety. He disappeared. As we left he was waiting outside and urged me to ask. I asked Wesley if I could buy the man a meal. He said no.

"And the children of Israel said to them, 'Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.'" -Exodus 16:3

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Itinerary: Week 3 (Sun, Feb 9 - Sun, Feb 16) Events: Mon, Feb 10 - Fri, Feb 14: First Week of Classes: Wow! Hectic, but God was faithful! ISA Excursions: Sat, Feb 15: Old Biscuit Mill: An opportunity to shop for some interesting homemade goods and eat delicious food! The Old Biscuit Mil: Yikes! We'll try from left to right... Back: Mitchell Wall, Brett, Chaz, Martin, Elizabeth, me, Bo, Kenneth Middle: Grace, Olivia, Emily, Mercy, Gil, Esther, Katie Front: Megan, Morgan, Jane, Salamine Learn the Culture: UCT Class Registration and Add Drop Period My intent is not to complain or paint a bad picture of UCT's academic system out of spite, but to inform of the hardships of studying abroad, that I most certainly didn't expect, to prepare students interested in studying here. I mentioned in my last post about registration, that it was hectic and done on paper. We registered Friday of last week (not this resent Friday) which involved figuring out which

"Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?" -Proverbs 20:6

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Itinerary: Week 2 (Mon, Feb 3 - Sat, Feb 8) Events: Tue, Feb 4 - Fri, Feb 7: UCT Orientation and Registration: Only for international students. Covered topics from curriculum to gender based violence. Drum Cafe came in for an interactive performance on traditional African drums! Hectic paper registration! Wed, Feb 5:  Peninsula Tour: Bus tour around the peninsula where Cape Town rests. Visited the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, which are gorgeous! Fri, Feb 7: Church Picnic: Watched the sunset and met more members of Hope City Presbyterian! Sunset Church Picnic: My roommate Brett and friend Gil. Sat, Feb 8: Rugby:  My first rugby game and the largest sporting event I've ever attended. In the Dhl Newlands Stadium. The Dhl Stormers (our team) vs. the Vodacom (my phone company here) Bulls. We won. Learn the Culture: Gender Based Violence in Cape Town Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in this topic! I'm just trying to be helpful in processing a problem our

"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." -Matthew 10:39

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Hello! This is the first post of a weekly blog I will be writing covering my time studying abroad in South Africa! I'm going to split my post into four major themes: Itinerary , Learn the Culture ,  SPIRITUAL LIFE , and 'join me.' Here's how it'll look! Itinerary : Week 1+1/2 (Wed, Jan 22 - Sun, Feb 2) I have been fortunate to be with a pretty ambitious group of students that are very inclusive in the excursions they plan! Also, having just arrived, ISA (International Studies Abroad) had several excursions that we were able to go on for free...ish! Here's the low down. Life Events: Wed, Jan 22:  Left home:  I left around noon after hurrying to unpack my overweight suitcase. Flew out of Minneapolis at 5:00pm and landed in Chicago at 7:00pm. Flew out of the States at 9:25pm for an eight and a half hour flight to Munich, Germany. Had a six hour layover before flying out to Cape Town, arriving at 8am Friday morning. Roughly Mon, Jan 27: Normalized: My bo