Teaching and Trekking

Day 4 Breakfast: Weetbix and warm milk                   .39 cents tea                                                     .02 cents Snack: Apple                                                .12 cents  Dinner: pap                                                     .11 cents beans                                                  .41 cents (yikes!) 4 slices of toast                                  .16 cents  (should've stuck with just two) instant coffee                                     .04 cents Total for the Day: $1.25 Day 5 Breakfast: Weetbix and warm milk                      .39 cents 1/2 instant coffee                                 .02 cents Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jam sandwich         .25 cents juice box                                              .10 cents mini bag of peanuts                             .10 cents the juice box and peanuts were provided by SHAWCO, an organization I volunteer with. I do not believe they would give us anything m

I woke up at 5:30 this morning to do Taebo with some friends. I am never good at working out in the morning because it always makes me dizzy to start moving so early.  Some people say you need to eat something first thing in the morning and some say you need to work out before you eat. I went to Taebo on an empty stomach that was still growling from last night. I left the class one time because I felt nauseous... someone else came out for a one minute break and told me, "You should eat just an apple before you work out in the morning so that you're not full and your not empty". I thought to myself, "That would mean 0.12 cents of my budget for the day would be gone before 8am..." I've never been much of a dieter. I've only aimed for goals of changing my lifestyle to eat healthier. I've gone through phases of cutting out refined sugar, red meat, all meat, dairy and eggs, but I have never limited the amount of intake of food. Ive always had the option

Today I started with the same breakfast as yesterday, and the same breakfast I will probably eat all week: Weetbix and milk I knew I was going to have a long day so I packed a snack... but didn't end up eating it because I had a big lunch and didn't want to waste the money. For lunch, I attended a Bhakti Yoga Society meeting, that my friend and I attend almost every week. These meetings usually have guest speakers who talk about Vedic religious beliefs which include reincarnation, vegetarianism, importance of relaxation techniques, and today we listened to and learned to sing Hare Krishna. I do not have a particular religious preference, but these meetings are very informational and interesting because I can often apply what they are saying to my life. The fundamental belief is that all religions are founded on the same beliefs... I find reassurance in that. :-) The meal consisted of rice, curry, veggie balls, sauteed veggies, one samosa, cake, and a chickpea fudge b

I have taken on the challenge to "live below the line" for the next 5 days. This means, I am essentially eating only $1.50 of food a day in order to experience a few days of what billions of people living below the poverty line go through on a daily basis. Since I am living in South Africa, I will work out my budget based on the South African rand and convert it to American dollars. The currency exchange right now is 1USD to 7.87ZAR. I should spend a total of $7.50 (59.02 ZAR) over the next five days. More information on the project and the cause can be found at www.livebelowtheline.com Today I bought some inexpensive groceries to add to what I already have in the pantry. Here is what I bought Weetbix- a South African cereal that comes in the form of a biscuit   = per biscuit   .79ZAR/ .10cents Rooibos- South African tea                                                                  = per bag         .20ZAR/ .02cents Instant noodles- similar to American Ramen

                     This Friday I spent the day at Fezeka high school in the Xhosa speaking Gugulethu Township with the organization called Education Without Borders. My friend, Veeral, has told me about this organization before, and he asked me to take photos of a sporting event they were having so that they may use the photos for a fundraiser for their sports program. I was so excited to finally see the school that he has been talking about and to check out what they are doing. When I arrived at the school I was happy to see older students with smiles on their faces. I am used to volunteering with and teaching younger students who are usually just excited to have any kind of attention, but the joy of working with older students is that they have established passions, motivations, goals, and dreams... The students that Education Without Borders work with are students that chose to be in the after school program, dedicate their time everyday to the program, and show strong potentia

On Sunday I spent a wonderful day with a family from my host Rotary club. This family is French-speaking from Mauritius and thought I would enjoy a relaxing day in a French-influenced town in the Western Cape called Franschoek. Not only did I enjoy a lovely meal and beautiful scenery, I was also informed of the historical background of the area from the amazing family who has taken me under their wing for the day. Our first stop was at a wine farm, the whole room smelled like wine! The name of Franschoek is Dutch for "French corner." In the 1650's this town was a refuge for the French Hueguenot settlers in the Dutch Cape Colony. French Hueguenot monument in Franschoek When we arrived in town we ate at a restaurant called French Connection. I ordered the local river fish of Kingklip, a meaty white fish, and it was delicious. Then we went to a chocolate store to get some deserts and I bought gooseberry jam and fig jam for my toast at home. On