Behavior Change

Its late and I am coming off of one of the most intense/exciting/interesting weeks of my entire life, so forgive me if this post is a bit jumbled. In an attempt to digest before writing this post will be dedicated much more to pictures and much less to words.

SPRUNG

Last weekend our whole house took a two-hour drive to Worcester for a 24-hour outdoor concert held at an ostrich farm. Whereas Vermont has rolling green hills and lazy cows, South Africa countryside supplies rocky mountains and fierce baboons. Despite these small differences (baboons.. what?!?!), I couldn't help but feel a little at home as we left the concrete of Cape Town behind. Unloading after a long week in the office we piled into the car for a gorgeous country side drive, set up camp alongside thousands of South African hippies and hipsters, and plopped down in an open field to enjoy a sunset before making our way over to the concert. The temperature at night was a bit chillier than anticipated which resulted in a 6am drive back to Cape Town, but all in all it was a really nice way to escape city life for a few hours.

  

GENERATION SKILLZ

This past week I spent Monday-Thursday at the Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha. Grassroot Soccer is just launching its newest curriculum, Generation Skillz, which is an HIV prevention program that is targeted at High School students and that addresses the four key risk-drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa: gender-based violence, multiple concurrent partners, alcohol abuse, and intergenerational/transactional sex. I have a lot to say about how this week went, but need a few days to digest it all before I can write. What I can say is that it was one of the most eye-opening/shocking/intense/rewarding weeks of my entire life. The transition in our coaches from Day 1 to Day 4 was one of the most inspirational things I have ever witnessed. There are pictures and lots of stories to come about this, but for now, I really have to just sit back and process.

I miss all of you and hope that things in the States, or wherever you may be, are going well. Its been a month since I arrived in South Africa and already I can sense that my life has completely changed for the better. Sending lots and lots of love to all of you. -Charlotte