Colorado Bound!

Sooooo. I’m coming home early. (: Tonight actually, how exciting!

I realized that I’m not very good at keeping up with blogging because I find it hard to bring myself to make time for the computer haha, and I run out of things to say! I guess the easiest, most logical thing to talk about would be,

“Well Brittany, what did you learn from this experience?”

The answer? A million things! I think that, first off, it broadened my horizon. Did you know that Americans aren’t the only people on earth? Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget that there is a whole world out here; what a precious thing to waste. I’ve learned that humility goes a long way and that a smile is universal, no matter what culture. I’ve learned that I like walking places: you see more that way. I’ve learned that Union Colony is the best school EVER and that I look dreadful in a school uniform. (; Also that sunshine and fresh air really can fix almost anything, and you can find them anywhere on the planet.

I’ve also learned that some of the best people on the planet live in South Africa, and that sometimes friendships are formed simply because it’s meant to be: these are the friendships that will never be broken, learned that God truly is in every corner of the world and he will always find you. 2 Chronicles 16:9–”For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him”. He truly takes care of his children. I’ve learned that there is nothing like getting up at 6:00 in the morning to watch the sun rise over the ocean from the beach. Stunning.

I’ve learned that there is no place like home, and by home, everyone knows I mean Colorado. (: We are so miraculously blessed to live in that amazing place. Colorado Rocky Mountain high, yeah? (: I’ve decided to go to CSU and study secondary education, art teacher style! I’ve been so blessed with such amazing art teachers that I never realized that not all art teachers are so brilliant. Cough cough, if I can save one kid from having a Fish Hoek art class, then that’s what I will do. What can I say, I’m a giver. (;

I’ve learned that I actually do hate tv, I wasn’t just saying that. Goodbye, direct tv, you are a waste of my time.

I plan on coming back to South Africa when my host sister Monique gets married. The Clapps have become such a huge part of my lives, as well as the Stiles, and I plan on frequent visits (which my rich husband will pay for.) It’s a fool-proof plan.

Mountains > beaches.

Can’t wait to be home.

 

Just a boring Soap Box

This is a boring soap box. If you don’t like it, don’t read my blog. (:

Okay, let me just say, that I think that being happy is a choice, and I get really irritated when people just sulk all the time. I just feel like the energy spent victimizing themselves could be used for such positive things! I mean, there are honestly so many phenomenal things in life that we miss because we are so preoccupied with “how busy my day was” or “how crappy my morning was” or “how much my boss sucks”. Everyone is always so concerned with making appointments on time and how bad things are everyone else’s fault that we forget to stop and appreciate how beautiful everything is! Seriously, if you stop on the street just for 30 seconds, I’ll bet you see people who you (should be) like “Wow, that person is truly beautiful. The way she carries herself is so pretty.” or “Wow, he has a spectacular smile!” Same thing with um, the mountains?! Most of the people who read this are from Colorado. Look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that we are not lucky to live where we do. My goodness, every day the mountains look different than the day before!!! I’m saying this from my time here in South Africa, the beach is stunning, and the stars are lovely. But there is NOTHING like a Colorado sunrise or laying out in a field looking at stars. People need to stop complaining about how they just can’t wait to get out of this town and appreciate how wonderful everything is!! (:

I would also like to just say that God is soooooo good to us. He truly takes care of his children, if he didn’t, first off I would NOT be in sunny Cape Town right now, and I probably wouldn’t live in Colorado. I am so immensely spoiled!! My faith hit a rough spot when I first arrived here, and it has always been a constant struggle to maintain the balance of my relationship with Christ and my relationships with other people (and that’s all people, not just boy. (: haha). I think being here even for the short time that I have been has strengthened my grip on my faith so very much. It’s one thing to attend a rockin’ church with amazing people, where being with God is seriously like a party all the time and you don’t really have to choose to go. It’s another to go to a more mellow, old school church where the people don’t radiate with passion for Jesus and to still try to feel the fire. I’ve noticed that when I get reallllly homesick, it is generally because I haven’t been diligent about practicing my faith. Jesus and I are BFF’s, and so obviously I am more likely to be unhappy when I am missing him so much!

I guess. I just want to challenge everyone to smile more and be positive. (: My best friend always tells me that life here is all we get, and there’s not enough time to waste it being sad, and I believe that to be 100% true. Sometimes if we just step out of ourselves and take a breath of fresh air, we realize that being happy is so much more rewarding, and when you’ve got sunshine-y energy running through your veins, you realize you’ve got extra to give. There is no better feeling than to just do an anonymous act of random kindness. Sometimes you’re the only joy anyone gets to see in a day, why would anyone want to deprive them of that?

Happiness is a choice, but joy is a privilege that we get to enjoy when we just give into being happy. It’s something you feel when you’ve worked really hard to be happy, and God just kind of pours it into your entire being. It’s effortless. I think we all, as a whole, (myself included) need to focus on how incredibly outstanding this life is! Love more. Spread joy. (:

The end!

The Coloradan’s Guide to Homesickness in South Africa

10 Do’s and Don’ts to surviving homesickness when across the globe, by Brittany. (:

1. MOUNTAINS. They may not be much here, but sometimes if you squint your eyes, tilt your head sideways, spin around in circles for about an hour, and it’s the middle of the night, they can pass as foothills.

2. DON’T get sick. It, first off, makes you miss your wonderful Mama (who babies you) and your boy (who brings you Sprite) when you’re ill and second off, it’s not fun. It’s uncomfortable being sick in someone else’s home. It’s miserably hot as it is. You don’t know how high your temperature is because ’38.6′ means absolutely nothing other than that seems a little bit unhealthily FREEZING for a human body to be.

3. TWO MINUTE NOODLES, also known as RAMEN. Heck yeah. Just as much sodium as American noodles, these beauties also use processed powder that isn’t really real food and probably cause cancer. What more could you ask for, really?

4. MXIT. Ohhhh yeah. (: Only for South Africans and people with smart phones. It’s an app that allows you to text your BFF Brittany no matter where in the world you are since it sends messages over the internet instead of using the network provider.

5. GREEN TEA. Lots of it.

6. DON’T  do romantic comedies. They remind you of the beautiful twin you watch them with at home, and also they just make you bitter.

7. Whoever said math is the same in every country (Lindsey Lohan) lied. It is NOT the same in every country. It makes me love IMP. Honestly and truly, I know. I know. The only thing that is the same in every country is art. Stick with art.

8. DO the Jesus thing. It’s rewarding no matter where you are. (:

9. DO the highest SPF sunscreen you can, and pray for a little tan. They say the African sun is hotter than the Colorado sun, but I’ve actually burnt less here in the past 3 weeks than I usually burn within 3 days in those beloved mountains. So distract yourself with the fact that there are real beaches here!!! and take advantage of it. Beachy and Bronze, baby! (:

10. BE HAPPY! Look for the positive, life changing aspects of the experience rather than the things or people you miss. Dwelling on home is counterproductive! This life is beautiful, enjoy the places you’ll go!!

Sunny Cape Town, the Wizarding World

Here is where I go into an extended metaphor comparing Cape Town to Harry Potter. If you know already that you’ll be dreadfully confused by this metaphor, get off my blog.

Being in Cape Town. Is like being a muggle in the Weasly home. Everyone keeps asking me really….charming….questions. About cheese graters and shoes and mountains. (By the way, these South Africans are all so proud of their mountains here, which are, by the way, beautiful, but are still just foothills). Really though. Everyone is like “Hey foreign girl, say my name with your accent!” and they think it’s just the most charming thing to ever happen to them. People ask me if America is truly like the movies, to which I generally reply, “if only”.

Apart from muggle-dom. I’m so entirely out of my element! I honestly have to ask the most unintelligent questions, because if I don’t and I just  assume, they think I’m a complete idiot. Which might be true. They have different symbols for units and say words that are just common here, but I have no clue what it could even come close to meaning. Like Harry Potter when he discovered the world of magic. Only this place isn’t quite as magical, and people love me even more. (; Just kidding, I have zero friends thus far.

We all wear uniforms: Hogwarts style. Like. Button up and tie and skirt and tall stockings and ugly shoes. No one is allowed to wear make-up or jewelry, even earrings (which everyone does anyways), and what’s worse is that the men have to be clean shaven. I KNOW. Dreadful shame too, because a vast majority of these bronze, muscley surfers would look just dashing with some scruff. But oh well. Really, all we’re missing is the cloak and cauldron.

OH YES! The top year here (our seniors) are called Matrics. I am a Matric. We have our own bathroom and corridor and staircase and everything. It’s brilliant, really. I feel very superior.

My family is phenomenal. Honestly, I love them. Especially Nicholas. We watch musicals together and make fun of everybody. It’s pretty much a perfect fit, this family. I can’t even explain how much I adore all of them already. It’s going to be a spectacular 6 months.

I miss you all already like mad. P.s. the time difference is 9 hours, if you were wondering.

ALSO. For all of you Coloradans that have never been to a beach. All day every day. And it’s absolutely stunning. Today it was 113 degrees F. Good Gosh. Maybe I’ll come back all bronzey and beachy. (; But probably not.

 

I don’t really have a lot of time to get online for this stupid blog, mostly because I don’t feel like making time for it, but it is what it is. Have a stupendous day, my millions of readers. Or 2. It’s whatever.

Art for thought

Hello again! (:

Just thought I’d bring to your attention the “art for thought” section on this blog. It’s full of wonderful things that I really think are worth checking out. I’ll probably update that section more than this one, so keep tabs on it! (:

ALSO! I have FINALLY uploaded some of my own art onto this wonderful internet society. Check it out and give me feedback! (:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/britelaine ….I’ll try to keep that updated as well.

Also, (so many also’s…) I just thought I’d let you all know about this spectacular little  place I recently discovered at one of my poetry slams the other day. It’s called Batter Up, and It’s just this great little place in downtown Greeley that you can go and hang out or play music or eat yummy things or whatever. I’m extremely upset that I JUST NOW discovered it, it’s truly great.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Batter-Up-Cakes/124042847668152

Well, I suppose that’s that! I leave in 3 days, and I apologize to anyone that I didn’t get to see before I left!  Have a wonderful day, you fantastic souls, you!

almost there…

This is my host family!! Steven, Lizel, Monique, and Nicolas. Don’t they just look so full of joy? (; They live in beautiful Fish Hoek, a suburb of Cape Town, just a short walk away from the beach and I am ecstatic! Very artistic and musical, this family is already very close to my heart as they have welcomed me with open arms into their home, and I’m not even there yet!!

So…FAQ’s…I’ll just get them out of the way. Yes, I will live in Cape Town (or Fish Hoek) for six months. I will live in this fabulous family’s home and will finish out this year of High School at Fish Hoek High, where I have to wear a plaid skirt and a blazer. Pictures to come…I guess. Yes, all of my credits will transfer and I will be taking a zillion art classes there. Hurrah! (: The plane ride is about 30 hours long, 35 (I believe) with lay-overs. I will go from Denver to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam, and then I will land in Cape Town. It is very warm where I’m going, and also humid, so my hair is just not going to do well. But I’m gonna grow it out while I’m there, if any of you care that much.

I realize as I write this that I’m not super good at blogging, so nothing I say is exceptionally interesting. Before I leave, probably nothing I have to say will be, but that’s okay.

ugh, another intro…

Hello! My name is Brit. I like sunshine, the mountains, and summer. And this is my blog.

Basically. I’m not huge into blogging. But I’m about to embark on an exhilarating adventure to Sunny Cape Town, South Africa and I figured it might be clever to have some sort of tool to keep everyone updated with.

This will not be the most exciting blog you will ever read. Nor will it change your life. I’m just from a random town in beautiful Colorado and I’m pretty much exactly like everyone else here, but you might see some sweet artwork and get wonderful “Be happy and healthy” tips, so it might be worth your while to check this out every once in a while.

I look forward to being friends with you. Welcome to my life. (: