Cato Revisited

Happy belated Halloween! And happy belated birthday to my wonderful mother dearest J

This past week was absolutely nuts and chaotic. I spent the majority of the week fine tuning my 25 page paper on South Africa’s Brain Drain. Not necessarily the most fun I have ever had, but I guess it didn’t kill me to act like a student for a week. Actually, after a few days of absorbing myself in stacks of literature on my topic, I started to have this sick desire to continue my work. I guess that helped me get through the week.

After we handed in our papers, all we wanted to do was have fun. But no worries, I restrained myself from having too much fun because I started work with the Down Syndrome Association the next day. So far everything has gone splendidly with the association. I have already had the chance to conduct several interviews and meet many influential people in the field of Down syndrome. Today I actually visited a government hospital with the outreach coordinator. It was quite shocking to see the hundreds of people waiting throughout the hospital just register to see a nurse. Sadly, many of the people arrive at 5 am in the morning with their children and will never see a nurse.

Going back to the weekend, on Saturday afternoon I traveled back to my home in Cato Manor. It was absolutely wonderful to see my family again and have a tasty, home cooked, South African meal. I felt like I was back where I belong…I knew where all the cups were kept, sat on my Mama’s plastic covered couches, and most importantly, watched Janet Jackson music videos. It was really hard for me to leave my family again after such a great evening with them. I hope to be able to visit them at least one more time before I must leave the city of Durban.

Yesterday, I went on a run, napped on the beach, and went shopping. Probably one of the most relaxing days I could ever have. It was amazing.

And now it’s the week. I will visit more hospitals and clinics this week with my organization. It’s going to be a great week of learning and challenges. Have a good one!