December Holidays

Well, COS (Close of Service) conference is over, and we’re back at site.  You could definitely say COS was bittersweet.  On the one hand, it’s amazing that we’ve all come this far.  Our group has been in South Africa for almost two years, and people have done wonderful work in their villages.  COS definitely brought forth feelings of accomplishment and, of course, people are starting to look forward to going back to America.  On the other hand, it’s always sad to say goodbye.  Some members of our cohort will be leaving in the next few weeks, and who knows when we’ll see each other again.  We’ve shared an experience that few people will ever understand, and it’s difficult knowing that this adventure is coming to an end.  Regardless of the mixed feelings, it was a great week including a trivia night and a TIA (this is Africa) party that featured some amazing costumes.

Now we’re back at site until December 28.  We’ll spend Christmas here and then travel to the Wild Coast (beach) for a few days before doing a six day hike with a couple of volunteer friends.  There is a small soccer tournament here this weekend, but it’s otherwise fairly quiet in the village now.  The boarding students are of course gone for the holidays, but a good number of other people are off visiting family as well.  I’m sure we’ll still get plenty of visitors next week though!