Dreamcatcher South Africa

           Sheep chilling next to the prettiest view           One afternoon, Anthea, Ineke, and I traveled to a spot to get the best view of a mountain named "Sleeping Beauty." It looks like a woman sleeping; her face is so detailed you can even see her eyelashes, which are actually two indigenous trees standing next to each other. It was beautiful to see and reflect on what nature can create. It's important to take care of the environment. I want the next generation to be able to see all the beautiful places I've been to, like this mountain.  Sleeping Beauty reminded me of the mountain in the movie 'Moana' it looked like she could come to life, as she did in the movie and just like the movie she will turn to ash and stone if we don't protect her - her beauty will disappear, and her existence will be questioned by future generations.  Fish and chips at the dock!           After Sleeping ...

  Building the garden (Warning: construction site)!                       One of the projects Dreamcatcher is working on is putting up a garden in the back of the office. It's been a long time coming but we finally started setting up the enclosure for all the vegetables and herbs we will grow. The idea behind the garden is not only to inspire healthy eating habits but also to teach self-sustainability and good marketing skills- as people create their own opportunities to grow economically. It was cool to watch the project come together and be reminded of how strong the Dreamcatcher volunteers and workers are when they come together- putting ideas into action! In the beginning, the backyard was a complete mess! There were bricks and trash everywhere, and definitely no space to grow a garden. My hope is to help start the garden before it's time for me to leave. I love gardening and it would be a perfect send-off to know...

          I got to spend time with the kids all week because they were on holiday, they had a busy past couple of days working on projects and studying for exams but they pulled through! We had new members joining our awesome theatre club and they caught on so quickly with all the songs that we were learning. I'm always impressed with the kids, and I'm so happy that they seem to be enjoying the songs. Keeping kids' attention is always a challenge especially when our practices are so long. Sometimes when we are losing focus I create challenges or goals to work toward and it never fails! Hiking trail alongside Preekstoel  Sunday we were meant to go on the Geelkrans trail located in Stilbaai, but what was once a nature reserve is now growing into a construction sight that blocks the path to the trail. It makes me angry that the people living in the new houses don't understand what they're living on and all that has been destroyed because of it. A beautifu...

The reunion!           Monday I get to pick up Anthea from the Airport! Anthea is someone I look up to the most. I've never met someone so similar to me when it comes to visions and ideas. She inspires me to not only be the best version of myself but also to keep molding that 'best version' to become even stronger. It's been a long time since we've been apart, but we are always communicating with each other, she has been a big help in my work. I met Anthea long before I came to South Africa and it felt like we connected immediately. The two weeks that we had with each other were probably in the top ten best moments of my life. Going to the airport was a three-hour adventure with a pit stop at a mall and bookstore! It felt like Christmas morning sitting at the airport waiting for all my family to get downstairs so we could open our gifts together. When Anthea finally came out I was so happy to see her. I promise. I know I looked terrified but it was such a h...

Ally Olejniczak A day in the life of Ally Olejniczak: I usually wake up at 7 o'clock to do my mourning routine before heading off to work at 8 a.m. I only hit my snooze button once... My office is about a 5-minute walk from my house, maybe a little less. I carry my bag which has my two journals, my lunch, keys, and my computer. At the office, I design posters, and playbills, work on my research, write my blogs, or prepare a schedule for the days that the kids come. I hang out with Rachel and Christene on Tuesdays and Thursdays painting or sealing murals. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I see the Dreamcatcher kids and we work on our music and dance together for a couple of hours (with a watermelon break in between). I also have external projects I work on like things for college so I can be prepared once I get back home in the fall! More sporadically I have other assignments like when I need to build Green Johannas or run errands out in Stilbaai. When I get home I either join a...

         Guys, it finally happened. Wednesday night at 8pm all the lights all over South Africa turned off. I had been waiting for this moment to happen on a clear night. Load shedding is a common thing in South Africa that happens so that the towers holding the power don't override because of all the electricity use. When load shedding happens there is always a notification with the time and date that it will happen and for how long, I stopped paying attention to it after the first couple of times it had happened. That didn't mean I wasn't waiting eagerly for this exact opportunity to see all the stars in the sky. As soon as the lights went out the sky lit up. I love stargazing, most nights I lay on my back on the wall in front of my homestay and looked up at the sky scanning the stars like I would the pages of a textbook. Here in Melkhoutfontein, I'm seeing a completely different side of the galaxy and I want to have it memorized by heart before I go home back...