See I'm trying to find my place

So here I am again, back in South Africa. Its a strange feeling to be back to Cape Town, but also bizarre figuring out Hout Bay for the first time. Where I live is considered a suburb of Cape Town, about 20km from where I used to live as an intern. Now I am in a flat that is directly connected to the office that I work at, giving me about a 30 second commute to work! One of my favorite aspects is the proximity to the beach, a great way to cool off after a run in the burning African sun! (seriously, my skin is already getting upset with me).

The initial scary/ intimidating adjustment to a new place is now pretty much over and I have been really enjoying figuring out this new place on my own. Today I even found some trails for the first time that I can run on! Also looking forward to Tuesday night when I will get to find out what the local running club is all about. For those of you that don't know, my new training focus is a 20km trail run included in the Two Oceans series in April. Definitely going to be a challenge, totally didn't realize how tough it was going to be until after I entered lol. Ah well, probably would have done it anyway!

What is the most strange is not having all the interns and friends around that I have come to associate with this place. I have been able to get together with a few that are left, but as with most adventurous sorts they are about to move on to the next exciting location. I am welcoming this opportunity I have now to meet even more people and experience a different South Africa.

Work has been going well, everyone is adjusting to the new office space but we are all very excited about what 2011 will bring for our NGO. The most exciting of these is the development of an environmental program to bring into schools much like our HIV & Me lessons. I am still responsible for research on companies but the great thing about small offices is that there is lots of room to develop and help others when needed.

One more thing, fingers crossed for no hassle with my visa... hate these silly things, always a struggle!