I've found hope and it gives me rest, I've found hope in a beating chest

Another week in Cape Town, more experiences to reflect upon. One huge load off my mind was catching the bus into town to pick up my passport and confirm that my visa is being processed! Thank goodness, I will not be living illegally here :) Another bonus, I could finally get a library card. Apparently knowing your id number is not enough, you need your actual passport and references from people living here (I swear to you Hout Bay Library, even though you tempt me with all of your out of date science books and plethora of thriller novels, I will fight the urge to steal from your book collection).

This weekend I also had a freaking amazing run. Sounds insignificant, but after a brutal week trying to recover from the trail run without a day off and simultaneously upping my mileage, a long run seemed rather unideal. However, Sunday morning I just had the urge to get it over with so in the heat of the day I headed out for Suikerbossie pass and Chapman's peak drive. Who knew this was exactly what my body wanted. I was flying by the end and having an ice cold ocean to jump into felt exactly right. Mmmm... just had to watch out for the crabs and sharks :)

Work is going well here too. Falling into a much needed rhythm after the hectic chaos of moving my life across the globe again and worrying about trivial things like visas, sleep and food procurement. I really enjoy finding a company that is legitimately working to help the world. A lot of my job is weeding around corporate responsibility reports trying to see the good among all of the required words detailing that the company was doing exactly the minimum to look good to investors. Today I was able to brief my boss on a company that was one of the good guys, and it reminded me of what can be accomplished with genuine effort.

One more bonus, my flat is starting to feel a lot more like home. I was given the curtains from the office today because the boss ordered some nice new blinds to replace them, yay! Upgrading to a much bigger refrigerator due to the prospects of having a flatmate soon makes a difference too (runner metabolism catching back up to me again). Starting to paint again and hanging things on the walls make it feel that much more comfortable in my new space. I think I am going to go read one of my 3 alloted books for the next two weeks now, thanks library :)

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!

I know, I know for sure that life is beautiful around the world

So after a freaking amazing intern/ work experience in Cape Town, I have some pretty sweet news. After working as a fill in researcher my boss offered to assist me in coming back to work for Regency for 6 more months! So after about 3 weeks back in snowy Michigan I am about to head back to South Africa. Its been a whirlwind crazy time trying to get plane tickets sorted out and its still not over as far as my visa renewal (fingers crossed for that one!) not to mention trying to see everyone before I head back!

This experience will definitely test me in lots of ways. No more interns as eager as I am to make friends and soak up everything that South Africa has to offer. I will be living solo in a more relaxed coastal area called Hout Bay, outside the bustling city center of Cape Town. I will also have all the responsibilities that come with a full time job on top of continuing to plan out/ study for/ applying to graduate programs back home. I can't wait to really dive into work though, and I hope that the experience i will gain through this opportunity will help shape my future in the international public health field.

I will be flying out of Detroit Jan 10th and will be returning on July 19th. I'm anxious to see how it will be to enter the real world half way around the world.

(The picture is me and my boss walking down to Hout Bay beach, right down the road from my new apartment... which is also connected to our new office building!)