I used to go to the mall to buy clothes. Now I just go to buy chocolate. Even after a day like Valentine's Day, i still crave it. I don't understand what has triggered the chocolate lover in all of us, but somebody needs to do something to stop it.

So this week was crazy with papers. I guess it’s midterm time? I feel like I just started school. I guess technically I did. We only take these classes for 6 weeks then we’re done. Praise his name. I’m sick of school.

I took three field trips this week. The first was to an art gallery in Pietermaritzburg where we went to the cutest coffee shop in the whole world. The second was my weekly bio trip where I had to measure awesome grass plants and determine the species in the biome. Dang, I’m such an expert. Yea, it was ots of fun. Especially when we got lost and had to walk through marshland and grass up to my face. I got jungle scratches all over my body. I was kind of like Steve Irwin. All that was missing was my love for nature. Just kidding. I love nature. Just not when I’m in a bad mood from playing with weeds and yardsticks in the hot African sun. My third field trip was to another art gallery in Durban. We went into the city part of Durban rather than the beach. It is such a cool city. And of course, we had to stop at a coffee shop to have a cappuccino.
My visits to art galleries always seem sort of adventurous. Our teacher has this strange habit of leaving the entire class in the dust. The first trip, people were still getting off the bus in a strange part of the city we’d never been in and our teacher DARTS, and I mean DARTS like a freaking gazelle. She crosses the street, so some people follow her in a frenzy not realizing the light has turned green. Meanwhile there’s a cop waiting to drive. It’s seriously the funniest thing ever. She just is horrible at leading a group.

On Saturday we took a trip to the beach in Durban. I am just loving the fact that it’s February, and I am getting a tan. The beach we went to was chock full of CREEPERS. There were guys walking past us like taking pictures and recording video of tanning girls in bikinis on their phone. Nasty. So at one point in the day, we heard this tribal drum beat coming from the boardwalk. A few of us got up to go see what was happening.

Oh, cool…it’s a Zulu tribe doing sweet tribal dances.

Oh, cool…they’re doing kicks in the air.

Oh….cool….the girls are topless….

I know that in America someone would get arrested for that, but apparently here, girls are allowed to let loose and flop all over the place. Literally. It was total culture shock for all of us. But we had to pretend we weren’t appalled so that everyone would think we were locals. I think it worked.

Last night, the activities committee, which I proudly take part in, set up a Valentine’s Day dinner for everyone. We had a delicious Italian meal and listened to Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole all night in dim lighting. It was so romantic. I found out who my super secret valentine was. It was Rob VerWys. He gave me a painting from the market we went to in Durban. He also gave me a card with really artistic borders. He’s the best valentine ever.

I got my first attempt with the paintball gun today. There is a paintball gun on campus that is supposed to be used for monkeys and other animals. However, my target was Staci Beukers. She offered to be my target, so it’s not cruel and unusual punishment or anything like that. Staci is the coolest. I sing Stacy’s Mom to her all the time, and she always tells me how original I am. Thanks, Staci.

Week 3. Complete.