Alright so this entry was actually typed up on Friday, but I haven't been able to post it until now because of further Internet issues. Some of the info is a little old, but I don't really feel like rewriting the entire thing. Instead I will do another post Friday or Saturday. :)

Hello everyone!

Wow. It has already been another week! Two weeks I've been here now and I am afraid to blink for fear that I'll miss something as this amazing experience flies past me.

First off: work. It's going amazing. On Tuesday I was assigned a new project that I will work on for the remainder of my time here. SAMGI has an organization that they created called the Gender Connection Network (GECONET) that focuses on improving the lives of women in the countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and holding those governments accountable for gender issues. Currently, they have started a project called "Beyond Ratification of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development". The Protocol is a piece of legislation that was introduced in 2008 and proposed to each of the 15 countries in SADC. It has many women's rights-related goals, but the few that we are focusing on are those related to women in government (having at least half of all representation be by women). Many of the goals are written to be achieved by 2015, yet only 13 countries have signed the Protocol and only 7 have ratified and submitted their instruments. Beyond Ratification looks to examine why certain governments are lagging and to encourage them to move this along. Currently, I am doing research on the project. I have been asked to create profiles and check the status of ratification for each country. This has been pretty interesting and definitely has a lot of benefit. While I know a lot about the general history of Africa and a lot on a couple of specific countries, I don't know about most. After this, I will move on to general research about the project including whether anyone else has worked on similiar topics. I will then develop methods and methodology for carrying out the project. I found out this morning that I will then travel to Johannesburg and present my ideas for approval to the representatives from five different countries working with GECONET. Talk about pressure! I will do my best to make SAMGI proud. :)

We are continuing to work towards our dialogue next Friday and are stepping up our game as it is rapidly approaching. There is still so much to do and the entire office has been assigned specific tasks to make sure the event is a success. Last Thursday, Lisa and I interviewed a group of Congolese women who have come to South Africa for political, economic and safety reasons. Many of them wrote their answers in French so I got to put some of my skills to work translating them, which I just finished today.

Lisa and I are also continuing to work on Making Waves. Today we were asked to have the first draft done by 5 October. Considering we have done nothing but brainstorm and some research and the publication is on average about 20 pages long, this should be interesting. Luckily, I work well under pressure and this mounting workload doesn't make me feel overloaded, just more determined to give my all.

Well I do have to say that every day here is amazing. I feel blessed continuously. I also have a new favorite food. :) There is this amazing bistro called Hello Sailor and it's my favorite here in Obs. Well, they have this dish called disco fries. It's a bowl of french fries covered in a mushroom sauce and mozzarella and feta cheese. And yes. It's as incredible as it sounds. :)

The photo accompanying this post is of me and two of my housemates, Kate and Mel. On Friday the 9th all of us from VAC went to a wine tasting expo in Cape Town. It was super fun and we got to try some really good wine! (And Mom...here is a picture with me in it. :) You don't have to yell at me anymore! haha).

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.