Mei-Lin's Super Sweet, Can't Wait To Do, See And Experience Checklist For Pretoria

Mei-Lin’s Super Sweet, Can’t Wait To Do, See &Experience Checklist For Pretoria:
1. Attend a Sunday morning church service spoken entirely in Afrikaans
2. Visit Freedom Park, Voertrekkers Monument, The Tshwane Leadership Foundation, Burgers Park and the Pretoria Police Station
3. Take in lectures on South African History at the University of Pretoria
4. Find out whether or not I have any rhythm at an African drumming workshop
5. See how many rides I can go on at Gold Reef Amusement Park before motion sickness kicks in
6. Live with an Afrikaaner family for a week
7. Experience “sunny Pretoria”

Okay, so 6 out of 7 isn’t that bad! We had rain for pretty much our entire stay in Pretoria, but as you can probably see from my list of awesomeness, our time was jam-packed with stuff. Each morning our host families would drop us off at the church at 7:45 am, we’d spend the day with our group and then our families would greet us once again at 4:00.

My highlight this week was by far spending time with my host family. Carrie and I stayed with the Vorster’s (a family of 4) and there was never a dull moment…maybe a few awkward ones, but never a dull one. Their hospitality was amazing! I learned so much about life in Pretoria and some of the issues and challenges facing this city and this country. It was also really cool to have a host brother and sister close to our age. As they shared their lives with us we learned about music, entertainment, sports, education and other things that affect them, as young people. The family also took us to see some of the sights that Pretoria has to offer; a wildlife reserve, a shopping centre, a drumming circle where Carrie and I bought some drums and even to a concert!

This week really was a memorable one and I’m so thankful for the laughter, good conversation and new friends

What’s next? Who knows? T.I.A. (this is Africa)!

Written by: Mei-Lin Ing