London!

Sorry it has taken me so long to update me blog but I think it is about time!

I have now left Africa after the most amazing 8 months of my life. I have finished a very successful and inspiring time in Cape Town. This last season has been a great time of joy, challenge and growth. My relationship with God has been tried and stretched and He has proved himself faithful, truly a rock and a saviour and His plan is greater and better than our dreams can produce. The last 8 months (how they have flown by!) have been surreal, Cape Town has felt like a home, I worked long hours, gaining responsibility and competence in a job that challenged and stimulated me but at the same time, it felt like an extended holiday. During 8 months, I only spent a few evenings at home, spending every spare moment not at work, seeing and exploring the vibrant, charming and cosmopolitan city I now call home. My time in Cape Town has been a joyful and prosperous season in my life. I have had an incredible job, which has laid foundations which will be useful throughout my professional life, I have met a great many wonderful people and made friends that will stay travel and work with me for the rest of my life and I have loved deeply.

The Cape Town refugee centre seeks to assist refugees from all walks of live and situations in three areas: education, business grants and skills training, and psycho-social intervention including food, rent and counselling. The organisation in UNHCR funded and after an initial assessment will assist a refugee personally or refer them on to a partner organisation that they feel has better resources for their needs. It is a wonderful, lively and slightly chaotic organisation, full or characters that provide much amusement and has a real family vibe amongst staff which is sweet respite to the challenges of dealing with very vulnerable and often destitute people on a daily basis. They operate with limited resources but offer as much assistance as is possible.
I used this as a time of gaining a context and real life experience for the work I hoped to be doing in the future. I was learning about the plight and challenges facing refugees not only giving me a complex political background to the on the ground situations in the conflict zones in Africa but it also gave me a comprehensive knowledge of the problems facing South Africa as it tries to host the huge influx of refugees and integrate them into the local community.
The self reliance department seeks to enable refugees and asylum seekers to become self reliant through small business grants and skills training and the evaluation of foreign qualifications. This allows them to become fully integrated in the community and form fully self sufficient lives in their adopted country. South africa is unique in that it allows refugees freedom of movement and work throughout the country, thus creating an entirely different dynamic and set of issues than refugees in an other African country who live in camps.

'In every season, all of my life, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship'. God has taught me so much in this time. It has been one of the most challenging but exciting times of my life. He has taught me to fully rely on him, He has shown me time and time again that his grace and faithfulness is endless and consistent. He has put me in positions where I have no strength, He allowed me to get exhausted and weary of battling so that all I had left in me was to throw myself fully at his mercy and he showered me with blessing and joy beyond my imagination. The peace of the spirit passes all understanding. Through every heartache, stress and worry, I had a peace that encompassed my mind so that I could worship and find solace in God's love on every journey to home affairs and house move and unhappy encounter. In everything, I have learnt to put aside my petty desires and concerns and allow myself to be guided by His higher purpose and concerns.
He has been interested by every aspect of my life, from romantic entanglements to job prospects. Whatever the problem, He has walked me through it with the patience and love that only a true and loving father can show to His child. He reminded me that he never gives us more than we can handle and his plan is greater and more infinite than we can imagine. He will never close a door and not open another better one. He will never put us in a situation of peril and leave us. Not my will but your will be done my father. During the many frustrations, he showed me that I need not battle because all things work together for the good of those who love him. All I must do is walk in his light, in obedience and listening to His voice and he will put in place what I need. After never receiving my visa, I was incredibly concerned about the problems I may encounter when leaving South Africa, I sat for hours that morning praying and reading through Romans and was reminded in Romans 8 that those that live with the Holy Spirit in them have peace and live. I thanked God for His peace and meditated on his love for me until I felt His peace envelop me and I walked through the airport safe in the knowledge that He that is in me is greater than He that is in the world. As I walked to customs, I prayed for my customs officer and thanked God that He was softening his heart as I approached. The customs officer was polite and merely raised an eyebrow when seeing my visa-less passport. I stood calm and peaceful and even asked about coming back in as I walked away feeling elated that once again God had gone before me.

After an amazing trip travelling round Zimbabwe, Mozambique and botswana, I returned to South Africa for 3 weeks and then headed back to the UK to spend a week in Ireland with my dad before starting my new internship in London with a trip to Edinburgh which was stunning and such a great way of starting a job and I felt God saying that he is bringing me into a time of change and beauty in my life which I saw all around me back in my home culture in the scenery of the Scottish mountains.

I am now back in London and remembering how I came to be here and once again it is a story of God's grace and plan in my life. I laugh now at how I fought but in the end His plan is perfect and will always prevail when we submit to His will. I may have wanted to be in Africa but more than that I wanted to follow him because he will give me a life far greater than I could possibly imagine. When I discovered that I would not be able to get my visa renewed and would therefore have to leave SA before my placement was complete, I was broken hearted, I fought with Home Affairs and tried every avenue but they are so strict nowadays! I felt so strongly that I was meant to be in Africa and started looking at other options in Southern Africa. I had fallen so deeply in love with this continent that I would do almost anything to stay, I had a few job possibilities in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland but unfortunately all of them came to nothing. God seemed to be shutting doors everywhere and opening no more. I was desperate to stay and was seeking God and in my time of desperation I could not hear his voice or feel his presence, it was as if he had left me to work it out myself.

During this time, I went to spend a weekend at a very good friend's house. When discussing this, I cried that I would have to go back to England if nothing happened soon. He replied, 'Maybe thats what God is trying to tell you'. The thought stirred something in me but I pushed it back- I 'knew' my calling was for Africa and this was where I was 'meant' to be. He also told me that although God may be taking me out of Africa now, it didn't mean he wouldn't bring me back and maybe the next thing I needed to learn in order to serve Africa better must be taught to me in England (wise man!). I decided that I would half heartedly look into work in London incase God didn't come through for me at the last minute so I sent an email to the head of a bible society, a fantastic man I really admire and had met once. I thought he would be too busy to reply even if he remembered meeting me! Instead, he replied a day later saying that he was sorry for my problems but I was an answer to his prayers as they really needed help with the work they were doing with SUSA- a christian organisation which encourages and equips Christians to go into politics. I would be working along side MPs and be based in Westminster. It was the experience in Politics I had always dreamed of; I would be working with Christian politics who I would learn from; who would teach me how to keep my faith in a world which does not acknowledge our imperative need for God when making government's decisions. God was speaking to me the whole time but I had only be listening out for an answer that I wanted to hear.

Anyway, before this becomes a thesis and you all fall asleep- God is faithful. He has shown me this in every situation in my life. I have now taken to thanking God for his provision for me before it even happens because I know it will come! I watched Amazing Grace this morning (awesome film!) and I was struck by John Newton's words, 'I know too things- I am a great sinner and God is a great saviour'. That is my foundation and although I may not have all the answers I know these two things to be true.

Jeremiah 17 vs. 7 & 8 says 'But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green and they go right on producing delicious fruit'. I was also reminded of Jeremiah 1 vs 4 'The Lord gave me a message; he said “I knew you before I formed you in your mothers womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world”. We need Christians to enter politics and be salt and light. Let us not hide our lights under a bushel but change the world for God. Let us not sit back and watch as our politicians make decisions that do not reflect His glory; let us stand and declare his greatness across parliament and the nations. God is moving...

I am an African...

I found this poem today and it expresses how I feel about my adoptive home. I feel connected to Africa in a way that is stronger than a great fondness for the culture and land but it seeps through every part of me...

I am an African.
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa's.
I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa.
I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa.

When Africa weeps for her children
My cheeks are stained with tears
When Africa honours her elders
My head is bowed in respect
When Africa mourns her victims
My hands are joined in prayer
When Africa celebrates her triumphs
My feet are alive with dancing.

I am an African
For her blue skies take my breath away
And my hope for the future is bright.
I am an African
For her people greet me as family
and teach me the meaning of community.
I am an African
For her wildness quenches my spirit
And brings me closer to the source of life.

When the music of Africa beats in the wind
My blood pulses to its rhythm
And I become the essence of the music.
When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun
Amy senses drink in its rainbow
And I become the palette of nature.
When the stories of Africa echo around the fire
My feet walk its pathways
And I become the footprints of history.

I am an African
because she is the cradle of our birth
And nurtures an ancient wisdom.
I am an African
Because she lives in the world's shadow
and bursts with a radient luminosity.
I am an African
Because she is in the land of tomorrow
and I recognise her gifts as sacred.

Life in Cape Town

So, I have been here over 2 weeks now and am fully settled in and having an amazing time!! Living in Obs is wicked, its all students and artists; a total mix of people and a crazy, vibrant place to be! I live with 7 awesome people from all over the world in the cosiest house, there's always something going on and people coming and going.
The refugee centre where I work is hectic. The day I started I was thrown in the deep end and had to interview a family who were living 10 in one room and had had to flee the DRC as they had been attacked; the kids had seen their mother murdered. It is a hard job as you have to make a call on how to assist that person, obviously I wanted to pay rent for them to live in a house and food for a few months until they could become self sufficient etc but on the other hand, none of the adults were working or even looking for work and when asked how they live, they responded that they live off the kindness of church members so by assisting I would have merely reinforced their lifestyle of expecting handouts so it can be very emotionally draining! Another sad issue is that some of the refugees know how to work the system. We were deeply concerned for one woman who claimed to be living in a garage with her 2 children; her husband had left and she was unemployed and she was about to be evicted. In most cases, we do a home visit to assess living conditions before we decide how to assist and when we visited her, the husband answered the door and turned out to be a mechanic so she had lied to make herself seem more vulnerable. I started to find the job a challenge as it wasn't very relevant to my field and I didn't feel I was gaining anything that was useful for my degree. Last week, I was moved into a research project which involves me making a database of every business that we have funded and how those businesses are doing now; at the end I have to make a proposal on how the UN grants can be better distributed to have a greater impact on the families and communities which will be very interesting for me! The people I work with are great, our office is full of laughter, we have Afrikaaners, English, interns, Xhosas, a few former refugees and other internationals; I am totally enjoying the mix of humour and culture. They are all so enthusiastic for life here and we are making plans to buy fish straight off the boats and braai them on the beach and someone will often cook their local dish for lunch which has ranged from the mammoth Gatsby to a meal I can't remember how to say but it is porridge with sour milk!!

I am really enjoying the local area; if I lived in Cape Town 10 years, I would still have more to see and do, this city is alive with activity! The people I am staying with have not really seen Cape Town so we are having a great time being tourists and making the most of every second of time off work! My bosses are great about letting me go off for activities, I took a half day on Friday to go on a wine tour in Stellenbosch! My friend Pieter has been around as well and he is Cape Townian so he has been driving us around!
Last weekend, we went into central Cape Town go shopping and enjoy the Company gardens before heading to Stellenbosch to explore the beautiful city and see the botanical gardens and then we had a picnic and wine on the beach in blaauwberg. On Sunday, I had a lovely morning with friends who then took us up walking through the Table Mountain nature reserve in the afternoon and we enjoyed the stunning Newlands Forest, Rhodes Memorial and Signal Hill. We had a proper SA braai in the evening, with 6 types of meat, local wine and I baked bran muffins; they're my favourite! We have also been to Canal Walk; a huge shopping centre on the outskirts of Cape Town and had such a fun day there but I am totally shopped out, its everything you need under 1 roof!
This weekend was so also really busy! Friday afternoon saw us take a wine tour at Spier (I am now a wine connoisseur!), have drinks at Moyo (one of the most beautiful restaurants in South Africa) and then we had a massive house party at my house for some of the guys who were leaving. On Saturday, we had breakfast at the Old Biscuit Mill which is incredible! It is an like a public market with every food you could ever dream of and everything is the best of the best! They sell clothes, antiques, furniture, crafts. It was packed; you could spend a day there! However, we left promptly to go rock climbing at the local centre which was great fun and the walls there are intense, its 2 days later and I still can't lift my arms fully up! In the afternoon we headed to Kirstenbosch gardens which was as beautiful as I remembered; we challenged ourselves a little by walking part way up Nursery Ravine, climbed up a waterfall and then came back down Skeleton Gorge. I seriously can't wait to fully climb Table Mountain!! On Sunday, we started early by heading out to Big Bay to surf. I haven't surfed in 2 years so was frankly, pretty rubbish but it was a hot day (I think SA is heading into spring at last!) and we had a lot of fun as the waves were massive so we got knocked about a bit! We ate local fish on the beach for lunch then had cocktails at Moyo (don't judge, its the weekend!). The Moyo in Big Bay is brilliant, the tables are in swimming pools so as you eat you are up to your knees in a water; there is also a full pool where you can drink cocktails on bar stools in the pool! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Waterfront, shopping, watching the boats come and go in the harbour and watching the Arsenal match in the local pub. At 5pm there was a free concert in the amphitheatre which was great, especially when the drummer went into a digereedoo instrumental!
A few of us have been running regularly around the mountains and forests in the evenings which lets us get to see the city from up high at night and get a bit fitter at the same time! Next weekend, we are hoping to hire a car and explore the area outside Cape Town around Hermanus and Cape Point and Somerset West and do some serious hiking!
On regular weeknights, we fill our time by trying to work our way through every Obs restaurant, watch films in each others houses and having new things like Xhosa lessons (Molo, Unjani!) It is wonderful to get immersed in Cape Town life; even catching the trains and taxis are eventful (We have been sung to, preached at and heard the jazz keyboard-the trains are crazy for busking!).

I think that is literally everything now! This week is already shaping up to be very exciting so I'll keep you posted with all I'm up to, hopefully more frequently and please keep the emails and updates coming on your lives and I miss you all so much and love being kept in touch!!

Cape Town!!

I am now in my home for the next year. Cape Town!! It's so wonderful here and I am very happy in my new job. I had a great/stressful 4 days between Malaysia and SA. I had a wonderful time with my family and my wonderful friends in Guildford had a bbq for me and a brilliant service in the afternoon. Back on the Isle of Wight, I hectically packed up my life in England and squashed it into 20kg in a suitcase. After a tense race to the airport, I had a smooth flight to Joburg with a beautiful stopover in Cairo, it would have been lovely to see the city from the ground and not just flying over it from the air. In Joburg, I had a brilliant stay with Nicky, Tim and Jude and met an Afrikaaner who had been a policeman in the early 90s apartheid and was telling me about how he has adjusted his mindset from repressing the black people to seeing them as equal and accepting them. It was also fascinating gaining the perspectives of local people about how the world cup has affected South Africa. My friend claimed that it was the first time South Africa had seen itself as South African rather than black or white which was wonderful. I am in an internet cafe so I will finish this story later as I have run out of time!

The End in Malaysia!!

Sorry it's been so long, it's been a crazy few weeks! Sabah, in Eastern Malaysia has been incredible!! We had such a great trip with the highlight obviously being reaching the summit of 4000m Mount Kinabalu which was by far the hardest thing I have ever done but so rewarding to be looking down on the earth from far above the clouds!
After a very turbulant flight in a tiny commuter plane, we were put up in a gorgeous apartment in Kota Kinabalu, it is wonderfully tropical there and we went snorkelling and swimming off the little Island of Sapi which we had to take a banana boat out to. We enjoyed some amazing markets which almost saw me buying a couple of dogs but didn't think I could get them back through customs! We drove from KK up to the tip of Borneo which is really stunning and then onto Mesilau to stay overnight before we started our hike. It was SUCH heavy going up the mountain in the heat with a 6kg backpack on and was literally like climbing stairs, no gentle incline! It took us 6 hours to reach the rest house and at points I was on my hands and knees but as the 6th girl in I did very well! We were all in bed by 6.30pm that night and then up again at 1am to continue the hike in to the summit for the sunrise. It was exhausting. Already tired from the day before, it was sooo cold at that altitude, the air was so thin and the climb was vertical up the cliff face, we had to walk with ropes with our bodies at 90 degrees to the cliff; no harnesses just our strength to keep us going. At 5.30am we reached the summit and it was worth the 3 degree temperature. I have never seen something more beautiful in all my life, the clouds were playing with the peaks around the mountain and we watched the sunrise over the whole of Malaysia. We were only able to stay 45 mins as it was so cold but that was long enough to appreciate what I had achieved.

A few hours later after breakfast we had to start our decent which was agonising and knees and ankles will never be the same again! The next few days saw up in pain walking up the steps onto the bus and relaxing in the local hot springs and natural warm waterfalls around the Borneo area.During the free time, I visited a water village; a community entirely built on the water whose livlihood relies on fishing. We arrived in the middle of a severe storm and children as young as 3 and 4 were diving off their houses into the ocean and there was not an adult in sight: so unlike England!

After 8 days in Borneo we headed back to UKM uni and have spent the last week enjoying our last few days with each other and writing up our reports. We just had our closing ceremony and I gave a speech which I thoroughly enjoyed and we gave traditional dances. I was involved in the Sabah dance and had a SERIOUS costume malfunction mid-dance!

Last night, the whole group through me a surprise party for my birthday which was incredible and a total shock! They had all been moaning about having no money left, were ill etc so I wasn't expecting to do anything but as I came back from the cafe with a friend they had decorated the uni living area and got cake and say happy birthday to me in 6 different languages! It was amazing! We are all about to go out tonight as it is our final night and then tomorrow (my actual birthday) we are having a large breakfast with everyone before we fly back to England.

Sorry for the brief update but there is a lot to do in the 16 hours before I leave Malaysia including turn 22! I will also try and add some photos soon! xxxx

Field work in the depths of the rain forest!

So...where to start? I have finished lectures now and have been on field work for a week. It's amazing the variety of places, people and cultures we are experiencing! We went to a local village and they showed us and taught us how to weave, carve, traditional dance, use a blowpipe and demonstrated a traditional wedding ceremony...it's very different from the ones back in England! We then went to Taman Negara national park to observe and meet the Bateq tribe there; they were amazingly friendly and gave me so much useful info for the 15 page report I have just discovered I have to write at the end of the trip! The communities are so close and share every aspect of their lives together, each member has a vital role to play; it was awesome to see how everyone from the oldest to youngest has a say in all decisions including where they base their tribe (they're nomadic!). They also showed us the tree where they leave their dead; they believe if the body is still up the tree in a month, the spirit of the person is going to heaven! We heard so many amazing stories about their lives and it was facinating to see how globalisation is affecting them. The chief was hunting wild boar with a blowpipe which wearing a fake rolex!
There were no paths in the jungle so we had to travel everywhere by boat along the rivers; the time on and in the water was probably the highlight of my time there. The boats; although they are made of wood and look like canoes; have motors and so are so fast and take jump the rapids at crazy speeds. As you drive along, the canopy stretches high above you; revealing the insignificance of us in the scheme of things. While in the rain forest, we were taking on many walks by local guides and saw snakes, monkeys, giant spiders etc, there were so many Tarzan moments as we played with the strong Lianna vines which allow you to swing through the jungle! We also were taught how to survive with info such as what is poisonous, antidotes to certain poisons, a plant which acts as an antisceptic when you add water to it and place it on a wound and much more. We also took a canopy walk 30m above the jungle floor which was spectacular and was the first time I had seen the treetops! We took an 8km hike to the top of a hill which looked out across the tope of the rain forests and all you could see was great; it was beautiful and refreshing not to see any civilisation in any direction; knowing that this was what the earth looked like before man built on it!

The whole group is really bonding and I am already forgetting what life was like before I saw all these people every day! They are wonderful and quirky and learning from the 9 nationalities we have amongst us is brilliant! We have had a couple of birthdays and have gone out to celebrate but because alcohol is not really drunk here there are no bars or pubs so we have done Karaoke twice and been to the late night markets and restaurants that are open until 3 or 4am. This place really never sleeps!

Today, we went to Melaka which is the most historic town in Malaysia, it has Dutch influences, portugese and English. There are ancient temples, mosques and churches. You can be walking down a street with European arhitecture from the dutch colonisation and turn into another street with red lanterns everywhere and you are in a Chinatown. We took a trickshaw ride around the sights which was touristy but great fun although our guy was old and I worried we would give him a heart attack getting up the hills. This evening we went to the new students welcome ceremony at the university, it was EPIC! We have nothing like it in England but it was performance on such a grand scale with every student in the university getting involved, they were chanting and dancing in the audience and so patriotic and they all took photos of us as we joined in and sang to us and waved as we left, I felt like a total celebrity!

I am really loving life here, I have adjusted to the heat and a lot of the time lately we have been next to the river so I have been able to swim, many of the locals can't swim so those from the UK and Australia have been teaching them which is great fun; they've all so excited by the water and water fights and doing gymnastics in the river are daily occurances! It is very tiring, breakfast is at 7.30am every morning and I have been to bed before 1am since I arrived so I am worried that I may crash soon as it catches up on me! I am enjoying the food and have had the opportunity to try Dorian, jack fruit and many other great dishes which I can't remember right now!

It's 12.30am here now and we are leaving for our flight at 4.30am to Eastern Malaysia so I will be up again in 3 hours but I am so excited to be staying in the wildness of Borneo and staying in the village with the Indigenous communities, next Thursday we climb the 4,000m Kinabalu which I am so excited for as our recent time in the jungle has shown that I am ready for it!

That's all for now! Tomorrow is my half way point and I am already getting nostalgic for the wonderful time I have had and wish I had more than a month to get to know this place and the people who have welcomed me so whole heartedly, this next week should be so exciting but then we're back to the university to write up our 15 page reports, write individual presentations and hand in the journal we have been expect to keep throughout so its a lot of work!! Totally worth it though to experience all that I have done. The others are planning my birthday which falls while I am here and it has had me reflecting that I am so blessed to have experienced and done so much and I am only 21! This time in 3 weeks I will be in South Africa on another adventure; I honestly am supremely grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful life and protecting me and giving me everything I could desire wherever I go. He truly makes my life the wild, wonderful, exciting adventure it is and I pray, long may it continue!!

flipping love this place!!!
These last three days have been phenomenal. I am totally relaxed, like the weight of the last few months has been totally lifted; I'm laughing at absolutely everything and the people I am here with from England as well as the people I am meeting here are amazing, making this experience complete. The British group are all so laid back that its 24/7 banter and lighthearted abuse all round. The people here are so diverse and all come together and live in harmony while retaining their unique culture, personalities and traditions.
I have experienced so much wonderful local food and am trying new spices, clothes, languages and even transport forms! The iced coffee here is strong and rich and will be brought back to England in bulk! On Sunday, I counted that I did 10 new things which were 1.) Went to Robocon (an interuniversity Robotwars which is a massive deal here!) 2.) Used a squat as a loo! 3.)Used a monorail and drove over the top of Kuala Lumpur 4.) Got a fish foot spa (you put your feet in a tank of fish and they come and eat the dead skin off your feet and it leaves your feet totally smooth, sooo tickly and weird though!) 5.) tried a Malaysian coffee (amazing!) 6.) saw the Petronas Towers (we stayed until dark and they put the lights on and it was stunningly beautiful, definitely a highlight so far!) 7.) Drank lychee juice 8.) experienced a Secret recipe and a jack fruit 9.) Had a kickapoo joy juice!

After eating some amazing pancakes which were made from a stretchy dough and grilled on a hot plate for breakfast (it cost RM1 which is about 25p!), about 25 of us went to a robocon competition which was between robots built in all the main Malaysian universities, we then headed for Kuala Lumpur, which is a crazy journey involving a bus and a long train journey, its fairly similar to the UK except one carriage is only for women. We added the australians to our group who are brilliant and spent the day mocking each others accents. We headed into Central Market which is a massive indoor market with every time of cultural produce represented. On the ground floor was a massive fish tank where I spend 10 mins have fish eat my feet which was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced!! Most of us tried it and it was brilliant watching even the boys scream like girls! We then headed through to Chinatown which is soo crowded and sold food from stalls all over, lots of 'designer' products and clothes. Lanterns and lights were everywhere and it was quite beautiful.
We later headed onto the Petronas Towers which we had to lie on the ground to take a full photo of as it was so tall, it is surrounded by statues and fountains and is pretty spectacular, we shopped for a while but with stores like Gucci, Prada and Dolce and Gabbana, we moved on to dinner fairly quickly!
Once it was dark, we saw the towers lit up and it was truly breathtaking! Finally we headed home and watched the football in our local bar...enough said about that! :(

Yesterday was our welcome and briefing, we were given a rice breakfast in our building and taken to the programme briefing where they explained the plan for the next 4 weeks. It sounds amazing and we are all so excited! We are going to a tropical island and well as walking the world's longest canopy bridge through the national park! We have an amazing lecturer called Dr. K who is a little crazy but so enthusiastic that we can't help but catch his excitement.
We were then given the most amazing lunch in the VIP lounge which was wonderful and was a great way for us to get to know the Malaysian students.
In the afternoon, we travelled to get our student cards for our stay here before a dinner which had meat in every dish so I had to have salad and they found out and are now preparing me special meals which makes me feel a little guilty!
In the evening we took a long walk to see the monkeys which lives in campus and ended up getting lost but was a VERY funny trip as it was still hot and very hilly and more like a work out! I have acclimatised though to the weather and wore black trousers to class today with no problems!

Today, lectures started, they are two hours each (2 a day) but quite varied and interesting so I didn't off too many times! We were shown a lot of pictures of the indigenous communities which was exciting but has taken away a lot of the suspense about what to expect! This afternoon we had a tropical storm and it poured down while remaining quite warm! We have been given homework already and have to prepare an imaginary aboriginal community for presentation tomorrow. Me, Maddy, Vicky and Soniyah have prepared a powerpoint on the 'Tetley Tribe' which is a tea drinking tribe fighting against the local Nescafe tribe. The Australians with us are mocking us for the amount of tea we drink so we thought we'd poke fun at our stereotype!

Ok, thats me all caught up! I'm off to dinner and then we're heading to a night market; apparently all the exciting market trading goes on at night! See you soon!