11/17 email from Jenna

(Below is an email Jenna sent 11/17. Btw, you can read more about the group Generation for Change that Jenna mentions at http://www.thegcg.org/. Posted by Jenna's mom.)

I tried to send an email to everyone in Cape Town, but I don't think it went through. So. Here's a quick update.

From my last email that I know got sent, I was in Eshowe. We went to an orphanage and a Zulu wedding both of which were absolutely amazing. After Eshowe, we left for Coffee Bay/ Hole in the Wall--but first as you all probably know, we saw Nelson Mandela (randomly). What?!? The story is insane. It sounds like that of a news reporter or something. But no. This is school. This is my life at TTS. As we made our way down the wild coast, we stopped at J-Bay, where we surfed and some girls shopped (and I did some homework). J-Bay was beautiful and a lot of fun. Then one of my teachers took her time off during mid-terms. Oh right. Mid-terms. They were so hard! But I did well and I got all A's (so even though we have a crazy life style here at TTS and we do amazing things, yes. We still have school and it's intense). The night before mid-terms, THE NIGHT BEFORE, South Africa won the rugby world cup, meaning that there was very loud partying going on in the background while we were trying to study and sleep. But it all worked out. After mid-terms, we were off to Cape Town to stay with our host families and work with a group called Generation for Change, which is the most inspirational group I have ever met. When you have a free moment, please find out more about them. They may change your outlook on things as they did to me. Once those two weeks were over, we all got back together which was like a huge family reunion or something. It was wonderful. I love everyone on this trip, so being away for two weeks seemed like forever. We had classes in Cape Town, we went to Robben Island, I played the piano, and we also went dancing with our teachers. Weird. But oh so fun. Cape Town was a lot of fun, but as our trip had to continue, we left for Namibia, where I am now. It is the craziest place ever. Just dry rocks in the land around. Nothing else. We went to a Ghost Town near Lutiritz (not sure if that is spelled right) which was an old German town that was abandoned and all the buildings are filled with sand. It was a great place to take pictures. And then we went to the dunes! Dune 45. Yes. I was there. The most famous dune in the world, and I climbed it. Today we get to sand sled on the dunes, which is going to be amazing.

So, there you have it. A very quick update of the past month or so.

Hope all is well,
Jenna