Cultural Village and National Reserve

Hello Everyone, Yesterday we went to the cultural village where we saw a traditional village dance as well as a traditional homestead. This was great to see because only about 12% of the Swaziland is still living like this. There was also a waterfall in the park. It was beautiful! Some of us even rock climbed over to it! We had to even take off our pants so we wouldn't get soaked with water! :) After the village we went to a national reserve where we ate lunch in the picnic area. It was great because animals would even come right up to our tables. When we went on a drive through the park we got to see Zebra, Impala, Wildabeast, Warthogs, and even Crocs. This as great for us to see and we were so close to them! Today we are going with the parish nurses again! Before we know it we will be on our way to Kruger National Park for our 3 day safari!! Remember if you are picking one of us up from the airport next Friday we are scheduled to land in Cedaer Rapids at 5:57pm! :) Thanks for reading, Justin

School Nurse Visit

Hello readers, Yesterday I got to visit a 1st grade rural community school where we did health assessments on 40 students! This included eye, dental, general, and height and weight assessments. This was a great opportunity to see the poverty in the school system. Almost every kid had ring worm. Some with eye infections, many under weight and a lot with cavities! They even pulled kids teeth in the back of the classroom, done by a dental hygienist. I thought this was crazy and the kids did not even cry! Once the assessment was done the kids lined up at the "pharmacy". Here they gave the prescription medications that were written by the nurses. Medications for pain, cream for ring worm and even eye drops. The 1st graders would just put the baggies of mess in their pocket and hopefully they take them regularly. This was a great experience to see how school nursing works. The kids were so happy and it made me feel good that we were there to help! It is a cold morning in Sawziland! Only 37 degrees! My shower this morning was cold too so I am going to have to have some hot tea fork breakfast! Everyone is doing well and we can't wait to share stories and pictures with everyone! Thanks for reading! Justin

Cultural Experience

Salbona from Africa, Last night I got to stay with a family that lives in the rural area! Getting there was a challenge because the roads were very bad! Once I got there and met my host mother I was a little nervouse because I was staying alone, with no other Coe student. It ended up being an experience of a lifetime! No running water or pluming. We cooked dinner over a campfire, and I even got to try Millie meal, which is a corn pourage. In the morning I got up to watch the sunrise and see the kids off to school. Then we made 5 house visits with the nurses walking a total of 10 miles which seemed all up hill in very uneven ground! It sure was an experience I will never forger and I loved my awesome family! Everyone on the trip is doing great! Today we will hike and go zip lining! I can't wait! Breakfast is waiting for me so I better go eat! Thanks for reading, Justin

Update! :)

Hello everyone! Internet is very poor here and down almost everyday! We are having a great time! Yesterday we got to explore the city and it was a huge culture shock. This is a very poor city and there is a ton of poverty. Everyone seems very happy even in the poor conditions! The weather is cool in the mornings with it getting up to 80 in the middle of the day! I have been working out every night before bed which makes me feel great! Today we will vist a clinic here as well as a hospice house! I am very excited to see how healthcare works here! Thondie, who is the director of parish nursing will be showing us around! This is going to be a great day! I love Africa! The food here is good for the most part but very different. There is a ton of small lizards around and frogs as well! Thanks for reading! Justin

On to Sawziland

Hello all, What a beautiful day in Africa! The sun is out and we are enjoying the nice weather. This morning we had breakfast at the club house. We had a fried egg, bacon, toast, fresh fruit, cereal, and hot tea. The food was delicious! I slept fairly well and got up around 9 am. We are traveling to Sawziland today! About a 5 hour van ride. The trip should not be too bad because we will be able to look at the land. Enjoy reading! We are hoping we get wifi in Africa so I can keep you updated. Justin.

Africa!!!

We made it! We touched down in Johannesburg, Africa at about 9pm local time. Getting thru coustoms was not hard at all! After getting thru customs we exchanged our American money for the local currency here, the rahn. That was a little stressful because we had no clue what was a good deal or a bad deal, but we figured it out and I only has to pay about $10 to exchange my money. We made it to our guest house and it is a vey nice place! There is a spot where a bunch of us are sitting under the stars. We are all showered up and ready for bed. I can't wait to see this place in the day light! All is well and everyone is happy we are here! :) Thanks for reading! Justin P.S. Pictures are to come!!

Amsterdam

Hello Readers, We made it to Ansterdam and all is well. The flight seemed to go by really fast. I only got a couple hours of sleep and it is now morning here! This airport is awesome! Everything from Starbucks to wooden shoes. We all decided todo some shopping here on our way back. We have about an hour until take off and then we will be in flight for about 11 hours until we hit johanasburg. I will try to blog whenever we have wi-fi. Keep tuned to reading as we take this journey of a lifetime! Thanks to all the readers! Justin Just a reminder if you are following we are 7 hours ahead! :)

Africa Bound

Hey Readers,

Finals are done and I survived!  Today we had Day 1 of our May term class before we leave on Friday!  I will be blogging while in Africa, when we have internet access, so be sure to visit!  Campus is a little quiet but I am busy packing and cleaning up my room to move out.  My parents will be here Friday morning to see me off and pick up the last of whats in my room.  It will be a 21 hour flight with a 12 hour layover total.  I will blog as much as possible!  I am very excited and I can't wait to share this once in a lifetime experience with you that Coe has offered me.

Thanks for reading!

Justin Nylin