Because of certain complications, I actually ended up not staying with the family I lived with the first time I was at rural, and so on the day I arrived, I got moved to a different family that I had never met before. I felt terrible that first day... it's funny because one of the girls in the program is super homesick and she described the feeling as "having her heart stabbed over and over." And on that first day when I got moved from my family to a completely new one, I realized that that's exactly how I felt. I actually ended up sending a text to one of my friends here saying that I was "dying on the inside," haha.

It's funny in retrospect because by the end of my second day at the new house, I already felt pretty comfortable with my new family. One thing that helped was that my original family was pretty close by, so I visited them almost everyday.

During the last week at rural, I ended up moving into a third house. I don't know if you guys remember, but in my first email about rural, I mentioned a sixteen-year old boy named Spha who is super mature and wants to be an agricultural scientist and already knows how to cook. It was his family who I ended up staying with during that last week, and it was so wonderful! It was holidays in SA during that time, so my little sisters from my original rural family stayed with me at Spha's house. Even though it was a short time, that last week was probably the most fun I've had in SA so far.

I don't know. I have grown to really like the people in my program, so I can't say I'm sad about being back in Durban. But at the same time, part of me has a hard time accepting that I might never see the people in the rural area ever again. There are so many wonderful people there, and I really grew to love all the kids I met. They are so much less spoiled than the kids in the US, haha. I really wish I could see them again when they're older... especially Spha and my little sister, Xoli, who are both so intelligent and mature. They are going to be amazing adults one day. :(