AIDS Man

Sex. Why is this word and act thrown around so casually? I’m not trying to preach about saving sex for marriage but why do people, especially young adults and teens, feel sex is a liberating act? Many serious consequences come from sex including HIV, STI’s, pregnancy (which can lead to poverty for many teens), and mental health issues. How do we begin educating you on valuing sex again without sounding like we’re forcing religious views onto people while also educating them on being safe if they decide to have sex?

These thoughts all came after speaking with Lumkile, “AIDS Man”, from the Treatment Action Campaign. He told us to call him AIDS Man because he has no shame in having AIDS and then he shared is story with us. He was tested three different times for HIV and all three times he tested positive but he didn’t believe it until the third time. He figured that he didn’t feel sick so he couldn’t be sick. After the third test he started placing blame on all the women he’d had sex with but quickly realized he could only blame himself because HE got himself drunk and HE didn’t use a condom. He also went through a phase for six months where he locked himself in his apartment and just watched movies because he figured he was going to die soon. He realized he had to accept himself and that he didn’t have to die. His mission now is to convince people who are HIV positive that they don’t have to die and they can in fact live a fulfilling life with HIV.

Lumkile also pointed out that gender based violence is a huge issue. Police will question women to try to shift the blame on the victims of rape with questions like, “Why are you walking around so late? Why are you wearing that outfit?” Rape cases also take a long time for cases to go to Congress. Some cases last up to six years and are delayed up to thirty times. I think this was a great example of the progress that still needs to be taken towards gender quality. Why should a woman be questioned about her behaviors or appearance after she reports rape? I couldn’t help but being in the shoes of one of these women because I would just give up. I would be so hurt that because of my gender it would be assumed that I would be questioned for asking to be raped.

Our night ended by meeting people from the organization These Numbers Have Faces. This organization helps pay for students’ tuition fees at universities but in return they have to do this for their community. This was very inspirational because it was good to hear that these students are not only able to get an education but they are also learning how to give back to their community. This was an encouraging way to end our day! 
And I’m looking forward to food parcels tomorrow!


Thanks for blogging,
Brittany

Hello Gugs!

My first day in Guguletu was a day of mixed emotions. I started out feeling scared as we drove by shacks with tin roofs that had rocks on the roofs to keep them from flying off. Houses had bars on windows and doors for protection from unwanted visitors. Our driver didn’t help my nerves by telling us that he never comes to Gugs and warned us not to try to be brave Americans by walking around drawing attention to ourselves. He specifically said not to even think of leaving the house after dark. I’m sure you can imagine where my fear was coming from hearing this from someone who lives near Gugs. I was also very nervous because everywhere we drove people were staring at us through the windows. We weren’t even out in public yet and we were drawing attention to ourselves.

Then, we arrived at the JL Zwane Center. We attended a church service there and I felt very awkward walking in there because were the ONLY white people and Xhosa was the primary language being spoken (I think they only spoke English because we were there). My nerves quickly settled when I realized how warm and welcoming everyone at the JL Zwane Church is. We received so many smiles, hand-shakes, and hugs, which was very reassuring. The service began with the reverend talking about being able to go to your neighbor’s house to borrow sugar. The girl next to me asked if we did that in the US and I said not really, at least not at my house because we just go to the store. I began wondering why my mom, or myself, doesn’t go to our neighbor more often. I then began thinking about the value of community. It was very obvious during the service that community is a large part of life in Gugs. Everyone was talking, singing, and dancing during the service I’m becoming convinced that the US values independence more than community.

I couldn’t tell if it was the fact that the congregation was able to all be together at the same time or if it was their faith that brought pure happiness to them during the service. All of the women were singing at the top of their voices and pulling us into the aisles to dance with them as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Obviously they have many concerns such as poverty, HIV, TB, violence, rape, etc. At this point my emotions changed from worried to comfort because I knew if these people could be happy, I could be too. My eyes began watering after 5 minutes of the service just watching the joy of the congregation. After mass we talked to some local youth and this revealed a lot about the similarities between us. They attend school, love partying and shopping, and want to move out of their parents’ homes soon! This also brought me back down to earth because I remembered that, even though they face different struggles than I do, we’re all just young adults.

My last and final stop of the day was Thotho’s house, my host mom. I walked in and was instantly greeted. She gave me the biggest hug I’ve had in a while and I instantly felt safe and extremely grateful. I also met Sinazo, Thotho’s 14 year old granddaughter, who lives with Thotho. In Xhosa, Sinazo means having everything, the perfect name for this BEAUTIFUL young woman. I later found out that she lives with her grandmother because her parents work in Port Elizabeth and she didn’t want to leave Guguletu. Sinazo is just like any other teenager that enjoys dancing, singing, fashion, and soap operas!

I didn’t think that I would be able to sleep at all this week because I’d be too scared and on edge but thanks to Thotho I no longer feel that way. The kind hearts of everyone here and the value of community made me feel right at home. I was happy to see, and I’m sure my mom will be glad to know, that Thotho’s house had gates over the windows and doors like most houses in Cape Town and she does live in a house, not a shack. She has running water along with electricity. Her house is quite nice actually. 

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

Time for Reflection

In the last few days I’ve been exposed to “The Tale of Two Cities.” As we drive through Cape Town, we have seen instances where there will be million rand houses on one side of the street and tin shacks on the other side of the narrow street. The houses look nice and most of them have gates guarding their doors along with armed response signs.  Many shacks consist of tin roofs and are not equipped with any sort of security measure. These are clearly contrasting qualities of life and it’s astonishing that it occurs within such a small space.

The thing I’m struggling with the most is how the people that live in the houses can live with themselves without feeling like complete jerks. In the US, trailer courts are often in a secluded section of a city or town. I always thought this was because trailer courts were thought to be shameful and the city wanted to hide them. But, I began wondering the other day if it was actually for a different reason. Both of my reasons are probably completely wrong, but maybe trailer courts are secluded because people in houses felt pity on those in the trailer court and didn’t want to flaunt their lifestyles. The problem with secluding townships though is that they wouldn’t be secluded, but rather the houses would be secluded because they appear to be outnumbered. I can’t make sense of how such a tragic life can exist in such a beautiful. I guess the phrase a beautiful mess is a good description of the lives of many in South Africa.

After listening to Alison describe her experience in townships and her goal of getting abused children out of townships really made me question why any families stay there. I understand that there are financial and discriminatory reasons like District 6 for townships existing but then why are there houses in townships? If families are able to afford a house why wouldn’t they move out of the township? My goal for the homestay is to get a better grasp on the values of community because a loyalty to community is the only reason I can think of right now for families to remain townships. Does a commitment to family and your community mean that you have to risk your health and safety in order to be near the ones you care about? Understanding “The Tale of Two Cities” may be my toughest challenge while being here but I hope I get better insight.

Also, this is a struggle for me to wrap my head around because I think to myself that it would be so easy to break this vicious cycle if only people could be as courageous as Alison. But, possibly the people of the townships think that if they were to leave the township the violence and health issues would follow them, so what’s the point in leaving. I was just about to suggest that education could be a solution but then I realized there would also need to be a large job demand. Although I want to have a deeper understanding for the socioeconomic structure of South Africa, I know that I won’t be able to even begin to think of solutions because this is clearly one of the greatest adaptive challenges that I’ve observed. I hope next week will shed some like on this tragic issue by speaking to people of Guguletu and JL Zwane but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend it.

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

My Pseudo Life

I am exhausted! This has been the busiest week of my life but everything has been so entertaining and a once in a lifetime experience. Today we went on a safari at the Inverdoorn Game Reserve and let me tell you something, it DOES get cold in South Africa. I was wearing a long sleeve, fleece, and raincoat along with a snuggie type poncho they provided for us and I was still chilly! It was great though. We saw cheetahs which are possibly the most beautiful animals I’ve ever seen. We also saw giraffes, lions, zebras, and an eagle. By the way, our safari guide was VERY HANDSOME. I might bring him back home with me with my new penguin too!  

I think that’s all I have to say today because I’m way too tired to process thoughts and I need to pack for our week in the township! P.S. I won’t be blogging for a week because I won’t have access to a computer/internet! I’ll have a lot to write about in a week!

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

Nervous Wreck

Hello everyone! I had the privilege of being on top of Table Mountain today! Google it if you haven’t seen it because it’s delightful! I was over 3,000 feet above sea level and have never been such a nervous wreck. The view was gorgeous and nothing in my life, not even the birth of a child or a wedding day, could surpass the beauty of standing on top of a mountain. I can’t explain how amazing it was so I’m sorry for the lack of information and visual aid that I’m giving here! Fun fact: Dossies (google a picture of it) are most closely related to African Elephants. And I’m probably bringing one home with me! I also learned how to speak another language this morning! (HA! Barely!) We had a quick lesson on the language of Xhosa and this language includes clicks! A very difficult sound to perfect but it is one of the coolest things to hear. I’ll be giving Xhosa lessons when I get home for about R100 (100 Rand) a lesson. J

On Sunday we’re leaving our lodge in Observatory to be staying with a host family for one week in the township of Guguletu. Nekey and I are staying with a grandmother and her fourteen year old granddaughter. The last two days I’ve become really nervous about this experience and it’s really disappointing me because this was the part of the course that I was looking most forward to. I think this anxiety set in after driving around Cape Town and previewing the conditions that many families in townships live in. How can I possibly prepare myself for something that I’m not exposed to in the US and know nearly nothing about? I think the biggest challenge that I’m going to face is to know that others are much less privileged than I am. I think I’m going to be devastated when I begin seeing that people’s NEEDS aren’t being fulfilled but my WANTS have been. The only thing I keep reminding myself is that I can’t change every person’s life in a township by handing out money (which I don’t even have!). It’s just difficult for me because my heart already hurts for the kids that I will be meeting. Kids will definitely be my soft spot.

I’m also getting really disappointed with myself because I keep becoming fearful for my safety next week. This is irritating to me because I shouldn’t be making judgments based from stereotypes and I’ve been reassured numerous times by Aaron that the families we’re staying with are upstanding in their communities and live in houses, not shacks. I’m aware of my misconceptions but something in my gut just won’t let them go. I don’t want these misconceptions to hold me back in my experience at the township. The only expectation I had from this trip was to gain the most knowledge and insight while staying in the township and I don’t want that expectation to be failed because of my petty fear.

Ok, this is a short one because I still need to write a paper. It’s 8:15 PM and I need to get up at 6:30 AM for our safari! So hopefully my blog tomorrow will include giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions, cheetahs, and a whole lot more of animals from the wild kingdom! Watch out Rafiki, here I come!

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

A Day of Beauty

Today was possibly the most exciting and uplifting day of my life! We went to Boulder’s Penguin Colony and, if you haven’t guessed by now, saw PENGUINS! The penguins at the zoo do not do justice for penguins in their real habitat. It was amazing to see these little creatures standing amongst the crashing waves of the ocean and the mountains in the background. A motherly feeling came over me as I watched the penguins (possibly because I wanted to snatch one up and bring it back to the states) because they seemed to be so peaceful yet aware of their surroundings. There were so many penguins that would look up at us and just stare at us with the same curious eyes that we had for them. Bottom line, I love penguins. Our next stop was Cape Point, the most southern point of South Africa. On our way there we encountered some baboons! The funny thing about baboons is that they are extremely dangerous and we had to keep our windows rolled up as we drove near them! The baboons were quite opposite of the penguins because they were not aware of their surroundings AT ALL! There were cars everywhere but the baboons didn’t budge and weren’t threatened at all. It was very interesting and exciting to see these creatures in their natural habitats.

After a hike up a mountain, which I’m sure I’ll be feeling in my quads and butt tomorrow, I had the amazing pleasure of being able to have a view of the beautiful coastline, ocean, sky, sun, everything of South Africa. Words and pictures cannot do justice for what I saw today. The beauty of nature cooperating together and the colors all perfectly complimenting each other brought such a serene feeling about me. Although there were many people around me, I felt so isolated but completely satisfied. I hope everyone is able to experience the same thing I was able to feel at that point. We also walked further out to the point and this required walking along a tiny path on the edge of a cliff. I was shaking with every step I took in fear of falling into the ocean but the instant I saw the view at the edge of the cliff all of that anxiety left me. I had a smile from ear to ear (literally) and couldn’t stop my disbelief. It was such a great experience and something I will never forget. After the long hike up the mountain we went to Mariner’s Wharf, right next to the Atlantic Ocean, for some fish and chips! Such a refreshing meal after a little hike!

After looking at the beautiful landscape of Cape Town I couldn’t help but think about the differences between the people and the land. I couldn’t help but notice the diversity in animals and plants (I mean there is a mountain and an ocean which, to me, are very contrasting things) and relate that to the people of South Africa. Also, I couldn’t believe how unbelievably amazing (and I know I’ve said this numerous times now) the ocean and the mountains looked together. The harshness of the mountains outlined in the deep blue of the ocean was shockingly beautiful. To me, this signified the future that South Africa is looking for. Although opposite things exist in nature it is possible to make them flatter each other.

The last part of our night was our meeting with Alison Alexander. Words can’t even explain the heart that this woman has. She started an organization called The Rainbow House which houses abandoned, abused, and neglected children. She started this in her home in a township and then made it bigger by moving it to a house in a suburb. She also did this because she wanted to remove the kids from the townships since she didn’t want them placed back into the vicious cycle of the townships. She currently houses 13 children (one of them is her adopted child) and she provides phenomenal care for them. She understands that the intervention for these children is essential in their rescue process. This spoke to me on so many levels. Hello, I’m a psychology major. If money were not an issue for me, I would volunteer every second of my life for this woman and help these children understand their exposure to rape, incest, alcohol, etc. I want to do this so badly but I don’t know how to make it work which makes me really sad. I was so motivated by everything she was saying and agreed with along of her goals and visions but my heart broke as soon as I came back to reality. I wish the best for Alison and I hope we will be able to visit her at The Rainbow House in two weeks.

I was going to try to keep this blog short so I’m very sorry but there’s a lot going on here and a lot on my mind! Anyhow, I’m off to read and go to bed because we’re exploring Table Mountain tomorrow!

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

Tale of Two Cities

Wednesday was the day of museums!  But first, Alan gave us some history about South Africa. I usually think history is a bore but Alan said something that really spiked my interest in the subject. “I love history because it makes sense of my present.” This statement explains perfectly the current state and the history of Africa. We learned a lot about the history of the Dutch and the Khoisan in South Africa. As ignorant as this may sound, I had never realized that slavery occurred in Africa. I’ve always been so aware of the American history of slavery that it never occurred to me that this happened all over the world. The fascinating thing about slavery in South Africa is that the slaves were brought over from Indonesia because it was thought that the Khoisan were too incompetent to do the duties of a slave. One question that popped into my head was why would the Dutch feel as though they could take the land of the Khoisan’s and then turn them into their property? Why was this so popular all throughout history? What was it about most settlers (or possibly invaders?) that made them segregate and find differences rather than learn from and cooperate with the people that were originally on that land? It made me question whether this was an innate behavior for human beings. Do people truly assume the worst in others before giving everyone the benefit of the doubt? I wonder how we can break this cycle of feelings of superiority which seems to reoccur, even in our current society.

Quick lesson: The Khoisan people were Africans in the southern tip of South Africa and had lighter colored skin, whereas the Nguni people were from the north and had a much darker colored skin. Alan explained to us that this piece of history has become a contemporary issue for the people of South Africa. Many people have identity issues due to characteristics such as skin color and language (nine different languages are spoken in South Africa) and these identity issues change from generation to generation. This was interesting to me because these ancestors were from the same country but there was still a lot of diversity among them. This diversity can be seen now walking down the streets of Cape Town. There are a lot of coloured (mixed) and black people and some white people. The variety of race, languages, religion (or lack thereof), and politics is absolutely fascinating and I can’t even begin to fathom the time that it will take to create a sense of unity for the citizens of South Africa. Nelson Mandela was on heck of a good leader and a very clever man for the amount of unity he had created during the aftermath of apartheid. Some of us have experienced a lot of what Americans would consider rude behavior but I just wonder if it’s because of the color of our skin, which they may associate with privilege, or if this is a custom of theirs. Possibly, manners and customer service aren’t as valued here as they are in the US.

The diversity that I explained before may not be too shocking to Americans because we too experience a lot of diversity. But, I don’t think we experience the poverty that I have been seeing and “The Tale of Two Cities,” as Alan would call it. It’s astonishing to me to drive around Cape Town because there will be million dollar houses on one side of the mountain, street, or city (you name it) and then on the opposite side there will be townships of shacks. Shacks that are, literally, made out of tin roofs and pieces of wood. Some of these “houses” don’t even have doors and luckily they are in Africa because these families, sadly, wouldn’t survive a Minnesota winter. The shacks are piled one on top of the other and it is just the saddest looking community ever. I can’t wrap my head around how the people in the million dollar communities can look across the street at the kids living in tin roofs with wood panels without feeling constant guilt and a need to help. Or…how the people in the shacks can bare to look across the street at the million dollar houses without feeling anything but rage and torment. I look at the nice houses in the community and feel complete anger. This is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand and unfortunately I don’t think I’m able to scream at these people that flaunt their money with such a lack of compassion for those that they neighbor. It’s probably one of the most frustrating things for me to witness thus far and I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to live in that situation next week.

Now on to the activities of the day! We went to the Castle of Good Hope first and saw a reenactment which they lit a cannon! The Castle of Good Hope was used for military purposes and was built by the Dutch. This was a very interesting museum and we were even able to go into the torture room and black hole which was a dark room that people were sent to after the torture room. We also saw a table that seated over 100 people! One thing I admired while walking through the museum was all of the paintings. I began to take interest in the perspectives of the people painting the pictures because I think that could be a very biased representation of history at that point in time. Next, we went to the Slavery Museum. WOW! I can’t even begin to express the sorrow and guilt I feel for everything that each slave went through. The dignity and identity that was stripped of these people is completely distressing. Slaves were sometimes named after the months that they arrived, animals, food, and even where they arrived from. How disappointed and worthless would you feel if someone took away your name and named you “Minnesota” or “Sweet Potato” (Sweet Potato was a real name)? I’ve always know how badly slaves were treated and how degrading the act of slavery was and it’s always made me furious but this museum brought a sense of peace to me because it was dedicated to the abolition of slavery and giving recognition to those who suffered from this injustice. This museum also included a huge gallery of information about Nelson Mandela which was very informative but also very overwhelming! Our final destination includes the District 6 Museum. Another history lesson: District 6 was an area of Cape Town in which people were kicked out of their homes and literally forced to wonder the streets, homeless, with all of their belongings. The reason for the people being kicked out of their homes was because that area of the city had been declared an area for whites only and this just happened in 1966. This museum displayed pictures of District 6 before and after the removal of families and was also a place for many families to psychologically reclaim their homes in District 6. Sadly, much of District 6 was never developed and still remains bare today, which is very disappointing and upsetting to me. I don’t understand why hundreds or thousands of families were removed from their homes just so the land could remain unused.

I know that’s a lot to take in and lot of information thrown out at once. I hope it makes sense because honestly I’m still trying to make sense of it all. It’s just absolutely fascinating that all of this history is so recent and the process of the abolition of slavery and discrimination is still a baby in comparison to America’s history. Tomorrow’s blog will be a much more light hearted, I think, and I hope everyone enjoyed their brief South Africa history lesson!

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

50 Rand...to post this blog!

I’M HERE and currently having a blog party!! We arrived in Cape Town at 9:30 PM (2:30 PM MN) after 23 hours of travel time! The first flight was 8 hours long followed by a 4 hour layover and our final flight was 11 hours. Even though 19 hours on a plane may sound dreadful, it was actually a lot of fun. The first flight took us to Amsterdam and this flight was the worse of the two. My body was in so much pain and my brain was becoming unbelievably bored! Our layover in Amsterdam (which Kendall that was in Germany) cost me ten dollars or about 18 euros for a delicious omelet at the Alice in Wonderland restaurant! This was also a time for our group of 15 people to joke and get to know each other. The second flight was my absolute favorite, except for the 2 year old screamer sitting directly behind me that pooped his pants TWICE! We were given food almost every hour, I was able to lay down due to the lack of people on the flight, and the movie selection was fantastic! P.S. I’m going to be constipated for the next three weeks because cheese has been shoved in my face non-stop for the last two days! But anyway…the flight attendants weren’t too friendly and Shane even had one flight attendant tell him to “Get organized”! None of our flights were delayed and no one lost their luggage! Overall, an amazing bonding experience for our group (which I think Aaron had intended) and a great start to our trip in Cape Town.

We had arrived at the end of a stormy day in Cape Town and since it was dark outside we weren’t able to see very much. I can tell you this much, I’m getting to experience the spring that Minnesota decided to skip this year! I can’t complain at all about the weather we had today. It was about 60 degrees with very light rain for a little bit of the day. The climate is very interesting here because there is a constant dampness about the air but the temperature is still refreshing. The scenery and foliage here is to die for. Everything is this beautiful green color and the vines on the buildings around campus were a deep gorgeous red. The fact that Table Mountain is also the backdrop of the city makes the view even more delightful! It was incredible to see the architecture of the University of Cape Town’s campus.  The old architecture of the campus complimented the modern buildings in downtown Cape Town. It was so interesting to see the contrasting old buildings throughout the city with the new, modern buildings.

Events of Day 1: Attending our first class on the University of Cape Town campus, going on a bus tour around Cape Town, eating an authentic South African dinner, and listening to South African music. First of all, my day started with an interesting shower. Do you like hot or cold showers? Well, my mom always yelled at me for using up all of the hot water and leaving her with cold water. Mom, you can’t yell at me anymore because I experienced a much colder shower than you’ve ever experienced! The funny thing is the water would be scolding hot for about 45 seconds and then it would become freezing (literally, FREEZING) cold. Our breakfast was cereal and toast but we weren’t sure if we were using milk or creamer for our cereal! The breakfast was very good and started our day out well. Next we went to campus and briefly introduced ourselves to Alan and Jane, our Arcadia University hosts in Cape Town. Alan and Jane are two great people that luckily have the same sense of humor that our group has! Alan also bought us some snacks during our city bus tour and they were absolutely delicious. One of them was kuch sister, with Alexis asking if there was a twin sister, and this was a cinnamon tasting pastry! Very good! I can’t remember the name of the other tasty snack but it was deep fried (YUM) with mincemeat and a cabbage type food mixed with it. It also had a hint of spice…..SO GOOD!

To sum it all up, today was the day that this all became reality. Alan had told us that the Western Cape province is the only province in which coloured people are the majority and more than 38% if households live in poverty but at the same time the Western Cape is the second most wealthy province in South Africa. My goal for the following weeks is to make sense of this but I know I may not be able to. How can a wealthy province still be experiencing such poverty? How is it that the part of Cape Town I was able to experience today accounts for only about 10% of the population here? Why does so much diversity exist in such a relatively some area of space and how can you unify the diversity? I hope I’ll find out more about these things by getting to know the people of Cape Town and Guguletu. I can’t wait for what the next couple weeks have to offer and I will be updating you all frequently on the activities we’ll be doing!

Thanks for blogging,

Brittany

Finally Reality!

A lot has happened in the last few weeks and tomorrow is finally the day I leave for South Africa. The nerves are beginning to set in. I'm becoming very anxious about how I'm going to pass the time on our 22 hour flight as well as how I'm going to overcome the jet lag! I'm also really nervous because I still haven't been able to accept the fact that I'll be in South Africa for three weeks. I'm worried that I'm not in the right state of mind and that arriving in Cape Town will be something I'm not quite prepared for. But I suppose I can prepare during the flight!

I'm also very excited for many things. I can't wait for the site seeing such as, going to Robben Island, visiting museums, shops, and beaches with penguins, and, of course, going on a safari! I can't wait to experience a new culture that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to experience! I'm most excited to meet my host family, a grandmother and her 14 year old granddaughter. I can't wait to develop relationships with these two people and I have a feeling that I will learn the most from them during my stay in South Africa. When I tell people that we will be staying in a township for a week, their reactions are most often worry and shock. Many people have this perception that townships are a very unsafe and unhealthy place to live, but I look forward to finding out for myself what the environment of townships are truly like.

Something I've been thinking about a lot this past week is how I'm going to integrate what I learn and the experiences I have into my life when I come back to the US. I don't want to forget about the people I meet and the things I learn during my short time in Cape Town. How will I use the things I learn to make myself a better person and to better understand my global identity? I hope that all of this will make more sense to me within the next few weeks or when I return. Well, the next time I'll be blogging will be when I'm in Cape Town! I hope the flight goes smoothly and I can't wait for what's ahead of me!

Thanks for blogging,
Brittany