Awesome Student Blurbs!

We had our first day at the SOS Children's Village yesterday. We were mobbed by happy, excited kids. It was wonderful and exhausting.

Becca Brown has delighted the group by sharing a little of her unique, synaesthetic perspective on the world (for example, she associates words with specific colors and tastes, and at dinner one night she told us what each of our names looks and tastes like!). She taught all of the kids to make paper flowers one afternoon at the Umbuyisa School of Art in Soweto, and led our group and the Soweto artists in helping the kids make their own flowers.

Julia Dioguardi was great at bonding with the local artists in Soweto. One of the artists gave her and Francesca a lesson on how to draw portraits of faces. She has been wonderful at connecting with the kids we're working with. One boy was particularly difficult to deal with, but she worked with him and was able to get him to listen and play well with our group and the other kids.

Alex Goldberg is friendly and thoughtful to all. He reaches out to people who look in need of a little extra friendliness. He is always engaged and ready to share his opinions, asks our museum tour guides great questions, and actively participated in the discussion we had with the artists in Soweto about past and present political dynamics in Southern Africa and the world.

Emma King is constantly engaged in whatever the group is doing. She has already learned some words in Zulu/siSwati to help her communicate with local people. She was a wonderful, quiet presence at the sometimes chaotic Umbuyisa School of Art, and tirelessly helped kids with art projects. Our group conspired with the Soweto artists to screen print a birthday t-shirt for her. Other birthday highlights on Saturday included a decorated bed and breakfast table when she woke up, and homemade pizza for dinner!

Andrea Portillo had flight delays that made her join the group a day late in South Africa, but made a seamless transition into the group on day 2. She is kind and helpful to everyone, and even volunteered to clean off all our food when the yogurt leaked in the cooler on the way to Soweto. Talk about taking one for the team!

Jaque Liu joined the group on our fourth day in South Africa, but had no problems fitting right in—by his second day it was like he was always here! He's been great at talking to and learning from local people, and asking good questions. He’s really looking forward to our time this week in Swaziland.

Maggie Dagrosa has a positive attitude that is contagious. When we're playing with kids she is often to be found running around having fun, surrounded by a crowd of them. She made a close connection with a young boy at the Umbuyisa School of Art, who sought her out every day we were there.

Megan Sayther has been taking full advantage of opportunities to connect with and learn from local people. She bonded with the artists in Soweto and learned words in the local dialect from them. Kids seem to flock to her, both in Soweto and now at the SOS Children's Village in Mbabane.

Meghan Degnan is coming into her own as a leader. She knows a lot of games and has been great at teaching them to our group and to the kids we work with. As a Windsor Mountain travel veteran, she’s a key member of our group, and has done a stellar job adapting to new challenges in South Africa.

Dorian Escobar is always looking for ways to step up and help out. There has hardly been a night when he didn't help with cooking dinner, even when he wasn't a cook of the day. When we were driving to Soweto and had to take a detour, he was a great navigator, and helped figure out how to get our vans around the construction and back on track.

Francesca Hartmann is warm and friendly to all, and wonderful with the kids we work with. She helped an endless stream of kids screen print shirts last Friday at the Umbuyisa School of Art. She is wonderfully open about sharing with the group about what her life and culture are like back home in Bolivia.

Cole Eckes is a lovely presence in the group. He is kind and always ready to play a game, or help when someone asks. He made his cheese and potato soup recipe last night, which was a big hit. Like Megan, Cole is a Windsor Mountain Travel veteran, which is really helpful to the leaders since he’s familiar with how we do things, and is always there when when we need him!

Emily Holland is a solid leader in the group. She brought a couple of African World Cup songs with her on her mix cd, and it has helped the group connect with local people to know these songs in common. She throws herself fully into every task before her, be it making crepes for dinner, leading a game for a group of kids, or learning about South African history at the Apartheid Museum.