You know one of the things that really bug me about South Africa? Seat belts are treated as no big deal. Kids are always bouncing around in the back seat or climbing all over. Like this morning. We saw a guy driving down the road and his son, maybe about three or four years old, was standing up in the back and leaning his head up over the driver’s seat. I know that sometimes it’s an issue in America too, but not like it is here. In fact here, I think it’s actually uncommon to see a child buckled up in the back seat. Let alone in a car seat. I'm not too sure what the rate of deaths from car crashes is here, but I'm sure it would probably be lower if people would just buckle their children up. It's one thing for an adult to not wear their seat belt, but at least they should know better. Endangering the life of a child who doesn't know the difference is plain wrong. To all my friends in South Africa: Please make sure your kids buckle up!

Anyway, now that my little rant is done, back to work!

I think my favorite thing about my summer adventures so far is when we went to Swaziland. The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small country, landlocked by Mozambique and South Africa. We went there to meet with some listeners of TWR programs and we visited the radio transmitter site. We traveled most of the day on July 4^th. When we got to the missionary house where we were staying, we had a braai. A braai is like a cookout and a bonfire combined. It was like we were celebrating, just minus the fireworks! There were even red, white and blue balloons and a patriotic teddy bear on the table in the house where we stayed. It was nice.

We only got to talk to a couple of listeners, but the listeners we did talk to, shared some really good stories and were so full of life. I got to hand out two radios, and the ladies were so grateful! The older lady just danced when she turned it on, and the younger lady said, “Oh! We will never forget you!” It was something I will never forget. I wish we could go back before I leave, but there’s just not enough time.

Last Friday we headed to KwaZulu Natal. It’s a southern region in South Africa. We did the same thing we did in Swaziland; we went and visited with some listeners. I thought it was really interesting to see how people outside of the cities live. They literally have almost nothing and live in brick huts or garage door houses, but they are some of the happiest people you would ever meet.

On Saturday, we went to the Indian Ocean. There is a marine world right on the beach. We got to go in the shark tank in a cage and see all the sharks swim right on by…not quite the real thing, but definitely a good starter! We also got to walk out on the beach. I got some really cool pictures..they’ll be up soon!

Now we’re back in the office. I just finished one of my major projects for the summer, so that feels nice. And a couple of the other ones are well on their way! Speaking of work, I should get back to it! I’ll try and update again soon!