Hello! Welcome to my blog! 

This is the first of many entries documenting my experiences in South Africa. I've just arrived home from my final orientation meeting; it is officially 22 days until departure and it can't come soon enough. Focusing on the school work I have now is proving to be especially difficult because all I think about are the exciting adventures to come. 

Now for a bit of background on my study abroad trip to Cape Town. The class is focuses on the AIDS pandemic taking place in the townships outside of the city. In a sense, these townships are the "hangover" of apartheid. Basically, it is marginalized living situations for the marginalized citizens of apartheid -- blacks. In these townships, an overwhelming amount of the population is living with HIV/AIDS and has little access to adequate healthcare. As I view it, the main purpose of our trip is to study and observe apartheid's and leadership's role in the realities that make living in the townships with HIV/AIDS especially difficult. 

As you can imagine, the contents of this blog may become graphic, depressing, and maybe a bit unbearable. But in my mind, it is my responsibility to be completely honest in the realities I see and experience so that you can better understand why the AIDS pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa is a global problem, not just another one of the misfortunes this continent constantly faces.

So please, read this blog with an open mind. Offer me your feedback. Update me on your life. Let me know your impressions upon reading this. Ask questions. And most importantly, I challenge you to become more informed about the disease that has claimed 28 million lives and affects the daily lives of millions more across the globe. 

Thanks for reading.

Peace