Half a world away.

I have edited an earlier version of this post. I have gotten older and learned a ton since I posted this - my very first trip to Africa. I was ignorantly parading as the white savior (on this trip and in others) and I vow never to do that again. Voluntourism doesn't fix communities, it only makes things worse, and I apologize for embracing that so willingly. I am so fortunate and privileged, and I'm working on recognizing that daily, being a better person, citizen, ally, and friend. The unlearn is a constant process. - Sarah, June 2020


So I've been trying to decide how exactly to post everything I want to say about my Africa trip. We did so much and I learned SO much that it's hard to write it all down in one post. But, for the sake of everyone else's eyeballs, I'm going to try to just summarize all the good important stuff. Although I can't help but post a million photos. So here goes:

After a quick and painless layover in JFK on Wednesday Feb. 17th we caught a direct flight via South African Airways to Johannesburg. Luckily the plane was only about half full, so instead of squishing myself into one seat, I squished myself into two. 17 hours and lots of gross plane food later, we made it to Africa!

Flying into Johannesburg you wouldn't even imagine there were any need for soup kitchens or donated medicine and hand-me-down clothes. It's as big a city as any, and is only going to be busier once the World Cup hits. The drastic differences in economic class throughout the country are just fascinating.

Once in Jo'burg we rented a giant van and drove 5 hours to Bloemfentein, where we stayed in a very lavish and seemingly undeserved casino-resort. Anxious to get to our destination, we hopped back in the car the next day and drove another 3 hours to Richmond. All in all, it took about 2 and half days of travel time to get there. And now that I've been, I know how to find it on GoogleMaps. Here. Richmond is about half way in between Jo-burg and Capetown, and so it's only claim to fame is that it's a stopping point from one city to the other.

In Richmond we stayed in a little bed and breakfast called An-Ra, which is owned by some of the Afrikaaner farmers that are partners with our program, Hope in Richmond. It was a very cozy little place, despite the nightly removal of ants and spiders from the bed before we went to sleep. The picture below is standing right outside our front door. This is the main drag of Richmond, and the very nice part of town.


After a quick stop to drop our bags off and get settled we made our way to the community center, which is where all the action always takes place. Over the last 5 years that Hope In Richmond has been coming here, things have dramatically gotten better. What was once a dirty attic behind the bleachers is now turned into this:

The children's library!

What was once just a storage room is now the soup kitchen!:

And what was once just land is now the kids' favorite things in whole world, the swings!:

Throughout the week I spent my time playing with the kids and learning about Richmond. The community center makes it really easy for the kids to come hang out after school, instead of go straight home where there might not be swing sets.

I also learned more about the HIV prevalence. 35% of Richmond is HIV positive, many of them children, who have it because their parents have passed it on. And many of theses people have no idea. Here's some scary statistics: 1) Teenage girls in South Africa are 8 times more likely to contract HIV than teenage boys. 2) A 16 year-old girl in South Africa is more likely to have been raped than know how to read. 3) HIV/AIDS is the #1 killer of women in the world. Scary huh?

You may have noticed these stats have a lot to do with women. Not only are there obvious but unspoken racial boundaries here, there are also distinct gender discrepancies that just make things that much harder for women and girls.

While trying to soak up a different culture and learn as much as I could, I also snapped some pics of some super cute kids:

From left to right: Lexi, Semmy, Justin, and Ruwayda.

These are kids that just got out of Sunday School.

This is Aubrey, very clingy and very cute.

During the week one of the ladies in our group gave the kids tons of watercolor paint sets. It was a resounding success, especially for many budding artists as seen below. The kids loved being able to be artsy and colorful and will hopefully be able to keep doing it.

This is one of my favorite little ones: Cruzaan. We call him Cruzer. And he spells his name like this:

This is AJ. He was so so sweet.

Also during the week I helped Grassroot Soccer Intern Anna with GRS related things. Please check out her blog for the full scope of what she's up to in Richmond. Grassroot Soccer is educating the youth of southern Africa about the dangers and prevention of HIV/AIDS through the universal language of soccer! Aside from helping set up a "Street League for Girls" I also went with Anna to a farm school about an hour away called Merriman. At Merriman Anna and her GRS coaches did some very cool activities with the students. One game was called "Risk Field." In this game the kids have to dribble a ball through some cones, each of which is a different risk factor for HIV. If the ball touches one of the risk factors, they have to drop down and do a pushup. The game evolves as do the topics and it's quite fun to watch and take part in.


One morning was spent going on "rounds" with my mom and some people from the Richmond clinic, which consisted of visiting homes and asking people if they felt alright. The answer seemed to always yes, and we spent most of the time just chatting. This gave me an opportunity to see where people really live in Richmond, and in what kind of conditions. Later that morning we made our way over the hill to squatter's camps.

Unfortunately, a pipe burst somewhere underground and is now flooding the whole camp.

Being at the squatter's camps made me thankful for my pillows and my toothbrush and my sneakers and electricity and modern plumbing and so much more. Half a world away in more than just distance. I am so fortunate.

South African are extremely hospitable. We spend a few evenings outside of the township of Richmond. Our partners with Hope In Richmond were happy to host us for an evening braai (South African BBQ), followed by a delightful sundowner's (sitting around to watch the sun go down), something I thoroughly enjoy. This is a photo of the sunset over Hendrik's farm. He owns about 30,000 acres of land. Kind of like an "Everything the light touches" type of deal.


Another evening found us at another Afrikaaner farm belonging to Johan and Anneke.

Sundowner's this night was spent at the top of a cliff overlooking their land.
(Everything the light touches!)

Our time in South Africa was not spent entirely in Richmond. Following a lot of work that week, we hopped on a domestic flight and got another rental car to drive to a game reserve called Madikwe for our safari. There are a bazillion pictures of baby lions and elephants and mongoose and such, but this post is long enough as it is. PLEASE please please check out facebook for the whole slew of pics and I will perhaps put up a safari post a little later.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures. These are the kids lining up to wash their hands for the soup kitchen.


Love, Shub :)

Onward and upward.

It's 2:08 am and I'm enjoying some last-minute browsing on the 'ol compy. I will miss her while I'm gone! I have been emailing some people in Richmond so I assume there is internet there. Otherwise, I will be checking emails and adding picture-less posts whenever I can (all the photos will get downloaded when I get home).

At this point, I'm only worried about the flight. Being confined to one seat for 17 hours doesn't exactly turn me on. Better be good movies!

Before we depart for the airport in an hour, here's a last minute photo of some stuff we are taking with us! Thank goodness checking bags internationally is free (for now at least!).


Although it looks like garbage, it's actually tons of clothes, soccer gear, books, and medicine for the people of Richmond.

Wish us luck!

Onward and upward,

Shub :)

New adventures, little through big.

So I am home in Maryland for a few days!

On a little adventure to College Park today, numerous people asked me if I had gotten snowed in, and didn't make it back to California. I WISH. I did make it back, much to Miramar College's excitement, and worked for just one month before returning back to the snowmageddon. The snowpocalypse. The end of the world as we snow it. SNOW my god.

Snow has always been one of my favorite things, and I truly miss it when I am in southern California, which lacks all mention of seasons. So as much as everyone hates the school cancelings and the double-parking and the back-breaking from shoveling, flying into the wintery wonderland was definitely a feel-good thing for me.

Back in California, however, things are going well. I am busier than I have ever been at a job, am finally working full-time, and I have a position at work that has evolved into about 8 other positions as well. Aside the from being the clerical work in the new Medical Lab Technician Training Program at Miramar College, I am also the lab tech for both classes in the MLTT program (Hematology/Immunology and Chemistry/Urinalysis), and have sort of become the TA for both classes and for the 17 students in the program. Though the clinical lab does not particularly thrill me, it's certainly good experience and is keeping me busy. I'd call it a medium-sized adventure.

If anyone has ever thought for one second that the construction that goes on around campus in College Park is a little too much, please entertain yourself with these photos below. This is my current place of employment:

The gorgeous view from the super-clean bathroom!
(Note: BOTH of those are sarcasm)

Oh look! More dirt!:

The view from the science building:

And behold the tin-roof bungalow thing I work in:

Anywho, I shouldn't complain, I have a job that likes me and I live in the most beautiful place in southern California. I just miss the beauty of the Maryland Mall, and the ODK fountain and CSPAC and the stadium and everything about lovely CP. Hooray community college! So if nothing else, it is at least an adventure navigating the ever-changing fence-maze through campus.

So why am I home, you ask? I'm about to embark on a really big adventure! Not necessarily the longest one, but certainly the farthest from home, and from America. On Wednesday morning at 6am my mom and I will be catching a flight to JFK, after which we will catch another flight to Johannesburg, South Africa! If you've forgotten from the last post, here's a quick summary of the trip:

After flying into Jo'burg, we will spend another couple of days traveling to Richmond, a very small town in the Karoo desert of South Africa, pretty much about mid-country. If you google it, a different, more urbanized Richmond, SA pops up. That's not the one we're going to. My mom has been working closely with a program called Hope in Richmond, run out of an Episcopal church in Poolesville called St. Peter's. We are essentially going to be working on improving the quality of life for the residents of Richmond. Of a population of about 9,000, approximately 35% are HIV positive, and around 75% are unemployed. Things I will probably be working on: the soup kitchen, the children's library, the HIV/AIDS clinic, the employment training center, and more. I will also be working with an intern for Grassroot Soccer (Anna), a VERY cool program focused on HIV/AIDS prevention education. To learn more about Grassroot Soccer, or donate to her cause, check out her awesome blog HERE. Or if you would like to donate to Hope in Richmond, or to the Hubbard's travel expenses (which are quite large, I assure you) please feel free to contact me :) I will take SO many pictures you people will spend days reading my post-Africa posts. It will be an experience unlike any other, and hopefully a taste of what the Peace Corps might be like! (if I'm so lucky)

Which leads me to my next thought. The biggest adventure of all.

After much stalling and re-editing of my already edited essays, I finally submitted my application for the Peace Corps last month! Hooray! And with the help of the greatest recommendation-writers in the whole wide world, my part was complete. Or so I thought. The application process normally takes around 9-12 months. Here's why:

1. After you submit all the substance-y stuff, you then fill out a lengthy medical evaluation form.
2. Once this is done, you are sent a legal kit, where fingerprints and a background check form must be returned.
3. If these check out, and they like you enough, you get an interview.
4. If this goes well, you get a nomination, which means you move to step 5.
5. An extensive round of medical, legal, suitability, and competitive reviews (this is apparently where the most people are kicked out).
6. IF these check out, you get an invitation! You say yes or no. And you pack your bags!

Unfortunately, I'm stuck somewhere between steps 1 and 2, because I have connections with government intelligence agencies (thanks A LOT dad and brother :) and can't move on until they decide I'm not a danger to myself abroad or a liability or something. If nothing else right now, this whole process is certainly going to be a true test of patience! Keep your fingers crossed!

Anne-Marie and her incredible blogs inspire me to write more, and write better for that matter, so as always I will try to not be so lazy :)

But speaking of lazy! I will leave you with some snippets of the excitement that goes on in the Hubbard Household these days.



Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Keep adventuring! Miss you!

<3 Shub :)