Can I get a KILO?!

I'm going to apologize in advance for any and all grammatical or spelling mistakes in this blog. Everyone knows I probably shouldn't have passed the 5th grade in those subjects. But hang with me maybe I'll get better? One can wish, right!

So first and foremost I want to send a huge "THANK-YOU KILO" to everyone who has supported getting me thus far--especially the parental units. Note: if you see mama Kaeberle walking around give her a hug and kiss for me :) I wouldn't be able to do this without each of you and it means so much to me! I'll explain what a kilo is later, so hang tight.

6 months of waiting and preparing finally ended last Wednesday when I said my goodbyes headed to Vermont for intern orientation. I anxiously lugged my two large two suitcases and a fully stuffed backpack through the airport to the bus terminal in Boston. It didn't hit me until that 3 hour bus ride that this was really happening. It had been 6 months since I had found out that I would be heading to Africa and the day had finally come. It was a dream come true. A once in a lifetime chance with endless opportunities awaiting. All of the interns met at the GRS headquarters for some snacks and mingling before we headed out to Harris Cabin. A hike through the woods to a gorgeous log cabin with no electricity and an outhouse. The best place to bond 21 interns. No, but really after day 2 I felt like I had been with the group for at least a month. It might have helped too that the people leading orientation were a riot (Hooter, Leah, Sarah, and Austin) and now took over the top of my list for great people on Earth.

The cabin! 

So the time at the cabin reminded me so much of FRoG week. The days were filled with energizers (way better ice breakers), GRS activity examples and KILOS---My favorite part. But a little hard to explain. A kilo is a pumped up show of praise/cheer/really hard to explain. There are a lot of different types of kilo's. The standard goes a little like the following: Leader: "Can I get a kilo?"  Everyone else: clap, clap, clap pause clap clap clap, WHOOH!". The fun part are the variations. But I REALLY can't explain those. I'll try to get a video of one for demonstration purposes later on. After our stay at the cabin we shuttled back to Pierce's Inn where we spent the next two nights. These days were filled with more energizers, activities, and kilos. There was a BBQ Friday night and 3 of the 4 founders were there-- Tommy Clark, Ethan Zohn (from Survivor) and Methembe, along with board members and long-time supporters. Talking to people and seeing their passion for the cause throughout the night got me so pumped to get work here! Which leads me to the departure to SA!! WHOOHOOO! After what I'm going to say was 36 hours of travel, losing an entire day in an airplane (literally, an 18 hour flight with a 6 hr time change) I was to my new home.  We finally made it Cape Town last night and made it to our house-Gordon street house! We went to the office this morning and got to met everyone.Again the excitement and passion is really contagious and the second you walk in the office you immediately have to smile.

P.S: For everyone who knows me this is important information: they have AVOCADOS! and lucky for me my housemates love them as well. so guac will be stalked on the reg :)

That's all for now. Beyond excited to continue to explore the city and country, get to know the other interns (11 of us are in CT),  and dive into a great organization! If you want more information on GRS I encourage you to check out their website and follow all the amazing things they are doing!

Ready to rock out this year