via Huffington Post by Alyssa Ramos I grew up poor, and by “poor”, I mean I had a single mother who made about $40k a year and had four kids to feed, two of which she adopted before I was born, when my birth-father was still around. I remember being self-conscious about not always having new clothes, using...
by Alyssa Ramos It’s hard to know what to pack for a place you’ve never been to before, especially somewhere a lot different than your home. Sure, you can look up a generic packing list, but it’s a lot more useful to ask someone who has been there! Before my IVHQ South Africa trip, I contacted other bloggers in Cape Town (see Blogger Guides) to ask...
TUESDAY VOLUNTEERING Tuesday morning in Muizenberg, South Africa was even colder than Monday since the icy rain drizzle was still lingering from the downpour the night before. They really weren’t joking when they said bring things to layer. I put on a pair of leggings, skinny jeans, fuzzy socks, my new gangsta boots, a knitted head warming thing, a tank top, a...
From the moment I walked through the doors of 37 Albertyn Road, I knew that choosing to volunteer through International Volunteer Headquarters (IVHQ) South Africa program was one of the greatest ideas I’ve ever had. After postponing the trip for almost a year due to the typical anxiety of time and money constraints, I realized there’s nothing else...
