Goats, Donkeys, Monkeys and Hobbits

May was a month of local adventures – I stayed put in PE and tried out surfing again, did my first two open water scuba dives in the bay (and I LOVE it! The reef in PE is surprisingly beautiful and the only way I can describe it is if you imagine you are a tiny fish in the prettiest fish tank ever with plants of every brightest color around you and all of your fishy friends coming up to your face to say hello), tried my luck at the well-known casino (what’s up 315 Rand!) and enjoyed the last few weeks I had as a homework tutor at Sinethemba. It was a nice month to relax and save up some money for a couple trips before the big trip to Boston, MA in a few weeks ;)

The last "official" day at Sinethemba

Lara and I left one day earlier than the rest of our group to see what Grahamstown is all about. Getting there on a Saturday evening may not have been the best idea since almost everything was closed, but we eventually asked around and found the street where all of the students from Rhodes University go to have fun – New Street. We could have followed the herd of goats walking on the sidewalk, or the donkey hanging out by the stop sign, but we waited until we saw humans. We popped into the Rat & Parrot and caught the second half of the Sharks vs. Lions rugby game. The bar was filled with South African rugby fans, and we began talking with one family from the Jo’burg area. After finding out that I was from Boston, they asked me about the Red Sox and Yankee rivalry, and why that is and how it is to be from Boston. It always surprises me when people from around the world know so much about where I’m from, yet I was still questioning the rules of rugby and wondering if the Lions were Jo’burg, Durban, Cape Town..? (It’s Jo’burg, and there really aren’t that many rules.) It makes the U.S. seem like the kid in school that everyone knew everything about, but was never friends with. America needs to stop hitting up Facebook so much. The rest of the night was a lot of fun; we grabbed a delicious dinner at the Bistro and then explored some other popular student hangouts. One of them may or may not have been an 18^th birthday party but we had a good time nonetheless. The next day, the entire city of Grahamstown was without electricity from 8am – 5:30pm, so we grabbed a couple avocado & haloumi cheese wraps (mmm) at our favorite Café Delizzia, and played Go Fish.

Leaving Grahamstown, we were directed by the hostel manager to take these free game drive roads. The nature reserves were built across roads through towns between Grahamstown and Hogsback, and anyone passing through was able to see some animals on the reserves as they drove along the bumpy dirt paths. Driving along these roads took a considerably longer time than going along the main road since they were not paved, but it made the trip into a free safari, so we thought “Why not!” We were able to see many zebras, baboons, a few antelope, warthogs, and my favorite, an elephant! After the game drive, we came upon the Great Fish River Reserve, where it is said that you are able to see some hippos & rhinos. The only problem with this reserve is that there is a river inside, and in order to get through the reserve, the car must pass through the river. Our hostel manager said that the passenger (me) had to get out of the car, roll up her jeans, walk into the center of the river, and if she is able to stand, then the current is calm enough for the car to pass through. Our question was, what if the current is too strong for her to stand..? Well, then you must drive along the river and pick her up where she lands. Great plan! Anyways, our 20-something year old VW Fox was not prepared for this, so we didn’t make the attempt, and turned around to get back on the main road toward Hogsback.

Since it was pretty dark, we couldn't entirely see the road we were driving on that was weaving back and forth along a cliff, but we made it there safely, even avoiding a few cows in the road. Once we got to Away with the Fairies Backpackers in Hogsback, we spent the night in this mountainous town known as the inspiration for Lord of the Rings. Tolkien used to spend holidays with his family here when he was young. It’s a beautiful place to hike, but it’s one place I know of in South Africa that gets snow! Even though it wasn’t snowing when we were there, it was practically cold enough. So after we built a fire in the dorm and poured ourselves some hot tea, Lara and I had ourselves some wintertime in Africa.

During the day, we went on a beautiful hike to one of the three notable mountaintops- the “hogs” – and although we weren’t sure if we would make it to the top before dark, we gave it a shot. It turned out to be a really beautiful hike. Many parts of the mountain are so steep and slippery since there are so many waterfalls as you climb up, but at the top, the mountain was quite dry and we were able to stop and have some lunch where the sun was the hottest.

On the way back to the bottom, we decided to take a road since the way we ascended would probably lead to us slipping and flying down a 20 meter waterfall – epic death, yet we weren’t okay with our chances. The road led us to a lake that we could see from the top of the mountain, so it was still a nice sight-seeing path. When we were on our way to where we began, we heard a car coming our way from behind. We had already been hiking for almost 6 hours, so a lift back to the car seemed like a reeeally good idea. The car slowed down and it was a policeman, and here’s how the conversation went:

Us: “Hello! How far to the parking lot?”

Police: “About 2km.

Us: “Could we maybe get a ride in the back of your truck?”
Police: “No, I don’t pick people up.”
Us: “But we’re international students. We’ve always wanted to ride the back of a police car.”

Police: “You have? Okay, get in.”

Then we piled into the back of the truck where we thought the “bad people” went and were so happy to be in South Africa, where the rules are so easily broken.

P.S. At our hostel, there was a bathtub on the edge of a cliff! I'm wondering why this wasn't in Lord of the Rings..? It's AWESOME!

Jo'Burg, Tofo, Swazi.

  

It’s been a busy and fast-moving week here. For the long weekend, Lara, Silja, Theresa (brown) and I were traveling MACHINES. Just to start we drove almost 34 hours on the bus to get from PE to Tofo, Mozambique…yikes. I admit that some of what I write might be out of order because as I think back on the week, the memories are already blurring together! We left on Friday from PE for Johannesburg on the Intercape bus, a nice and relaxing sleepliner that took us through the night up north. Arriving in Jo’burg was really exciting because I’ve always wanted to see the city but have had so many warnings thrown at me about the city having some of the highest crime rates in the world. It was definitely different from PE and Cape Town, with lots of traffic and many people getting haircuts on the street. When we got picked up by Theresa’s collegue, Tim, we went for a long drive to a different part of Jo’burg. It’s a huge city with many different levels of wealth. In the business center we went to, we were able to see the famous Nelson Mandela statue as well as the hilltop that overlooks the entire city with all of its different sections. For one day, we saw quite a bit of the city.


Next stop was Maputo. We were lucky to have someone from Fatima’s backpackers standing at the bus stop when we got off because we were all pretty sleepy at this point! After checking out our dorm room (with mosquito nets and all) we headed to the streets to find some breakfast (chocolate filled pastries..) and see the sights of Mozambique’s capital city. I realized how much more “African” Mozambique seems than South Africa when we passed the women selling fruits off the ground of the side walk, huge open markets that sold whole fish and the freshest veggies & fruits I’ve seen, “tok toks” that were tiny green motorized 3-wheelers that zipped through the city, and small girls that carried babies in wraps around their backs and toddlers that were packing fruits away in plastic bags for their mothers to sell. Children contribute to the work of the adults so much more than I’ve seen before. There seemed to be an equal number of children, ages anywhere from 4-16 selling bracelets, artwork, fruits, crafts and other things on the streets. They all have a similar business strategy, too. We repeatedly heard “Nice price for you, sister. Please, sister just look, just look for me.” It gets so exhausting to have to turn down so many sellers, especially when they don’t stand taller than 3 feet. I also began talking to one man who I bought some really pretty souvenirs from. He explained to me that he needed money for transport to get home, 46 kilometers away. He travels in between Maputo and his home regularly to be with his family and to sell his art. It seemed like a really tiring way to live, especially when the art didn’t sell for much more than what his transportation cost. Everyone you meet is so persistent to earn money because they rely on themselves alone to make a profit.


At 4:30 the next morning we woke up to catch the shuttle to Inhambane/Tofo. I thought I was stuck in a bad dream, but had to laugh when we piled into a minibus where the seats met our knees and we could barely wiggle in the space we had. It was going to be an 8 hour trip in the tiniest van ever. Fortunately it was only taking us to a slightly larger shuttle bus which would actually bring us the whole trip. We sat in this van in the lot for a good 45 minutes while people slowly piled in with bags of luggage and venders incessantly approached our windows asking us to buy from them. By the time we actually got moving, it was about 7am, and then the van broke down. Haha! But the driver and his copilot simply pushed the van backwards until it jerked forward a couple feet and the engine started… once again, we just laughed. It was a nice ride with the scenery and the opportunity to witness the streets of Mozambique.


We arrived in Inhambane/Tofo and were taken to the Bamboozi Lodge in the bed of a pickup truck of one man who was on the shuttle with us. These are towns much different from the city, with long stretches of beaches, hardly any public transportation and mostly locals, few tourists, at this time of the year. The street leading to our hostel was filled with palm trees, small local markets, huts and villages and beautiful summer homes. Very few electrical wires, making it a really eco-friendly place. Our hostel didn’t even have electricity or water running more than twice during the day, and at 10:30pm, they shut off all the electricity! At first it was a shock and then we got used to going to bed with the sunset and waking with the sunrise. At night it was pretty dark along the street leading back to our chalet, but we all felt really safe where we were. Aw and I loved our chalet with the tall pointed ceilings, porch overlooking the sand and palm trees and fresh air that was always coming through the holes at the rooftop.


While in Tofo, we went on an ocean safari where we rode in a motorboat for about 2 hours looking for sea creatures to snorkel with. This was by far one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had here! Within the first 20 minutes our skipper told us to kit up and get in the water, there was a whale shark below. I had no idea what a whale shark looked like, but knew that they were gentle and rare to come by. Immediately after hitting the water my heart nearly jumped up my throat. The nine meter whale shark was swimming toward me, just a few meters deeper than where I was. Its face was so wide and it was a blueish grey color, covered with white spots. I couldn’t believe I was swimming in the same water as this massive fish! All of the snorklers began to follow it and once my panic faded, I too swam with them to see where “Whaley” was going. Once he outswam us we got back on the boat, and the next couple hours were spent looking for other creatures, but I think most of us just wanted to swim with Whaley again! (Which we did, about 4 or 5 times!!)


After Mozambique, we took a flight to Jo’burg and rented a car to take to Swaziland. This wasn’t in the original plan but we thought it a much better option than taking the bus again for the entire weekend. Swaziland was such a good idea. It’s a kingdom where people are so friendly and they have such a cool history and culture. We saw a cultural Swazi dance and took a tour of one of the family’s villages. While some of the traditional ways are still in place, much of the culture has modernized and changed with time. The huts were so impressive in the village. They took about a month to make and could keep cool air in so efficiently (it’s VERY hot in Swazi, even now, in Winter), kept rain out perfectly, and you can even build a fire inside without worrying about the smoke getting trapped inside. Genius design. We learned about the polygamist culture of the Swazi people, and loved the fact that each wife got 3 huts to herself.. a kitchen hut, a sleeping hut, and a beer brewing hut.. that’s awesome. About 500 meters up from the village was the 2nd tallest waterfall in Swaziland. It was nestled in the woods where we saw vervet monkeys playing around in the trees. The water was super crisp but we eventually got used to it and swam up to the waterfall. Later that day, we took a sunset game drive at Mlilwane Game Park and drove up a mountain that overlooked the whole village and waterfall we visited. We also walked the path that led to the Execution Mountain, a cliff where people got pushed off if they committed a crime a long time ago. I didn’t expect to learn so much about Swaziland in the short day we were there. Especially speaking with a couple later that night who was just finishing a year of traveling the world, it made me so curious to learn about other small and uncommonly heard of countries around the world. They told us about these islands in between America and Australia that I didn’t even know existed, and how beautiful they were and how badly we NEED to see them! Listening to their stories about Thailand, Cambodia, New Zealand, Australia and all the places in between was a really inspiring way to end our week of traveling, especially as I think of how little time I have left with my own travels this semester! The good thing is that I know this isn’t the last time I’ll be exploring abroad.. I think I’ve caught the travel bug :)

Easter Holidays in Cape Town? Yes PLEASE!

So I have arrived back in PE after a lovely lovely week in Cape Town for the Easter Holidays (Spring Break.. even though it is now becoming winter!) It was a really awesome week and I had fun.
The End.

Just kidding, I have so much to say about what we have done, it's just a pity that it requires me to sit here and jog my memory to put it all in words! So here we go. First, we packed up the cute little VW Fox with high hopes that everyone was wrong when they said "that car is NOT going to make it to Cape Town.." It was a nice ride on the way there, about 5 hours and we were in Knysna (pronounced Nice-Na.) It was very nice. It's a quiet waterfront town with a beautiful docking area filled with restaurants, shops, and cafes. It's also completely safe to walk around there at night because it's such a vacation spot, and very touristy. I didn't mind though, because it was comforting to be somewhere that didn't require me to be constantly on guard at night like I am in PE sometimes. We stayed in a hostel that was brand new, just opened up in January, and had the whole upstairs dorm to ourselves. It was suuuper comfortable, and there was even a cute little doggy that we met the second day. We got up really early to see the sunrise and also went on the Elephant Walk hike during the day we were there. We were hoping to see the last remaining elephant in the forest, but didn't have any luck. Although we did see a 600 year old tree. Pretttty cool.

We were on our way to Cape Town after that. This week was a good chance to be full on tourists and not feel too ashamed about it. We tried to everything you're supposed to do when you're in Cape Town. The first day there we explored Long Street, a really fun place both in the daytime and nighttime. It's filled with people, bars, clubs, restaurants, shops, everything! I also discovered my new favorite restaurant there - the Royale Eatery. Best milkshake and best veggie burger w. sweet potato fries I have ever had.  Long St. was an awesome place to be, and I can see how people are easily sucked into it for weeks on end. There are so many places to go, people to meet, and it seems like each night is different. It does get a bit iffy at night though. There are lots of people who seem to be homeless, and unlike what I'm used to in the states, they follow you until you give them something. It was very different than what you see at home - people sitting on the street and asking passerbys for change. At first I was so uncomfortable with this and surprised myself because I actually became really impatient with this one person. They were incessantly asking for change or food, explaining that they were just hungry and needed to get to the local shelter. They kept talking to me as we walked down the street.. I gave them just a little money and then they were thanking me, but this was definitely a test of my empathy at this point. How are you supposed to help every single person who asks you for money? I also was thinking of the sign that was in our hostel that said "Don't give food or money to street children, it only helps them to stay in their situation." It was a bit overwhelming, but a reality of Cape Town.

Our other activities during the week consisted of visiting Simon's Town, where we saw a bunch of little penguins on the beach, the Cape of Good Hope, a beautiful reserve on the edge of the cape where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet AND where a ton of babboons are located, a beach day at Dolphin's Bay with the full view of Table Mountain in the distance, a hike up Table Mountain and a visit to Robben Island. The hike and the island visit were in the same day, so we were a bit crammed for time, but were very proud of ourselves when we made it on time to the ferry departure!

It was incredible to be in the prison where Nelson Mandela was located for 18 years. A man who used to be in the prison for about 12 years gave us a tour. It made it a lot more interesting to hear about it from his perspective as he told us about how the meals were made with sea water and there were different regulations for "Bantu" or "Colored" people. The Island is also a really strange place. It's mostly a tourist destination now, with only about 200 people still living on the island. Those who live on the Island are either people who once were in the prison or who worked for the prison. At one point there were a lot of Irish people inhabiting the island because they worked with the people who suffered from leprosy. People with leprosy were sent to live on the island because the government believed that it was a communicable disease and were afraid of it spreading on the mainland. The primary school has been closed down, so any children who live on the island must go to the mainland for school, about a 12km boat ride away. It's a really dry place with only a little bit of wildlife, but we were lucky enough to see a springbok hop out into the road when we were on the tour.

Now that I'm back in PE I'm just enjoying the couple of weeks I have before I leave for Mozambique! Lara, Silja and I are in the process of getting our scuba diving licenses so we will be able to use them when we go away for the long weekend. It's so much fun, and such a strange experience to breathe under water for so long. I love the sound of just hearing everyone's bubbles from their breathe. Right now we are still learning in the pool, but I'm hoping to see some crazy sea creatures when we dive in a few weeks!

Thanks for reading :)

The Future Is No Place to Place Your Better Days

Just thought I'd title this entry with a quote from South Africa's very own Dave Matthews. It also aptly describes a lesson I'm learning every day here; to live in the moment and to take any opportunity that comes your way.


Last weekend I did something I thought I would NEVER do.. bungy jump! And not only bungy jump.. but jump off of the HIGHEST bungy jump bridge in the world. Theresa, Theresa, Lara, Silja and I drove the beautiful Garden Route again to the bridge where Lara, Silja and I had a 3:00 appointment on Saturday to jump off a bridge. (It's such a funny concept to me.) Bloukrans Bridge is located on the way to Plettenberg Bay. It overlooks beautiful rolling hills and cliffs covered in greenery and just through the hills is the sea. The scenery alone is something to marvel at from a distance, and then you fall from the bridge and have that whole view to yourself in absolute silence. Ahhh it was so great. Getting across the bridge to the jumping point on the other hand, was terrifying.. and I'm pretty sure that my mind stopped processing what was happening when I stepped to the edge of the bridge and looked down to see 216 meters of free space below. When I jumped, I was going so much faster than I imagined I would, so I just screamed and screamed and screamed, until I realized that everything around me was quiet. The bounces weren't bad, and my favorite part was the zero gravity at the start of each bounce. It was a really cool feeling to hang still in the air for that split second before falling again. Even though the whole ordeal probably lasted less than 5 minutes, it seemed like half a lifetime until the guy came down the rope to pull me up, and I think it took almost equally as long for my face to stop smiling when I was back on the bridge.

Before bungy jumping, the girls and I stopped at Monkeyland, a rehabilitative center for monkeys who have been in captivity or possessed by mean human owners. There were monkeys all over the place, and they got really close to you, too! There's a lot of different species of monkeys there, some are even from South America and Asia, not all are necessarily African species. My favorite little one was the only one from its species in Monkeyland. I don't remember what kind he was but he looked reeeal cute sitting up there in the tree, so naturally I climbed up there and snuck him into my knapsack. Kidding, but I really wanted to.

Besides that one day of absolute adrenaline, life here is pretty easy going. It’s still exciting, but in a different way.. sometimes I will be walking down the street and have to think, “Oh yeah, I’m in Africa!” I also have these moments every now and then when I can imagine what it’s going to feel like when I return home. I know that I’m going to think about the 5 months I was in Africa for the rest of my life, and I sometimes feel like I’m a walking memory, trying to brand how I am genuinely feeling in my mind so that I never forget what I was thinking, feeling, wondering, etc. as I walked down the streets of PE. There are also moments where everything seems really normal, but then I remember that there are things that happen here that I’ve just never experienced, and may never experience after this (like getting into a taxi that barely drives and just bucks down the street 20 miles an hour, or having my roommates from Kenya and Tanzania cook me a homemade dinner of vegetables and maize, a recipe they took from home, or listening to students all around me speak Xhosa and just loving the sounds of the clicks.)


There's been a lot of planning for the rest of the semester going on.. Just to give a little preview: In two weeks we have Easter Break, and I'll be going on a road trip to Cape Town with Lara and Silja! We'll stay in Kysna on the way there, visit Mossel Bay, and then on the way back we'll stay in Wilderness. During April I'll be taking a scuba diving course to get my license to dive (anywhere in the world for the rest of my life) and at the end of April we're heading to Mozambique!!! So very excited.


I hope all is well at home.. and a little shout out to my Lesley loves who spent Spring Break with Habitat for Humanity!! I've seen the photos and loved reading all the posts online. I'm so happy it was another successful week (although I'm not surprised at all!) Great work and welcome back!


Cheers!

Atomkraft? Nein Danke.

So to begin, I just want to acknowledge that the title of this blog entry really has no relevance to anything that has actually happened in the past two weeks or so, except that I am consistently learning German from my friends and this phrase is one of my favorites so far. "Nuclear Power? No, thank you." I read it on a button of my friend Theresa and she translated it for me.. and now it's the phrase of the week.

A lot has gone on, as usual, and now I have a lot to write about in one entry.. as usual. I'll start with the trip I took to Plettenberg Bay! It was a beauuutiful place, with shops and a market located on a steep hill and the beach at the bottom. We took the three hour drive along the Garden Route, winding through hills and mountains as we passed Jefferey's Bay and all of the pretty coastal towns. Lots of bush fires filled the road with heavy smoke though, and I saw a grand total of one firetruck racing to the rescue.

I stayed with two different groups over the weekend. The first hostel I was at was called Amakaya Backpackers and it was nestled in a little spot within the hills. It was really cute, with hammocks in the yard and a full braai on the top deck where the manager, Dan, made us this huge braai for dinner including cheesy bread, chicken, salad, sausages, and for dessert, bananas over the fire with melted chocolate inside. Super delicious meal! The next day, we wandered down the hill onto Main Street where there were vendors and little shops, and a really cool outdoor market that sold all sorts of beaded jewelery, second hand furniture and knick knacks, seafood, breakfast, coffee, etc. After grabbing some nutella filled crepes, we headed for the beach to lounge in the sun and play in the waves (not for too long though.. Plett Bay has had recent incidences of great white shark attacks.. yikes!).. and later on, we rented jetskis!!! I never in my life thought that jetskiing would appeal to me, and when I saw these guys zooming off into the waves, my stomach turned and I said, "yup, still doesn't really appeal to me." That was, until I was offered a free spin around the bay with the guy who was renting out the jetskis. For some reason, whenever an expense becomes free, it sounds ten times cooler to me.. not always a good thing. Anyways, I hopped on and at first, thought it was a really bad idea because we were flying up over the waves and I was sure I was going to fall right off. But luckily he knew what he was doing and it turned out to be so much fun! We went so fast and it was such an adrenaline rush. I would definitely go back and rent one of those out for longer!

There have been a couple of NMMU rugby games over the past 2 weeks also. I originally thought that they would be similar to the last rugby game I had been to, however these events are far more wild. There are two groups of singers in the stands who consistently fill the stadium with music throughout the game. They are clapping and dancing and cheering the entire time, and when everyone files out of the stadium, the cheer "NMMMM, NMMUUUUUUU" is echoing in the streets. I think the crowd has really motivated our team because the first game I was at, we won!! The second game we came really close, scoring 3 goals in the last 10 minutes! This is a good record for the NMMU team. Go Madibaz! :)

This week we went to Admirals Buffet for dinner on Thursday night, an all you can eat buffet that costs just R100-130. There were a lot of exquisite little dishes to choose from, including garlic snails, chicken feet, cow's tongue, deep fried calamari (my personal favorite!!), among other things. I stuck to the vegetables and calamari, because as much as I wanted to take a risk and try these other things.. I don't think I'd have been able to! The food I had was great though, and we finished off the meal with waffles and ice cream. Mmmmmm, I love food.

On the way to the buffet we had a little scare when we saw police lights tailing our car. In South Africa, it's not really out of the ordinary to overload cars, so we were casually driving down the road with 4 of us in the back seat, not thinking much of it. We also missed the restaurant, so we may have pulled a u-turn in the road.. but hey, since when are we following rules in Africa? Anyways, after our hearts jumped up a bit, the officer came to the window, obviously noticed we were not from around here, and gave us a very easy-going warning, "Don't do it again," and walked off.. I'm not really sure if it's the norm around here to handle violations this lightly, but I kind of have a feeling it is. All I know is that it wouldn't fly back home!

As usual, things are great over at Sinethemba. I love arriving without any clue as to what's going to happen or who I'll be helping with homework, what new games I'll learn or songs I'll hear. The kids are just so full of life and have more energy than I know how to handle! This week, we worked on both English words and math problems. Since a lot of the children are below their grade level, I often have to try to figure out what things they know and what they need to work on. This week, I worked with the same little boy as last week, so I knew that he was great with math, but needed work on his English vocabulary. We spent the first half matching words that ended in -ll with the pictures, and then as a reward, he could complete a math problem worksheet. It's really difficult for the kids to concentrate in the home; there are always other kids running around or stopping to talk and one worksheet probably takes 3 times longer than it would in a quiet classroom. It's amazing how long their attention span is given the environment they're working in. They could very easily get up and run around the room with others, or push their work aside and take a nap on the table. I've noticed that they really have a strong will to learn, and even when the boy I was working with looked exhausted from trying to sound out the English words in the book, he kept trying his best. I'm not sure what it is that keeps them going, but it works!

After the work was done, we took all of the kids out and let them run wild. I was taught a Xhosa hand game by one little girl, and then they all lined up to play "Double Double This This Double Double That That" with me.. remember that game?! The girl was amazed to learn that I knew this game in America when I was little, and I was equally surprised to hear that she knew this game in South Africa! It's strange how things like that travel around the world.

Sometimes it's really hard to go to Sinethemba because I know that when I leave, I have a nice room to return to with clothes and food and my own space. They have a minimal amount of comfort in their lives, and are constantly needing to share and be among their peers. They don't have a Mom or Dad to look after them alone; just the Mamas who care for all of the children. It seems like a small child could get very lost and lonely there without the comfort of having someone look after them as most children we imagine have. I just hope that they grow up to be strong and confident in their ability to care for themselves from this experience, and that having children around them in the same situation helps them to feel connected to their community. Perhaps as they live their lives, they learn that they are their own source of strength and it helps them when they encounter challenges as adults. It's tough to try to see anything positive coming out of the life of a "street child," but since it is their reality, I see no other choice but to be positive about it.

Tomorrow I am returning back to Plettenberg Bay for the weekend, and next week will consist of planning for my trip to Cape Town over Easter Break and Mozambique over the long holiday weekend in April!! I'm very excited for the things to come and can't imagine this getting any better.. but it is! :)

P.S. There are meerkats in the field behind my flat. Watching them run around together and poke their heads up as they stand on their hind legs is one of my favorites activities. It's like I'm on Meerkat Manor!

Am I on the Beach or the Moon??

SO, it seems as though I've been neglecting to write in this blog for quite a while now. Here's a few highlights of what's been going on in the Friendly City.

Sharks VS. Southern Kings Rugby game - Last friday I attended a PE rugby game at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, AKA the FIFA World Cup Stadium! It was beautiful. I've seen the stadium from the highway a few times now but getting up close to it was really cool. The architecture is so unique, it kind of looks like a space ship. Of course, it wasn't nearly as full as it could have been because it was designed to fit something like 40,000 spectators for the World Cup, but there was a good amount of people who came! Mostly Shark fans.. and as the game went on, the Sharks showed that they were the favorable team for a reason. I was impressed with both teams though, because rugby is a rough sport! First of all, I had never noticed this before, but when each kick-off starts, they lift a guy by his shorts in the air to claim the ball! Kind of like in basketball, when they jump to get the ball, except this guy just flies up in the air out of the mass of men, and I've got to say it looks a little painful. They also were slamming into each other and dragging each other to the ground without any body protection except on their shins. OUCH. During the game, we got some Biltong from the man selling snacks in the stands, and it was tasty! It's a type of dried spicy beef, very popular here. Even though I had a hard time following the rules of the game, I'm excited to go back tonight and see another one! This time NMMU is playing, and from what I hear the crowd is wild. Yeah rugby!

Sinethemba Home for Street Children - On Wednesday of last week I had my first day of volunteering for my Community Service Learning module. We went to a place in the Walmer township, an area that's very poor and very crowded. Driving through there was worse than any Boston driving I've witnessed. There are no rules, so people will back out from spots without looking, cross the street without checking to see if cars are coming, pass people since there aren't lanes or any sense of direction. It was stressful being in the passenger seat, but the woman driving us seemed to have been there many times before. When we arrived at the home, there were two sides- for boys and girls, and in this house the children live and sleep. Many of them have run away from bad homes with alcoholic or abusive parents, or their parents have died from HIV/AIDS. I first started playing with a boy who looked to be about 2 years old. He was sitting on the burning hot porch in the sun, playing with a cardboard box and 2 flip flops. I wanted to try to interact with him, but he kept to himself and didn't really look at me. I took a risk and slid the box back and forth and then back to him. It took a while, but eventually we got a game of "Pass the box across the porch full speed at each other" going, and another little girl joined us. She spoke Xhosa, and thought I did, too. It was tough not being able to communicate with them. After a while I figured I should probably do what I came here to do, help with homework, but seeing as these kids weren't in school but loved the attention they were getting, I brought a couple childrens books out to them and read them aloud. They loved it! They were so attentive and wanted to repeat all of the English words I said; their favorite was FLOWWWERRR. Every page had a flower on it, so immediately after turning the page.. "FLLLOWWERRR." Ahh, it was the best.  By the end of the time I had spent there I was reading to 5 or 6 little ones, including one who had fallen asleep sitting on my lap. I can't wait to be back this week!

Sardinia Bay - On Friday a few of us drove to Sardinia Bay. It's at the end of this long road along the coast that litterally ends with a sand dune! This beach is probably the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. You have to climb up this really steep dune to get to the water, and when you're on top you seriously feel like you're walking on the moon. It's hard to describe. The water was out of control, probably the reason why no one else was there. I've never been in waves that strong before. The tide just pulls you out so quickly, and when you are in the crashing zone, prepare to be demolished. It was fun though, and I'm definitely going to be back there (possible horse back riding!).

Addo Elephant Park (part 2) - On Saturday I went back to Addo after having been there with Mom & Dad a few weeks ago. This time, we were so lucky to have seen about 50 + elephants within the first 2 minutes!!!! So unbelievable. We turned the corner, I was ready to drive around for at least an hour and a half before seeing anything, and there they were! All crowded around the watering hole. Another line of them were coming down the hill, too. They were having so much fun, the babies were playing together, there were a few of them laying down in the mud, some others pushing their tusks against one another. Just enjoying life. As we drove along we didn't see much of any of the other animals, but every 10 minutes, another elephant! There were a lot of them just roaming around by themselves along the road, eating the plants. It's so weird how they're used to vehicles being right next to them. It seems really unnatural but I'm glad for it. We could drive alongside a big guy just walking down the road, and he would look at us, but not think anything of it. He didn't even change his pace. We also saw a buffalo (another of the Big 5 of S. Africa) who was reeeally cool. He was right next to the road, and I was a little bit afraid when we looked up at us from under those huge horns. Those are HUGE animals, who could probably crush your car with just a nudge. We also followed him with the car for a good while. Addo is just the wildest place, and it's so cool to think it's only an hour from where I'm staying! I'd love to go back. Even when you don't see animals, the scenery is breathtaking. It's among huge grassy hills and fields, and when you get to the Lookout areas on the cliff, you can see the whole place, and it's in complete silence. There's no way I can ever justify it by writing about it. It's unlike any other place I've been!

Well, I've got to get ready for my morning class, but I feel better knowing I've documented some of the exciting happenings of the past week. I haven't even gotten into the fun that goes on at Annie's every day! The time is flying by and it's crazy to think that it's already almost been a month since I've left home! I'm so happy to have 4 more months of this wild place, and I already can tell it will be difficult to say good bye to it. Thanks for reading!

"Like the Keys of a Piano"

This Valentine's Day was one filled with so so much love here in PE. As a group, the International students spent the night in a township where we heard beautiful Xhosa music, poetry, and saw some really amazing dancing. We were able to enjoy food, desserts, wine, speak with the Mamas and the people of the township, watch the children play and dance (better than I could EVER imagine dancing, by the way!) and just socialize in a setting where we were made to feel loved and appreciated. One of the organizers of the event communicated how happy he was to look at a room and see faces like the keys of a piano, black and white, all mixed together. He was so appreciative of everyone being together in harmony. The history of South Africa is very close to that of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., in the sense that the job opportunities and economic mobility of citizens, among many other things, was largely based on skin color during the apartheid era. With people of all ethnicities celebrating and enjoying one another's company at the Red Location hall last night, there was a great sense of peace and a high level of energy.

Also this week were my first 2 of 5 surfing lessons! On Sunday afternoon I had my first lesson with Keith, a man from SA who has been surfing for 30 years. It was a little rough the first day. I had some trouble finding balance and knowing where to put my feet, but today was so much better! I stood up several times and rode the waves into the shore. It was so much fun, and a number of people from Annie's Cove have also been taking lessons, so we've been able to talk to each other about the experience as well. While the waves haven't been huge, they're definitely bigger than what we have going on back home, and as the year goes on, the waves will get bigger and bigger, and we'll hopefully make it over to surf at Jeffrey's Bay!

Week 1 of classes is coming to a close, and it's been a nice transition into real student life! I forgot that I'm here to go to school for a little while last week with all of the beach days and late nights out and about. I think it will be very beneficial to my education having the classes that I'm enrolled in. I'm learning a lot about cultural diversity and dynamics, with one class all about the Xhosa culture, services provided to youth and how social services work in SA, and am taking a Community Service Learning course as well. I'm really excited about this last one because I'll be able to volunteer in an after school program for street kids every Wednesday. It was described as being "hectic" and "unstructured"... fun! I'll either be helping kids with homework, leading some recreational activities or just hanging out with them in the park. I don't know a lot about the project yet but I do know that most of the kids have unpleasant home lives and are in need of mentoring and guidance while they are still  young. I expect it to be one of the most difficult challenges I encounter here, but I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can about how to communicate and make an impact on kids who have dealt with a lot of hardships in their lives.

I've been trying to post photos to here or facebook but my internet has been super slow and it sounds like my computer is seriously out of breath everytime I attempt. SO, I will be using the university internet next week to post some photos/videos! Thanks for reading eerybody!