Lions and Tigers and..... Not So Much Bears.

The weekend started with my favorite day of the week, Friday. I laid by the pool all morning and took breaks from the sun in my room to read my book. I basically wasted the day away by the pool just soaking up the sun. I walked to spar, the grocery store, down the street to get some little things with Maria and Hannah and once we got back I made a nice dinner of fish and veggies. We were going to go out to this festival on campus that night, but a bigger group left before us and found out that it was at the Second Ave Campus instead of South, which is an extremely far walk and wasn’t about to happen during the night in the dark. It isn’t even safe to walk with one of two guys, you have to walk in a large group otherwise you are such an easy target, for who I don’t know? But I don’t ever want to find out. So we just stayed in and I continued to read and relax. Saturday I woke up early so that Becca and I could go on our long run of 6 miles. We were planning on heading towards the cape off of the nature reserve that our campus is built on because they have penguins there. We ran and when we arrived at the road the beach is on we noticed there were quite a few people walking in an organized fashion and when we got closer we realized it was some kind of like 5k walk or something? We turned to head towards the cape and saw a man running almost at a sprint with a police car following him with the lights on. We then realized we were running straight into the lead runner in the Algoa Marathon! He was basically sprinting with about 15K or so left. As we continue to run we cross a water stop for the runners, but didn’t take any because we obviously weren’t in the race. Our run towards the cape was beautiful and we got to see the golf course right by our campus and more of the nature reserve. As we got closer to the cape we had to pass through a gate which restricted cars because there was sort of a high class campground. They let us pass because we were running I guess? We saw a lighthouse in the distance and ran towards that and on the way there was a building with a penguin sanctuary. We didn’t go in because they weren’t open, but it is only 20 rand to get in so we will hopefully go back one day! We ran back along the beach, which I am not a fan of at all, but it was too beautiful to pass up. It was so much undisturbed land and the waves were huge with a rustic looking lighthouse in the distance. Unfortunately we didn’t come across any penguins, but the scenery made up for the disappointment. On our way back, I was positive that if we turned left we could head into campus through the back entrance, but it being Saturday it was all locked up. We kept going in hopes that the road might turn towards town, but it wasn’t looking good after awhile. We asked a truck on the side of the road who was watching the runners pass by from the marathon where exactly the road lead. He told us that it followed the coast and that we would have to turn back and go the way we came. It was starting to get really hot, but we had no choice but to turnaround. We then decided since with the heat and no water on us that we should walk ten minutes and then run ten and continue to alternate until we got back. All in all I would say we ran about 8 miles and walked 2. Not to bad for a Saturday morning, but when we got back I was so exhausted I just took a nap straight away. The sun takes so much energy out of me here, it is like it is ten times stronger here than at home. I continued to read some more and was lazy the rest of the day by the pool and what not. Instead of going out we all decided to stay in because it was an Austrian guys birthday. We celebrated with a cake and a braai. The night was so fun and so many people came over from a bunch of other places to hang out for the night. I got to sleep around 1am and had to wake up pretty early the next morning. Today we went to the Seaview Lion Park. It is about 25 minutes outside of P.E. so we rented a mini bus for the day to take us out and back. There were about 20 of us in our group and we left around 9am. Once we got there we had to drive through dirt roads to get to the lions and along the way were antelopes, impalas, water buffalos and giraffes all just walking freely (well within the larger fenced in area) as we drove by. Everyone was obviously freaking out because this is the first time we had a chance to see the African wildlife up close. When we finally got to the lions we walked through their refuge area. There were two fences with an electrical fence to keep them in. They were split up males and females to prevent unmonitored breeding because the sanctuary's goal was to produce the white lion which has gone extinct in the wild due to poaching. The lions that they keep are bred in captivity and most of the adults either have a recessive gene for the white lion that if bred with a white lion could produce another white lion. I had asked whether they would release the white lions into the wild and the answer was no because the poachers would still kill them. The fed the lions at noon which wasn’t as cool as I thought it would be because they only fed them dead meat, not a live animal. At first I thought this was detrimental to the lion because they had no chance to hunt their food, but I later learned that a lion, although has instincts, also has to be taught the right way to hunt in the wild. So if they were given a live antelope, they would most likely end up eating it alive causing the antelope to suffer, whereas in the wild they kill the animal first then begin to feed. Therefore South Africa made it illegal to serve up any live animals to lions or any of big cat. They also had two grown tigers that were given to them by the Joberg zoo because they could no longer care for them. I was told that the tigers had bred on their own and had 6 or so cubs which is great because the siberian tiger is on the verge of extinction. After the feedings we walked to the restrauant and sanctuary for the younger lions. It was only 100 rand to pet the baby lions and the adolescents and all the proceeds go towards their vet bills. The 3 baby cubs were sleeping when I went in, but it was still amazing to pet such a magnificent animal. Afterwards I went into the “teenager” lion cage and learned a lot about what the refuge was all about. The male had only a mohawk for a mane and was only 10 months old, yet still huge! They were also napping, but we were able to pet and take pictures with them as well. We ate at the restrauant and hung around until they fed the baby cubs which was adorable. They fed them a mixture of porridge and milk that they gulped down. We then walked back to where we were suppose to meet our bus driver at 3. He was only an hour and a half late (again South African time). While we were waiting we got a chance to be only about 40 or 50 feet from an adult and baby giraffe, it was pretty cool to be that close to such a huge animal, without a fence between us. Across the field there were also some antelope and water buffalo that were just lounging in the sun. When our bus driver finally picked us up I was so exhausted that I pass out in the van on the way home. The rest of the night I will be skyping with my family and checking on some emails then I am determined to finish my book! I can’t believe it is almost the end of February! Until next time!

Weekend Is Around The Corner.

The week has come to an end! I definitely have fallen into a routine. Wednesday, the only activity on my agenda was volunteering at Masifunde, but that wasn’t until two. I would say that the most exciting part of my day consisted of all of us getting our bikes delivered, finally! I have never been so happy because this means I don’t have to walk behind slow people on my way to class. I can just zoom by them, not to mention leave for class about 20 minutes later than usual! After we got our bikes, I laid by the pool all afternoon and read my book. I later then went over to the library before volunteering so that I could check out a few books for my paper that is due on Thursday. I must say this: the library is probably larger (considering square footage) then all of Lake Erie’s buildings. I got lost a few times and I was only on the 1st and 2nd floor. People are checking books out, some people are on the computer, others are just chatting. Our tour guide told us on the first day that if you actually want to get work done you should go to the North Campus library, which is actually closer for me anyways, but they have less books. We can also get wifi in the library, which is another reason why I think I am going to be able to call that my second home. I checked out a total of four books, which is four more than I have ever checked out at Lake Erie. Once everyone was done in the library, we made our way over to be picked up for volunteering. The ride felt shorter this time because I actually knew where we were going. Once we got there we got right into the kids homework. I had a boy this time, but I won’t even try to spell his name because I know I will butcher it. He was eleven and didn’t have all that much homework. We breezed through his math and moved onto reading. You could tell that he loved to read from the minute he started to read his list of spelling words to me. They were simple words like this, those, were, where, Wednesday, and he had no trouble saying any of them. Next he had to write them out as I read them to him. He did wonderful and only made a few errors with words that sound similar but are spelled differently, like where and wear. I gave him a sentence for the words like this, but I still think he was thinking in the order the words were on the paper, not so much about what the words actually mean. After that he wanted to read some more and we had a little time to kill. He picked out a book from the front room about goblins stealing stuff from the toys in a house. I was the narrator and he was the voices of the toys and goblins. He even adjusted his voice for who was talking. Goblins were a low deep voice, while the duck and other toys had light and airy voices. As he was leaving he told me he wanted to be an artist, I said painting or drawing? He told me he wanted to write stories, that kind of artist. He also told me he would write me a story for next week. Next up was Jessica, the girl I had last week. I wish I could think of a word to describe her. She is super smart, but also like a little diva. The only work she had was to write resolutions to some conflicts she might experience at school. Her topics were; two girls fighting over a boy and gossiping behind someones back. Her answer to the first one by saying they should ask the boy to pick one of the girls. I asked her how she would feel if she was the girl who wasn’t picked and she just sort of looked at me. I told her that if it were me, I would say the two girls should both find new boys for each of them so that they can stay best friends. She liked my answer so she wrote it in her journal. Next she said that people gossip in her school all the time and when she hears it she just ignores it. I believed her because she seems like she wouldn’t care what others thought of her. All she had left to do was color and decorate her paper. As she was coloring we talked about a whole bunch of stuff. She even sang the South African National Anthem to me. She told me all about her camping trip her class is going on right around Easter and showed me all the days of school she has off because of Holidays. I told her about Halloween and April Fools Day. She liked the idea of getting a bunch of candy in a pillowcase just for dressing up. I like Jessica because she is smart and knows when to get her work done, but she also is extremely funny including all her friends in homework club too!
After volunteering, I literally read the entire night. Can you believe I am still not done with this book, I think it might be like eight or nine hundred pages. This class is killing me and is about to ruin my weekend. It isn’t like I could have started any earlier either because we got the assignment the first day and that is when I got the book and started reading. I stayed in while others went out. The next morning I made my way to my 745am class on the tenth floor of the main building. From that floor you can see everything from the rugby stadium down through campus to the ocean and almost into town. Classes went by quick today, so I made my way over to the library, again. I sat at a cubicle study desk (What are these called?!) and worked on getting sources for my paper, I need ten. Afterwards Chelsea and I road back to Annie’s dropped off our bags and went to get pizza to take to Kristen’s for lunch. It was buy one get two free! We tore through the boxes pretty quickly then polished off Kristen’s brownies and ice cream. This is where things get a little crazy. On our bikes, Chelsea and I decided it was time for our group to have some plastic solo cups (if you don’t know what these are you are probably a South African) We automatically knew that they weren’t going to have solo’s, but we thought for sure we could find something similar to a plastic cup. I can’t even tell you the distance we covered on our bikes to find these cups. We would walk in, Chelsea would ask “Do you guys have plastic cups” and everyone would proceed to show us little white foam cups, which are very unreliable when trying to play flip cup or pong. We checked places like the hardware store, Wimpy, Pick n Pay, literally everywhere. We were on a mission and failure was not an option. We rode down to Barney’s, a local bar in which we usually go on the weekends. They were able to give us 3. They told us they don’t get their shipment until Friday mornings. Everywhere we went we asked if they could point us in the direction of someone who might have these cups, everyone did, but every next place told us they didn’t. We noticed that anywhere that sold ice cream had a thinner plastic cup and we were desperate. Chelsea decided to switch up our tactics and say that they cups were needed for a project. We finally came up with 5 small cups from Steers; that was all that they could sell us. On the way back, we tried the other Steers that is closer to Annies. Same outcome! We arrived only two and a half hours later with thirteen plastic cups. Flip cup commenced in about thirty minutes after that and they we walked down the street to the braai in honor of Teresa’s birthday! They had a bunch of food and they brought out a cake and we sang happy birthday (in English thank god!) Then we went out to Balizza, which has ladies night on Thursday where all ladies get in free. I’ll end the story here and recap the rest of my weekend on Monday! Cheers!

Falling Into A Routine.

This morning on my run there was an erie rolling fog just off the ocean. It was so dense that I couldn’t even see the water. As Becca and I ran more inland the fog seemed to follow us and once we were back all of Annie’s was covered in fog too. I rinsed off then hopped back in bed because my plan of laying by the pool all morning was put on halt due to the fog. I read all morning and waited for our bikes to be delivered. We had a few false alarms due to the deliverer being on “South African Time”. So we will hopefully get them sometime this week. I then had class for only 45 minutes. This class, Xhosa culture, which seems to be a very easy class. Somethings that are odd though is that instead of a projector that we use in the states, this Professor uses an overhead. The kind we used back in the day where the teacher would put a transparency on the overhead and a piece of paper to cover what they haven’t yet talked about. I take notes in the Xhosa class with paper and pen, and I feel as if I write a novel. I walked home after class, planning out which way I will ride my bike to class once I get it. The rest of the day was spent reading my book, which I am determined to finish by Friday so that I can start on my paper. Tuesday wasn’t very eventful either. I feel as if I am finally falling into a routine. I woke up early and read quite a few chapters then had class followed by a meeting with the rest of the CEA students. We talked about any complaints we had and our electricity cards, which I can pick up anytime now. We also discussed out excursions and they sound like a great time. I can’t wait to go to Cape Town especially to see Robben Island, where Mandela spent many years in prison. After the meeting I walked back and continued to read. I read until Becca was ready to go for our run. We ran down to the beach then followed this two person wide boardwalk that follows the coast. We also discovered how to get to the Nature Reserve that our school sits on. We are planning to head that way on Saturday when we have more time. We have to be careful when we go running because if we don’t go in the morning, the rest of the day is too hot to run. When we go in the evening we have to make sure we are back way before night settles in. Once night falls it is dangerous to be out, especially being females AND in a small group. We got back in plenty of time and even saw a bunch of other runners on the way back. This area is full of runners and bikers. They also have an Iron Man in April that I plan on watching seeing as I would this that this place would be very difficult to compete in. The wind blows me around even when I am walking back from class. I could only imagine trying to race a bike with the gusts or even swim over the waves that surfers utilize. Until tomorrow!

Beach All Day Everyday.

It is now Sunday and the weekend is almost over. Although I don’t consider my week to be very strenuous at all. Saturday we spend the entire day at the beach. I must have reapplied sun screen at least 20 times. I have never been this tan in my entire life. The ocean is freezing which I would have never expected. It took me 10 minutes just to get in all the way. The waves are huge and people are surfing up and down the entire beach. Most of the surfers wear wetsuits because of how cold the water is. Some of the guys I have met from other places like Ireland and France also surf, which I didn’t expect, but I guess the water is colder there so they are use to it. The wind is also another huge factor at the beach. It is probably responsible for some of the waves that come in, but it also helps keep it a lot more cool at the beach. There are also a ton of dogs on the beach, which is unusual to me because usually dogs are banned from public beaches in the states and here it doesn’t matter. I like how relaxed this place is and how there aren’t so many meaningless rules. Once we got back from the beach I took a shower and got ready for the evening. We went out to a nice restrauant situated right on the beach. We sat outside and watched the sun set and the moon rise. The place was called Cabanas and they had everything from seafood to steaks and burritos. It is weird because the food here resembles the states; there are different themed restrauant all over the city. I haven’t even had a chance to experience traditional South African food in the city yet, but the steak I got last night was delicious. The meal was very cheap as is all the food here. My entire meal consisted of a 300 gram t-bone steak, mashed potatoes, a salad, an alcoholic drink and a hookah which only costs about 20 US dollars. After dinner we walked to a bar down the street and met some South African boys who played on NMMU’s rugby team. They were pretty cool to talk to, but they kept speaking in Afrikaans, which we obviously couldn’t understand. Today we basically did the same thing. I woke up semi early and went out to the pool to read some. I am in the middle of Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk To Freedom” which is a recommended book for one of my classes, but should probably be read by anyone who visits South Africa. Lunch was a quick peanut butter sandwich and then we were off to the beach again today. This was the last time I will have to make the long walk to the beach because out bikes are being delivered tomorrow and I am way to excited about it! Tonight I will be reading about 100 pages of the book so that I can stay on top of things for class. We are all trying to come up with a trip this weekend and I think we will end up going to the Seaview Lion Park which houses lions that are unable to be placed back into the wild. They also have a few baby cubs that were born a little after Christmas that I think they let visitors hold and feed. We don’t go on our trip to the elephant park for another few weeks and Cape Town isn’t until spring break. Some other places that are on my list of sights to see; Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders on the natural world, which borders a few countries one of which I know for sure is Zimbabwe. Kruger Park which is at the northern tip of South Africa and is suppose to be the best way to view game in a safari like manner, although it is extremely expensive. I also want to visit Swaziland and Lesotho both of which are countries within South Africa. Drakenberg Mountains, Durban and Joberg are also on my list of places to visit. If only I could drive stick it would be so much easier! Cheers!

The Weekend Begins.

With no classes on Fridays means that my week starts on Thursday at about 10am. Today we are heading to Greenacres which is similar to a Walmart. I haven’t been there yet, but I guess they have everything that you need there. Some people are going to buy bikes, but on my list of things to get is a mirror. The only mirror I have is about 3x3 in the bathroom. It is weird because since I have been here I have been dressing up, but haven’t been able to do my hair once. I didn’t bring any straighteners or blowdryers because I was told that they would fry because of the voltage here. I also haven’t bought one yet because I would rather spend the money elsewhere. I have been contemplating getting my hair cut short. It has taken my hair about 3 years to reach the length it is now and I don’t know if I can just throw that out the door. Well I ended up getting a bike. I bought it for about 1000 Rand or about 150 dollars and I will be able to sell it back at the end of the term for a descent amount of money. Pang, basically our taxi driver, took us to get the bikes. We literally drove all over PE and even down into central which is a very busy and chaotic area. The streets are lined with people walking and pawn shops. Mini buses were stopped in the middle of the road for cigarette breaks and Pang would just miss cars because that is how everyone drives here. We went to the first pawn shop and they tried to sell us these two bikes for R450 each, but the breaks didn’t work and they looked as if they would fall apart if moved from their current position. The second place we went actually had some nice second hand bikes, but they were extremely expensive so the group I was with (Scott, Gregor, and Helmuth) decided to go to one of the nicer bike shops more towards campus where we all bought the models that were on sale. I am so happy that I won’t have to leave an hour before class anymore just to get there on time and going to the beach now won’t be such a pain. After we got done at the bike shop we had Pang drop us off at the boardwalk so we could get something to eat. I ordered ostrich. I don’t know what I thought it was going to look like (maybe like chicken), but when it arrived it looked just like a steak. It also tasted similar to a steak although maybe a tad bit tougher. Apparently the game meat is suppose to be very good here, and I would like to try as much of it as I can while I am here. I suppose that is all! Cheers!

Ps. I want to apologize for not including any pictures recently. My camera has died on me and won't charge. My parents are sending me a new one via UPS (not FedEx) so I should have it in a few weeks! I would have boughten one here, but they are extremely expensive and the plugs wouldn't match up when I head back home with it!

Am I Really In School?!

Today is considered my busiest day. I have two classes. One from 8-9 and the other from 915 till 10. Two hours of taking notes and then poolside. The teaching style here is completely different than from home. In my first class, Post Apartheid, the Professor sits in the front of the class and reveals the events that occurred in South Africa from the time period of 1989-1994. It is a very informal lecture and he tells the story with so much passion because he actually lived through these events. I take notes on my computer for the first time; I’ve never had to do that back at home. He talks so fast that I couldn’t keep up with pen and paper. For that class we have two essays due, both of which are separated by a two week time period. I am not afraid of the content part of the essay, but more so the format. I haven’t read through the entire packet he gave us on how to write an academic essay yet, but from a glance it looks completely different from what we do back in the states. I am fortunate to have a good mixture of South Africans and International students in each of my classes. It is enough that the teacher realizes we, the internationals, don’t know details about South African pastime. Although they do laugh at how little we are able to reveal about our own country. Some questions that my Professor had asked dealt with what Americans were doing at the time of the fight again Apartheid. I was unable to give answers as were the rest of the Americans. Everywhere else in the world probably is taught about world history, but I only remember focusing on a few key points during those classes and none of which included what the states were doing about the Apartheid. On a different note, I am sick of walking to class. Not because it is that far of a walk, although it really is, but because everyone walks so slow. They call it South African time. You get there when you get there. I am not that type of person. I would like to learn to be more laid back, but when it comes to getting to class on time I can not let that slide. I think I am going to purchase a skateboard today so that I can cruise by the “cruisers” and cut my time in half. Also, I think it skateboarding might help me learn to surf a bit better. Also, on another note as I was talking to my parents they told me that now my pop-pop (grandpa) is now in the hospital. Hopefully it is not serious, but they are keeping him over night. I can’t believe that all of this is happening while I am over seas and there is not a thing I can do about it. It is really tough because it has not hit me yet that my aunt has passed away and it probably won’t until I get back to the states. The most I can do from here is pray that my pop-pop gets better and that my family can get on with life.

Masifunde.

Today was my first day at Masifunde, which is a homework club that is put on after school hours for schools in the surrounding area. Some students from the townships are sponsored to go to these schools so that they can have an opportunity to get a good education. The homework club is for grades 2-8, but I only got a chance to work with two little girls who were in 5th and 6th grade. On the way there as we made our way further from campus and into the city, the streets became more crowded with chaos and people. There were dogs in the road and children close to the road; this made me extremely nervous. The houses were basically on top of each other with shards of glass bottle cemented onto the walls that surround each house for protection. You could definitely see the difference between this life and how people live closer to campus. I also have to keep a journal for the time that I spend at the homework club. I am just going to copy and paste what I have written for that.

Approaching this service learning project I did not know what to expect. I have volunteered and worked with kids before especially with homework, but I wasn’t sure if this would be similar or differ. Overall both experiences coincide because all kids are just kids. I had two girls. Lisa, I forget how to actually spell her name but I will have her write it for me next week, was the first girl I had. She is in 5th grade and was learning about the earth with its hemispheres and axis. She knew exactly what she was talking about so it didn’t take us long to study for her test on Friday. I could also tell with her that she is use to having international students come in and help her with her homework. She was very straight forward with me like it was just a routine so that she could get home more quickly. The second girl I had was named Jessica; I was surprised by how easy the name was for me to say. She did not have much homework either so I watched as she went through her Africaans homework and she taught me some words along the way. I checked over her math and she seems like a very bright girl. Both young ladies are aspiring lawyers and are very polite. Once Jessica was finished with her homework we moved onto hangman, which I thought was a great idea so she could practice her English. She was very good and I had a hard time guessing her words! Some observations I made from Masifunde itself and the surrounding area include that it seemed like a crowded area with many people although mostly kids. The houses were close together and seemed like at one point they were nice homes. I never feared for my safety, but I would hope that the kids would get home before dark. I’m excited for next week and hope that both the girls are back again, but this time with more homework so that I don’t have to lose at hangman anymore.

I return each week on Wednesday and will have the same two girls. I wish that I could go everyday so that I could get to know both children, but the program only allows 4 to go each day and other students are signed up to go on other days.

And hopefully sooner or later when I get my camera I will be able to take some pictures of the homework club! Cheers!

Aunt Nadine

Not much to say about today. I had one class that was actually quite interesting. It is focused on the Apartheid between the years of 1989 and 1994. It was a completely different method of teaching as our professor read from his notes and basically told a story instead of giving us notes. I guess I have to brush up on my note taking skills because it won't just be handed to me like back at home. After class I laid out by the pool for the afternoon and hopefully didn't burn. I can't feel it yet, but I am hoping to come home nice and tan. Now that school has started I feel as if I am falling into a routine which I like at home, but here I want to continue to be adventurous and see as many things as possible while I am here. I have been told that when you study abroad there is a boring part and I hope that I don't feel that this soon. I haven't felt homesick yet, but I do feel as if I should be home right now. My Aunt Nadine just passed away and it is rough to be so far away and not be able to be with my family in this hard time. I have talked to my parents a few times since and I wish that I could hop on a plane and come home, but I know that can't happen. I am just glad that I got to see her before I left, but also regret not being quick enough with sending her the pictures I promised from my travels. I know that she is now in heaven and is in no more pain. Love You Aunt Nadine.

Classes Classes Classes.

First Day Of Classes.

Getting lost is extremely easy on a campus the size of NMMU. It takes me about 25 minutes to walk to campus and another 10-15 minutes to actually find my class. I also think that the way we have to register for classes is very unorganized. Today when I picked up my time table in the international office it said that I had no classes today, but they told us to go by what the internet says. I just don’t understand why they would approve classes if we couldn’t take them because of a conflict or other reasons. So basically I think I missed my botany class today because I thought that it was only in term 2 which starts in about a month and a half. I am going to pick up my new time table tomorrow and I will go to where botany is suppose to be on Wednesday just to make sure that I don’t have it in term 1. It is just all so confusing compared to what we do in the states. I guess when you start at NMMU as a freshmen and you declare your major you are told what classes you will take all four year straight away making it very easy to register. Today I also stood in line for my student ID for over an hour. On the upside of things I had my first meeting seminar for volunteering in the local townships. I am going to be volunteering at a homework club and I will be given one or two children to work with the entire time. It is on every Wednesday only for a few hours, but it should be really rewarding. Poverty here is unlike anything I have ever seen. The townships are very obvious out on the city limits with their thin steel roofs and one room accommodations. I can’t wait to get started with the volunteering! I walked back from school by myself for the first time today. Walking in a big group you don’t really realize what is going on around you, but on my walk today I noticed that I am definitely the minority here being a white American. I could feel eyes following me all the way home, but at no point did I feel unsafe because there were just so many people around, mostly all students. Once I got back I was sweating from the heat (sorry everyone back home for what I am about to say) so I put on my bathing suit and laid by the pool the rest of the afternoon to de-stress from the rough day. I cooked dinner with a few girls and now I am exhausted. Since my camera broke last weekend my lovely parents are going to send me a new one as soon as they can. I would buy it here, but things like electronics and clothes here are very pricey. It would probably just be cheaper for them to ship me a good quality camera instead of me searching for a nice camera. Well that is about all I have for today!

First Adventure

Today is Sunday and I am writing in my room right before I go to bed. Still no internet, but you don’t really need it around here all that much. The only reason I want the luxury is to stay in touch with everyone back home, but I guess that is really what the internet is for. Anyways let me rewind to Thursday night and start my story there. We (Chelsea, Becca, Kristen, Alyssa and Sara) all took a lovely, yet windy walk down along the ocean towards the boardwalk. The boardwalk is a very well decorated area of PE that houses a bunch of shops and restaurants including the ice cream parlor we decided to rest at. Almost all of us got a double scoop of chocolate fudge chocolate chip expecting something similar to a rocky road concoction, but instead we got a lighter kind of coffee tasting ice cream with chocolate shavings spread throughout. This is probably why the majority of South Africans, and for that matter the rest of the world, are thinner than Americans. It was delicious and very filling. After our sugar buzz we walked through a African craft area where some people got to play some beats of the drums. There was also an artist that painted these glorious pieces of art that represented all aspects of Africa. I fell in love with all of that immediately and will defiantly return before the end of this trip to purchase a few of his works. As we were waiting for the boys to get back from renting their car for the weekend, we had to plan how we were going to get our car. We took a walk across the street and had a seat at KFC and discussed our options. The boys then picked up Chelsea, Sara and Kristen so that they could go and rent the car for our weekend excursion. Once we got back to Annie’s I tried to charge my camera and upload my pictures that were taken throughout the afternoon onto my computer. My camera quickly died and I realized it wasn’t recharging itself. This is not what I had wanted to happen right before my first weekend trip in South Africa. I decided after much fiddling that my camera was now broke, and my AD from back at home wasn’t the one to do it and unfortunately wouldn’t be buying me a new one! After a few hours and some bitching about my camera I headed out to go dancing. I will do my best to explain what I had seen, but it might be one of those things you need to see to believe. Every dance or club I had ever been to always required that two people must “grind” with each other while being smashed in the middle of the dance floor. The dance club we had gone to was mostly comprised of international students and some South Africans so American’s were very sparse. With that meant there was no “grinding”, but instead with house music blaring there was enough space between most people that you could fit another person (or sometimes two) in between. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but soon fell into the correct dancing edicat. Basically we all just danced like crazy people for hours on end even though we knew we were getting up at the crack of dawn to head out the next morning. After we got back, just after 2am, I called my parents because it was only 7pm their time. I only got a few hours of sleep that night, but I was too excited to be drowsy the next day anyways. With out two rented cars 9 of us (Chelsea, Becca, Alyssa, Kristen, Sara, Patrick, Shawn and Scott) left for Jeffery’s Bay, or J-Bay. JBay is home to the surfing championships which are held in South Africa’s winter or July. That is the time were rogue waves are abundant and the surfing town comes alive. We got to our hostel around noon and grabbed a bite to eat in town while they were getting our rooms ready. Our rooms basically sat right on the beach and overlooked the ocean with breathe taking views. We spent most of the day being lazy on the beach. The water is freezing (even though I probably have no room to talk because I know if is 10 times colder at home) and the wind is strong. Laying on the beach with a breeze is nice, but not when the sand pelts you from all directions and basically buries you alive. While we were laying on the beach we got a chance to see Patty (from Ireland that we know) surf some waves. Him and Colin (also from Ireland) were also staying at the same hostel so all 11 of us went out to eat at a nice Greek restrauant in town. I got fish and chip (fries) although I’m not sure why because I swore to myself I would never eat fish again after the Amazon, but it was actually very good and I only had a problem with a few bones (and there wasn’t a fish head to gross me out either) Later on after dinner we just sort of chilled at the hostel and played some drinking games. Some of us went to bed kind of early because the following day was going to be filled with a handful of activities. We (Sara, Becca, Patrick and I) had an appointment with the Bloukran Bridge in the afternoon. We woke up and made out way towards Tsitsikamma to check into our second hostel of the weekend. This town is tucked away along the mountain and in the woods. We ate at an American inspired diner dedicated to Elvis and most of the singing legends of the 50s. I of course got a cheeseburger (go big or go home) and fries/chips. We were in a bit of a hurry and left so we weren’t late for our reservation. On the way we saw a monkey sitting on a sign on the side of the road, not something you see everyday?! We arrived at the Bloukran Bridge around 1pm to claim our reserved spots for bungee jumping off the worlds highest bungy bridge (216 meters). It was kind of on the expensive side, but worth EVERY penny, or should I say rand. Our jump time was at two so we made our way out onto the bridge around 145. I don’t even know if I can put into words what was going through my head. As we were walking, to my left was a brilliant view of the ocean and beach nestled between two steep slopes from the gorge I would be plummeting into. And on my right was a spectacular view of mountains and more of the gorge. Looking down through the grate that we were walking along was scary enough for me. The wind was strong and it was a lot cooler that far up. We had a chance to watch some people go before we made out way out onto the bridge, but watching from afar didn’t do it justice. We gathered around to listen to instructions and they assured us you basically couldn’t mess it up and that it was 100 percent safe. I believed them, but it still didn’t stop me from shaking. I knew I had always wanted to do something like this, but I couldn’t believe I was standing on the bridge about to hurl myself into nothing but air. They told us the order and Sara was up first followed by me then Becca fourth and Patrick somewhere in the middle. Sara stepped up and I’m pretty sure all she was thinking was “fuck”, well at least that was all I was thinking. Sara had no problem just bending her knees and falling forward. The music they had playing really helped get your mind off what was happening and defiantly pumped the adrenaline. I was up next. My ankles were all strapped in and I didn’t hear one word the “jump master” said to me while he was getting me ready to go. I really didn’t hear much of anything for a good 5 minutes. Once I Was ready they helped me up and hopped me over to the edge. I didn’t feel much of anything, my knees were just a bit shaky and when they said “5,4,3,2 ,1 bungy” I just let myself fall over and didn’t even think about it twice. They told us before hand there was 4 seconds of free fall before you felt the tension of the bungy, but that 4 seconds felt like a decade. It was the most amazing feeling just flying through the air with nothing stopping you for those four seconds. Then once I hit the bottom of the jump and bounced back up I felt almost weightless and spun my arms quick like I was trying to swim or something? I bounced a few more times and tried to take in as much scenery as possible while being upside town and spinning through the air. I hung there for probably about a minute, but to me it felt like an hour until someone repelled down to come and get me. He put my in a sitting position and hoisted me back to the top of the bridge. I was still shaking so bad because of all the adrenaline and the guy even commented on it. Then he began to try and sell me stuff from the gift shop afterwards while we were being pulled up. I reached the top and everyone that worked on the bridge shook my hand and congratulated me on what I had just down. Still shaking I walked over to Sara and we just both raved about how awesome jumping off the bridge was! Becca was fourth and well I don’t think I could explain it because her video says its all. It took her about 12 minutes, longer than anyone else, to pluck up the nerve to jump. She kept telling the jump masters she didn’t want to go and to hold her hand and not let go, but in the end they got her to let go of them and basically pushed her off the bridge. She loved it, but said she doesn’t think she would do it again. Patrick was up a little later and is basically a pro. He had bungy jumped in Australia so he knew what he was doing. He hopped to the edge like it was nothing and jumped up and out off the bridge and danced the whole way down. He also went a second time with a different harness that allowed him to run and jump off the bridge which was pretty cool to watch. Also, one girl in our group, her video didn’t take when she was jumping so she got to go a second time FOR FREE. What a lucky girl! We made our way to buy our dvd’s and pictures then booked it back to town so that we could meet the rest of the group to zip line. After jumping off a bridge, zip lining felt like nothing, but it was still really fun! We soared through one of South Africa’s national parks for about 3 hours and even got a meal to go at the end. Later that night we sat around in the bar at our hostel. (I even found a four leaf clover, and Kristen is apparently just like me and always finds them and she also found one too!) At one point the bar tender poured all the bungy jumpers a “bungy shot” which was a bunch of different kinds of alcohol that was lit on fire. It was great and FREE! We all went to bed early because it had been such a long day. The next morning we woke up pretty early and went to the National Park to hike a trail that led us to a beautiful waterfall. The trail was tough in spots because we had to maneuver over everything from large rocks to small loose rocks. It was nice to feel a good work out and I even got a chance to do some running on the trail when it was mainly dirt. The waterfall was well worth the 50 rand we paid to get into the park and some people even jumped off of it. I didn’t because I don’t think I am a strong enough swimmer so I just sat back with my feet in the water and watched. We took a bunch of pictures and then made out way back. On the way we saw what looked like a deer and it got pretty close to some people. The ride back was about one hour and forty five minutes. I felt bad because Patrick and Scott had to drive the whole way and basically everywhere because all the cars here are manual (stick) and I don’t know how. On top of that they drive on the other side of the car and the other side of the road. I don’t think South Africa would be the place I would want to learn how to drive stick. Once we got back I got a chance to Skype with my parents and talk to Lauren and Nikki on facebook! I uploaded my pictures that were taken before my camera died and checked my dwindling bank account. All in all I would say it was a great weekend and I can’t wait for some more like it! School starts tomorrow and I have a lot of other things to get done in my down time like laundry and some other odds and ends. Hopefully school isn’t too hard because I don’t want to spend all my time sitting inside and studying or being on my computer. There is so much to do here, but I don’t want to fall behind in classes and risk not passing because I don’t even want to know what would happen then. I’ll update as soon as I can, although I am guessing this week might be on the boring side compared to the weekend I just had. Cheers!

First Days On Campus.

Not much to update on, but I did want to post some pictures. The rugby game last night was awesome and it makes football players look like pansys. It was so intense and the players never got a break except for halftime. Also, the student section had the most school spirit I have ever seen. They sang school songs, song that I couldn't understand. We got a tour of campus today and it is by far the largest campus I have ever been to. And I should find out exactly what classes I am taking sometime at the end of this week! I also saw the monkeys on campus for the first time today and was warned to never feed them. They are everywhere just like the squirrels are on campus at home! Hopefully I can attach some pictures to this blog!

Welcome To South Africa

2/7/2011

Finally I am here. After all that unnecessary stress that was all a part of my departure, I made it. I am writing right now from my room, which as of now doesn’t have any internet, on the first Monday after my arrival. First I’ll reflect on this past weekend, starting with the Visa situation! My visa/study permit was apparently delayed getting to Cleveland so it was not delivered on the day that I was told by the consulate. The reason it was delayed was the massive snowstorm that hit the midwest dropping 2 feet in some places. So after my visa made it to Cleveland on the morning I was suppose to catch my flight, FedEx decided not to be opened because of the storm. Therefore my package was sitting in the Cleveland distribution center. I was hoping that I could just drive up there and pick it up, but I was told that it wasn’t a building that allowed public access, so more waiting and more phone calls. My dad finally called and calmly told them the situation, even though my mom and I had done the same exact thing, and got everything straightened out. The only problem was that my visa was now in transport to me and my plane was still on schedule to take off at 225pm that day (this was happening around 1030ish) FINALLY, my visa arrived, I sprinted down the drive way grabbed it from the guy and we all jumped into the car and headed for the airport. Once we were at the airport we went to check in, and my one bag was over the weight limit. So my parents and I had to do some rearranging to get both suitcases to weight 50 lbs. Once we got that all straightened out it was time to say good bye, or so-long! I cried, of course, but I am going to miss them so much! After I got through security I headed for my departing gate. I met Becca there for the first time and she is so unbelievably nice! I was so glad I had someone on the plane with me and to travel with. Taking off in Cleveland seemed very dangerous, it was basically a blizzard. They sprayed the plane down with some anti-freezing liquid and then we were off. It wasn’t the smoothest take off I’ve ever experienced. After we reached an altitude above the clouds it was so beautiful! You could see the snow storm right below and it was sunny skies all the way to Washington. Once we got to Washington I grabbed something to eat and then we got onto the international flight from Washington to Dakar and then onto Joberg. I sat next to a lovely lady who was on her way to South Africa for some fun and business with her friends. It was definitely cramped, but we each had our own individual tv screen where we could choose our own movies to watch. I think I went through 4 movies on the way between Washington and Dakar. The meals weren’t too bad, it was nice to be fed so frequently too. When we touched down in Dakar to drop people off and pick some people up, though not many, it was about 630 am in Senegal. The sun was just rising and Dakar sits right on a peninsula so it was obviously a sight to see. As we took off I found myself a seat that had a vacant seat next to me so I could spread out a little, and I even had quite a few extra blankets and pillows that somehow ended up in my lap. Once in the air I could see Dakar from above and I noticed a few things. Lots of people were fishing in their small boats, similar to the Amazon, and there was a a few hundred houses in a small vicinity that had a high piles of trash that was surrounding the houses. I don’t know much about Dakar, but you could blatantly see the difference between the wealthy and the poor from the air. I slept most of the rest of the way and only woke up when they served another meal. I met my whole group from CEA on the plane and we talked a little while mainly about our experiences before arriving to that point. We landed in Joberg at about 7ish and had to go through customs and passport control which didn’t take as long as I thought. All of the CEA people navigated our way through the airport pretty well. Everyone was very friendly and there was even a pizza vending machine. At that point I called my mom to let her know I made it to SA and I forgot it was still the middle of the workday for her. It is a six hour time difference between SA and home, it is still hard to picture what people at home are doing when I’m going to bed or having lunch! The plane ride from Joberg to PE (Port Elizabeth) was very short and we even got served a sandwich. Hannah and I sat next to a lady who gave us all kinds of info on PE because she lives here. She told us all the good beaches and which ones have good surfing. Also, the elephant parks and safaris. Once we got off the plane Monalisa, our international coordinator, was there to show us to the hotel that we had to stay at until the next morning. It was great sharing all the excitement with the other study abroads. We were picked up the next morning so that we could drop our stuff off at our rooms and then pack quickly for our weekend orientation. Weekend orientation aka bush camp was in the middle of nowhere (about an hour or so outside of PE). Before we got there we stopped at a raptor and reptile rescue/rehab center and learned a lot about snakes. I got to hold a huge python, similar to the one Britney Spears held at the VMAS that one time, and also two other snakes/reptiles. I’m not going to go into detail about bush camp because they tell everyone not to reveal too much about the experience, but I will say I got to zipline into a river called Umlamboo (I think?) which was pretty cool! It rained most of the time we were there so it wasn’t very uplifting, but on the other hand I did get my first glimpse of wild monkeys! They were white with black faces, probably as tall as a medium sized dog. On the way there and home we passed by these communities on the outskirts of PE and basically they were made up of small shacks, probably only 1 or 2 rooms, with sheet metal for a roof and a bunch of trash surrounding their houses. Someone on the bus mentioned that in South Africa you are either rich or poor and I saw that first hand driving from those communities straight into the city. After bush camp everyone was so excited to finally move in and take a shower! I showered first and then we all walked about 40 minutes to an internet cafe where I got a chance to talk to my mom, dad and Alyssa on Skype! We don’t have internet at my room and we won’t for at least another 2 weeks apparently. I ordered a cheeseburger and a milkshake at the cafe and just caught up with stuff on the internet. The view of the Indian Ocean is beautiful! There are palm trees everywhere and so much wind it could knock you over on a rough day. PE is known as the windy city and I can understand why. Another thing I noticed was that every house or for that matter any building is gated and most have barbed wire and other high end security systems to protect their houses and property. The crime rate in SA is very high so people take the necessary precautions. After the internet cafe we all decided we had to shop for food (I didn’t realize that we weren’t getting a meal plan), so now I have to buy all my own food, which isn’t much different than at home, but I really would rather spend that money elsewhere. I picked up things like bread, milk, cereal, peanut butter and some frozen dinners. I decided I am going to eat a big lunch on campus during the day in between my classes and then make something small for dinner and I will always have snacks if I get hungry. We took a taxi home, which is not like a normal taxi at all. It is a mini van with a bunch of dents and a crazy driver that drives around and picks up people. A man yells out the window to people on the sidewalk to get in and it is only 7 Rand, which is about 1 dollar. A lot of people use these to get around, but we were told they are fine to use during the day, but never at night. I can understand why! Once we got back I got a chance to meet my room mate. Here name is Tabbi and she is from Botswana. She lived here last year so she knows basically everything and she is very very nice! Then we got ready for the night and drank a little, I went to bed early because we had orientation this morning at 830. Orientation went very well. They talked to us about how classes will work and safety in the city and some other things. CEA registers for classes on Tuesday morning and get a campus tour. Now that everything is slowing down a little I promise I won’t write as much all at one time. It is so hard because I don’t have internet at my finger tips anymore. It is weird being so far from home. I haven’t gotten home sick yet, but it is just weird because I can’t call or text anyone whenever I want. Also, I don’t have a car here so I have to walk everywhere and some things aren’t that close that I can just run a quick errand. Plus it is also a pain to have to make someone go with you everywhere you go. It isn’t safe to walk alone here so you have to travel in packs which is always frustrating because some people want to do one thing while others want to go a different way. I haven’t gotten a chance to experience much culture except at bush camp, but we are going to a rugby game tonight where NMMU is playing against some other school from SA I think? It should be fun! And then we are going out afterwards, which will likely be a normal thing. I think I decided I am not going to drink too much while I am here. I want to spend my money on other things like trips and souvenirs. It is crazy the people I have met here so far. Some people are from the States while some are from Germany, Finland, Sweden, France and a bunch of other countries. It almost hurts my head to listen to so many accents in one conversation. I am already burnt and it hasn’t even been a week, but in some spots I am tan. I can’t wait to start classes and meet some other South Africans!

24 hours.

Well. It's about 24 hours until I am "suppose" to leave for South Africa to start my semester abroad. Two problems have arisen that could prevent me from flying across the ocean to my destination. First, the fact that my visa/study permit still has yet to land in my hands. I called yesterday and I was told that they had no idea where it was, that they never received it. After I got off the phone I cried for about an hour until I got a call back saying that they had found it and it was marked with the wrong departure date, therefore they weren't going to process it probably for another week. So the lady from the consulate shipped it out overnight and I was told I would get it today (Tuesday) at 1030am. It is now 245 pm and I still do not have my visa. Apparently it is enroute, but on the internet my tracking number says it is in Memphis Tenn...... The second reason would be the snow storm that is on its way. They are calling it the snow storm of the century and flights have already been cancelled and delayed for today and I am also suspecting they will be delayed for tomorrow.
On a better note, I got my cell phone for South Africa in the mail and I also have my foreign currancy.
With all these problems I honestly can't even say what I think is going to happen. There are so many what ifs, but basically I have no idea what I will do if I don't go to South Africa this semester. I am praying that I get my visa in the mail tonight because otherwise I will be stressed out beyond anything I have ever experienced and I will probably cry all day tomorrow until it is in my hands or I miss my flight. Why did this have to happen to me?!