Ten Day Road Trip!

Day 1: Thursday 4/19 Cintsa

We flew from Cape Town to East London and then drove to Cintsa. We stayed at the backpackers called Buccaneers right on the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous and since we got there in the afternoon we spent the day exploring and enjoying its beauty.

Day 2: Friday 4/20 Cintsa to Bulungula

We took a long drive from Cintsa to our next hostel called Bulungula. Words can not describe how much I loved this place. We were dropped off on the road and a short walk over a hill we arrived at Bulungula that was right on the beach at the mouth of a river. Bulungula is located in the Transkei, which is natively inhabited by the Xhosa people. It was an eco-friendly hostel so for the showers we were given a container of paraffin that we put into the bottom of this pipe. Then we lit the paraffin and the water pipe ran inside the pipe and it would heat the water. It lasted for about 7 min so you had to shower fast but it was a really hot shower and really nice as well. The toilets were drop toilets so they were basically glorified portapotties but really nice for what they were. Every night the local village women cooked us awesome food and dessert. This was definitely my favorite place and I really really hope to go back at one point.

Day 3: Saturday 4/21 Bulungula

On this day I went on a canoe trip down the Xhora river. We had to hike over a couple hills, which lead us to the river and we canoed up and down it and ended up at the sea. We then walked back to Bulungula on the beach. We also met some awesome people at Bulungula and every night enjoyed conversation around the fire and in the eclectic dining area.

Day 4: Sunday 4/22 Bulungula

On this day I woke up early to go fishing with one of the locals, which was fun but I wasn’t able to catch anything. Later that day I went horseback riding through the hills and stopped at a local crepe place and enjoyed some yummy crepes and coffee. The crepe place was created as a business through the Bulungula hostel. It is another way that the hostel supports the local community. The horseback riding was my favorite thing that I did in Bulungula and it was just an amazing experience I will never forget.

Day 5: Monday 4/23 Bulungula

On this day our coordinator arranged for us to have crepes on the beach at sunrise. Later in the day we all together participated in a Women’s Power activity in which we learned by doing some of the local women’s daily activities. It was neat to see what they did everyday and really the women work hard. This was our last night so we enjoyed the last night hanging out with our new friends.

Day 6: Tuesday 4/24 Bulungula to Hogsback

This day we had a long day in the car to Hogsback. It probably was my least favorite place but it was still very pretty. It is located in the mountains and was actually quite cold when we arrived. Since we didn’t arrive till late we really did not have much time there.

Day 7: Wednesday 4/25 Hogsback to Addo

In the morning at Hogsback we went for a hike through the forest to some waterfalls. It was nice to be able to stretch our legs after a very long day in the car before. Then we drove to Addo where the Addo Elephant Park is located. It is a giant nature reserve and we stayed at probably one of the nicest hostels on our trip. That night we went through a quick drive through the park and saw a bit of some wildlife including: zebra, kudo, warthogs, ostrich and a secretary bird.

Day 8: Thursday 4/26 Addo to Tsitsikamma

We woke up super early this morning to go on a guided trip through the park. On this drive through we saw the new animals: elephants (even a baby elephant), hyena (we actually got to see them eating a kudo they just killed), jackles, and cape buffalo, along with most of the animals we saw the day before. We then got in the car and drove to Tsitsikamma where I went on a zip-line adventure through the treetops. It was a really neat experience and also really fun.

Day 9: Friday 4/27 Tsitsikamma to Knysna

We got up and went for a walk on the coast in Tsitsikamma. We then drove to Knysna, which is another beach town. We enjoyed some fish and chips for lunch and then spent the afternoon shopping in the local shops. It was a nice relaxing day and a little less adventurous than the day before but still good.

Day 10: Saturday 4/28 Knysna to Ootshoorn

In the morning we went to an outlook over the Knysna bay and then drove inland to Ootshoorn where we first went to an ostrich farm. The tour was a bit boring but at the end I was able to ride an ostrich, which was an awesomely terrifying experience that I will never forget. I hope to post a video of it on facebook soon. We then drove to the Cango Caves and went on a tour through the massive caves. We then went to our hostel and enjoyed a yummy ostrich braai (South African BBQ) and the ostrich was fantastic.

Day 11: Sunday 4/29 Ootshoorn to Cape Town

This was our final leg of the trip and we enjoyed a great breakfast and then had a long drive back to Cape Town. The trip overall was amazing and an experience I will never forget.

10K and Montagu

On Sunday the 15^th I ran my first ever 10K and it was hard but really fun. I did it with Pieter’s mom and one of his friends. By the end my legs were not too happy with me but I am really glad I was able to do it. I definitely did not train enough so the next two days I was really really sore but overall it was great!

Montagu is a farming town that is about 2 and a half hours away from Cape Town. Pieter, Shannan, Caleb and I left on Sunday afternoon to go camping there. The campground was about 5 miles out of town on one of Pieter’s friend’s family’s farm. It was absolutely gorgeous and we had a blast. It was really neat since we were there Sunday through Wednesday there was no one there but us. So it was like we had our own campground. It was also a really nice place really it was amazing. On Monday we toured the town of Montagu enjoying some local food and then went for a drive to some of the local vineyards. And on Tuesday we went for a drive to another local small town and then came back and enjoyed the beauty of our campground. Overall it was a good time with great people and it was hard to leave. On Thursday I head out to the Eastern Cape for 10 days of fun and vacation. I will post when I get back!!!

Children's Home

This was an awesome experience and I loved this week. It was really neat in the way that the home was actually a home for these kids. It did not feel like an orphange and you could tell that they all loved living there. There were 11 boys and 4 girls that live in the home with 3 Sisses (age 25-35) and one Mama. The Sisses and the Mama take care of the kids and they really are a family. It was also different that the kids were well behaved, yes hey could be naughty but they weren't like the troubled kids you often find in our foster system in America. These kids behaved like any other would in a family structure. I could really tell that they each now have a future and a hopeful future because of the children's home. They don't like pictures to be posted of the kids online so I won't post any but if I have any of the home I will post them on my facebook when I get a chance. What I did while I was there was helped paint three rooms and then helped run activities for them after school. I really enjoyed the experience and hope I can go back again before I leave.

I wanted to let you all know that I will out of internet reach for awhile. I leave on Sunday to go camping with Pieter, Shannan and Caleb till Wednesday and then I leave for Eastern Cape till the 29th. So until then you probably won't hear from me but if I can I will post.

Long overdue Update!!!

I am very sorry for the long hiatus on my blog. I got extremely busy with finals at the end of March and then haven’t had too much consistent internet access for the last week an a half. To recap on the last month:

At the end of March I finished up the school course section of my stay here. I had a bit of a struggle with the different grading system here but I think I did well in all my classes. I am still waiting to hear my final grades but will figure that out soon. Overall I really enjoyed the courses that I took here and I believe that the experience was invaluable. I know that I learned things that have really changed my outlook on the world and Africa as a whole, especially the country of South Africa.

As some of you know I got engaged on April fools (it was posted on facebook), I got some people but overall it was a fun joke that Pieter and I appreciated playing on family and friends. I think the best part was the people that came up to Pieter’s mom in church and congratulated her. After our short engagement I started my service-learning course. The first week (last week) was an emersion experience where we lived and worked in the township. Townships are settlements inside the Cape Town area that were created during apartheid that are generally still racially segregated. They aren’t exactly slums or the ghetto but they are the poorest areas of Cape Town. We didn’t live in shacks, which make up the most of township, but instead stayed in homes that were built by the government post-apartheid in order to combat poverty and increase the standard of living. My friend Shannan and I lived with a black Xhosa (the X is actually a click sound, next time you see me ask me to pronounce it for you and I will!) South African family. During the day we painted a house for an elderly woman in the church we were working through and also laid a concrete ramp for a disabled man. You can check out photos on my facebook. It was definitely a tough challenge and I was exhausted and the end of every day but it was also very rewarding. I also really enjoyed being able to spend time with my Xhosa family and the community atmosphere of the township. Townships are notorious for being dangerous but at no time was I scared and instead I felt really safe where I was. I think it is another experience here that I will treasure.

We left the township on Good Friday and I spent Easter weekend with Pieter and his family. It is not that bit of a deal here as far as the candy side of things as it is in the States but it was still a good weekend. This week we are working in a children’s home, which is a place for abandoned, neglected, or orphaned children. Tuesday was our first day and I already know I am really going to enjoy this experience. The kids are great but I will hopefully write something at the end of this week and tell you more about the home.

I can’t believe that I have been here for over 3 months. It is really crazy to think of how many things I have done and how much I have learned. I feel like this has already been such a life changing experience and I still have a month and a half left. I don’t have as consistent connection to the internet now as I did before but I will try to be better with updates on my life.

For now my schedule for April looks like:

April 10-13 Work at Children’s home

April 15 I am running/walking a 10k with Pieter and his friend

April 15-18 Either Camping or Beach House getaway with Pieter and Shannan and Caleb

April 19-28 Vacation trip with other Americans to another Provence of SA (Eastern Cape)

Update 3/15/12

I am obviously behind in updating everyone about my life here. It is mostly due to the semester getting busy and the exhaustion of doing so much here, which is leaving me too tired to do much other than what I have too. But since I last updated you I have climbed up Table Mountain again, gone to Johannesburg and back, and watched an African sunset. Life here is amazing but busy and tiring. Each day I wake up around 5-6am to get to college in time to skype people before class. I am in class or working from 8:30-12:30 everyday. Then homework at college, hanging out with Pieter, or some outing depending on the day, which then leads to waiting for either a train that takes me 45min to get home or catching a ride with my host mom after she is off work. Most nights I try to be in bed by 11 otherwise I am too tired to function the next day. Life is crazy busy but I have found a rhythm to living here.

Johannesburg

As a part of our experience as study abroad students they took us to the capital city of Joburg (what South Africans call it). It was a 2 hour plane flight and we left on a Thursday and came back on Sunday. We stayed at this beautiful hostel that had unlimited free internet!! It may not seem like much but really it made my weekend since internet is sooo difficult here. The purpose of the trip was to experience what Joburg is like and see the historical sites that are there. Joburg is much more developed than Cape Town and there were times I had to remind myself that I was in SA there because it seemed like any city in the States. The amount of things we saw were too many to explain but the highlights of each day were the Constitutional Court on Friday, the Lion Park on Saturday, and the Apartheid Museum on Sunday.

The Constitutional Court

It was really neat because it was built into and on the grounds of one of the old prisons. The prison held both criminals and political freedom fighters. The treatment of the prisoners was unethical and just plain horrible. The reason they built the new court there was so they could have a reminder of the past injustice, while they are now upholding justice. Kind of a beautiful picture that I really appreciated.

Lion Park

The lion park was just a fun outing but I was able to pet lion cubs!!! It was really awesome and they were so cute. We also were able to see lions of all different ages and got really close to all of them. We were able to hear the lions roar from a distance and it was such an amazing experience. There were other animals as well but the lions were the main focus of the park (obviously).

Apartheid Museum

This was a really heavy and hard experience. It was hard to see everything that happened and to hear the stories. It took about 3 hours to walk through and by the end I was emotionally exhausted. Even though it was difficult I think it was a vital part of me learning about the history.

Other Adventures

I was able to hike up Table Mountain on a different route with Pieter and his brother Jean (sounds like John). It was definitely an easier route but we did a really early morning hike. Which at first I thought was crazy but it was a good thing in the end because we missed the heat and experiencing the morning still on the mountain was beautiful. We started hiking at 6am and finished by 9am.

I was also able to experience an African sunset from a hill that overlooks the beach. It was really gorgeous and a fun time with Pieter, Shannan and Caleb (married couple from GFU). Other than that I have just been having fun, trying to stay on top of schoolwork, and enjoy the time that I have left.

Staying Longer!

I have decided to stay longer here in SA so I can have a little more time with Pieter before I leave. So I am now leaving May 28^th, which is a little crazy but I am really excited to have more time here. It is also free time so I won’t be in school and will be able to do a lot more hopefully.

I have gotten a little homesick, mostly just missing the comfort of home and food. Food here is similar but it is also different. I really would like some good Mexican food and miss cooking and baking. I also miss being in my own home instead of being in someone else’s home. There is a comfort is knowing the home is yours so you can move around freely, when it is someone else’s home it is a little different. Other than that I have been ok as far as homesickness.

If you would like to see photos check out my facebook page. I was finally able to upload photos on there and there are many more. Some are repeats but there are new ones as well. Hopefully I will be able to update sometime soon but that is a bit for now!

Update 2/25

Classes

Things have gotten really busy here in South Africa, classes have picked up and I have been spending most nights working on homework. It has been a struggle balancing everything I have here but also trying to stay up with people back home. It is a balance that I am still working on but other than that I can’t complain. The classes are very different than George Fox but still challenging. I really appreciate the fact that we have so much diversity in one classroom. We have black, white, and coloured South Africans, Americans, and Europeans. It tends to result in very interesting conversations and I believe I have such a wider picture of how people look at the world because of it.

Internships

I am now working at two different schools doing two different things. On Thursday I am still a counselor at Constantia Primary School and on Friday I am helping a women who does visual motor integration (VMI) at Lourier Primary School. They are both disadvantaged schools and even though I am doing very different work at both I am enjoying them. Thursday is definitely very stretching and more difficult but I think it is a challenge that will be good for me. I am basically on my own doing counseling and I get to organize it however I want, which is nice but a lot of pressure as well. I am currently seeing four boys of different ages and we will see if I see anymore during my time there. The VMI that I am doing at Lourier is way more fun and just working on motor skills with 1^st and 2^nd graders. It is fast paced and instead of having to organize it I am just an assistant, so that has been nice. They are very different but I think they will balance each other out.

Friends, Host Family, and Pieter

I have made some really good friends here and I feel really blessed to be surrounded by such great people. I absolutely love my host family and have created a great relationship with them. I have become good friends with my host sister Robyn Lee and really enjoy spending time with her. My fellow American roommate Monique and I have become good friends as well and really appreciate her dry sense of humor. And things with Pieter are great and I am so thankful for everything he does for me on a daily basis. He has been super supportive of me on the days when my internship has been tough and brings a smile to my face on a daily basis. I have been spending the weekends at his parents house with him and have enjoyed getting to know his family and friends.

Life in Africa

I have become surprisingly comfortable in this country. I feel like I sometimes have to remind myself how far I am from home because it just feels normal to be here now. There are definitely still the “only in Africa” moments but I have fallen into the routine of life here. It is a beautiful place and full of beautiful people as well. It is still a very broken society from the system that apartheid put in place but I have enjoyed learning and being with these people. I have been bad about taking photos recently but I will try to take more and post them soon!

Pieter and I

Since everyone keeps asking for photos of us. We had a little fun after class today on Photobooth. Hope you enjoy :)