Baby There's A Shark In The Water!

My Delightful Flight Home

2011-12-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Although I was insanely sad to leave South Africa I was ready to go home. More than ready. I was in a tizzy with anticipation to see my family again and be back in good old New England. Unfortunately Africa had other plans.

You may have heard that after being on planes for already over 10 hours, my plane sat on the tarmack of the airport in Dakar, Senegal for four hours before the pilot had to inform us that our plane was indeed broken and a new one has being sent up from South Africa- an eight hour flight! So they unloaded all the passengers on this massive plane, along with all our luggage and sent us to a Hotel to stay at until a new plane could come. I handled this set back better than anyone expected partly due to the fact that we were put at a hotel next to the ocean with a really nice pool. It not a bad stay except for the fact that no one knew when we were leaving and i had no currency and was dieing of thirst towards the end of the day.

I don't need to go into the rest of the journeys details (i will say it took me like 48 hours to get back home!), instead i'll just say that it was another african adventure, my last one of my trip abroad! I'm very, very happy to be home, but i will miss South Africa and hope to return!

Last Days

2011-12-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

After the harrowing experience of finals finally came to an end my friends and i spent every second we could at the beach! Believe it or not (i'm sure you wont believe it!) but i actually got mildly tan while everyone else got horribly burned. I tried to feel bad for them, but after years of being punished for getting burned instead of consoled i found it difficult to show them much empathy. These were some of my favorite days while i was away.

This beach in Muizenberg we took the train to. The train ride was pretty fun because i wrote notes about all the people on the train and then read them allowed later as if they were poetry. It was funnier than it sounds. Anyways sadly i lost my "poems" but my favorite on was about an overweight lady eating chips slowly while the man next to her (who was definitely crazy) babbled on and on for his entire trip.

The beach was amazing and the waves were so much fun and perfect for body surfing. the water was cold, but the type that was soon as you got used to it you could stay in for hours. You could rent surf boards which was apparent because many of these surfers were simply bad.

At one point a siren went off and people ran out of the water because . . . there was a SHARK! baby, there was a shark in the water!!! I could not believe it because A) what are the chances and B) that allowed me to sing that song for the rest of the day!

This little boy sat right in the middle of this family on his way home from school. The entire trip he tried to surreptitiously try to get a piece of candy off the floor that one of the other boys had dropped. We was successful in secretly getting the candy by picking it up with his feet then pretending to scratch his foot and stealing the candy away in his pocket. He was incredibly patient the entire trip as he slowly patted his foot around searching for the candy while trying to act casual. He was really incredible.

Our next beach adventure was in Hout Bay. This place was more a fishing town and i wasn't obsessed with the beach or anything but i loved the harbour and all the colorful boats. did you notice how i spelled harbour?!

We went to Camps Bay beaches the most. This water was absolutley freezing and our final day here (mine and Lauren's last full day in South Africa) was the day everyone except me got insanely burned.

That's Lion's Head. From previous pictures you can see the beach from an aerial view

I miss the beachs and South Africa a lot. It is freezing and snowing in Hingham as i write this.

The Best Give Of All

2011-12-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Apparently now that I am safe and sound on familiar soil and not seperated from my beloved parents by the Atlantic, they have decided that funding the lifestyle i was used to for many months is no longer appropriate. BUT This does not prevent me from giving them the best Christmas present of all times-- pictures of me! Now i could give them nice delicate photos of me in sureen country sides or the like, but because of their choice to not continue to put money into my account my present may be slightly jaded. I have decided the best present for the two of them is the complete series of photographs of their youngest, most beloved child throwing herself off of a bridge in South Africa. Enjoy mum and dad!! Merry Christmas!!

If you play them really quickly then you can see my arms pinwheeling, desperately attempting to stop falling, but when i finally let go i had so much fun.

Langa

2011-12-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

So I have been quite retched about putting up pictures whilst i was in Africa because of their unreasonable inability to have actual working internet that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. But i have no excuse since i am now home- incase you didn't know! But here are some photos from Langa that is a Township. It was one of our first trips when i got there. It felt a bit disturbing since it seemed as if we were going to visit a zoo exhibition filled with people, but apparently this is how they can raise money and the like.

People lived in shacks that had a building plan with specific measurements but no limit on how many people were allowed to live in said homes. Others got to live in hostel rooms but three families lived in one room each having about 6 people in each family. 18 people in one room was incredible and very sad.

This is a picture of people cooking sheep heads. They eat the entire sheep except the eyes, tongue, and brains because you are what you eat and no one wants to see, speak, or think like a sheep.

This woman was braiding a girls hair that looked like it was taking years. The Little girl to the right tried to braid my roommate Jess's hair with gusto.

Boys playing some type of soccer game where there was one goal you had to flick the ball into

All the children would follow us around and LOVED when we took pictures of them. They liked to take pictures too, but would rather have you take their picture and then grab the camera to look at themselves.

The Preschool was surrounded by barbed wire probably to keep homeless people from sleeping in there at night. Bellow is a preformance the kids did for us. I'm sure they have to do it all the time but they seemed to have fun with it anyways.

Garden Route

2011-11-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

Since the dawn of time here in Cape Town, people have beentelling visitors to take a trip and drive the Garden Route. It is a “high way” that is a one laneroad that drives straight down the coast and inland with lots of activities totake part in. Finally I went theother week.

I rented two cars with 5 other friends, packed an abundanceof snacks, and we hit the open road towards new adventures. The first stop was Mossel Bay but weonly stayed there for a night. They had beaches but we had bigger and better things ahead- alsoapparently no coffee shops open in the morning so we wanted to get the hell outof there as quickly as possible. Our first activity was communing with elephants. We got go out into a field and walk/petthem and feed them food. The foodthey gave us smelled wicked good- it was pineapples and carrots-delicious. It was pretty fun, butthey made you a little nervous. They were trained so when they brought us out into the field they calledthem by names and the elephants lined up behind this railing and reached theirtrunks out to take the food from your hand. The baby elephants would try to sneak around the railing b/cthey could never get food, but if you threw it on the ground they were thequick and could get it before the bigger elephants nabbed it. After feeding them we got to walk withthem and pet them. They felt a lot different than I expected. When we finally started to get used tothem one little guy rammed his head/tusk into my friend Whitney’s side. It looked quite painful and after thatwe all back to being nervous.

Our next stop was what everyone had been excited for sinceday one—BUNGEE JUMPING! This placeclaims to be the tallest jump in the world: 216meters. Two girls were afraid of heights, butwanted to conquer their fear. Onewas successful and the other’s height phobia is now even worse, but all six ofus jumped. I was pretty calmthrough it all. The worst part foreveryone, except for me and the boy Jordan, was walking along the catwalk tothe actual jump. I could notunderstand why people hated walking over an open catwalk with a wire bottomthat you could see through, but to each their own. They played pumped up music and everything- but I still waspretty calm and relaxed, until it was my turn. They wrap your legs into a harness thing and you have tokind of hop to the edge with the help of the crew. My downfall was looking over the edge right before my jump.When they counted to 5 I did in fact jump and it was right after my feet leftthe bridge that I was gripped with fear and understood why people do not gobungee jumping. But after you letgo and relax it was absolutely amazing. Jumping was my favorite part of the trip.

The View right before you jump


Hating it-- it the first few photos if you click through them wicked fast it's just my arms windmilling trying to stop

And now loving it

We stayed at another hostel by the beach, but the nextmorning it was pretty cloudy and we headed out without really lounging at thebeach for too long. We took anunexpected stop at a wolf sanctuary we saw by the side of the road. We were greeted by a baby goat (a kid)in the entrance and had a wonderful old time at the sanctuary. The wolves were pretty sleepy/bored butthere was a petting farm where we got to feed pigs, goats, ponies, and all thelike. I made best friends with awhite pony who I absolutely loved. He loved me if I do say so myself.

That afternoon we went to an ostrich farm and got to ride onthe back of an ostrich. This wassickanating and very odd. Theybagged the head of the ostrich and put it into a gate thing where you sat withyou legs behind the wings and gripped the top of the wings with yourhands. It felt like you were goingto rip their wings off. In allhonesty the ostrich didn’t seem to care that much/ or just forgot about it a secondlater because their brains are smaller than small. The jockeys that helped guide the ostriches jumped on themat the end and showed us how to steer them in races which is basically usingtheir necks like a joystick. After this I’m not as afraid of them as Iwas. They are quite stupid in the head.

The last hostel was a lot of fun, but again we left early inthe morning to see more animals. We went to a zoo place with lots of endangered animals and all sorts ofcats. The only problem was this awful euro-trash looking couple keptdistracting me. I watched them thewhole time instead of the rare, exotic birds and what not. We did get to petsome cheetahs, which purred the whole time you pet them. After that we departedback to Cape Town to our own beloved animals- the pigeons. Cape Towners were right: when in Africayou must go on the Garden Route.

The Euro-trash couple. I swear they were more entertaining than the animals

I thought these were extinct

Botswana and Zimbabwe Spring break part III: part C

2011-10-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

Walking with the Lions

I literally looked nervous and awkward in every photo

The next day was walking with the lions! Now this sounds cool, and it was, but it was a bit awkward too. They told you how to deal with the lions and had us take meter long sticks to distract the lion with if ever they wanted to “play.” The sticks kind of reminded my and wands from harry potter but in reality they had no real power and it was all the guides controlling the lions. So we got to see them up close in their sanctuary and walk with them. They were being raised there to be released to breed and then those babies would be put into the wild to help the dwindling lion population. So the lions we dealt with would never truly be “wild” but they still kind of were in a sense- the sense that they could rip our faces off and all. The guides would take your camera and have you walk with the lion. This meant petting the lion, while walking, while smiling at the camera- awkward. In many of the pictures I look like I either am as awkward as anything or very distrustful of the lions. All in all it was pretty cool though.

Their eyes are enormous!

The Lions were huge! But it was their eyes that were the best part of them. They were giant and they looked straight at you. The guide told us to NOT look away from them and don’t turn away when they’re looking at you. You have to stand your ground and my confident. The Male lion was cooler and had spots on him kind of like a leopard. He also had a mane that was a Mohawk just like teenage Simba.

I am NOT looking to sure about this lion! in reality i was more nervous of the guides and their photographing strategies

this is the best pic i could get- every other one was even more awkward if you can believe it

It looks like they are stalking their man prey

the Lions got exhausted after a little while- they're nocturnal you know

After this it was time to go home. I really had so much fun with everyone and will miss both Botswana and Zimbabwe. At the airport I met up with friends who had gone on different trips and had so much fun (surprisingly I missed these friends- crazy) so I know I’ll be traveling some more, HOPEFULLY!

I literally had so, so much fun!

At least in this one i'm kind of smiling!

Botswana and Zimbabwe Spring break part III: part B

2011-10-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

White Water Rafting

I'm either screaming in every single picture or gasping to hold my breath

That pool down below is where it all started

Next day, as usual, we were up before the sun for white water rafting down the Zambezi River. These rapids ranged from 3-5 level rapids-- 6 is the highest level. In fact there was a level six but we weren’t allowed on it. We got out and walked around the cliff ledge and our guide did it solo. Anyways, we got dropped off at the falls and walked down a bunch of steps, around some cliff ledges, to the bottom of the falls. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Our rafts were tethered at the bottom in a pool of water surrounded by rock walls reaching up to the sky. Behind the pool were the waterfalls. We couldn’t take our camera bc it would have gotten soaked but I desperately wish someone had taken a photo.

AND I'm hooked

The guide taught us how to row together and what his orders meant then we were off to face the rapids. Let me just say that white water rafting is one of my biggest fears ever. This concept of putting ourselves in a position to get water thrown in your face is very foreign to me but it was one of the most fun, more accelerating things I’ve ever done. Our first rapid, The ‘Boiling Pot’, had me white knuckling my oar, but once we were through I was hooked. Our guide was amazing and got us through every rapid fairly well. The rapids all had cool names like Stairway to Heaven, The Terminator, Oblivion, The Washing Machine, Judgment Day, Devils Toilet Bowl and Oblivion. On Stairway to Heaven the other raft in our party flipped so our raft went into rescue mission and collected three of the people who were thrown from their boat. After this my raft thought we could take on the world so we decided to choose the hardest rapid when given the choice- bad idea. At the ‘Gullivers Travels’ rapid our raft flipped and my face was used as leverage by someone’s shoe for them to get to the surface. Luckily, when I reached the surface, gasping and crying for air I saw Liz laughing her insane face off. She grabbed me and the guide pulled us both onto the raft quickly.

Guys this is really stupid

I was right we are all going to die

Yup, I was right- we're dead.

I'm underwater being kicked in the face- not having the best time here

All Hope is Lost. we are all going to drown in Africa

After this incident I did not like rafting quite as much. This was a level 5 and then next level five was called the ‘Three Twisted Sisters and the Mother’. It’s said that if your kind to your mother it will be kind to you but if not you’ll be punished. It took forever to get to this rapid and I nearly cried with the anticipation. I’m sure I enraged everyone with my cries of anxiety and pleas about us turning back. Turns out my love for my own mum paid off and it was a fairly easy rapid to get through. I knew I was my mum’s favorite!

Seriously the longest wait to get to our next level 5. I'm honestly shocked they didn't just throw me out of the boat- I was in quite a tizzy after the guide said we would probably flip again

definitely screaming here and probably begging everyone to turn back

Probably screaming for my mum

MADE IT! love it again!

It was sad to end the white water rafting. In the end I loved it. At one point we were even allowed to jump out on a level 1 rapid and go through it with just our bodies in the water. It was even sadder to end because we then had to climb 750 (literally) stairs up to the top of the gorge. We were all exhausted and I’m surprised we all made it up to the top after conquering 19 rapids. But lunch was delicious and beer was served so def worth it.

everyone jumping out to swim down a level one rapid and rejoicing that we are all alive

we survived!! we even survived 750 stairs!

Botswana and Zimbabwe Spring break part III: part A

2011-10-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

Victoria Falls

So here’s the finale of my spring break but I promise it wont let you down- like absolutely every tv show ever- let me tell you. Anyways! Our final destination was Victoria Falls (one of the seven WONDERS OF THE WORLD!!!) yes I did feel like that need both capitals and three exclamation marks because it is just that cool. I also realize I need a better, descriptive word than “cool” but I don’t even care a little bit.

SO! Our final destination was Victoria Falls where we stayed in a place with actual beds. Believe it or not but I was disappointed to not be sleeping in our tents and got horrible nights sleep hear. Who knew? After this trip I can now camp with the greatest of ease! I don’t know how my spider phobia is doing because I hadn’t spotted one since but I think I’m much more manageable of a person now. Way to go mokoros.

When we got there they showed us a vid of a bunch of stuff we could sign up to do (extra charge of course) so my group chose white water rafting and walking with lions. For some reason me, liz (a girl from my program) and Jessie and louie (the two chill boys) initially put our names down with some random lady then paid. Everyone else just paid with this other boy. Turns out the four of us were the only ones who got to walk with lions b/c everything bureaucratic in Africa some how gets messed up. So there was a huge problem over that, which I did not have to deal with a felt great about.

That afternoon we went to see the water falls which were breath taking. I missed my siblings a lot though bc it reminded me of a picture of the four of us looking at Niagara falls. I secretly wanted the group to pose like this for a picture, but it wouldn’t be the same and never voiced it. On the stroll around the waterfalls we saw a few monkeys and some wart hogs. The warthogs also would just be trotting around town, same as the monkeys- very surreal. The falls were honestly magnificent and I can totally see why they are one of the 7 wonders of the world. At points we got pretty close to the edge to look down the canyon. With my prior knowledge from mountain hiking I knew I was not afraid of heights and would bound up to the edge and look over- but an unknown woman nearly freaked when we were doing this gasping and choking telling us to please be careful. I suppose this was kind of her but honestly I had had enough of her. I got her point though b/c when the wind blew the mist would spray us and the rocks would indeed get a bit slippery.

Across the canyon, to where the water actually fell was Zambia. There you can swim in the “devil’s pool” as one of the tourist attractions. It looked really cool, but I felt just like the fusspot of a woman because I was very nervous when you could see the people standing up on the ledge of the pool. Basically it is a weird calm area right at the ledge of the drop with rocks holding you in, but recently someone died trying to save a woman who was going over the ledge so it is pretty dangerous.

The Sunset was my favorite point. I really liked how absolutely everyone there appreciated it and everyone kept commenting on how beautiful it was. No one could get over the sights and how lucky we were to be there. I really wish the pictures could do it justice, but being in person it was so stunning.

More from Chobe

2011-10-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Chobe River Cruise

Mini Safari at Dawn

First "animal" we saw- eaten by wild dogs. Hyenas apparently have such a strong acid in their belly that they can eat the bones of their kill. The elephant carcasses we saw were eaten by hyenas.

Very rare beast, apparently

honestly I saw billions of these antelope. I could never tell which type of "bok" they were; impala, spring bok, red bok- they all look very similar


can we help you?

can you distinguish between shrubs vs baboons? there were tons of them just prowling along

These guys were huge! there were two females really close to us but the male with antlers was much further off

These warthogs blended in so well. I thought they were a lion for the longest time

Botswana and Zimbabwe Spring Break Part II

2011-10-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

The next part of the journey was onward to the Zambezi river between Namibia and Botswana. We drove some more and stopped at a back packers lodge that was for some reason amazingly fun. I think this was because they had amazing showers and no one had showered for a few days and had not only been trudging through mud but rolling in dirt as well. Plus I could still feel the spiders crawling all over mey boday.

More about the elephant family—They were so cute, the baby fit right under the mother’s legs and I desperately wanted to go and pet them but another girl (hated by almost all and leader of the “other” girls party) voiced this same thought, but in an annoying, horrid voice and was shot down vehemently so I kept my mouth shut. She was pretty dumb though and said it in a dumb voice so I can see where people were coming from with their annoyance at the comment. Yet, The two groups that night (our group plus two wicked chill boys vs. a party of girls who were kind of the worst) combined and we all had fun.

That night seven of us put our sleeping mats and bags on top of the truck to sleep under the stars. In hindsight not the brightest idea. It was the coldest night ever and you couldn’t see the stars because you were wrapped up so tight in your sleeping bag. BUT there were wild dogs barking all around and we saw paw prints on the ground in the morning so I suppose we were technically the safest up there on the truck.

That night after setting up our tents- which we could do now with amazing speed- we went on a sunset cruise along the river. This was so cool. We first got on and I figured we would see nothing, but then out in the distance there were some blobs that looked suspiciously like wild life. turns out they were. In the middle of the river there was an island type land form and on it were- no lie- more than one hundred and one elephants!! They were all just chilling or going for a dip or eating some nice grass. Then they took us to the other side of the river where we saw crocodiles, a massive herd of antelope (I think spring bok their national animal) and some baboons! I absolutely hate monkeys, especially baboons, but they are pretty nifty when you see them in person. Especially when there is a river creating a barrier between you and there nasty little clawed hands that could steel your food or rip your face off. Around the bend we saw some hippos in both the water and on land. I thought they were beautiful but other disagreed- to each this own. Finally, we saw some awkward giraffe trying to drink some water. Giraffes really are weird. I love them all the same.

The Elephants

Hippos

The Crocodiles

Baboons: there were a ton in the tree but I couldn't get a nice pic

Water Buffalo

The Giraffes and Warthogs

The next morning a few of us went on a mini safari drive. I had full faith we were going to get mauled by some lions and was looking forward to it but to no avail. All we saw were about a billion antelope of every type. There were literally trillions of them. My favorites were either the huge ones that look like horses with horns or the baby boy spring boks. They are so effing cute with their little faces and miniature horns. Apparently we missed a pack of 6 lions by about a minute BUT we did see TWO dead elephant carcasses. Jealous? One had the skin as a shell left over- it was really sickanating, but the skull and bones were cool. The other we didn’t actually see but smelt. All of us at the same time started looking around and questioning the stench in the air when the driver casually mentioned the carcass rotting on the other side of the hill right next to us. Cool. But, on this drive we got to see a giraffe FAMILY! There was a baby who left in the air and kicked about. The rest of the family just ate some leaves off branches and were the epitamy of awesome. Despite there being a lack of animals that could potentially kill us i had fun on the “safari.” I do think I’ll try to go on another safari if I can in south Africa.

Next stop- Zimbabwe, Victoria falls.

more Delta

2011-10-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

over 14ft termite hill

If you look really close you can see a snake on the main branch- it was blue and right above all of your tents. The Polers wanted to kill it immediately despite the fact that it was harmless

Frank our Safari Guide: the book he kept with him had all the plants information in the Delta area. I really wanted to get it for Ben or Carolyn

Sunsets

Botswana and Zimbabwe Spring Break PART I

2011-10-03T01:26:00.001-07:00

Breakfast! we had to wake up before the dawn and we ate out of metal cups and bowls- a fact, apparently, I never failed to mention every morning.

"Dusty" our faithful truck we spent many an hour on

For our spring break a group of us booked a trip to go to the Okavango Delta in Botswana and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It wasn’t until about a week before my trip that I discovered South African students used this vacation to catch up on school work and were shocked at the trips Americans had booked- our bad.

I was so happy I went on this trip- it was seriously, absolutely amazing. At least I felt like this at the end of the trip.

The beginning was extremely difficult. Our flight took us from Cape Town to Johannesburg and then for the first two days we drove in a truck/bus vehicle into Botswana. I slept for most of and was sure I already had malaria. On the roads there were herds of cows, goats, and donkeys walking about on their own free will. There were also hundreds of giant termite hills that ranged from 3ft-10ft tall all along the country. Every town we would pass by cows would be walking through in a line. Despite there being a billion of them at every turn I loved seeing them. But I did hate when you were about to fall asleep and the truck would slow suddenly and beep to stop cows from crossing the street until be got by. The cows always looked a little miffed that we honked at them- the donkeys and goats didn’t care as much but the cows had definite attitude. Our first “African animal” spotting were some ostriches. They are weird birds and know it.

Up close they are unbearably weird looking

The first night, after driving the whole day, we got to our back packers load and had a great dinner, people were feeling better about being off the truck, and things seemed to be relaxing after a rough ride. . . until we were told that we would be setting up our tents. I have never been a “camper” and never planned to be. I, in fact, hate camping. That being said I handled it a lot better than a group of girls on the trip who called their parents sobbing (this was where our group divided into two separate camps for the rest of the trip) and also it wasn’t even that bad- I fell asleep instantly.

The tents that made grown girls cry

After two days of driving we finally reached the delta (fyi the airport was 45 minutes away from the delta but I guess it was too expensive or some sheet). On the shore there were dozens of little wooden canoes called Mokoros. They piled our supplies into a few boats then in the other boats took our sleeping mats, backpacks, and sleeping bags and formed them into chairs for us to lounge in as they sailed (boated? Drove?) us to our camping site. The people who pushed us were called polers and mine wanted to marry an American and loved lil’ wayne. It was unreal being in a canoe with a poler using a 10ft pole to push us through marshes in the middle of Africa. This ride initially was beautiful and relaxing just sprawling in the sun going through reeds . . . until I discovered the reeds were so effing full of spiders that I thought I was going to die. Literally every five seconds I would see a stupid spider crawling on the side of the boat. TWICE I had to flick off a spider that I swear on my life was bigger than my face. Seriously! The spider’s legs wrapped around my leg twice and I had to pry it off using a machete. But you couldn’t really freak out or scream and flail because you were on a tiny boat and any sudden jerk would send you, your partner, the poler, and all your belonging into the delta to be eaten by crocodiles. Yes there were crocodiles. So I think my arachnophobia was been slightly heeled by full emersion tactics.

We needed to bring our own water to the delta-- the Polers would just scoop it out of the delta but if we did that we would die. Starting at the left it's: Jessie, Louie, Shelby, a Ringer, and Tembe

Cows in their natural Habitat. Seriously I saw about a billion of them but loved every time

Donkey Riding, Donkey Riding


We've finally arrived at the Delta!

Wiz, my Mokoro driver. he could make a "sick" lily pad necklace, but i'm not going to lie, his Mokoro was a little shaky. I thought I was going to tip in every time I jerked from a spider sighting

It was literally surreal in these little boats in some unknown place in Africa

2 hours of them pushing us through reeds and canals we reached our campsite

Our campsite was a little weird. we just put our tents around this center tree, which made it a bit difficult to walk around

Shelby guiding the Mokoro with her terrified passengers

When we got to the camp site they warned us not to go walking around at night b/c there were wild beasts about and then we were sent off to swim in the watering hole with the warning to watch out for more beasts in the water. We were taught how to pole our boats ourselves which was much harder than it looked. I couldn’t get it b/c it was the opposite of sailing a boat in steering. On the way to the watering hole the polers taught us how to pick the lily pad flowers and make necklaces out of them. The water was really refreshing and little fish would swim all around that you could easily scoop up. The bottom wasn’t mucky at all like I feared but really nice and sandy. Returning to the campsite we realized many people were burned to a crisp except for me who remained a shining beacon of white for the remainder of the trip. Sweet.

That afternoon they took us for a walk on a land part of the delta. After no less than two minutes we came across a bull elephant. It was only a few meters from us and so big. It was just scooping up food and it was one of the most unreal moments of my life- being so close to a wild elephant.

The rest of our walk was beautiful, but we didn’t see anymore animals. Just watched the sunset and heard hippos off in the distance. When we got home we had dinner cooked over the fire that the polers had constructed earlier in the day. The polers had gone and chopped branches down and constructed this fire in a blink of an eye to cook their lunch, which was fish they had caught from the water.

Let's go for a walk!

The water hole! what's so great about the water hole?


African "Jungle"


Apparently I'm in awe- and failing at taking pictures

The next day we got up wicked early – as we did every blessed day- to go for a safari walk about an hours boat ride away. This walk was much less green and lush. It was more grasslands with golden grass and sparse trees. We saw antelope further off, lots of different kinds including the biggest type of antelope that looked like a horse with a short tail and antlers. We saw a few elephants from very far away that blended in perfectly and we saw lots of tracks like hyna and lion’s. My favorite sighting was the zebras. There were three and not so far off. They would trot away if we got too close then look back at us and study us just like we were studying them. They were just so nonchalant.

That night the polers took us for a sunset mokoro ride. As we were being pushed along we suddenly heard the sounds of hippos. In a blink of an eye the polers freaked and started pushing off in the opposite direction. They were yelling at each other as I was yelling at all of them to turn us around and go to the hippos! Eventually they did turn about and went back to a pool where we saw three hippos. I instantly started singing

“I am a hippopotamus!

From my top to my very bottomus.

I am so round, so very very round,

You could almost call me spherical!”

Who knows if these are the right lyrics but they were close enough and shockingly no one has heard this song. Disappointing to say the least. That night there were more sing a longs. Around the fire the polers sang their songs and preformed for us. One song is easy to sing and praises all the things in the delta but can be interchanged with anything so for the rest of the trip we would sing

“beeeeauuuutiful delta!

Beeeeauuuutiful DELTA!

I shall nevvver forget!

Beeeeauuutiful delta!”

at the top of our lungs. I’m sure to the delight of every living soul around us. When they asked us to sing a song we knew our whole group could only get through a few lines before failing. I think we sang the national anthem with success though.

Beautiful Hippo!

Back to camp for singing and dancing around the fire. . . they danced, we sang

Leaving the delta was sad. When we got back on land they put us back into a truck for another long drive. As we drove away I was glad that I still was gleeful to see all the cows and goats and donkeys- this was until. . . we saw three GIRAFFES on the side of the road!!! I was so disappointed we hadn’t seen any on our walks and there they were right on the side of the road! I had been looking b/c I had spotted an ostrich moments before but we’d already seen those so I wasn’t over excited until the driver slammed on the breaks just as I saw the giraffes. We all jumped out of the windows grabbing our cameras. I think our shouts spooked the giraffes because one lunged to go running away. But seriously it was the slowest runner I have ever seen. it takes too long for it to move those long, long legs so it only got a few meters in many, many seconds. They stopped “running” after that and I got to take lots of pictures. For the rest of the trip I scanned the savannah searching for beasts. We got to see a few elephants but they blend in so well and moved off fairly quickly. But as our driver promised, more elephants were spotted, only this time it was a whole FAMILY! They had a few babies and this time no one yelped when they spotted them so we got to see them for a while. But I have never been so happy as to see giraffes. Just thinking about it makes me miss that goddamn truck a little bit.

My favorite ANIMAL!!

just hanging out on the side of de road

A family of elephants! A girl, I wont even give her name, tried to name them all, but i quickly rebuked her and said wild animals should never be named! mostly i was sick of her naming everything under the sun. She would literally give a name to a rock or card table- not even joking

Up next . . . more animals!

Lion's Head

2011-09-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

My Favorite view. Those mountain peeks are called "the Twelve Apostles"

Almost to the top! just another brutal rock climb and we're there

We made it in time for the sunset! well done us

SO I know I already talked about my astonishing hike up devil’s peak—the tallest and most wicked, dangerous, epic hike there is. . . but it was not my first hike in Cape Town. The first hike I went on was Lion’s Head, the mountain that over looks the whole city and is a wicked fun hiking activity. I've climbed it twice- once at sunset on the full moon and once at sunrise. The sunset hike is a definite thing you have to do here-- says people on my program (I personally almost didn't hike it because I found this statement annoying, BUT I did climb it and I'm very happy I did). For the sunset you climb it and watch the sunset at the top then you can turn around and watch the full moon rise up over Table Mountain. I personally liked the sunrise hike better because it is light out, so you can actually see as you hike your way down.

This is the "elephant" holding up the mountain. The Face is on the left- can you see it?

The first part of the hike is the hardest. While it is a straight path, it is a straight path at a 75-degree angle and you are trying to walk quickly because it looks easy, which it is not. Once you get to the rockier sections it gets easier. The rocks make it a nice steady climb. . . until they turn into a rock wall. You are truly rock climbing up parts but there are steel rods and chains hammered into the side so you have places to grab and pull yourself up. I thought I was super tuff because I just lunged up and grabbed hold of these very stylish steel spikes and swung myself up. It was not until I was half way through this climb that I realized if I leaned back and lost my grip I would be lost over the side of the mountain. I started white knuckling the chains for the rest of the journey. The next section after the rock climbing is still almost like rock climbing, but much less dangerous. The rocks are shaped like stairs but at points you need to stretch up and use your whole body to get over the rocks and in certain parts ladders are installed because it is too steep.

The sun rise!

My Roommate Jen climbing on up

Repping the Denver people and the awkward hand stance

The views are absolutely amazing. You can see all the way around the city stretching from the suburbs to downtown to the waterfront. My favorite views were from the little caves we found. In the caves you can see all the strata lines from when the mountain had been under water. There was a section on the hike that I thought was even more dangerous than the rock climbing, but it was the coolest part of the hike. There was a massive tree with tangled roots exposed that were so warn from people traipsing all over them that they were molded to people’s foot holds and very slippery. Honestly this hike is a bit more dangerous now that I’m thinking of it. If you slipped at any section not just the rock climbing you would get very hurt and tumble off the side of the mountain but while your doing it families, children, and dogs are all about so you don’t really appreciate the danger. Another activity of South Africa checked off the list!

Also! sorry for the weird arrangement of photos- despite both my parents and brother working with computers I have no clue as to how to work them. fail.

Enraged

2011-09-30T02:35:00.000-07:00

Some art work around campus

This one's my fav

I DO love it but. . .

Let me preface this in saying that I love South Africa. I really am having so much fun here and enjoying all the places and people. BUT I would not be myself if I did not have a few things that enraged me beyond all measure, so here they are:

In no particular order

1) The fact that every store (exception for one particular grocery store) closes at 5 p.m. Without fail at 5 on the dot they will close those barred gates in your face and shut down. The fact that they don’t open until 11 am or the fact that they take a 2 hour lunch break has no baring. If the store has been open for at most 4 hours then it is time to stop working. Absolutely brutal.

2) Boys here wear sleeveless shirts proudly! No one even comments or makes fun of them. They think its cool or something! Wildly Inappropriate.

3) South Africans are all skinny. Clothes shopping is a hugely depressing matter because A) the sizes here run two sizes smaller so you already feel bigger and B) everyone here is skinny so nothing ever fits! Jerks.

4) Now this is probably the thing I hate the most . . . Pigeons. They are everywhere and anywhere. I walked into the place where people buy lunch and sit at tables- I don’t know what it’s called . . . the food court I suppose? Anyway, I walked in there to find 7 pigeons eating at a table! No one even flinched! These stupid pigeons were a welcome diner at this establishment. And then getting home there was the most idiotic pigeon freaking out in the stair well. I freaked out too until our cleaning lady came along. I’m not exactly sure if she heard me raging at the ridiculous pigeon or what but she scooped it up in her bare hands and delivered it to the freedom outside like she was Noah setting lose a dove. What the!? Her bare hands! That brainless pigeon wouldn’t have even been around if not for the fact that randos on the street insist on feeding the pigeons’ already spherical bodies massive amounts of food. Not even scrapes mind you but actual bird food. It is by the grace of God I don’t go out there in a blind rage and smack them for their inconsiderate behavior!! Honestly!

5) People who sing outloud in public – not specified to South Africa.

6) The fact that I now feel guilty for wanting to kill a bee because a girl called it murder. What does she know anyways! She probably wears mismatched socks as a fashion statement and uses Tom’s Natural Deodorant. I bet she even brushes her teeth with baking soda because she doesn’t want to support big business but at the same time will buy a $500 long hemp coat. She seemed like the type.

So this blog was not suppose to be about complaining and I told myself the 3 complaints would be enough, but I think 6 complaints is ok.

Here are some pictures to reaffirm in saying that South Africa is really amazing and I love it- but it does have its faults.

There are hidden stair cases every where on campus-- it makes it feel a little like Hogwarts

Campus at sunrise- I'm up before the sun here a lot for some odd reason

This is a mini bus that brings you everywhere for one dollar. . . you also have to sign your life away to ride in one too. I wish they were all painted like this!

This was were I saw literally 25 pigeons sitting at a table having lunch with NO one reacting! I missed them all sitting there but here's one on his way out after a nice lunch

the regale pigeon

The Thing that enrages me the most out of anything in the world is the internet here and my inability to blog

Hermanus Weekend

2011-09-30T02:34:00.000-07:00

South Africa loooves these animal signs

Let me start in saying blogging with pictures is impossible so forgive the weird lay out.

Last weekend my abroad group took a weekend trip to the Harbour Town of Hermanus. I do realize I just spelt Harbour with a “u” in it but apparently that’s how you spell certain words here. “Labour” is another . . . those are the only two I can think of right now.

Anyways the weekend was so much fun. We stayed at the Back Backer’s Lodge- my first ever stay at a hostel. It was covered in tapestries, paintings on the wall, and there were couches at every turn. They had a pool in the back but it was a bit too cool to go swimming. The best part about the hostel was the two dogs. One was a pitbull mix that was pure mussel and looked more like a miniature lion than a dog, while the other was the biggest husky I’ve ever laid eyes on. I swear we was part wolf. They also had a ginger cat running around who I was obsessed with scooping up- as soon as I did though everyone wanted to hold it- it’s pretty tough being the cool kid and having everyone want what you have. HA!

We were scheduled to go one two whale watching adventures: Kayaking and a Boat watch. I didn’t think the boat was going to be as exciting as kayaking was but the boats have permits, apparently, that let you get a hell of a lot closer to the whales out at sea than the kayaks are allowed. This seems peculiar to me but who knows. We drove (boated?) for ever to finally reach a bay were they had spotted some whales. There were like a billion. They were I think trying to mate with this one female whale- but I did not like that so I blocked out whatever the guy over the loud speaker was saying. They were enormous. After a while the amazement of seeing 13 million whales kind of wore off so I walked to the back of the boat to get some treats- it was vacation! So I was at the very back of the boat (the stern) and just as I leaned over the railing a whale came swimming by so close I could have touched its face! No lie! That was the coolest part of the whole boating extravaganza.

Look out! It's comin' at you!

oh heeeeeyyyyyyyy

I have about a trillion pictures of whale backs but if you weren't there it is not as interesting to see this black mark in the water. I really wish it looked more impressive but take what you can get!

literally I was this close to a real whale!

oh casually twenty people in the back of a pickup truck driving us back from the whale watch

I put the whale watching via boat first on the blog because blogging is impossible and I don't know how to organize pictures on it what so ever. In reality we went Kayaking in the morning then whale watching on the boat-- why I needed to state this distinction is beyond me but I have spent numerous days trying to put the kayaking pictures first and I've given up. This is why it takes me for-effing-ever to do posts!

For kayaking I was in the first group early, early in the morning. This turned out to be the best group though. The water was filled with kelp, which I previously thought was kind of like a weird seaweed plant that just floated on the top of the water. This is dead wrong and in hindsight I’m critical of my self for thinking this. It was long, huge dark brown stalks that looked like the type of stuff otters dart through. When kelp cleans itself it produces white foam that floats on top of the water- paddling through the white foam in the sun made it look like the entire ocean was covered in it. It reminded me of one of the Narnia books with a sea involved.

Some whale bones

When you’re in kayaks by law you’re not allowed to go too close to any of the whales. I think the rule was about 300 meters. BUT! When we were kayaking the first whale we saw was a baby who popped up 20 meters away from us to check us out. Our kayaking tour leader guy kind of got pretty nervous and tried ordering us to kayak backwards further away from the little whale (who was in reality enormous) but all of us kind of just flicked at the water with our paddles to stay a bit closer to whale.

After the baby whale got board of us and swam away another whale in the distance started to leap out of the water and slam down- just like on all those documentaries about whales. Apparently it is not as common as the documentaries make it seem because it takes a person’s full day’s worth of calories to jump out of the water one. If they do leap out of the water they always do it more than once- about 3-7 times. Its to clean there blow holes from all the gross build up like algae or whatever- but this is a feast for birds so as we were watching the whale dovens of seas gulls started flying over head. It felt a bit like they were the monkeys from the wizard of us flying off to grab dorthy . . . I must have been feeling deprived of books/movies because thus far all my references have been to them.

After getting back from kayaking we walked around the town were all these little shops were set up. I felt like this was a mini vacation so I got mini donuts! They basically were fried dough rings and I wasn’t over the moon about them or anything. We shopped around for a while until everyone else had gone sea kayaking then we got to go on a boat for whale watching- I was quite smug with myself b/c everyone not in the first group didn’t get to walk around town at all. The early bird gets the worm! I actually hate this saying but it applied so there you go. While I was walking to the boat launch with a few other girls (eating gelato b/c it was vacation!) we looked out over the water were people were standing on cliffs and pointing. There was a whale just playing around in the cove. It flipped all around, making it look like it was waving to us. How cool is that? People who live there can just walk out side or to the park and sit and what whales just hanging out on the beach.

I couldn't get a wicked clear photo of the whale but if you look really closely it's the dark line between the two white sections in the water. In person you could see the whale even when it was under water

Up close to the kelp it is pretty amazing. The water was so clear you could see the kelp going down deep to the bottom

How could I not have tried these

the market was really fun but they have the same thing at pretty much every market. I think I really liked it because only the first Kayaking group got to go. I'll try to work on that.

We left the next day to go on a bus tour of the other towns. It was rainy and cold though. We went to a candles factory, only it wasn’t the actual factory part like I hoped but the place were they displayed all the candles. People from town ships (ghettos) get paid and trained to paint them so everyone was a little bit different. AND it is one of Oprah’s favorite things. I must say- good choice Oprah, it was really cool. Then we went to the southern most tip of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. I thought this was the Cape of Good Hope but wrong again. This is where the longest sandy beach is in the world and it has wicked clean air. Facts. You can tell which ocean is which because Atlantic as every knows is as cold as ice (unless youre on the gulf or something) and Indian is beautifully warm- kelp ONLY grows in cold water. Fact.

So it was a pretty good weekend. I’ll be excited to go to more beach towns when it finally gets warm out.

Not a shark, just a whale waving

Whoa

2011-09-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

So apparently I've acclimated to "African Time" quite well because I'm shocked to find that I have not posted in over a month! my bad

Coming soon:

Weekend trip
Spring Break
And some random sheet

Literally! A SHARK in the water!!

2011-08-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

Finally! The title of this blog makes sense, other than it being my favorite song and the only line I sing of it. This Tuesday (a national holiday celebrating women) I went . . . SHARK CAGE DIVING!!

It was absolutely amazing. So so so fun! First off we had to get up before 5am and be ready to go by 5:15 to get to the sea town of Gans Baai. I slept most of the way but woke up during the second half of the journey as the sun was coming up. Everyone else in my car was still asleep (we got drivers to take us- livin’ large!) which was a good thing b/c there were a few hills with horses on them and without fail I would say, “look horses!” nobody heard me luckily- thanks family.

Our vessel that kept us out of the mouths of sharks

There were sea gulls everywhere- we were all "lucky" because birds pooped on you left and right. I saw an albatross which is pretty rare, apparently.

When we got to the town they had shark themes everywhere. Every café, libraray, shoe store all had some pun about sharks as advertisements. It smelt like the sea as soon as we got out of the car and I could barely stand my excitement. They put us in life jackets that looked like they would help us sink more than float and giant orange fisherman jackets which were a life saver b/c it was pretty windy on the high seas! Our first minute away from the dock and the boat got air going over giant rolling waves. I would have yelled for them to go faster but they were going pretty fast and the waves really were massive so I was pretty content.

Everyone looking at the Beautiful shore-- it was cloud at first but the day turned and the beaches were beautiful in the sun

All the women on the Shark Diving Trip!

Once we got out into the bay we had to change into wet suits. I previously had no fear about sea sickness- until then. Trying to shimmy my body into a suit that made me look all too much like a seal on a rocking boat will make anyone a little uneasy. After we got our wet suits on we looked really similar to the seal cut out they would throw into the water to tantalize some nice great whites to come and chomp on.

I KNOW that this shark thought the cut out was human

After about 2-3 hours there were still no sharks. By this time I had given up trying to suck in while being squished by my wet suit and was sitting on top of the boat with a basket ball for a belly and intermittently biting into my sandwich and throwing bits of it into the water to get anything to swim by. Finally we moved to a new spot b/c another boat was leaving and they had seen at least 3 sharks swimming about.

After we moved the real fun started. I was still on top deck and next to a man who had been standing there the whole time. After 2 minutes he gave a shout and pointed out into the waters where there was a HUGE shadow of a shark! Who knew that guy was the look out? Anyways after that two more sharks came by and it was crazy how big they were! You could see them swimming by and they were almost, if not, as big as the boat! The crew would throw a bait line that was about 10 fish heads attached to a rope to guide the sharks closer. There was also that seal cut out which they would throw but I did not approve of it- it looked nothing like a seal and very much like a squat human in a wet suit.

The sharks would throw their heads out of the water with their mouths gaping going after the baits and then would turn on a dime and swing around in another direction. Every time I would see a shark I would squeal in delight and practically hurl my body over the railing to try and get closer- I think there is something off about my survival instincts.

The Chum that was literally poured on our heads

the shark cage

a shark

So I was the third group to go into the actual cage to be NEXT to the great white sharks that were bigger than the cage itself! I was the first one in and I did get really scared once I was actually in the water. It was pretty cold and the water was really choppy so the cage would sometimes swing a little bit and hit the side of the boat- all adding up to a terrifying situation. Since I was in first I was at the end so two sides of me were next to open ocean while the other two were next to the boat and another girl from my group- who was more scared than I was so I could pretend like I was cool, calm, and collected- I was none of these things. While I was in the cage a shark swam right by the side of it! I ducked down to see (the water was pretty murky so you couldn’t see too much, but I did see this!) a giant shark swimming right by me! Its head was right next to the cage so I was screaming my heart out underwater and had to come up for air only to see its fins inches away from the cage swimming by- AMAZING!! The cage didn’t get any easier b/c the fins would go right by you and the cage would smash up and down and against the boat so you were flung all around and water in your face. We didn’t have any underwater equipment other than goggles so to go underwater you had to hold your breath and grab onto the bars of the cage to dive under- you also had a weight attached to you but sometimes it would get stuck onto the cage which was more scary than the beast swimming inches from you. I have two bruises on my shin from ducking under and pushing my legs against the cage to get as far away from the open water as possible. The crew thought it was hilarious when they asked us if we wanted them closer and we all cried a jolly “yes!!” so they pour some chum (fish guts) onto our heads inside the cage. I have never screamed so hard in my life. They also would swing the fish heads at us to get the sharks to come closer. The water was really murky so realizing that sharks could be swimming right by you and not being able to see them is a notion I wish I did not take away from the experience.

Getting the wet suit off and onto dry land was bittersweet but necessary after having guts poured onto your body. We took the scenic route home, which was beautiful, but got my pretty confused about the whole geographical lay out of the western cape. I’m very excited to see some more harbor towns because they all looked pretty darn cute! We finally got home around 6 to have our neighbor come over (he was in the house the I proclaimed myself braai (aka grill) master of) to tell us about our spring break trip which he is running. So after seeing sharks all day I set up my trip to Botswana to see elephants and waterfalls! I LOVE animals!!

Still have all my fingers and toes, arms and legs.

This is not the best vid, but it took me forever to upload and so i'm leaving it

Some Notes

2011-08-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

So I've been here about a month and these are some important things I've noticed so far:

This pigeon was particularly gross looking

Pigeons here think they are ants. They love to walk around thinking they are tiny and inconspicuous. They are neither of these things. They crawl around underfoot and are shocked when you kick at them to get away. Every time you shoo them they look at you like “hey! How do you see me? I’m just this stupid pigeon crawling around our ankles in the middle of a café- what the!” They are so weird. All I can think when I see them is: Don't Let the Pigeon Ride The Bus!!

Girls with their temples shaved off are found here a plenty. But the weird thing is non of them are South African! It’s like a weird pull for these types of ladies to both shave a patch off their head and then journey to the southern hemisphere- some could even say cultish. I don’t have faith in these girls. I feel like they are outwardly broadcasting their two-face nature. Anyone who so proudly shares their inner flows like that on their sleeves are not to be trusted! That being said I met one and she seemed ok.

South Africans hate weather. Now this could be my thinking because I come from a land where being able to tolerate extreme weathers is held in high regard but South Africans are a little silly. The temperatures have been a bit cold but nothing a hoodie and a jacket can’t fight. Instead I see numerous people walking around in parkas and looking like the might fall over frozen any second. I do love how when it rains everyone will run full out to avoid it. I always feel a bit wimpy doing this but here its everyman for himself and if you don’t move quickly you’ll be shoved into a puddle.

The Dog's here are so cute, but wicked rare. Upsetting b/c it was my big plan to steal a dog and keep it at my apartment for protection. Fortunately you get used to the city sounds fairly quickly so a guard dog is not a necessity for a sound sleep.

South Africans, they love their mayonnaise. On every single menu they put at the bottom extra mayonnaise for the side in every flavor. It’s hard pressed to find a place that brags about their mayonnaise. They put it on everything. Brutal.

They have this chain restuarnt here called “Spurs” that is a stake house-rancheros style food- but basically it’s a burgers and fry place. Just guess what their symbol/masquot is! It’s a . . . Native American! Because Native Americans are famous for their burger and fries and know a good way to grill. Obviously.

Their taxis are really buses that reminded me so much of the Knight Bus from “Harry Potter.” You walk along any main road an stick out your hand and a van pulls up almost immediately. You pay 5 rand (less than a dollar) and crawl in this van that holds 12+ people. Everything will jump out of the way of these vans- telephone poles, people, other cars, buildings—the only thing that won’t leap out of the way is other buses. You zig zag along the roads thinking you’ll definitely hit something but you never do, they’re pretty skilled. After you finally get to your destination, usually a small walk away from it, you get out feeling slightly sick and very happy to be on solid ground. Despite this feeling you always get into the bus again- maybe for the thrill?

Finally: Penguins.

They are ac cute as they look! I think they know they’re cute b/c they can hold eye contact and you can just tell they know you want to scoop them up in a hug. They live along the beaches here but if you walk around beach towns you can spot them walking along the streets with you- usually these penguins are quite brave but they always appear lost.

FOOD

2011-08-02T01:34:00.000-07:00

FOOD: probably my favorite thing in the world and something that is almost always on my mind. Lucky for me South Africa has amazing food. And I have bee eating it all!

Every Saturday there is a market set up at “Old Biscuit Mill” with foods from all over the world. I literally thought I was in heaven when I first walked in. Shark eyes (where your pupils dilate all the way and predator instinct kicks in) were in full effect and I was white knuckling my wallet just dieing to give all my precious rands away to the nearest person with an apron on. The have beautiful tables set up all around the walls of an old mill with sturdy tents adjacent to the building filled with more tables and more food. Out side there are benches made of hay and low tables to sit around.

So as if the sights weren’t enough to put me into a frenzy, as you made your way to the back of the tents eyeing every type of pastry and quiche and cookie and jars filled with beautiful honey, figs, tapenade (gross), hummus- basically everything, the further you went back the more the smells over powered you. In the back is where they make food ready to order. They had huge, HUGE, wok type things filled with red soup and filled with shrimp, or you could get flat breads, waffles, paninis, burgers (including ostrich burgers), and lots more. I ended up getting a potato pancake with a poached egg, gruyere cheese, chopped scallions, bacon, and smoked salmon on top- sooooo good

So Old Biscuit Mill is more of a high end place to eat and definitely a place where you carry around drinks that are too expensive and it’s too early to be drinking besides—I obviously don’t believe in telling people the right time too drink, I’m more organic in alcohol consumption, i.e. whenever you want it or need it is the right time to drink! That being said- getting wasted in a township (aka ghetto) and gorging on meet is definitely one of the highlights of South Africa so far!

I’m referring to Mzoli’s, a famous “restaurant.” This place is a combonation of a butcher shop/ restaurant. You sit at big plastic tables under a permanent tent structure. Its BYOB so if you didn’t bring any alcohol you have to walk down the road a little ways, over glass incrusted sand filled side walks, to a “store” where a person behing a caged window takes your order/money and a person in the back brings it out to you through cast iron doors. Once your all settled with your 6 pack, then you leave the tent and go order meat (that’s all they serve) in this little deli like store. They’re just slabs of meet and you tell them how much money you want to use for each cut. They dip it in this spice and slap it onto a plate with a ticket and sauce. You then have to walk into the back where there are wood fire grills and drop the plate off for them to cook for a while. There is so much meet burning on the grills and there are so many grills. They just keep putting wood logs onto the fire and the smell is so good. You have to walk back to the kitchen every once in a while to see if its ready- they just put the meet back onto the plate and hand it to you (no silverwear or napkins or anything). I got a steak and a cow rib. The stake was unbelievable! We bought bred at this tiny store at the beginning of the day and I was very happy b/c I ate like three slices of it just mopping up the leftover sauce on the plate. I also used the bread as a napkin—it did not work very well. The meet really was so good. Like sooooo good.

But not all the good food in South Africa is restaurant food. They have fig jam here that makes a killer peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and their avocados are devine. Also wicked good chocolate. But I must say, people, including myself and fellow abroaders, can throw a pretty good cookout. Our neighbors (actual locals!) invited all of us over for a braai (brrr-I), aka cookout, where I was dubbed “the MF Braai Master!” Now I’m not sure if I dubbed myself the “braaii mastah” or if someone else did, but I do know that the chicken I helped cook was un-b.

there is a pic of me grilling. . . but i forgot to upload it- i look awful so i'm a little happy i forgot but i figure- whateves i'll post is soon.

I’m going to have to be rolled off the plane coming home or at least be forced to buy an extra seat. So brutal but whateves. I’m in Africa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

Devil's Peak

2011-07-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

The Building is one of the libraries/ halls at UCT

The other weekend in search of "fun" and "appropriate" African experiences i signed up for a hike in the local mountains. This was spur of the moment and i wasn't thinking clearly-- luckily for me! The hike was so amazing, i did NOT expect to enjoy it so much. We hiked the Mountain peak right behind our campus called "Devil's Peak". It was wicked scary but so much fun. You had to rock climb at certain points and over this teeny ledge you hiked along was 100's of feet drop to the bottom. Luckily I am a sure footed pony and was quite spry on the rocks. It really looked like a scene from planet earth- i got a laugh from the group when i voiced that my only desire was to see a billy goat on the rocks.

This part of the hike was called "The Knife's Edge"

i felt great when i got to the top- its the highest peak in cape town and they decided to tell us at the top that it was also the most difficult- could have killed them. You basically were rock climbing without any equipment. It took people a little extra time to scale certain parts (b/c we were LITERALLY rock climbing) so i got to look out of the majestic city and my probable death many a feet below. Still it was unbelievably beautiful and I discovered I am not afraid of heights.

This is foggy because we were so high up clouds were below us and rising!
Can you spot me?

the way down was the worst though. It was walking down the back side of the mountain on rocky "stairs" and i thought i was going to rip apart my knee joints or hip sockets or anckles or all three!!

At one point i got stuck behind this short, big headed girl that reminded me of a character from the "Labyrinth." she had been playing music on her phone for parts of the hike which enraged me- but when i was near her she wasn't playing any. this did not stop her from bopping around and "dancing" to music in her head. was she trying to be cute or something? anyway all this prancing around in her swishy sweat pants and keds forced her hair out of her pony so i was able to pass her as she tended to it. i got pretty hard in front of her because it was only a flat path and she sucked at hiking. the next thing i know she's yelping and clutching her foot. i knew it was b/c she was skipping around and acting a fool.

when i got to the bottom i found out she MAY have sprained her ankle so they were trying to carry her short ass down the mountain. a little while later a literal helicopter came and air lifted her off the mountain! she was about 25 mins from the bottom. crazy crazy crazy. . . YIA (your in africa, now!)

More posts coming soon- they'll be a bit out of order for a little while but hopefully I'll be back on track soon!

I miss everyone very very much

Africa

2011-07-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in Africa!
This Blog is pretty much to chart my adventures through South Africa over the next few months. Lord knows that everyone wants to hear about my every waking moment so I'll try my best to get everything down and NOT be a baby brat and use this to complain- but no promises.

I'm excited to be here! . . . mostly!