Winding Down and Gearing Up

The semester is over a week from Friday. After that we have three weeks of exams beginning May 31. I cannot believe how quickly things have gone by. It’s crazy. I only have one more paper due (thank God) and then I’m done until exams. I only have two exams (thank God, again). I have a take home exam for my WAC seminar and then an art history exam on June 11.

Grace and I have planned a trip to Kruger National Park (supposedly the best in all of Africa) and Mozambique for a little over a week. We’re leaving May 24 and flying up to Johannesburg. From there we’re getting a ride to Nelspruit (outside of Kruger). We’re then spending one night camping in Kruger which should be incredible. We’re also visiting the Blyde River Canyon which looks a lot like the Grand Canyon. I can’t wait. It looks incredible up there. Then on the 28^th we’re taking a Greyhound into Mozambique and staying in Maputo until the 31^st. On the 31^st we’re taking the bus back to Nelspruit, staying there for the night and flying back to PE on June 1^st. I’m really excited for this trip. It should be amazing and certainly an adventure. We get to take our malaria pills which excites us for some reason. Also, we get to see our first country outside South Africa, which is an amazing opportunity. On top of that we will get to see our first lion! How stereotypically American (according to South Africans). What can I say? I want to see a lion in the wild!

I’ll then be in Grahamstown from June 1^st to the 11^th. I have my exam on the 11^th then I pick Dave up from the airport on the 12^th. We’re then spending two days in PE on the Indian Ocean, then another two days in Addo National Park (the closest national park to where I am). On the 16^th we’ll come to Grahamstown to pick up Grace and the three of us are roadtripping to Cape Town again on the Garden Route. We’re stopping at a few of the places that we stopped at last time, but for the most part everything is new. We’re spending our first night in Jeffrey’s Bay because we loved the hostel last time and they cook great South African food. It’s jus t a great place with great people and a lot of fun. The next day we’ll go to Storms River to do the world’s highest bungee jump. I’m really excited for that. We’ll stay there for the night. The next day we’ll stop in Plettenberg Bay for lunch (I found this to be the most beautiful place I’ve been here). From there we’re going up to the Cango Caves which are supposed to be fantastic. They were recommended to me by a lot of people, so I wanted to see them before I headed home. After that we’re going to Cape Agulhas, the lowest point in Africa – where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet – to go whale watching, as it will be whale season. We’re then staying there for the night. The next day we head to Cape Town for four days. In Cape Town we’re going to do everything we didn’t do before – the Cape Peninsula, Robben Island, general exploring. We also have to pick up things we neglected to get before. I’m really glad we’re going back. My last trip to Cape Town didn’t end well, so I’m hoping this will make up for it. On the 24^th we’re taking an overnight Greyhound back to Grahamstown. Then it’s time for Festival!

Those are my plans for the next month or so. I’m really excited for everything that’s coming up. It’s going to be a lot of fun and great experiences for everyone. I can’t believe that we’re already halfway through May. I’m going to be home before I know it, which is both bad and good. I can’t wait to be back at home. I miss a lot of things. But at the same time, this places feels a lot like home now and it will be hard to leave. I don’t want to say goodbye to the Eluxolweni Boys, and the Nyaluza kids and the women at the Raphael Centre. It’s going to kill me!

This experience has been life changing, but I don’t know if I’ll fully appreciate the magnitude until I go home. We’ll see. Until then, there’s still a country to explore, fun to be had, an exhibit to prepare and kids to teach.

Backpacking - Monday March 17, Day 4 – Plettenberg Bay

The Baz Bus dropped us off before noon at Plettenberg Bay. The drive there was beautiful. We passed over a huge gorge which is home to the biggest bungee jump of some sort in the world (I plan on doing it before I leave). The view of P-Bay from the car was gorgeous. The beaches looked amazing and we couldn’t wait to get down there.

When we got off the Baz Bus at our hostel, Albergo, we ran into a few other Americans from Rhodes, including Tracie, the other American that lives in my res. We all quickly got ready, stopped for lunch and headed to the beach.

The beach was very touristy, but very pretty. It is an inlet surrounded by mountains. It was amazing. The water was so clear that no matter how far out Sonya and I swam we could see the bottom even if we couldn’t touch it. We swam for a long time and hung out on the beach reading and napping, as well.

On the way back from the beach we decided to have a braai so Grace, Kevin and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up meat and food for dinner, while Ryan and Sonya went back to the hostel. When we got back from the store and we were getting ready to start braaiing we found out that Sonya was really sick. She couldn’t keep anything down. Ryan and I headed back to the store to pick up stuff to make her feel better, while Kevin and Grace cleaned up. When Ryan went to pay for everything he found that he had no cash, it was all gone after leaving his wallet in the room while we were at the beach. When we got back to the hostel we found out that other people in our room were missing their money, too. It was a terrible feeling. Luckily all of our valuables like laptops, cameras and iPods were still there. To bring our spirits back up Kevin, Grace and I started braaiing. We invited a British boy, Chris, from our room to eat with us since Sonya wouldn’t be eating. It turned out that he’s on his gap year and he spent the previous two months teaching and coaching soccer in Tanzania. He had a lot of crazy stories.

Since it was St. Patrick’s Day we decided to join Chris and some other Brits and Irish people at the nearest bar. We enjoyed a few drinks and someone bought a round of shots for the bar. It was a fun night.

In the morning we found out that Kevin would be going back to the bungee jump with Chris and we’d meet up with him a day or two later. The rest of us spent the morning waiting for the Baz Bus and driving to Wilderness, our next stop.

Quickly - P.E., JBay & PBay

We're now on the third stop of our 2 week trip. It's a lot of fun so far and things have been going really well. I don't really have time to write too much, as it's costing me per minute, but we're alive and really enjoying our trip. I have a lot of pictures to post when I get the chance. Backpacking is a pretty crazy lifestyle and I'm glad that the trip isn't too long, but I'll be backpacking here again, I hope. Today we're off to Wilderness in the mountains near the Indian Ocean and some rivers. I think we may kayak to some waterfalls. It should be beautiful. I'll try and write again soon.