Back home

After an amazing adventure and 32 hours of traveling, Mom and I made it back to Raleigh on Friday. I'm slowly readjusting to life in the States, mainly that it's hot here!

We had an awesome time on the safari. The weather, lodges and food were great but the game viewing was unbelieveable. We saw the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) and even had several very intimate lion encounters. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Rhino Crossing

Lions eating their prey, an 800kg buffalo (and we were 10ft away in an open vehicle!)

Look closely... Yes, that's a leopard cruising by the jeep


Our favorite animal, the elephant



Mom and I leading the game drive


Hope you all have enjoyed following me through South Africa. I'll be in Raleigh for the next week and then start school on July 6. Wish me luck!

Off to Safari!

While it was sad to leave Robertson, I was excited to meet mom in Cape Town. She arrived yesterday in pretty decent shape considering the long journey. We spent today exploring Cape Town and were blessed with fantastic weather (mid-70's, no clouds, and very light winds). We had an amazing seafood dinner on the waterfront and are gearing up for our flight tomorrow morning to Kruger for the safari - I can't wait! I promise to post photos when I get back.

I can't believe I have less than a week left of this extended vacation. My stress level has racheted down significantly. It's been so great not knowing what the stock market is doing, what the lastest unemployment figures are, what bank is being bailed out next, etc. While I miss family, friends, and the comforts of home, I definitely do not miss "the real world." Ahh, well I suppose all good things must come to an end. But not quite yet :-)

Hope everyone's doing well!

Last Week in Robertson

I can’t believe it’s my last week in Robertson! Four weeks have flown by, and if I didn’t have the safari to look forward to I’d be seriously depressed. It’s been a great mix of excitement and relaxation. I think I’ll come back fully recharged and ready for business school.

1. Coolest thing(s) I've seen: Great White Sharks!



2. Most interesting thing I've done: I petted a cheetah!



3. Recent funny/embarrassing story: Other than our wine tour driver inviting me back to his place for DVDs and snuggling – “the perfect activity for a rainy night.” Even after wine tasting all day, I wasn't tipsy enough to fall for that one. And his name was Titi Titi.


4. Most frustrating/difficult/uncomfortable situation faced (or in corporate speak, "most valuable learning experience"): This question has been tougher than I thought it would be – there really has been very little culture shock.
It was a little awkward when I came home from my weekend in Stellenbosch last night and there were 6 new girls in “my house.” They are the newest group of volunteers who arrived Saturday while we were away. They’re nice enough but I miss my group – only 3 of the 7 are left.

5. Best food/drink I've had: Ostrich carpaccio & butternut squash salad.
Oh, and I ordered the “American breakfast” at this café in Stellenbosch. It was three pancakes (which they call crumpets) layered with ham, shredded gruyere cheese and egg. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen that dish in America…

6. Plans for the upcoming weekend: I’m leaving Thursday to meet Mom in Cape Town. Let’s hope she recovers quickly from the jet lag so we can explore Cape Town Friday and fly to Kruger on Saturday! I can’t wait!

7. Health: Still great... although I may have contracted TB from the lady on the bus behind me who was hacking up a lung the entire two hours - yuck!

8. What I miss most: My bed (and still my car).

9. Other general commentary. This is probably my last post from Robertson. I’ll post safari pictures when I get back to the states!

Week 4

Hi again! This past weekend was the highly anticipated Wacky Wine Weekend where the 40+ wineries in the area open up for tasting and festivities. We had a great time, even though most of the wine was unimpressive. Two members of our group left Saturday morning, which was sad, but I'm glad it wasn't me!

1. Coolest thing(s) I've seen: People sliding and jumping into a giant pool of red wine in search of a diamond ring. We also went to this party at a winery Saturday night - they had live bands inside this huge tent filled with bails of hay. The people were so hammered and kept falling all over the bails of hay, stepping on our feet and throwing hay up into the air. Reminded me of a certain KA party back in college.

2. Most interesting thing I've done: Toured a champagne winery, sampled lots of wine, and blended and bottled my own bottle of red (which I'll probably never drink because the wine was shit).

3. Recent funny/embarrassing story: One of the guys at school last week pulled out his camera phone and started taking pictures of me while I was teaching class (yes, they have cell phones but can barely afford food). When I asked him to put it away, he said he "wanted to show his mom the new teacher at school." Right! The same day, another guy asked me for the sweater off my back. I politely told him that was not an option.

4. Most frustrating/difficult/uncomfortable situation faced (or in corporate speak, "most valuable learning experience"): We went out last Thursday night for our "farewell dinner." We invited the staff here at the farm as well as our drivers and went to a restaurant in town. We got there at 7 and were the only table in the whole restaurant. We didn't start getting our food until 9 (even though most of us ordered burgers) and the last dish wasn't served until 9:30 -- the New Yorkers in the group were livid! Good thing we had brought our own wine! Apparently African time is a lot like island time.

5. Best food/drink I've had: Springfield Estate wine or Graham Beck Brut Reserve

6. Plans for the upcoming weekend: This weekend is a 4-day weekend because of Youth Day on Tuesday, June 16. We're going shark cage diving on Saturday and then to Stellenbosch (the university town) for more wine tasting and hiking Sunday and Monday.

7. Health: Great!

8. What I miss most: My car and being able to drive myself when/where I want to go.

9. Other general commentary. We saw a whole new side of South Africa this weekend. On a daily basis, we see few white people (other than each other, our program director and a couple teachers at school). Well, they all came out for this weekend! I would liken the crowd to one you would see at a horse race, like the Carolina Cup or Foxfield... very aristocratic. The girls all wore scarves, skinny jeans, boots and messy hair. The guys all wore designer jeans & sunglasses, graphic tees, and these awful rubber rainboots. I was told that it was because last year's Wacky Wine Weekend was a rainy, muddy mess, but I'm convinced it was a fashion statement. The men of South Africa are tall and quite attractive but seemed very snobby, as did the girls. Apparently, attending the Wacky Wine Weekend is quite a status symbol. I definitely saw the divide between the haves and the have-nots that I heard about before coming here.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures this week. Posting them takes up a ton of bandwidth, which is expensive here! Just imagine me smiling with a glass of wine in my hand -- that pretty much sums up my last few days :-)

Cheers!

Week 3

We survived the Garden Route last weekend. We did quite a bit of driving, some kids in my group bungee jumped, and we saw some awesome scenery. And we were super lucky that it didn't rain!

1. Coolest thing(s) I've seen: White tigers & lions, cheetah cubs, a pygmy hippo, the Cango Caves, ostriches all over the side of the road (like cows in the US)

2. Most interesting thing I've done: Played with elephants in Knysna (see pictures)

3. Recent funny/embarrassing story: Yesterday when we got home, one of the staff members warned us about going outside because the police had just been there to take care of the baboon problem (ie. shooting their guns to scare them off). The baboons have apparently been coming down from the mountains all around us looking for food, and "are very aggressive because they are hungry!" They had torn apart the garbage outside, just like raccoons. Needless to say I went out for a walk anyway and didn't see any.

4. Most frustrating/difficult/uncomfortable situation faced (or in corporate speak, "most valuable learning experience"): At the Cango Caves, we did the adventure tour where we had to climb through VERY narrow spaces, including one called Devil's Chimney where I had no more than 3" on either side of me and had to haul myself up through a tunnel! I never knew I was claustrophobic until that moment.

5. Best food/drink I've had: Ostrich steak!

6. Plans for the upcoming weekend: Wacky Wine Weekend is this weekend. It's a huge event where at 45 wineries in the vicinity have open tastings, food, music and activities. People come in from all around for the festivities. I, for one, can't wait -- I haven't done nearly enough wine tasting since I've been here.

7. Health: Pretty good. The rest of the group isn't holding up as well but I'm healthy as usual.

8. What I miss most: My dog... there are tons around here but most of them are so mangy that I wouldn't dare touch them.

9. Other general commentary. Life is still pretty good. I'm definitely settling in here. I'm not ready to pick up and move here, but it's definitely a great place to spend some time. The weather has been on our side but it's starting to get colder :-(. A few people will leave this weekend, which will be sad because we've become a pretty close group. The high school is fine -- the kids are about to start exams. The teachers are afraid they won't pass - I guess because they usually don't. I'm not really helping either because whenever I'm asked to cover a class, I play games with them like 7up and 4 Corners inside or I take them outside and do phys ed. It's confirming what I already knew before coming here -- I'm not meant to be a teacher!

Now enjoy the pics!

Our driver buying ostrich feather dusters in Outshoorn

White tiger cub, 5 mos old

The Cango Caves

Me with the elephants! (no, I'm not superimposed in this pic)

The view of our homebase from a nearby hike

Pictures!

The baboons on the side of the road in the Cape Point National Park
There are warnings about them all over the brochure. Apparently they'll jump in a car window if they see food!

The group at Cape Point

The penguins at Boulder Beach (south of Cape Town)

The view of Cape Town from (almost) the top of Table Mountain
After an intense 1.5 hour climb

The stream that my camera went swimming in.

The donkey sanctuary

The kids in Nkqubela (the township where the high school is)
They followed us around for an hour wanting us to take their picture, dancing for us, wrestling with the boys, etc.

I'm back

Sorry, folks, I know you've been anxiously awaiting my next update. The internet has been down for a week at the homebase so I'm using the computer at school. So much has happened in the last week... I'll do my best to recap.

1. Coolest thing(s) I've seen: The view from the top of Table Mountain, the penguins on Boulder Beach, the night sky in Robertson (we swear we can see the Milky Way, it's so clear), sunset in Cape Town, the baboons at Cape Point. I'm keeping a list of unique animal sightings -- it's up to over 20 already!

2. Most interesting thing I've done: Climbed Table Mountain, went horseback riding through a river bed with water up to the stirrups, taught many more 10th, 11th, and 12th graders random bits of knowledge and phys. ed.

3. Recent funny/embarrassing moment: Can't really think of any worth writing about... I'll do better next time.

4. Most frustrating/difficult/uncomfortable situation faced (or in corporate speak, "most valuable learning experience"): I had been subbing for a teacher for the past 3 days. She was supposed to return yesterday but when I got to school, she wasn't here and no one knew where she was. So, I was left to teach 4 periods, with nothing prepared nor a textbook to teach from. Thank God she showed up today. Oh, and the internet being down has been an annoyance.

5. Best food/drink I've had: Ironically enough, it was dinner at a Turkish restaurant in Cape Town -- we had a 3-course feast with cocktails and wine for <$30/person. Or maybe it's the fruit which is grown all over the place and is sooo good!

6. Plans for the upcoming weekend: Going on a Garden Route tour to the west of here. We're going to see caves, ostrichs, monkeys, elephants and beautiful scenery. Some people are going bungy jumping -- I'll watch. Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain. It hasn't rained since we got here and it's supposedly rainy season so we're due.

7. Health: Pretty good, had a scratchy throat this morning but can't really complain.

8. What I miss most: The beach and my bed.

9. Other general commentary. I really wish I could post from the homebase because I have lots of awesome pictures I want to show you. Oh, and my camera made a full recovery from its dip in the stream - hooray! Other than that, the group is getting along pretty well, especially considering how different we all are.

Hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend - I miss you!!