Day 80

South Africans have no awareness or concern for physical space.

Lets begin with walking. Whether it's walking through campus, along the crowded streets, up stairs, people here do not understand how to move without it negatively effecting someone else. For example, I'll be walking through campus, and people infront of me will literally come to a dead halt in the middle of traffic. And then have no idea that if they want to continue their conversation, they should probably move to the side to let other people through. Nope. No awareness.

The Jammie. This is one I have a big problem with. It's a battlefield. As soon as people see the next shuttle coming, people swarm to the scene, elbows out. I could be standing right outside the doors and with the amount of pushing and shoving that goes on, it could be standing room only by the time I get on. No "excuse me", no "sorry" nothing. Just fifty people trying to wedge their way in front of the next guy.

Then, there is the minibus. I'm starting to boycot the minibus system not because I don't appreciate the convenience, but because I am so sick of having no personal space on them. You're in a twelve passenger bus that's filled with 16 people. Then the guy who operates the door and collects money, keeps pushing people in, telling the other passengers to practically move on top of each other to make room for the extra R6 profit. And then while you're being shuffled around, the enormous woman sitting in the middle of the way, doesn't understand that she too needs to move or at least let you through.

The stairs. Now, this one is far less significant, but you know how we in America walk on the right side of the stairs? Anything goes here. Lots of awkwardness between the whole, "should I move over or do I think they will?"

I really don't understand it. How do people not respect the space of others or even their own? One of those cultural things here I can't say I'll miss.

Day 78

In one month from today, I turn 21. In two months from today, I'm on a plane back to the U.S. Crazy.

So in recovery from my key loss on Friday night, I had a good bonding moment with our house cleaner, Thobeka. People in the house don't exactly treat her with very much respect, so I do what I can to make her feel welcome and show gratitude. I asked her if I could borrow her key to the gate for 15 min while I went a couple blocks to get it copied, she said I couldn't get back in time before she left but that I could give it to her in the morning. Well, even though she didn't believe me, I kept saying I would make it back in time. I grabbed her key, booked it to the key place, got the copy made for R2 (like $2.50), and in under 13 minutes made it back to the house. I ran to the living room where Thobeka was absolutely shocked to see me, gave me a high five, and had a good laugh.

While I was walking back from the key place though, I noticed a car following me. The driver said hello and asked how I was doing. It was a police car. He then asked where I was going and if everything was okay and if I felt safe. Clearly I live in a sketchy neighborhood.

Day 77

Great weekend, but I'm definitely paying for damages.

Monday was a National Holiday, Heritage Day. And that means three day weekend.

It all started off Thursday night. I had been slaving over an economics essay (to find a solution for the European Economic Crisis) for weeks, and I finally turned it in Thursday morning. Celebration necessary. We had in the books that we would have a house dinner that night, so about 2/3 of the 13 Malleson residents went to Gypsy, a small hipster restaurant in Obz. The fabulous dinner (with unfortunately small portions) was followed by aimless walking through the neighborhood, where we found zero nightlife and came home.

Friday. Ah yes, the official weekend. I didn't have any set plans, but I knew I wanted to go out. A few people in my program got a table at Club 31, a downtown hotspot. My first night out in town in nearly a month. I will further discuss why this night was definitely unforgettable. For some reason whenever CIEE kids and myself go out together, I'm always the one that diverges from the group and ends up meeting locals. So I was at the bar talking with my new (female) friend, Barri. She introduced me to a couple of her friends, seemed like a very interesting gal. Little later on I hit the dance floor with one of her friends, seems harmless, then he asks me "do you want to have the sex?" What. The. Hell. Never have I been more caught off guard. He repeated himself, I screamed no, and literally ran away. I couldn't see any CIEE people nearby, mostly because I wasn't looking that hard, I just wanted to get out of there. So I took the elevator down, ran into the bouncer who grabbed me a cab, and went home. At about 2:30AM I received a phone call from the bouncer making sure I got home ok. I did, but unfortunately without my keys.

Saturday. I asked one of my friends who I was on spring break with if she'd be interested in going to Stellenbosch, wine capital SA and college town, over the weekend. We made plans to stay in a hostel and go on a wine tour. So seven of us hopped on the train Saturday afternoon and made the hour trek west to Stellenbosch. I loved it. It is the most darling town I've been to in South Africa. Great dining, cute little boutiques, friendly people, fabulous wine, and of course a really fun night life. We definitely enjoyed ourselves bar hopping through the little college town.

The greatest thing about it - I felt safe the whole time. It's hard to really explain it, but I almost got used to always keeping one eye open for my safety in Cape Town. And it's exhausting! I didn't really realize how exhausting and annoying it is until I got to Stellenbosch and felt comfortable everywhere I went and didn't have to take cabs everywhere. The culture in Stellenbosch is Afrikaans, which means another language, and a lot of white people. Honestly, I felt a lot less vulnerable surrounded by hundreds of other white college kids. Sad but true.

Sunday. Not having any concrete plans for wine tasting, we somehow got ourselves a private driver who took us to the various vineyards we wanted to go to. Each tasting cost about $4, so there were no hesitations to hit up as many as we had time for. My first wine tasting experience was not only extremely affordable, but extremely enjoyable.

Monday. Our house was able to get funds through the program for a paid trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years. After the sea-sickening boat ride to get to the Island, we got on a bus for a driving tour of the island followed by an hour walking tour through the cells and various prison wings. It was ridiculous. Actually not ridiculous. There is no word to describe it.

Nelson Mandela's cell

Depressing maybe. The size of Mandelas cell was smaller than that of a guard dogs. What does that tell you. South Africa has gone a long way from when Mandela was at Robben Island, but there are still so many kinks in the system people neglect to address.

View of Cape Town from Robben Island

Day 70

To whomever I'm going to marry, I think I should apologize in advance; for I am the world's worst cook. So either he better be a great chef, or I better earn enough money to be able to hire a chef. 

There are two things I have severely struggled with making while in South Africa: rice, and hard boiled eggs. My rice always ends up crunchy, and my eggs are either exploding in the bot of boiling water, or I try to peel off the shell and realize they didn't cook enough.

But tonight, I overcame my battle with rice. 

It began with running out of water, and therefore the crunchy underdone rice starting to get a bit more brown than consumption standards. So I decided to pursue the endeavor and continue my mission to salvage the rice. I added more water, put it back on the stove, and cooked it to perfection. Finally, I won the battle.

Day 69

Home-stay weekend

My program organizes an annual weekend trip to Ocean View where students are assigned in pairs to a family for two nights. Ocean View is known for being a pretty run down town yet still in good spirits. They have nearly a 40% unemployment rate, high rate in teen pregnancy, and a distinguished meth problem. Needless to say, I was slightly concerned when I signed up for the weekend get away.

On Friday night they had a sort of welcoming celebration where we met our home-stay families and ate dinner with them accompanied by entertainment provided by kids from the community. When I met my mom for the weekend, Suraia, she told me there was another girl named Chelsea staying with us as well. Turns out it was Chelsea Flintoft, a fellow Bronco. Definitely put me at ease.

The weekend was filled with a lot of family and a lot of food. Our host mom, probably aged in the 70s, had her niece and nephew and their two daughters staying with her so it was a full house. And the house had little room to fill to begin with. Small sitting area to the kitchen with no dining table, so all meals required our plates on our laps, followed by a bathroom, and three tiny bedrooms. The bathroom was the weirdest thing. It didn't have a sink. And the tub didn't have a shower-head.

On Saturday morning we were immediately greeted by our host-moms grandchildren. A boy, Jayden (1 year and 1/2), and his older sister Jade (9). Yes, siblings named Jade and Jayden. Creative. Anyways, the kids absolutely loved us. And yes, I mean love, because things got a little too far with the 9 year old. After giving them constant attention all day and feeling somewhat like a babysitter, Jade expressed her affection by starting to kiss my hand and cheek. I thought it was just a cute overaggressive way for a child to show appreciation, but no. In due time Jade started telling me that she loved me and asked if I liked boys. When I told her yes I choose boys over girls, she said she wished I preferred girls and she could be my boyfriend. I'll leave it at that.

That day we went to the beach with other extended family, distributed soup to the needy, and had a Braai (South African BBQ) at night. These people really are all about family. Their friends are all distant relatives, every gathering is about family, and everyone participates to help one another. They also really like to party. No hesitations for giving out beers and making mixed drinks and apparently if I "drank too much and couldn't walk home, they'd carry me home". Fortunately I didn't get anywhere near that level.

On Sunday morning we went to a Catholic church service followed by a large brunch and just two hours later it was time for another meal - a send off lunch before our departure. I have never felt more full than I did in those two days. During lunch a daughter in law finally said to me "you don't eat very much, do you?" The cue was that I didn't go for seconds or thirds, like most others did.

Talking to one of the older male relatives was extremely fascinating. Their entire family is colored, and spoke Afrikaans: two indicators they are of the oppressed demographic. In short, he (Jeremy) had a lot to say about the South African government and how horribly they treat the coloreds. Because South Africa is 80% black, the government has an implemented policy that therefore 80% of the jobs must go to the blacks regardless of qualifications. Basically, the South African government is extremely messed up. And hearing it from a disadvantaged colored was probably one of the most interesting conversations I've had in this country.

Overall it was a very nice weekend, but I was glad to get out of there. I was ready to sleep in my own bed, not be a babysitter, and not feel compelled to eat my heart out. The families were extremely generous and welcoming and though for majority of the downtime I had I was wishing I was at home able to get my immense amount of school work done, my time there did not go unappreciated.

Day 64

So I've already written this post, then it didn't save, and I'm starting again. Maybe this time around I'll be more concise.

This truly was the trip of a lifetime. I'll spare the dull details, but I could not be happier I went on this spring break trip.

I visited three different countries, met amazing people, saw things that seemed beyond reality, and conquered fears.

The trip got off to a slow start because our actual destinations were so far from the Jo'burg airport, so there was lots of driving, and lots of setting up camp, packing up camp, and moving on.

I traveled with 21 other kids from the U.S, almost all in the same study abroad program. We had a guide (Chad), a chef / helper (Neo), and a driver (Robson). I was honestly amazed at the chemistry within the group. A lot of the people on my trip lived together, but no one was visibly sick of each other and we were all very understanding of our insignificant differences.

By about day three the trip had really picked up. We all packed in to an open aired vehicle to drive us to the entrance of the Okavango Delta where we were greeted by a crew who would take us in Makuros (hallowed out trees as canoes) through the delta. Over 100 kilometers away from electricity, we set up camp with all of our tents and brought in water. I had always through I was a fairly savvy camper, until this trip when I quickly had to adjust to camping in the 90 degree heat with a limited supply of drinking water in the sandy desert when our bathroom was a hole in the ground. Fortunately hiking in Alaska did have me prepared for the bathroom. We were taken on two game walks, both were amazing. The greatest thing about the delta is that it wasn't anything close to a game reserve. It was all these animals in their natural habitat. To bear with the heat, we did a lot of swimming in a watering whole near camp. After swimming for nearly an hour, one of us turned around to notice an elephant walking through the woods near the shore. At that point, we were really one with nature. Our second game walk was by far the coolest. It was three hours long but totally worth it. I got as close as 30 yards or so from giraffes, just watching them eat and walk around. A cool thing about giraffes is that they team up with the zebras. Or more like, the zebras team up with the giraffes. They benefit from their height to know when trouble is coming. Odds are, you see a zebra, there is a giraffe near by.

Our last night we filled up the canoes for an evening game cruise followed by sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows and singing songs with the locals who were on our crew. We spent two nights in the Delta, which for me was just enough. As great as it was, I was ready for some cold water and a shower.

We hauled out of the delta to head for Chobe National park, where is the highest concentration of elephants in the world. It was awesome. The drive itself amazed me at how many elephants we saw.

Before we got to Chobe though we stopped at a campsite Planet Baobab in the middle of nowhere to break up the long drive. Feeling dehydrated and covered in dirt no one hesitated to jump in the pool and grab cold beer. Every campsite we stayed at had a bar and pool; something I had no complaints for.

Our first night in Chobe we had an evening game cruise down a river that divided Namibia from Botswana. The animal sightings were plentiful and it was only the beginning on what was in
store for Chobe.

The next morning, before leaving for Zambia, we had a two hour game drive scheduled. This turned into a four hour game drive. Considering we didn't pay extra and saw steenboks, warthogs, hyennas, giraffe, buffalo, elephants, lions, vultures, baboons, the extra two hours did not go unappreciated. I'd have to say that morning game drive in Chobe was probably the coolest segment of animal sightings in my life. Definitely beats the caribou and grizzly bears in Alaska.

Getting over the Zambian boarder was ridiculous. First we had to get out of our truck while it was inspected by boarder patrol, then we hopped on a ferry, got off the ferry and got bombarded by locals to by their "handmade goods" which I wouldn't be surprised if they were marked "made in China". Apparently half the people at the boarder who look like officials are really just scammers so our driver took on the role of sorting that all out while we waited in the sun getting harassed by everyone else.

Finally made it into Zambia and set off for our final campsite where we would spend the next three nights to conclude the trip. Our site in Zambia was near Livingston, which is where you can see Victoria Falls. In addition to the falls, there are tons of activities to do including bungi jumping, elephant back safaris, lion encounters, white water rafting, all the things tourists can spend their money on. It's a huge tourist attraction, but rightfully so.

Our first full day in Zambia was probably one of the coolest days of my life. It started off by each of us walking off a cliff....

  No joke.

I wish I knew how high it was, but needless to say, it was high. I got up there entirely emotionally confused. Before I knew it I was told to put my toes over the edge. 3-2-1, I took a large step forward into three seconds of free fall. Once the slack catches, you basically swing back and fourth in the gorge. Heights has always been something I'm not too comfortable with. I learned to get over that fear very quickly.

Later that day about a dozen of us traveling together decided to walk across the boarder into Zimbabwe. Yes, walk across the boarder. Probably the most nonchalant relaxed boarder control I've ever gone trough. So one hour I'm walking off a cliff, the next I'm waking into another country. A bit past the boarder there is a craft market with more harassment and bargaining. Naturally, we had to go. I will admit it was pretty cool. Most of the vendors not only want cash for their goods, which could be any currency, Quacha, Rand, or Dollars, but items as well. I managed to trade an old pair of cheap sunglasses, a pair of socks, a tee shirt, and a tank, along with R100 for quite a few items so I was pleased. But man, it felt good to get out of there. So entirely overwhelming and very confusing.

To conclude the afternoon in Zimbabwe a couple girls and I decided to stop and look at Victoria Falls from the Zim side. The Zambia side was cool, but for $30, you can see an entirely different view. No regrets for that investment.

Back at camp that night we ran into the other group traveling who was doing everything we did but a day earlier. I am so happy I was not on that trip. For the fourth consecutive location, the staff told us how obnoxious the group before us was and was much happier with us. Point made I was traveling with a great group of kids, most of whom I barely knew before the trip.

For the final day of the trip, we all went white water rafting. And this was not normal white water rafting. I had done a handful of rafting trips in the US, but this did not compare. The Zambizi river divides Zambia and Zimbabwe and is known for its huge rapids ranging from class one to class six, which only professionals can do. My other great fear is of drowning, so this trip was a good fix to that one too. Seven girls and a guide in our boat, all equipped with paddles, life jackets, and helmets. We were off to a great start, hadn't capsized yet, until rapid number eight. Our guide basically instructed us to paddle our hearts out until the first rapid when he yelled "GET DOWN". Paddles in hand we ducked for cover along the inner perimeter of the boat. But that was not enough. Our boat capsized dumping us all into the river. Entirely submerged, I couldn't find the boat, and down stream I went. Any second I could gasp for air, I was thrown into another rapid. Shooting downstream with nothing but water in sight, I was completely terrified. Eventually I saw a hint of yellow far in the distance. The yellow got bigger and though I was mostly submerged, I stuck my arm in the air for anyone to grab me. Finally rescued and totally freaked out having no way to wrap my head around what had just happened. It's completely normal to capsize in the Zambizi, but never had I felt more like I was going to die. After that we did everything we could to never capsize again. When we hit more calm water about 2/3 in, our guide pointed out a crocodile in the water. Apparently he had been seeing them all along but didn't tell us to avoid freaking us out. I was happy to finally hit land and get out of that boat.

That night we had an open bar booze cruise with apps and dinner. Probably had a few too many glasses of wine, considering I was able to fall asleep at 9 and felt a bit woozy in the morning, but it was still a great time.

The next morning we packed up to catch our flight in Livingston to get to Jo'Burg, had a rushed layover, cherry on top was when security stopped me with 20 min before departure because I apparently had a knife in my bag. They eventually let me go, I ran to the plane, got on the two hour flight, made it safely home after ten amazing days of travel.

This trip really was a trip of a lifetime. It made me think a lot about how I want to spend my time while I have this freedom to see the world. My appreciation for family grew tremendously as the whole time I was there I was almost more homesick because I wanted to share this experience with those I'm closest to. I was able to face fears of heights and drowning, and I came out ok. I was exposed to cultures I will probably never again be exposed to. I saw animals that can only be seen in either the zoo or The Lion King. And I was able to do all this with great people and develop relationships that I know will last.

No regrets here. Can't wait for my next adventure.