I will first start off by apologizing for how long it has
been since my last blog. But a lot has happened since my last birthday wish
post.
I had my first experience at Kirstenbosch, which is a venue
where bands come to play music outside in one of the most gorgeous settings I
have ever seen. The band was Freshly Ground which is the band who played with
Shakira at the World Cup. Most people are familiar with the wakka wakka Africa song
they sang. Much to my disappointment Shakira did not make an appearance and
sing shewolf, but otherwise it was absolutely amazing and a great experience!
School has been going very well. Wrote my first paper here
not too long ago and am feeling good about it. Surprisingly jewelry class is
the most difficult class for me. What I thought was going to be a simple sit
down and string some beads for a necklace turned out to me saudering metal and using
blow torches. Needless to say I am awful at it and many people will be receiving
some of the ugliest jewelry when I return home.
I have just got back from a weeklong trip on the Garden
Route and I have never had so much fun! The first two nights we stayed at a
back packers owned by a man who I am pretty sure took one too many drugs in his
younger years. We had multiple conversations about the “fairies” that lived
around the area, then he proceeded to encourage me to go catch them and bring
them for dinner. No idea what kind of life lesson or metaphor he might have
been trying to get at, but it’s always fun to talk to crazy sometimes.
The first night we visited the Congo caves as well as some
ostriches. The adventure through the caves was unreal. I have never been in
such tight areas or contorted my body in ways no one should ever have to. It
was a blast all the while though. All I can say about the ostriches is that
they are creepy and freak me out. When you meet an ostrich you will understand.
The second day I was up early to go kloofing. Kloofing is
pretty much cliff jumping along with rock climbing and river rafting with your
body. It was insane. And me being used to never having to wear shoes in Stellenbosch
I had to do all the climbing and hiking barefoot but the aching feet was well
worth it all. I came into the whole trip thinking it was going to be nothing to
be scared about, I jumped off the bridge at home during the summer into the
river and I figured couldn’t be any worse. We would hike and then swim (rather float)
down the current to where we would then climb and jump off the cliffs back into
the water. The highest jump we did was 12 meters high and I was shaking like a
god damn leaf. I never really knew I was afraid of heights but turns out I am. But
once I finally sucked it up I was jumping off everything. It was so much fun
and such an adrenaline rush.
After two days at the first back packers we drove to a farm
that we stayed at for the rest of the trip. It was gorgeous there and such a
nice break from the city area. While we were there we visited some incredible elephants,
the big cat sanctuary as well as monkey land. Being able to touch and be around
elephants (my favorite animal) was incredible. They are heartbreakingly adorable
yet so terrifying. There were only three rules that the instructors gave which
were don’t get in between two elephants, don’t walk behind them, and don’t run.
I managed to break all three within the first few minutes of being there. As I tried
to take a picture with one elephant, two others came on each side of me making
me not in the middle of just two elephants but three. So as I tried to get out
of there I had to walk behind all three of them which resulted in me running
and my friend getting a less then attractive picture of me in complete panic.
I found it hilarious
how in Africa, instead of looking at animals through cages or glass walls, you
actually just go in the cage with them. It was our luck that they had not been
fed yet and they get “restless” when the weather starts to cool down. But still
there were no objections to putting 25 delicious human beings in a fenced in
area full of cheetahs. It was an unreal thing to be that close to wild animals
like that. We also visited the monkeys at monkey land which was hilarious. It is
just this gated community full of trees and forest and they just have the
monkeys run around and do what they want. As I mentioned before in a blog about
the monkey apocalypse, I felt like I was right in the middle of it. They would
run right next to you and above you and just watch as you walked by, plotting. A
few of the people in my group had the honor of getting peed on by the monkeys
but I guess not a lot of people can say a monkey peed on them.
It was an amazing trip and I had a blast. I have a lot to
look forward to these last few months I get here. I am going on a safari in a
few weeks and then I am going to Afrika Burn to celebrate my 21st
birthday. Being able to celebrate my birthday at a festival that has always
been my dream to ever go to is completely surreal to me. I am so excited for
the next adventures I will be going on but the reality that I will have to go
home has started to settle in and it is getting harder and harder for me to
have to let this place go. I am very much determined to come back here again in
my life and because of that I will never officially say goodbye to South Africa.
It has become a place I consider home for the last months and will always have
a big part of my heart.
Miss you all.
