Feb 2011

Well another CRAZY and ADVENTUROUS weekend!! On Saturday I decided to do something that I would never of thought I would ever in do my life. I went Shark Cage Diving! I was in a cage, in the ocean, with Great White Sharks swimming all around me with their mouths less then a foot away from my face!!!... And yes I still have all my fingers and toes on top of it all!! Even though I got REALLY sea sick basically the whole time, it was definitely worth it when I was in the cage starring into the eyes of a Great White Shark! Not only did I go Shark Cage Diving, but today (Sunday) I went to Boulder Beach, where there are penguins just hanging out on the beach, and to Cape Point, which is the very tip of all of Africa. It was really cool to see all the penguins and to be so close to them. I really wanted to touch one and bring it home with me but they told us that their bites really hurt so I decided that wasn't a good idea. Also, seeing the tip of Africa was amazing as well. It was really windy at the top (as you can see from my picture where my hair is out of control) but the scenery was just gorgeous! After seeing so many amazing places and knowing that there is so much more to come, I now see why everyone says that South Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

My weekend: Hiked up my first mountain and make it to the very top, ate lunch in a cave, saw a shooting star, jumped off a 25 foot cliff into the water, and had a baboon break into my cabin and poop on my bed... Not bad More details to come!

Unfortunately this week I had to go back to reality and start classes. Luckily I’m taking some really interesting classes this semester so it shouldn’t be bad at all. I am taking a Conserving Nature class, so when I come back I’ll be all Go Green and Eco Friendly. I am taking a HIV/Aids South African Perspective class which should be very interesting because the South African perspective on HIV/Aids is very different than how Americans see it. I am taking a Jewelry making class which should be really fun because who doesn’t like getting college credit to make jewelry! I am also taking two English electives: one is about how to tell if different pieces of writing is “real” or not and we will have to read all these different articles but it will count for my Literature class back home so this will be worth it. My other English elective is a film class about how different genders are portrayed in different old fashion movies which should be fun.
Other then classes I took a tour of the local township where I will be assistant teaching and volunteering a few times a week with this program that is connected to my college for international students. It was really hard to walk through the township and see how poor these people are and what kind of living situations they have to live in. People live in little shacks the size of my bathroom with no beds, electricity and very few clothes. There are outhouses in the middle of the town and certain shacks are assigned to certain outhouses so about 50 people are using the same toilet in one day. They also have to share all the water that they have to get that is also in the middle of the town. So everyone pretty much smells a lot of the time and the dental situation is none so a lot of people are missing majority of their teeth. There was trash everywhere you walked and there were kids just playing bare foot in the street with all the trash. You see pictures and hear stories but nothing can prepare you for when you actually see how poor people are. But one thing that was really nice to see was that even though these people have basically nothing compared to me and you, they still were very happy people and still had hope that things would get better. They welcomed me into their community and were so friendly to me. Seeing all this really puts life into perspective and makes you appreciate the little things in life. It also makes you feel so thankful for having such an “easy life” and makes you want to be happy and live life to the fullest. Money and things aren’t everything and you just have to remember that someone always has it WAY worse then you so why shouldn’t you be happy.
I also went to an international church service (they created an international church service so that people who don’t speak the native language, Afrikaans, can come to this service where everything is in English) yesterday and it was really cool to see all these different people from all over Africa and some from all over the world come together for church. There were so many different sectors of Christianity in the service and so many different faiths but that didn’t matter because everyone came for the same reason. After the service was over they served us a traditional African meal for lunch and everyone sat down and talked with each other and everyone introduced themselves to everyone else. I am definitely meeting a lot of people from all over the world and am having all these new experiences that I would never have dreamed of. Next weekend I am going to the Cederberg Mountains with my program and we are hiking up the mountain and then spending the night in farm houses on Friday and Saturday night. I am really looking forward to this because these mountains have so many unique animals and plants and they say that I will see more stars then I ever have in my life.