My African Adventures

Finally, my last blog post. Sorry that I’ve been so lax about posting! After AfrikaBurn school started to get real again and I had to prepare for finals. I’m sitting in the Jo’burg airport right now and am already missing Cape Town so much. Also, I would add photos but I think uploading them would take up too many megabytes.

The last month in Cape Town, things started to get coldddd. Mine and Alie’s room is a converted garage so there is absolutely ZERO insulation, and with brick walls and tile floor it was freezing. There were a lot of nights where we would go to Rondebosch Café and Video (the people who worked there told us when we left their business would decrease significantly….) and rent Criminal Minds- we successfully watched 6 seasons.

I also ran out of money right after AfrikaBurn and my parents had to bail me out (thanks guys!) so my adventures got a little more limited. We still got to do a lot of incredible things though. We finally hiked Devil’s Peak, which was the most strenuous hike I’ve ever done. It took us about 6 hours altogether to get up and down, but it was cool because we literally walked out our front door and hiked up Devil’s Peak. The view was incredible. We missed the trail a few times and ended up bushwhacking but all part of the experience right? It was especially awesome because after that, I’ve hiked Signal Hill, Lion’s Head, Table Mountain, and Devil’s Peak- all of the big mountains/hills in Cape Town.

We also went to Mzoli’s, which is basically a huge party meat-house out in a township outside of Cape Town. You go early on Sunday at like 12, order pounds and pounds of all sorts of meat- we had steak, lamb, chicken, pork, beef, sausage- everything. While you wait for it to cook, you sit in this huge tent full of big tables and they play really loud music and everyone brings their own beer. Then they bring it out for you cooked in this amazing marinade and you just feast. It was unreal. Thank God my roommates like food as much as I do.

I also finally got to see Robben Island! Ida (our larger group coordinator) got us a group rate and so about 30 of us went. The boat ride was beautiful because you could see all of Cape Town from the water, and the tour was interesting- our guide was really hard to understand but it was still cool to have seen Nelson Mandela’s cell and hear/see what it was really like.

Another Saturday, instead of going to the Old Biscuit Mill which we usually do, we went to Haut Bay, about a 30 minute drive from Cape Town, and went to the Bay Harbour Market there. It was a lot less crowded/stressful than the Old Biscuit Mill, it was beautiful, and the food was unreal. I got dumplings, eggs benedict, nachos, and lemon meringue. They also had a craft market attached so I got some souvenirs as well. Such a fun adventure!

The last couple of weeks have been finals weeks. It made me miss BC- instead of having a nice compiled week of finals, they draw it out over 3 weeks so its hard to coordinate things because people have finals at different times. Still, I think I did okay/well on all of them, so now I kinda just have to hope for the best! They’re also worth 50% of your grade here, which I don’t really like but whatcha gonna do.

It was soo hard to say goodbye to everyone. It still hasn’t really hit me yet- I’m not ready for the real world/America at all.

Things I won’t miss in Cape Town:

·      our kitchen

·      our house in general- expensive internet/electricity/no heat/leaking toilet

·      UCT

·      Not being able to walk anywhere alone

Things I already miss:

·      my roommates

·      the people

·      cheap food when you go out to dinner, specifically steaks and lemon meringue

·      the sunsets

·      Long Street

·      Mini-buses

·      KFC

·      Old Biscuit Mill

·      Souper Sandwich

·      Looking at Table Mountain/Devil’s Peak from my front door

·      The Water Front

·      Camps Bay/Clifton

And this was just off the top of my head. I am so excited to be back in Boston with my best friends but I can’t wait to come back to Cape Town. Honeymoon in Camps Bay is non-negotiable. 

SO sorry this blog has been such a long time coming! I’m going to just start with Easter break because I can’t remember before that….

OKAY. So Saturday, March 31, was the first day of break. Our house had gotten broken into for the second time the night before, so we were a little anxious to leave it for a week, but what ya gonna do. We all got tickets for Avicii that night at the Thunder City airport hanger, which was conveniently about 2 km from the actual airport, where we  were flying out to Johannesburg the next day. To make our lives easier, we rented a hotel room at the airport so we had somewhere to stay for the two hours between Avicii ending (at 3 am) and heading to the airport (5 am). The concert was amazing. All of the opening acts were awesome, and Avicii was incredible. We finally walked back to the hotel room at 3 so exhausted but so happy.

The next morning, bright and early, the seven of us got to the airport and flew to Johannesburg, where we were going to pick up the rental car and drive to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Weirdly, everything was on time. When we got there, we headed to the rental car place to get our car, only to find out, as I was signing my life/passport information away, that we were by NO MEANS permitted to take the car to Mozambique. Since we had no other option at this point, I lied, said we were staying in South Africa and Swaziland, and signed the paperwork.

The drive to Mozambique was remarkably uneventful for having no maps and relying solely on iPhone directions, signs, and our intuition. However, when we got to the Mozambican border, things got a little crazy. We were immediately bombarded by multiple men and children trying to “help us” get through the border (I think the give-away was the huge white bus full of American girls I was driving…) and the paperwork we were supposed to have for our car registration (which we obviously did not have because our car rental place forbade us to enter Mozambique). We somehow got through immigration by telling the nice man at the counter that we had no information about our car from the car rental, and for once, being stupid Americans paid off. After yelling at the strange men and children that were following our car and begging, we finally crossed the border into Mozambique. 

As stressful as it was to get into, the countryside was beautiful. It was actually a scene from the Lion King. We finally got into Maputo that night, found our hostel, and passed out at about 8 pm (foreshadowing the rest of the trip…). 

The next day, we drove from Maputo to Tofo, a well-known beautiful beach town. The drive was interesting, once again. I got pulled over 3 times- the first two were random road blocks and the police officers just wanted to see my license, and the third, the police officer claimed I had crossed a line and owed him money. He asked for 2000 Metacais (about $50) and when we said we didn’t have it, he asked for whatever we had, stuck it in his pocket, and walked away. Mozambique is supposed to be one of the most corrupt in terms of police, so we thought of it as a cultural experience. Later on the drive, the same thing happened, but I was pulled over for “speeding.” This time, it was a very friendly lady officer who accepted 100 Rand (S African currency of about $12.50), gave me a high-five, and let us go. 

Tofo was incredible. The drive had lots of palm trees, rainforesty areas, and traditional huts. Women were everywhere holding enormous objects on their heads, no hands. Our hostel was right on the beach. We were staying in a hut with mosquito netting over the beds. Once again, we got there, had a lovely dinner of cheese-burger (with egg), fries, and a Laurentina (Mozambican beer). We swam in the Indian Ocean, which was the warmest I’ve ever swam in. Even at midnight it was totally comfortable to wade in.

I was lucky enough to have my birthday on Wednesday, the third day we were there. We went snorkeling, which was almost a really cool experience- we only saw a sea turtle from the boat, and Tanya and I got sea-sick. Still glad we went though. Some of our other friends from UCT, who are also Americans in the same program as us, were also staying at our hostel. That night, we all celebrated which was so fun. The guys working the bar let Tanya put her iPod on the speakers for the whole place, and I made the playlist, which in hindsight was dumb….I accidentally added her entire collection of Nsync and Destiny’s Child to other normal songs, and listening to “Tearing Up My Heart” while trying to pretend you’re a cool backpacker doesn’t really work. Later that night, everyone went swimming again. It was amazing.

Thursday, we headed to Swaziland. Crossing into the Swazi border was one of the most relieving feelings. We got lost a little (we still had no map, and Tanya’s iPhone stopped working once we left South Africa), but finally we made it to our hostel in the Mlwane Game Reserve. The hostel was incredible. Our van surprisingly made it down the beaten path, during which we saw a crocodile in the lake and zebras casually playing next to the road. The hostel had a large veranda, the rooms were great, and they had a campfire and dinner each night. In Swaziland, we went white-water rafting, ab-sailing, horseback riding (with zebras, wildebeest, and antelope) and then on a sunset game drive. It was all incredible. We were sad to leave.

Again, somehow, the drive back was surprisingly uneventful and we didn’t get lost. The car rental place never suspected we were in Mozambique. The only bad aftermath was the sickness we all got, probably from an amoeba in the Swazi river when we flipped out of the rafts in the rapids. The trip was incredible!

The last two weekends have been fun, but I’ve had a lot of work. Highlight was eating my face off at the Taste of Cape Town. This weekend, we’re going to Afrikaburn, which is like Burning Man in Africa. I’m so excited. Gonna be crazyy. Camping in the desert for 4 days. I’ll try to post ASAP when I’m back!!

I just had debatably the best weekend ever. Fourth week was a little rough because I had two papers due, which were both short but everything here school-wise is different- we have to print out these documents with every paper we turn in that says we didn’t plagiarize, etc. and sign it…..a little over the top but I think I figured it all out. I tried to get it all done early so on Thursday after class I could hike Table Mountain finally! 

It was one of the most breathtaking places I’ve ever been. Alie, me, Blake, Troy, Mike, and our friends Dan from Wisconsin and Andi from the Netherlands started in Kirstenbosch Gardens. The hike was pretty intense and probably took around 3 1/2 hours. Once you got on top of the table though, the view was unreal. We were above the clouds and you could see everything in every direction. We walked to where the cable cars were that take you down and watched the sun set over the ocean, with the clouds pouring over the side of Table Mountain, what they call a table-cloth. We took the cable car down which was a great view too. Later that night we went to Springboks, my favorite place in the world, so all in all, it was a very successful day/night.

Friday was equally awesome. Tanya’s friend told us about the High Tea they serve at the Mount Nelson Hotel near Long Street, and we decided to do it. You pay 185 Rand and get an unlimited buffet of literally the most yummy nomnoms- the cheesecake and lemon meringue pie were a personal favorite, but the mushroom pate and strawberries were a close second. Our server, Sydney, put on a huge show with the tea as well. There were tons of different kinds, and he showed us how to brew the perfect cup and did it for us. It was delicious. We ate/drank our faces off and were comatose for the next few hours, until we rallied and went back to Long Street for another classic night at Dubliners.

Saturday things just got better and better. We had been wanting to go to Stellenbosch for wine-tasting for awhile, and since its awkwardly about 30 minutes outside Cape Town but with no real way to get there, we rented a mini-bus with a driver for the day, for 175 Rand each, which is like getting a driver for the day for 20 bucks each. Love Africa. First, we went to the Cheetah Outreach at a winery called Spier, where my friend Patrick knows one of the ladies who runs it. She very kindly gave us a tour of the whole place, which included MEERKATS (which we couldn’t touch because apparently they bite….whatever still love them), bat-eared foxes, among other animals. Last but not least, she let us play with cheetahs for free!! It was incredible.

After the cheetahs, we headed to wine-tasting. The whole area was beautiful and looked a lot like Napa Valley in California, but with more sun, palm trees, and was just perfect. We went to two wineries and did tastings, which was fun- we learned about the wine and looked classy for 2 days in a row which was weird. After a long day, we headed back to CT and had Mexican food on Long Street, which was not really real Mexican, but worth a try! We were all dead that night and collapsed on the couch. 

We got work done on Sunday so we could go out in Camps Bay that night! Its a big night here, and was sooo fun. We all got dressed up and went down to the beach to this club called Caprice. It was a ton of fun- a highlight of the night for me was probably finding someone on crutches here, which are different than the states- they look like the crutches that people who actually can’t walk right have to use, that just attach to the arms with all the pressure on your forearms. Anyways, I found a guy on those, and he let me play with them for awhile while he kind of just leaned against the bar for awhile, which was nice of him. All in all, a good night.

Not a ton of work to do this week which is good…hopefully more beach days in my future!

School just got real, kind of. It started off with getting an email from my Advanced South African Politics TA that was basically like, if you know nothing about S African politics, you shouldn’t be in this class. However, because THIS IS AFRICA I didn’t get this email until this week, when it was too late to add/drop classes, and I like the class anyways. So Alie and I decided that the best way to learn about South African politics was to rent Invictus….fun facts about Invictus include that some fly-over scenes go right over UCT and my house, and one of the rugby games is filmed at the stadium we watched the rugby match at last week. Pretty cool. I basically have been a real person this week though, which has been weird but refreshing, kind of. I have my first tutorial assignment due on Monday, so I did it last night. This weekend is gonna be full so I don’t want to stress. 

We also finally figured out Spring Break (fall break/Easter break here) plans!! I am SO excited about them. On March 31st, we’re seeing Avicii in Cape Town, and then on April 1st, we fly to Maputo in Mozambique, go to this crazy beach town, Tofo (Tofu…), where I’ll get to celebrate my birthdayy, and then to Swaziland for a couple days. It’ll be a combination of classic SPRING BREAAAAK mixed with lots of adventures, so I’m stoked. Unfortunately, my other Politics professor, who’s American (AND literally looks identical to Steve Martin) and should know better, assigned a 10 page research paper due the day after Spring Break, so I might have to be a real person before Spring Break and write it then….oh well.

Some weird observations:

• every day at school I see at least 3 people in class/walking to class barefoot
• mullets are not uncommon
• when you buy eggs at the store, they’re not refrigerated
• they only sell 4 kinds of ice cream at the supermarket
• you can smoke anywhere- bars, restaurants, houses
• (not that this is that weird but) everything is in kilometers, and calories are in “energy,” so I have no idea how far anything is, how fast I’m going, or how much I’m eating—which is kind of ideal.
• Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing is not a thing
• Internet is also not a thing- it stops working periodically, and although we have wireless in our house, you pay for every megabyte you use in the wireless network
• You can buy electricity and airtime (for your phone) at pretty much any store, especially grocery stores. When you buy electricity, you give them a specific number that matches your house electricity, and then you go home and put in a code, and voila, electricity. We have run out twice and it was not fun.
• I found Heinz tomato sauce but its too sweet
• Carrying water bottles around means you’re American. So do backpacks and laptops.

More to come as I think about it….

More graphic tee updates:

• A facebook icon and “click to add as friend”
• In facebook font, “Poke Me”
• A picture of a guy and a girl, a guy and two girls, and a guy and three girls with the captions, bad, good, and better, respectively
• a picture of a pinwheel divided into sections that say, “good, great, unbeatable” with an arrow pointing to “unbeatable,” under a heading that says, “My Game”
• AND a clear campus favorite, the shirt that says, “Of Course I Love You Darling” with IM LYING in red letters.

I still don’t get it.

I just realized I’ve already been here for a MONTH. Nuts. We had another action-packed week. I feel like since I haven’t had any REAL assignments (like something I actually have to turn in…) I’m still on vacation which is a problem since I haven’t had to turn anything in since early December….3 months of fake life so far. Hopefully 3 more to go… On Tuesday after class, Gabby and I decided to go shopping/find cool day clothes so we can try to look as trendy as the girls here do (literally every girl is tall, blonde, skinny, and trendy), so we headed to the waterfront. We took a mini-bus from Rondebosch to the City Center and then walked from there. It was reassuring because we somewhat know our way around the city now, so it finally feels like I live here. We went shopping for awhile, did not find anything except going out clothes, and decided that after such a rough day, we deserved a glass of wine…..so we ordered a glass and watched the boats on the waterfront. Beauuutiful. 

Wednesday, we all went to Stones, this bar nearby, which is full of pool tables and really hard-to-get drinks. It was about half international kids and half real South Africans, so I tried to meet some and kind of learned how to play pool (badly). Really fun though.

Thursday, we went to Tiger Tiger, this bar/club that is weirdly in a mall. Every week they have a theme- last Thursday, it was Twilight, and this Thursday, it was “Beach Party.” So funny. The music was really good though, and we all danced nonstop. Its also so strange but worth noting that just in going out in the last week, I’ve heard Good Charlotte played twice and everyone loved it—kinda a cultural difference but since I knew it, I liked it. 

Since I only have one class Friday and Gabs and I have been craving Thai food for weeks, we got a reservation for a bunch of us at this AMAZING Thai restaurant on the Waterfront. I got a fabulous strawberry mojito and chicken fried rice. Heaven. Then, we all got coerced into going out on Long Street, where we ended up at Dubliners, this Irish pub with great music that’s always packed. So much fun again, but finally Tanya and I called it a night and we all came back. 

Saturday we were up early to go back to the Old Biscuit Mill, which I could actually live at. This time, I went for a nice berry smoothie, and Tanya and I split this incredible flatbread. Life-changing.

Later that afternoon we went to my first professional rugby match at the stadium in Newlands. The enthusiasm was crazy— it was like how I would imagine watching a soccer game in Spain or England would be. It was even better because we won, so we went to this bar nearby, called Springboks, where all the fans go after the game. I fell in love. It was like Mary Anns on steroids. The drinks were cheap, the music was all classics, and everyone was crazy. This lady was walking around with face paint for the game, and painted all our faces. We met up with some of the UCT rugby guys we’re friends with there, and we all danced and sang for awhile.

Sunday, today, I had to finally do homework. So much reading. Its really interesting though, and I’m glad I’m taking the classes I am. Learning about South Africa’s transition from an apartheid system to what it is now, and where it’s going, is really interesting, especially since its all super relevant. Like my house has a house-cleaner who comes twice a week, and lives in a small apartment that’s attached to my house, who is basically on call for us whenever we want, named Virginia. She’s black, and incredibly nice and kind, but I feel uncomfortable having someone pick up after all of the crap we have around, even though I’m sure she leads a relatively comfortable life. Its just kind of a hard thing for me to grasp, especially since SO many people around here, even though no one will admit it now, were probably pro-Apartheid, or at least okay with it, only 20 years ago. It blows my mind. 

On a lighter and happier note, I have been cooking really yummy concoctions, mostly involving Peri-Peri sauce—Chicken pad thai with peri-peri sauce instead of the normal pad thai sauce, and peri-peri chicken fajitas. I also made an ostrich mince sauce which was killer. I keep seeing more and more graphic tees, and I asked some of the UCT rugby guys WHY everyone wore them, and they just said “they’re cool! Do you not understand them?” and tried to explain the jokes on different shirts to me….

More recent ones include:

I see dead people —a really hot guy was wearing this shirt, so it clearly is a thing here…

If an artist is good at art, that makes me a sexist

I don’t understand what’s going on?

This is my six-pack (with a picture of a six-pack of beer)

….they keep getting worse.

Week 3 of school! Hopefully still no real work :) We’re going paragliding on Tuesday and hopefully wine-tasting this weekend!

Half-way through my second week of “school!” It’s been soo much fun, but still feels like vacation….it didn’t help when today after class Gabby and I took a mini-bus to the waterfront and went shopping and sipped wine while casually watching the boats and Table Mountain. Just an average Tuesday….

We had a great weekend though. The Old Biscuit Mill was unreal. We walked through this huge tent awning to an array of food I would compare to Faneuil Hall but in two tents and on steroids. There were samples everywhere too, so I chowed on some chocolate while making my decision. We decided to get there when it opened at 9 so we could get breakfast and lunch. We got champagne with pomegranate berries, and Alie and I split a Peach and Cream crepe with raspberry sauce and a crepe called the “Farmer’s Crepe,” which was mustard, rosemary potatoes, caramelized onions, and ham. They were both delectable. After we ate, we headed into the clothing tent, where I found a mullet skirt I fell in love with (business in front and a party in back). We shopped around for awhile longer, and everyone walked away with some goods. We then quickly came home, worked off our crepes, and then Alie, Gabby, her friend Bito and Amanda all headed to the beach. It was another perfect beach day, complemented by some live music which I guess happens every Saturday. For sundowners, we headed to Camps Bay and ate some calamari and watched the sun set. That night we went to Tin Roof, this bar that was fun but too full of probably underage (so like age 16) kids and also too much Good Charlotte….but still fun.

Sunday was a recovery day, until we all went to Beluga for half-off sushi and drinks. AMAZING amazing amazing sushi for about 40 Rand, so $5. 

School is good so far too— we haven’t had any assignments yet besides reading though, so I’m in denial which I’m okay with. The only downside is that all three of my classes are at least 60% American if not more, so its kind of hard to meet South Africans. You can only pretend you’re lost and need directions for the first couple weeks….

Still, probably the funniest and most obscure thing I’ve noticed about school so far is the graphic tees boys here LOVE. I don’t know why its a thing here, but I’m kinda into it. I’m going to keep a tab on new ones I see, but these are some highlights (but just the ones I remember) so far:

Sotally Tober

If Found, Please Return to Bar

Don’t Talk to Me Until I’m Drunk

If I’m Not Slurring, Don’t Talk to Me

Gingers Like Me (the guy wearing this was red-headed)

An icon of a man and woman in wedding attire with “Game Over” above it.

More to come.

Welllll it is a beautiful Friday night in Cape Town and I stayed in….we went out the last three nights and even though I wanted to, I couldn’t handle another night out in a row. Class has been good so far— tutorials, which are like discussion groups, haven’t started yet, so I’ve only had a max of 3 45 minute classes a day, and today I only had one class at 10 which was greaaat. I also signed up for Societies today, which as Semester Study Abroad kids we’re allowed 3 free. I signed up for Habitat for Humanity, the Ski and Mountain Club, and on a spur of the moment decision, the Yacht Club (Pretentious but they’re also hot and teach you to sail…worth it).

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day, and one of the other girls in our program had her 21st birthday, so we all went to their house and celebrated. Their house is an old hotel converted into a house, so it was beautiful. The next night we all went to Assembly, this club downtown. Wednesday is supposed to be their big night, but it was pretty awful. It took us awhile to get there too, but there wasn’t really anyone there when we got there, so we eventually just left. Thursday we went to Tiger Tiger, this club really close to our house that’s actually in a mall—so weird but convenient, I guess last time they went Taylor got a corndog after leaving, so I think that its actually a pretty well-thought out marketing strategy. Tiger Tiger was SO fun- lots of dancing, and they were playing top 40 remixes which I haven’t heard since I was in America since all we listen to in the house is Blake’s dubstep and Mike’s Ray LaMontagne. Needless to say, even though its the weekend, we needed a break. Gabby and I went shopping and then to the gym (for 20 minutes….whatever) and then I made the YUMMIEST chicken pad thai rendition— pad thai noodles, broccoli and carrots, chicken, and a combination of soy sauce and peri-peri sauce, which is my new obsession in addition to Amarula. 

Then we tried to rent movies which failed, because our dvd player is broken and only the VHR works….Africa hates technology. But it worked out and we eventually successfully watched Chicago on VHS while snacking on my leftover pad thai. —its also worth noting that besides Chicago, we have Forrest Gump, the Lion King, and Moulin Rouge. We have watched the Lion King and Forrest Gump each 3 or 4 times. If anyone comes to Africa, send new movies.

I’m excited to finally get a good night’s sleep though. Tomorrow morning, Gabby, Alie and I are going to the Old Biscuit Mill to eat and shop. I’m banking on nutella and strawberry crepes for breakfast and maybe a ostrich burger for lunch…?

It has taken me waaaay too long to blog…oops. So I’m not sure what happened last time I posted…Last Monday I went to my first rugby game, which was actually pretty fun. I kind of understood what was happening. It was nuts though—everyone was drinking beer, and these girls called “vibe girls” were running around in blue paint and short skirts waving flags and yelling, and everyone else was getting rowdy too. The game was easier to understand than I thought it would be- so intense too. 

We went to the beach again, which was amazing. The beaches here blow my mind because they’re soo expansive but pretty empty too. We took this mini-bus to get there which was probably the best ride of my life. It was only 12 Rand (about $1.50) for like a 30 minute drive from Rondebosch to the beach, and the whole way the driver was blasting Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, and Usher. 

The food we’ve been eating has been unreal too. When we got lunch at the beach, Alie and I split a calamari salad with avo in it and fish and chips, which was deliiiicious. The best thing here is how when they put avo in ANYTHING, they put an entire avocado in, and don’t half-ass it like they do in the States. So yummy. Also enjoyed some strawberry daiquiris and mojitos. This was all part of my perfect day- went on a run, came home to Mike making crepes (nutella, strawberries, and bananas), and then the beach. So amazing.

Then, on Thursday, we went on the Garden Route. It was me, Alie, Blake, Mike, Gabby, Tanya, Kelsey, Danielle, Alex, Troy, Patrick, and Taylor. Since we booked cars so last minute, we could only get two manuals, and since Blake and I were the only ones that knew how to drive stick, we drove the whole time. The trip was unreal. We stayed at Oudtshoorn first, at this hostel that some other American UCT kids were staying at too. I had an ostrich wrap and chips (which I’ve had every day since I’ve gotten here…oops) for dinner, since Oudtshoorn is all about ostriches. Also super yummy. We all brought back some drinks to the hostel and just hung out around the fire, which was nice.

On Friday, we woke up pretty early and went caving. It was sick because a lot of the spaces you literally had to squeeze through, or pull yourself up. After we did that, we headed towards Wildernis and went canoeing. Once you got to this pebble beach, there was a short hike towards this waterfall that almost everyone swam in…I started to get cold so I didn’t, but I got some good pics. That night we went to Plettenberg Bay and stayed at another hostel, which wasn’t as cool, but was close to the town. Alie, Gabby, Blake, Mike and I went to this bar called Cubar which was actually pretty fun. Good music and interesting people…

Saturday morning was BUNGY JUMPING. SO COOL. I seriously have never felt such a rush. I’m good at blocking things out so I wasn’t really scared until I got to the edge, and the scariest moment was right when they pushed you off the ledge/you jumped. After that initial reaction though, it was amazing, just like you were flying. As dumb as it sounds, I like came to terms with the world and myself. So weird, but such a rush. After the jump, we got lunch (more chips involved…) and then headed to Sedgefield to stay at Afrovibe, the best hostel evaa. It was right on the beach, and our roof had a hottub on it and overlooked the beach as well so you could watch the sun set. To stay there was also ridiculously cheap. The food was good, and then we drank with the staff and all hung out around the fire. I had maybe the worst drink of my life, which is worth mentioning— the bartender gave us a shot of some lime alcohol, and told us to take that, and then take a shot of Amarula (similar to Bailey’s) and gurgle it in your mouth. We did it and it curdled in your mouth immediately—actually the nastiest thing. so gross. The stay was great though, and we got to utilize the beach as well, which was another huge, empty, beautiful beach. Its on the Indian Ocean side too, so I got to check that off my bucket list. 

The drive back on Sunday was brutal, but it was nice to get back. Driving on the wrong side of the road and shifting with my left hand was an adventure. Also, they drive like crazies and often turn a one-lane road into two-way on both sides, so there’s 4 cars passing each other when there should just be two. AND everything is in kilometers and I’m not trying to calculate the difference so I never really knew how fast I was going….

Finally, today was my first day of class! I figured out at like midnight last night what I was taking. It works differently here, so its a lot easier to switch classes late. I’m taking 3 classes total, 2 politics classes and 1 history. The times are good too so I should be able to go do stuff in the afternoons. I also joined a gym….gotta start working off those fries. 

I’m pretty relieved everything is all figured out now. Definitely bummed that my two month vacation is over though….Kayy I need to sleep but I’m going to be better about blogging!