Birthday Bash

Picture by Lora Todorova

On May 13^th it was my birthday so we decided that we were going to throw a birthday bash at my house.  Since it is a University House we had to have the University approve my party.  Obviously they do not know me, or I am sure they would have not approved our house throwing a party.  Of course I wanted everyone to have an enjoyable time, so I provided alcohol for everyone to take a shot upon entrance!  I wanted everyone’s beverages to stay nice and cold so we filled our bathtub with ice, allowing people to store their drinks there.  One of my friends was our DJ and everyone told me the next day that the party was hopping.  I lost track of time and ended up getting a call from the head of residence telling me I needed to end my party.  People did not want to leave but we ended moving the party to the square and a club.  I feel that the bash was successful considering I was in bed until 10pm the next night!

Picture by Lora Todorova

Back in Pretoria

Now that I am back in Pretoria, it means I am back to school L but that also means I am back to teaching at Mamelodi!  With my few weeks off I really did missed my students.  Other than being back at school we have had a few nights out including a night of free drinks!  On a Saturday we had been laying in bed all day.   My roommate Lay and I decided we were wasting time, and needed to convince others to go out with us that night.  Not positive what we were going to do, we got ready and headed towards the square.  Once in the the square I had a guy come up to me and offer our group free drinks.  Free? Of course we will take one!  Lay and I befriended the bar tender and ended up getting free drinks all night.  The night ended with me mopping the bars floor for a free shot and a little dance session on the speakers! Oh what we would have missed.

Shark Bait OHH AHH AHH

On Saturday morning we headed out on the boat towards Seal Island where we would sit on the boat waiting for some Great Whites to swim around.  The scary thing is we were not too far away from where all the surfers were!  We waited for a few hours but only one shark came around.  Since we did not get in the water, they offered for us to stay all day on the boat and come back out with the afternoon group.  Since we had nothing planned, we decided to take advantage of their offer.  In the afternoon, we got a little more lucky.  We were able to get in our wetsuits and get in the cage.  We were able to see a few, but not as lucky as some were with having many swim around the cage.  At least we got to see a few, and relax the entire day soaking up African sunshine on the boat.

The next morning Leah and I had a private mass said for us.  Leah was not feeling well so we went back to the Hostel.  Our new friend Wesley that we met working there hung out all day and we were able to watch some seasons of How I Met Your Mother.  I ended up taking a walk on the beach by myself, which was nice and refreshing.  Later that afternoon when I got back we said our goodbyes and headed back towards Capetown.

In Cape Town we did various things such as shopping, a free concert, bargaining at the Green Square Market, trying many different restaurants, a wine tasting tour, and hiking Table Mountain.  Our eleven days went by too quickly, but it was a great vacation!

The Bungee!

Today was the day I had been waiting for since I have arrived in South Africa, the bungee! Not just a bungee, the highest bungee jump from a bridge in the world! After we signed our life away, we went to get harnessed for the jump.  I have never had so much adrenaline.  I could not even stand still.  After we were harnessed, we had to walk across the bridge looking down on what we were about to jump.  As we were walking you could hear the cars pass by.  Once the group was on the bridge, they started bumping music to get us all fired up.  We met some really cool people in our bungee group, but I mean come on you have to be pretty cool to jump off a bridge!  As each person went all we could do was cheer!  A worker came up to me and said alright it is your turn!  HOLY ADRENALINE!  They then put velcro padding around your ankles so the cord does not hurt you.  As the worker turned away my velcro padding came undone!  That doesn’t freak you out or anything.  I was being a worry wart, when my favorite song came on, Waka Waka! My friends requested that they play my favorite song when I was to jump.  This got me excited, and all I could do was dance.  The workers sure got a kick out of me.  The next thing I know I am standing over the edge.  5,4,3,2,1 jump. Oh I forgot to mention that it had started to rain.  The jump was the most peaceful thing I have ever done.  As I was falling I could feel the mist against my face.  Once you are done with the bounce back, you have to wait for a guy to come and get you on a cable.  As you are hanging upside down you are in astonishment of everything around you.  I wanted everyone to know I was okay so I started doing the Waka Waka dance as I was hanging upside down.  When I got to the top all the workers were laughing and one said to me, “working here we have seen a lot of jumps, but you’re the first to do the Waka Waka dance off!”

After the jump we headed to Tsitsikamma to zipline over 6 different falls.  This was a nice and relaxing way to end the day but, after the bungee jumping, ziplining was not the best idea because our standards were so high.  After our ziplining, we got back in Carmen and headed towards Mossel Bay.  When we got to Mossel Bay, I realized that I had a minor case of Whiplash due to the Bungee.  I could barely move my neck but no big deal the jump was worth the pain.  We went out for dinner on the Beach and then chilled on the beach after.

Wildlife Ranch

On the bike ride home there was also an option of stopping at a wildlife ranch.  This is one of my dreams to hang out with the Cheetahs.  We got a tour of the place and then I had the chance to get in the cage with two 18month old cheetahs.  If only you could have seen my face which had a smile from ear to ear!  My day was complete! I climbed illegally on caves, rode and Ostrich, and hung out with my favorite animal.  After we rode back to hostel we got back on the road to head towards Storms River.

As we arrived in Storms River at our hostel, we knew we were going to have a great night. As we got out of our car Carmen, music was playing, people were gathered around the campfire and G one of the workers greeted us at our car. He brought us inside for our free shot at the bar.  After our shot we headed upstairs to our room to get settled.  The rest of the night we met other backpackers around the campfire, sang songs while some played African drums, burned beer bottles, and just enjoyed each other’s company.

Our Famous Bike Ride on the Highway

At the end of Ostrich Farm we were given our bicycles.  I am use to my bike back home let’s say! I forgot how hard the seat on a bike is…Ouch!  Lay and I got on our bikes and were ready for our 12 k ride home.  Did I mention Lay’s fear of bikes?  Yeah, she is not a fan and this bike ride was probably not the best option for beating a fear considering we were riding on the highway.  First minute on the bike was downhill.. I fly down the hill no problem.  As I am waiting at the bottom, I see lay breaking all the way down!  I went to get off my bike to make sure she was okay.  Well, as my leg swung around I hit my bike seat, which originally was not fully attached.  Yup my bike seat is now off the bike and the only thing I could sit on was the silver pole…Yeah not happening!  Of course this is the one-day I left my cell phone back at the hostel but thank God Lay had her phone.  We got a hold of the bike man and he said he would be here soon.  So here Lay and I are sitting on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere!  Only in South Africa! After waiting some time, the bike guy got there and gave me a new bike.  Alright,  we were feeling confident again, Back on the Bikes!  Well not even three minutes go by and a truck is trying to pass us on our bikes.  With the sound and the current you feel Lay got nervous and ran into my bike. Both of us on the ground with only a broken chain…Perfect, two girls who do not know how to fix a bike.  We finally figured it out and got back on the road.

Awkward Ostrich

While traveling the Garden Route I was persistent that we stop in Oudtshoorn (pretty much the ostrich capital of South Africa.)  Ostrich Farms are everywhere!  I mean come on the only reason I came to Africa was to ride an ostrich.  Kidding, well kind of!  We figured this town would be lame but Ostrich’s kept dancing through my head so we had to stop.  We got there pretty late so we ended up staying ata backpackers for the night; which I may add had the best showers ever!  Early the next morning we set out for our adventure.  We started out at the Cango Caves.  Since this is South Africa, of course we were late for our tour of the cave.  The lady told us to run in and try and catch up with the rest.  Well, we caught up with the group, but the tour was quite boring(too touristy for me).  I had the brilliant idea of having us stay back so we could illegally climb the caves and get our picture!  I mean come on climbing on caves beats a tour any day right?  Throughout the cave we were taking pictures and going inside areas we were not suppose to be in.  We were now in our last section of the cave when we caught the tail end of our tour guide saying, “Just a reminder climbing on the caves is illegal, and there are hidden cameras inside, Those who broke the rules will be fined.”  SHIT!  Let’s just say after that tour we booked it outside and to the Ostrich Farm without a fine!    

  Then the moment I had been waiting for the Ostrich Farm.  I originally thought I was just going to ride one but was I ever wrong.  I definitely got my money’s worth.  First we could put ostrich food in our mouth and have the Ostrich kiss us taking the food out of our mouth.  Sounds different right? Well it was along with being a tad bit scary, Imagine having a bird come at your face with its mouth wide open.  I didn’t only get one kiss; I got three because my friend was trying to take a picture of it.  After three times, I still did not get a picture because when the Ostrich sees food he sure comes at you fast!  After the kisses, we went to a section where we could ride the Ostrich if we wished to.  The process is quite awkward; let me add the most awkward thing I have ever done!  You have to climb up on the Ostrich as they hold its wings up.  Then they set the wings on your lap and you have to hold the sides of the wings.  The wings are extremely boney so you have to hold on tight.  You must then hug your legs around the Ostrich and lean back as far as you can.  The ride goes quick and it’s not long until you are thrown off the bird. Ostrich riding… only in South Africa folks!

Rugby Fest

On April 23, we headed to Johannesburg to spend the night at our friend Jacks house.  He let us stay with him because on Sunday we had to be at the airport at five in the morning.  Picture this we had to take the taxi bus to Johannesburg with all of our bags for our trip! There is hardly enough room for just people yet alone our bags!  The taxi driver ended up letting us out in the middle of an intersection for our friend Jack to find us.  Only in South Africa would this happen.  Jack eventually found us and then we hit up the Rugby Festival that was going on AKA Beer fest! The day was loads of fun, but getting on the airplane the next morning wasn’t so much.  I had to ask Jack if I could shower at four in the morning, because I was afraid security would not let me on the plane smelling like beer!

We spent a few days in Capetown but then we rented our car(Carmen)and GPS (Daniel) to travel the Garden Route. On the Garden Route we did:

For The Kids

Before I left for my latest trip to Cape Town, I decided that I wanted to apply to be a Morale Captain for next years Dance Marathon at Loras College.  For those of you who do not know what Dance Marathon is, it is an organization that raises money for the University of Iowa Hospital.  Dance Marathon is busy all year long hosting play dates with children in the hospital, room of magic’s on Friday nights, events throughout the year, family visits, mini marathons hosted at schools and much more.  Throughout the year you raise money for Dance Marathon and then one day out of the year you attend the marathon.  The marathon lasts for twelve hours, and you may not sit down or have caffeine for those twelve hours.  I had a disadvantage for not being in Dubuque for the tryouts, but I didn’t want that to get in the way for me applying.  I decided to make a video to send in but the problem was I only had 5 and a half hours to make the video and send it in before I left for my travels.  The video turned out pretty good for being in a developing country whose Internet only works half of the time!  To watch my video the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NwW_iiWdzY

The great news is I just found out I got the position!

Wow it has been awhile since I have blogged!  No worries, everything is still going great  in South Africa.  I am still teaching at Mamelodi, and my kiddos are picking up on a lot!  Other than that I am still somewhat attending classes and much more.  I will blog about some of my journeys but to keep you updated on other things I will just list.  I have been out a few more nights in Johannesburg, participated in One Day Without Shoes for the TOMS shoes organization, attended more Braais, dressed up for an 80’s themed party bus, kicked ass in the drinking Olympics, watched Loras College’s Dance Marathon live and recently I just got back from traveling.

Hey Guys We Just Broke Every Study Abroad Rule Tonight Besides Getting AIDS

On Saturday evening four of us decided that we wanted to go to a South African soccer game. I mean this just adds to the South African experience.  In order for us to get to the game we had a few adventures in the making.  The game was in Johannesburg, which is about an hour away, and our only transport there was the taxi bus.  Let me back up a few steps.  To really immerse in the culture I wanted to paint my face the South African Flag.  After my face was painted and we were ready to go, I realized I would have to spend in hour in the taxi bus with my face painted.  We already stood out enough because we were white, but now we stood out even more.  We were told that in order to get a taxi headed towards Johannesburg we needed to find the Bosman taxi stop.  This sounds easy right?  We didn’t know exactly where the stop was so we had to start asking people on the street.  The first guy we asked said “go to the left then turn right at the robot (stoplight) and then go down the alley.  At this point I started to have a flash back of all the things we were told not to do while studying abroad.  I’m pretty sure going down a dark alley at night was one of them.  But concentrate Caitlin we have to make the game.  To double check we asked a few more people and the directions were all the same.   We headed down the narrow alley that had high walls and was full of trash; if we wanted to escape there was no way of climbing the walls.  There were many puddles we had to cross,  and we kept hoping that they were only puddles of water.  Then BANG right in front of our eyes were a group of about 15 or 20 men.  They were standing in the middle of the alley drinking and blocking the walkway, and to add to the scene one of them was holding a lantern (about the only lighting in the alley.)  At this point we all kind of went cold but had to continue walking. We then saw that we could turn right, so right we went.  There was the taxi station.  We then were told we needed to take a taxi to Johannesburg and get off at the Park Station.  The cab ride there was hilarious.  The driver was blasting Celine Deion and we were going at a nice fast pace, which made us think that making the game on time was possible.  As we entered Johannesburg it was now completely dark outside.  Nathan the only guy with us saw a sign Hillbrow and said “guys I remembering reading that this is one of the most dangerous blocks in South Africa.”  Our driver pulled over and told us that this was our stop and we needed to get out and walk a few blocks.  Perfect! Everyone watch your bags.  Explaining this neighborhood is almost impossible, to explain it simply, shady characters crowded the street.  We then had to catch a train to the stadium, but once we got the station the last train had already left.  The only way to get there now, was by walking back through the neighborhood about 15 minutes to the stadium. Just remember two of us had our faces pained.  We didn’t stand out or anything.  Finally we made it to the stadium.  All we could do was laugh.  We had survived the trip.   The game was great and people kept asking to have their pictures taken with us because of our faces.  We were kind of a big deal.  The score was 0-0 and then in the third minute of extra time Bafana Bafana scored! The stadium went nuts.  You could feel the stadium vibrate, which was incredible!

International Day, March 26

On Saturday the International students at the University of Pretoria went to Mamelodi to host an International Day for the students.  I was the team leader for the Country France.  Throughout the day we took our teams to different stations.  The first station that France attended was music.  In music we learned a song that two children for the UK wrote for Mamelodi.  After music, we went to the reading station.  I read books to the children, and then I let one of the girls read a book to the group.  Before lunch we had a little bit of time so I taught my group the game duck duck goose.  They enjoyed the game especially catching one another on the run around the circle. The children then had lunch and after that we went to art.  In the art session we painted their faces with any flag they wanted, and while some were getting their faces painted, others were painting a mural for the school.  After art we had sports, where some of the children played soccer and others played Frisbee.  There was also a group that played hair dresser on my hair.  Many of them have never felt a white person’s hair, so they could not get over my hair.  I didn’t mind them playing with my hair because a head massage always feels good!  After sports, all the countries came together and performed the song they had learned in music.  All of the children seemed to have a great time throughout the day, and many of us could not of had enough hugs by the end of the day.

They Call it Hiking, but We Call it Rock Climbing

 

On Sunday, we then went on a spectacular hike in the berg.  We hiked the amphitheatre summit to the Tugela Falls, which is the second tallest waterfall in the world.  They drove us halfway up the mountain, because they said if we did the entire hike it would take 32 days.  Even though they took us somewhat up we still hiked 6.5 miles.  The scenery was breath taking.  At one point during the hike, we had to go off trail and climb up rocks for over 200 meters.  This was one of my favorite parts.  At times it was quite tricky.  You had to make sure the rocks you were climbing up were not loose rocks. If the rocks were loose you didn’t want to dare try and climb them.  Once we got to the top, we were on a peak of 1000 meters in the air.

  We then had lunch at the peak as we dangled our feet over the edge.  After lunch we had to keep on our journey to the world’s tallest waterfall.  We eventually made it, and boy was it ever worth the hike!  On the way back down we could not take the rock route, so we got to go down two ladders on the mountain.  This was also another highlight of my day.  The last highlight was once we were back to the van.  Most everyone passed out on the ride back to the hostel.  This was a great way to end our trip.  On Monday we spent the day traveling back to Pretoria. 

Lesotho

On Saturday morning we had to wake up early to go on a day trip to Lesotho.  Lesotho is its own country that is inside South Africa.  It is the third poorest country in the world.  Once we got to Lesotho, we all had to get out of the car at border control.  We all got another stamp in our passport.  We went on a tour through one of the villages there.  It was incredible.  In the village they have different color flags. When there are flags up, anyone in the community can come to the gathering. The red flag means there is meat, green: vegetables, white: beer, and yellow: pineapple beer.  During our tour we found a white flag.  We were then invited into their hut for some of their beer.  The beer was quite unique.  It tasted almost like soggy bread.  Let’s just say one sip was enough. 

While we were there we also tried a dish of maize and spinach, it was pretty tasty.  We also played and danced with some of the children there.  We ended up having to go, because we had to get out of their country by 4pm. 

Drakensberg

This past weekend we had a three-day weekend due to a public holiday.  We decided to take a trip to Drakensberg.  We had not tried the greyhound bus system yet, so we decided we would try it for our trip.  The bus trip was interesting to say the least, but finally we arrived to our location.  The hostel we were staying in had overbooked the dormitory, so our group ended up sleeping in tents for the weekend.  Since we were in the mountains, it got pretty cold at night, but this just added a little spice to our vacation.  Even though we were staying in tents, our hostel was pretty awesome.  They had a swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, sauna, climbing wall and bar.  Since we arrived late, most of us went to bed for the night.

A Wee Bit O’ Green

Top of the mornin’ to ya.  Everyone should know my love for St. Patrick’s Day.  This year I brought some of my love for St. Patrick’s Day to Africa.  Most of the exchange students in our program did not even know what this day was, what a shame! Since Leah and I both love this holiday, we decided to make it a big deal for everyone.  Throughout our stay here, we have been known as the chocolate chip cookie girls.  What’s better than chocolate chip cookies? Green chocolate chip cookies!  All afternoon we were busy making green cookies to celebrate, however we did change the name to Leprechaun treats.  For dinner I made some of my roommates add food coloring to their meals. This was still nothing.  Later that night, I shared my green for many to try the traditional green beer (a have to have on St. Patrick’s Day.)  Overall it was a great day, but I still missed the huge parade back home!

Goldfish Concert

Since the beginning of our stay in South Africa, our group has become familiar with a South African band Goldfish.  After our long trip to Durban with only a Goldfish cd, most of us became fans of the group.  Soon after our trip we found out that they were going to be performing in Hatfield the town we live in.  The concert was at the Square the place we usually party at, which is only a few blocks from our housing development. Better yet, the concert was only 40 rand, which is less than 7 dollars.  (I’ll pay that any day for a concert.)  The concert was full, and ended up being amazing! 

Our Blood is Blue

A popular sport here in South Africa is Rugby.  No matter what day of the week, you can always almost find a rugby game.  The Bulls are Pretoria’s professional team.  One of the girls in our group is dating one of the players so we have gotten to know him pretty well.  A few weekends ago they had a home game, and he got us all tickets for the match.  The team color is blue, so it covered the stadium. I do not know much about rugby, but I still enjoyed the game.  During the game, a section of the stadium started the wave.  Round after round the wave continued around the stadium.  They ended up losing the match but it was still interesting to watch.  It was definitely nothing like American football. 

Mamelodi Primary School

I do have some new News for everyone. As most of you knew I was volunteering weekly at Mamelodi a township school, but now I am doing an internship there this semester.  I am working with twelve fourth grade boys.  Their teacher told me these boys have had some behavioral issues in class and are currently behind.  I was told that up to two years ago teachers were able to hit students that misbehaved. Now that it is against the law, teachers are struggling with classroom behavior and management. The teachers want me to work with and teach these boys English.  At Mamelodi, the children are taught in the language Zulu.  The students do not start to learn English until the fourth grade.  In South Africa their semesters are different from ours, so their first semester just started in January.  This means that my students hardly know any English if any at all.  My first day was quite interesting to say the least.  I did not know they didn’t know English, until I had so many clueless faces.  We had ourselves a bit of a language barrier, but one of the boys helped me translate.   This Tuesday I taught my first lesson.  One of my friends that lives in my residence speaks Zulu, so he had to teach me some words.  Since I do not know my students very well yet, I wanted to do a lesson that would help them get to know me and let me get to know them.  I did a family tree activity.  I translated all of the different family members in Zulu and then in English.  I then had them make a tree with all of their family members and then share to the rest of us their family in English.  The activity went very well.  The boys seemed to really enjoy getting to use markers, colored paper etc.  Normally in their classrooms they just listen to the teacher.  This is mainly because they are limited with the supplies they have.  When I was leaving for the day their teacher came up to me and asked me what the students and I had done for the day.  I explained to her and then with a big smile on her face she said “I have never seen that much excitement on their faces”.  This motivated me a little bit more.  In the weeks ahead, I have many more lessons to come.  I am trying to plan activities for them to learn in a way that they have never learned before.  

Sunday February, 27 -Horse Back Riding in the Mountains

Everyone knows my fear for horses.  Let me just say I had a traumatizing event happen when I was younger.  No matter what, I have always refused to get back on a horse.  I would rather go sky diving, or bungee jumping than get on a horse.  Well this weekend was a different story.  I decided I needed to get over this long time fear and sign up for a horseback riding adventure in the mountains.  I mean why not I am in South Africa, BRING IT!  We showed up in the mountains and I was pumped up and ready to go.  The head lady was assigning horses and I asked her to give me the calmest horse they have.  She said follow me and brought me to George.  While saddling up she informed me that George is almost dead so he would treat me well.  As riders were getting on their horses, I had a little pep talk with George.  I was treating him like a human.  The journey started and to say the least it actually wasn’t that bad.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  Not to long into the ride the instructor asked if we wanted to gallop.  Hesitantly, I said lets do it!  I gave George a nice kick and there we went.  Everyone in the group knew when I was galloping because I could not control my laughter.  Forget the rule of being quiet on a horse, George and I were bonding and getting along great! 

Once our ride was over I told the rest of the group to forget that as my fear, when I get home I am buying a horse and competing at the Iowa State Fair!  J

Saturday February, 26- LETS RAFT

Rafting was a freezing yet exhilarating experience.  They measure the rapids on a scale 1-6 and we did rapids 1-4.  We started out with training and then we hit the water.  Throughout the day there were numerous water fights and even jumping from raft to raft for secret attacks.  We also had a back flip competition of our boats.  We are supposed to get a video soon, which should be fun to watch.  Later that afternoon there was a beer festival going on so we attended that for a bit. Afterwards we all had a Braai and Bonfire.

Clarens

This past weekend our house parents took us on a trip to Clarens.  Clarens is a beautiful little village in South Africa.  When we arrived Friday evening they did not have enough girl bedrooms so they asked if Leah and I would mind having the honeymoon suite.  Of course I did not have a problem with the honeymoon suite.  In our suite we had our own kitchen, bathroom, and gathering area.  Our room became the after hour party spot.  After moving into our room we went out for dinner and then to about the only bar in the town.  It was a nice environment.  They had a live band, and as long as we continued to buy drinks they continued to play.  Eventually the bar closed so we headed back to the honeymoon suite to continue the party.  At about four or so in the morning we decided we should go to bed because we had to wake up in just a few hours for a day of white water rafting. 
  

Karaoke Thursday

All week I had been looking forward to Karaoke night by recruiting others to join Karaoke night.  I promised our group that I would sing a song.  After looking through the songbook, some of us girls decided on singing Wanna Be by Spice Girls.  As other people at the bar were performing their songs, there was a t.v. screen showing who was up next and how many other people were to perform in front of you.  I saw on the screen the name Caitlin.  Everyone in our group went along saying “that is weird there must be another Caitlin here.”  I agreed and kept scanning the crowd trying to figure out who looked like a Caitlin, yet alone, even spelled their name the same.  When it was time for Caitlin to perform everyone started chanting Caitlin and pulling me up to the stage. Wow had I been fooled. It was me that was supposed to be singing.  Some of my friends went and registered me for the song Barbie Girl when I was not paying any attention.  Yes, I said it Barbie Girl.  I knew I would look like a fool if I didn’t go up on stage when the announcer kept calling me up to perform.  What did Caitlin do? I got up on stage and rocked Barbie Girl.  I might say that it was somewhat embarrassing because I had no one to sing Kens part, so the announcer helped me out.  It was also humiliating because I did not even get ready for the night picture this; I had my hair pulled back and glasses on.  I am sure everyone at the bar was judging me as the girl who wants to be Barbie however she is in glasses and not rocking the Barbie life.  My friends did tell me that everyone in the audience was getting into the song.  However, I beg to differ that’s what friends are suppose to say!

How to Catch a Predator

You have all seen the show how to catch a predator.  For a few weeks lets just say our household got to play a little version of how to catch a predator.  We had a peeping Tom hanging around our house at night.  We started witnessing him at unexpected times, mainly late at night.  Our house is right next to the boys house, so we use our windows as  convenient communication.  One night my roommate Lay and I were going to creep on the boys.  All of a sudden I noticed a guy outside our house and pointed him out to Lay. He was dressed in all black, which made it difficult to see.  The minute she saw him she started laughing and he started acting somewhat suspicious.  Whatever, we continued to chill and then about 30 to 40 minutes later I went to bed.  We have no air conditioning in our house so sleeping with the windows open is a must.  I have a tree outside my window so I can always hear when people are walking in between the houses because of the leaves on the ground.  I kept hearing people walking by my window, but blew it off because people always walk in between the houses.  About ten minutes later I kept hearing walking, so I peaked out my window to see the same guy pacing back and forth outside my window. I snuck out of my room to go and get Lay.  I am guessing he heard me open my door because then he was gone.  Weird occasions like these kept occurring.  My friend Canada who lives in the boys’ house can see our house from his window.  He was warned if he were to see this man to go and get security.  A few nights later our peeping Tom was caught but then let go.  The head of our housing finally caught him again at six in the morning.  I thought everything was over but oh no.  When I got home from class the next day a man from criminal investigation was at our house waiting to question.  He then took me into the office for more questioning.  Everyone was taking it a little out of proportion, but lets just say I haven’t seen any peepers for a while...  Another predator caught my friends!

Update

Sorry it has been a few weeks since the last blog.  I have done many things since then but have not written everything down.  In a nutshell I will explain some of the stuff I have been up to: House 21 Family Dinner, birthdays, learning how to cook, volunteering at the township school, wild nights of going out, working out at the gym, a weekend in Johannesburg, wait! Did I mention going out? Oh and one other thing I almost forgot, classes finally started.  I am loving the South African lifestyle and cannot believe I have already been here over a month.  We are starting to get a set schedule for each week.  Monday night some of us attend Trivia at a bar near by.  Trivia has become a huge competition between the houses.  We are so close to beating the boys!  Tuesday and Wednesday we do whatever.  Us girls have started taking turns with cooking dinner.  This is really nice because you do not have to worry about cooking every night.  One of the exchange students from Canada tried out for the varsity basketball team at our University and made the team.  This past week we went and watched him play.  Actually let me say we were his support team.  Every time he would go in for some playing time we would go nuts with cheering; I felt like a proud parent.  Thursday nights are hopping at the square so we cannot seem to pass up the fun. Fridays have become Braai-day Friday and Saturday is our clubbing night. 

February 8th

Tuesday was a big day! We were picked up at 4:30 in the morning to go on our half day Safari.  Our Safari was scheduled at the oldest game park in South Africa.  The difficult thing about Safaris is that you are not guaranteed to see any animals, but oh boy did we ever get lucky.  Everyone in my jeep called me the Safari whisperer, because I was spotting out animals like it was my job.  After a few hours of our ride we stopped to have breakfast that they provided us.  It was not just an ordinary breakfast though.  A couple of minutes after we arrived at our breakfast spot, a few Zebras just wandered into our area. Yes, we ate breakfast with the Zebras!  Supposedly our jeep was extremely lucky because we ended up seeing four out of the big five animals in Africa. 

The second half of the day I went snorkeling.  You can really see a lot of creatures while snorkeling, some of them I prefer not knowing of while I am swimming.  This was such a great day.  After my snorkeling session I ended up falling asleep on the beach.  The best part of the day was on our ride home from the sea we saw a leopard.  YEAH BUDDY, we saw the Big Five all in one day! Everyone we talked to said that it is nearly impossible to see them all in one day.  I nearly wet my pants I was so excited!  This may have been the first day in my life I have had good luck!

St. Lucia

On Monday we had to leave our amazing hostelL. This just meant we were on the start of an adventure somewhere else.  We originally planned on going to Lesotho, but we found out we did not have the proper vehicles for the roads there.  So we instead headed to St. Lucia.  On the way there we got a little lost and ended up in the middle of nowhere in South Africa.  There was not even a road just a sand trail.  I of course was laughing because detours like these make trips even better!  We finally got on the right track and arrived in St. Lucia.  Some of us went and checked out the beach for a while.  Then at 8pm we went on a night Safari ride.  Saw a hippo out of water…pretty cool if I say so myself.  We then went out to eat and called it a decently early night for the big day to come. 

BEST DAY IN DURBAN!

While staying at our hostel, I met two volunteers Ed and Claudia from Holland that are serving in Durban for a month.  They work Monday through Friday with the street children.  In Durban there are over 6,000 street children.  After sharing our love for volunteering, they arranged for me to go with them to do outreach to the children.  A lot of the children are on the streets due to abuse in their homes, and or lack of food or shelter from their families.  These children mainly need someone to trust them, listen to them, or the simple feeling of a human touch.  Some of these children have had “owners” in the past being sold for up to two goats and seven dollars.  Even worse, many of these children have been raped by their fellow street peers.  On our day of outreach we went and visited the center Ed and Claudia are volunteering with.  In order for the children to stay at the center they have to be sober.  They are open 24 hours a day 365 days a year.    Many of them choose not to stay over night because many choose to remain on drugs.  The most popular drug on the street for them is called Neoprene, which is a sniffing glue.  Anyone can buy this glue on the streets for 7 Rand which is equivalent to 1 US dollar.  Ed and Claudia raise money throughout the year in Holland for these children.  The money goes to buying them food or towards their education and uniform if they choose they want to attend school.

When we showed up at the center there was a young boy who was cleaning his shoes for his first day back to school on Monday.  Another little boy was eager to show us around.  After the tour at the center we started our outreach.  We went to the most dangerous street in Durban.  Under the bridge we found a group of girls.  They instantly gave me hugs and told me they wanted to go with me.  At first I did not plan on taking any pictures, because I did not want to invade their privacy and living space.  Then one asked if I had a camera because they haven’t seen what they look in a long time.  On the street they started having a photo shoot with my camera.  We then asked if they were hungry.  We went to the store then and got them groceries.  After the store I asked our driver if there was a photo developing shop in the area. Since many of these children have nothing, I wanted them to have something small, a photo of themselves.  When we returned to them I gave them their pictures.  It was such a precious moment to see how they reacted.  One of the boys pulled a napkin out of his pocket and wrapped his picture with it.  He then licked the edge of the napkin so his picture was secured.  What a lovely morning!

A few days earlier, I  met a guy named Thando at our hostel who was from a township.  He invited a few of us over for a Braai at his township.  Thando ordered a mini bus and met us at our hostel.  I cannot even begin to describe how welcoming everyone from his township was.  The minute we arrived everyone wanted to greet us.  The children were all around, and I am pretty sure I fell in love with every single one of them.  Thando then took my friend Inge and I to see his house.  His house is one of the well off houses in his township because he has electricity and running water.  Every little thing he owned, he wanted to show us.  It was so nice to hear his life stories.  My favorite thing in his house was a sign that said “10 Ways to be More Happy.”  Suddenly I realized, they have their priorities straight.  They all have so little but are still happy.  They know that the most important things in life are not things.  Throughout the afternoon everyone was helping everyone in the township.  We were then told our food was done on the Braai.  I was informed while eating that we were having dog for dinner.  I guess there is always a first time for everything!  After our meal I hung out with the children.  What I had to leave they were all clinging to my legs and hugging me goodbye.  It was a beautiful moment.  We then headed back to our hostel to celebrate our last night and we found out earlier that it was Bob Marley’s birthday

Everyone at the Hostile was in full gear to celebrate. Bob Marley Music was jamming and they also had a Bob Marley shooters special.  Throughout the night I think I sang happy birthday Bob maybe 16 times. Every shot bought that night they sent the money to Jamaica. Good reason to celebrate… Yeah Mon.  The night ended with us jumping in the pool and attempting to watch the super bowl.  Yes, I was already sleeping before the National Anthem.  

February 5th

The next day we all woke up a little later than usual.  I have no idea why.  We found out the Durbin soccer team was having a game that day.  We knew for sure wanted to see a game, so in the meantime we hit up the beach for a few hours.  Then the time came we had all been waiting for, attending a South African Football game and did I mention that it was at the World Cup Stadium? All girls can watch the game for only 10 rand, which is a $1.50.  Awesome right? The boys however had to pay 40 Rand.  Sometimes, it just feels great to be a woman!  The game however was not so good, but hey it was cool to be watching a game in the world cup stadium!  Later that night we made reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant.  After dinner I decided to take it easy for my big day on Sunday.