I guess I haven’t been fair to the men here in my past posts. The men that are usually disrespectful to me are the poor men and the construction workers. The male students and guys that I meet are actually really conservative acting and nice. I meet many guys at the club we like to go to called Lush! They love us really. We know the club owner Dylan. He always lets us in free, takes our coats and makes sure they are safe, and gives us free drinks. He is really sweet. I think we have a pretty good buzz going there too. We’re the Black American girls that come and dance and get “crunk! “ The guys aren’t touching all over me or being disrespectful. They don’t grind… they usually dance with a girl face to face doing little moves and stuff. They are really nice.
However, there has been a few creepers. There was this one guy who was pretty nice looking or whatever, but he was all in my grill. I HATE BEING SMOTHERED BY ANYONE. Ugh.. it gets on my nerves. He was all over me… rubbing my leg, not in a sexual way either. He was rubbing my leg like we had been dating for years… in a caring, familiar way. It creeped me completely out. I ducked and dodged my way away from him. And, when I was dancing on the speakers (you know I have to be seen!), here he come trying to get a dance. He was like “Come down here and dance with me!” I was like, “Nah.. this my jam!” Hahaha… I played it off real well I suppose. But, he was definitely a creepy one. I saw him looking for me all night.
Then, there was this guy the other day who picked me up and drove me home when I was walking home with groceries. He seemed real nice until we got closer to the dorm. He was trying to get my number and set up a date. I gave him my number, because in South Africa, you can’t give people the wrong number. THEY CALL YOU RIGHT THEN AND THERE AND MAKE SURE YOU GAVE THEM THE RIGHT NUMBER! So, basically.. he’s called my phone at least six times in two days. Ugh…
But like I was saying, most of the guys are really nice and respectful. Here’s the thing about students and wealthier men here. They can D-R-E-S-S dress! They dress a little too good for my tastes. And, they LOVE LOVE LOVE their jeans to be a little tight. Like… the one thing every guy must have is FLARED (yes bell-bottom-ish) LEVI JEANS! Those are the must-haves for any man here. They do look nice though, but it’s not my taste.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this about the club scene here, but it’s basically unofficially segregated. There are two Colored clubs and the rest are White clubs in Stellenbosch. There are no Black clubs here. Lush is a colored club. All the clubs play hip-hop for about an hour, then switch to something else. The biggest music here in South Africa, and apparently in Europe too, is house music, which basically, to me, sounds like techno music. It sucks! I’m getting used to it though, but I cannot stand listening to songs with absolutely no words. I still have fun when I go out though. I like to go to Cubana’s, this restaurant that has really good food and drinks. It’s like an open space, with music, and a nice lounge feel to it. We go to Cubana’s and eat (and/or drink, which I don’t do anymore) and then head to a club to dance. I really have a good time. I just like to dance and chill. I like to go out on Wednesday nights now. Like, Wednesday night is perfect! Lush is always packed and fun. I get to have my weekends to do other activities and do my homework instead of being too tired. And, we just have fun!
i love kristen kirksey!
I'm nearing in on my last month here in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I love South Africa. It's so beautiful here, and I know that one day, probably soon, I will be back here to vacation, live, learn, and aid the people here.
I am really looking foward to coming home though. Like, I am SO glad that my friend Kristen is studying abroad in the Dominican Republic too, because otherwise, I feel like NO ONE would understand where I was coming from right now. After talking with her, I felt so relieved that she was feeling the same way. I had to talk about it on the blog so that my family and friends can know exactly how I've been feeling. At first I wasn't going to write about it, because I know that people in my program look at my blog too and I didn't want it to be big deal or something. But, whatever. This is for my friends and family; I must be honest.
I MISS MY FAMILY. You guys are crazy, silly, and so supportive. I miss feeling cozy. I miss making fun of my momma with Greg until she makes both of us leave the room. I miss going to my dad's and Tomyra's house watching crazy movies that no one has ever heard of and playing PHASE 10! Thanksgiving will be really special for me this year; I am thankful to have you guys in my life.. although yall are crazy.
Missing my family has come natural. What I didn't expect to be so strong is my longing for my friends. I MISS YALL! Like so much. I cannot believe I am lucky enough to know these people! People here... I don't know how to explain it without it seeming negative. They are like my temporary friends. Like, I don't trust them that much. Not through any particular fault of their own, but I just can't trust people I barely know. And, sometimes I get the feeling that if you weren't there for the conversation, you were the conversation. I found myself talking about people behind their back, and I am just not like that at home. So, I kind of tried to stop doing that. I think I've been doing a pretty good job at it.
I was at first going over my friends' house like everyday. But, after Spring Break.. after doing so much and spending, what was probably, too much time around the same people, I took a good look at myself. I am just not the type of person to be following folks around like that. I am too independent. I'm usually the hermit crab. I first and foremost need my privacy. I don't like the whole world knowing what I am doing. When I would be alone in my room, it would be lonely, because I always had David to light up the room back in Nashville. But, now, all of a sudden in South Africa, I needed to be around people!!??
Uh.. no. That's just not me. So, since then, I haven't been going there as often (not at all really, and I guess I should have transitioned that better because some of the students there are like "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT'S WRONG?"). I've still been doing many activities, getting out and doing stuff everyday, and having fun with other people. I've met many South African students since then, and I really like it. It's amazing how much they know about America. I like going to my room at night and just chilling. At first, I was like spending the night over there and having to run back to my room and take a shower before class and doing all this stuff.. like ridiculous. Who was that girl?
What it is is when you get here, they stress being social and making friends. So, you get into "make friends immediately" mode. When, in my usual world, I don't care about other people like that! I really don't. I know who I am, and I know how I can be percieved. It's not that you need to tell me what you think about me... NO.. I know what you think. I'm not oblivious to what you think... I just don't care what people think about me. My close friends are the ones that can actually make me upset and hurt me or make me happy and cheer me up.
Like, I care about the friends I've made here. If they needed me I would try my best to be there for them, because I am not heartless or anything. I am Christian, and I try to do my best. I feel like when people have needed me (when they're sick, or drunk, or having troubles), I've been there. But, at the end of the day, I don't expect them to do the same things for me. The only thing I expect from them is to have a good time with me. That's it. We can go out... party... have a good time... hike.. shop... have lunch.... or whatever. But, at the end of the day, I know not to expect them to be a David Law or a Kristen Kirksey. There are a few people that I hope I can keep in contact with; they're cool people, and I learn a lot from them.
I feel SO GOOD since I've realized this stuff. I mean.. I feel like I've gained piece of mind. I don't know what I was thinking about before. I came in thinking we'd be getting matching tattoos and stuff and that I would have some kind of unbreakable bond or something with everyone. I was so naïve. I guess I do sort of share a bond with them; we've expierenced South Africa together. But, I am definitely not getting the tattoo! Hahaha.
I am really looking foward to coming home though. Like, I am SO glad that my friend Kristen is studying abroad in the Dominican Republic too, because otherwise, I feel like NO ONE would understand where I was coming from right now. After talking with her, I felt so relieved that she was feeling the same way. I had to talk about it on the blog so that my family and friends can know exactly how I've been feeling. At first I wasn't going to write about it, because I know that people in my program look at my blog too and I didn't want it to be big deal or something. But, whatever. This is for my friends and family; I must be honest.
I MISS MY FAMILY. You guys are crazy, silly, and so supportive. I miss feeling cozy. I miss making fun of my momma with Greg until she makes both of us leave the room. I miss going to my dad's and Tomyra's house watching crazy movies that no one has ever heard of and playing PHASE 10! Thanksgiving will be really special for me this year; I am thankful to have you guys in my life.. although yall are crazy.
Missing my family has come natural. What I didn't expect to be so strong is my longing for my friends. I MISS YALL! Like so much. I cannot believe I am lucky enough to know these people! People here... I don't know how to explain it without it seeming negative. They are like my temporary friends. Like, I don't trust them that much. Not through any particular fault of their own, but I just can't trust people I barely know. And, sometimes I get the feeling that if you weren't there for the conversation, you were the conversation. I found myself talking about people behind their back, and I am just not like that at home. So, I kind of tried to stop doing that. I think I've been doing a pretty good job at it.
I was at first going over my friends' house like everyday. But, after Spring Break.. after doing so much and spending, what was probably, too much time around the same people, I took a good look at myself. I am just not the type of person to be following folks around like that. I am too independent. I'm usually the hermit crab. I first and foremost need my privacy. I don't like the whole world knowing what I am doing. When I would be alone in my room, it would be lonely, because I always had David to light up the room back in Nashville. But, now, all of a sudden in South Africa, I needed to be around people!!??
Uh.. no. That's just not me. So, since then, I haven't been going there as often (not at all really, and I guess I should have transitioned that better because some of the students there are like "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT'S WRONG?"). I've still been doing many activities, getting out and doing stuff everyday, and having fun with other people. I've met many South African students since then, and I really like it. It's amazing how much they know about America. I like going to my room at night and just chilling. At first, I was like spending the night over there and having to run back to my room and take a shower before class and doing all this stuff.. like ridiculous. Who was that girl?
What it is is when you get here, they stress being social and making friends. So, you get into "make friends immediately" mode. When, in my usual world, I don't care about other people like that! I really don't. I know who I am, and I know how I can be percieved. It's not that you need to tell me what you think about me... NO.. I know what you think. I'm not oblivious to what you think... I just don't care what people think about me. My close friends are the ones that can actually make me upset and hurt me or make me happy and cheer me up.
Like, I care about the friends I've made here. If they needed me I would try my best to be there for them, because I am not heartless or anything. I am Christian, and I try to do my best. I feel like when people have needed me (when they're sick, or drunk, or having troubles), I've been there. But, at the end of the day, I don't expect them to do the same things for me. The only thing I expect from them is to have a good time with me. That's it. We can go out... party... have a good time... hike.. shop... have lunch.... or whatever. But, at the end of the day, I know not to expect them to be a David Law or a Kristen Kirksey. There are a few people that I hope I can keep in contact with; they're cool people, and I learn a lot from them.
I feel SO GOOD since I've realized this stuff. I mean.. I feel like I've gained piece of mind. I don't know what I was thinking about before. I came in thinking we'd be getting matching tattoos and stuff and that I would have some kind of unbreakable bond or something with everyone. I was so naïve. I guess I do sort of share a bond with them; we've expierenced South Africa together. But, I am definitely not getting the tattoo! Hahaha.
Heritage Day - September 24th
September 24 is Heritage Day in South Africa, where people are supposed to remember their heritage. There was no school, because it's a national holiday, so a few friends and I decided to do something fun and cultural.
I looked on the internet and found a lot of ideas on capetownmagazine.com. The plan was to catch the train to Capetown, get a camera for Brittney, go to a photography exhibit at Joao Ferreira Gallery, shop a bit, go see some poetry at the African Center, and then be back on the train to Stellenbosch by 5:30p. WE DID NOT STICK TO THIS PLAN! hahaha.
We went to catch the train, but apparently the train schedule is different on holidays, and it had already left. So, we had to call a cab to take us to Capetown. While we waited, we stayed in Stellenbosch and ate a some KFC. The cab that came to pick us up was a nice, clean van driven by an Afrikaner, young woman. She was really nice, and we really made her laugh with our ridiculous conversations. She took us to the Waterfront Mall, in order for Brittney to buy a camera. For us to go to Capetown and back to Stellenbosch was 480Rand... that's about $70. Split 3-ways, that's not a lot of money, but when you're broke, like I am, it is. The CRAZIEST part is, she told us to wait until she picked us up later to pay her!!! I have never been trusted like that in my life! We could have easily not called her to pick us up, took another way back home, and saved 240Rand. We decided to do the right thing though, since she trusted us so much, and because we are trying to be good!
By the time we found Brittney a new camera (a really nice, hot pink, touch-screen camera), it was around 2 oclock. We didn't have enough time to go to the photography exhibit, because the poetry thing started at three. So, we made our way outside to catch a local cab. Cabs in South Africa are confusing! There are cabs like the ones I am used to seeing, then there are rusty, old vans, and then there are nice vans, and then there are really nice, expensive looking regular cabs. We decided to take an old, rusty van, because it would be cheaper. We got into the van, and we told them where we wanted to go. There were people already on there, so they dropped them off. And, then they proceeded to tell us that if we want to go directly to the poetry thing, we have to pay like 60Rand or something OR we could just pay 1 rand and they could drop us off as close as they were willing to get. We were just like "UM.. NO!" So, we only paid the 1Rand.
They took us to Long Street, and we walked the rest of the way to the African Center. We arrived just in time. The event we went to was called the Badilisha African Poetry X-Change. What they did was take us around to different rooms and perform different poetry that related to Heritage Day. It was really cool and so interesting. I am really happy we went. The poets were all different and had interesting things to say.
The poetry was really deep, and it was so good. Even when some of the words were in Xhosa or Afrikaans, we could still find meaning in the way they spoke and their actions. There was even a musician at the end who sung a few songs and had us singing along too. Afterwards, we networked. We met some interesting people. One girl was actually from America and working at a school outside of Capetown. It was nice to hear her New York accent. One older woman had a dignified look about her that let me know she was rich. She said she had visited America many times and that her son was about to marry an American girl. We also met Winslow, who invited us along to another poetry session and party at a near-by club. We didn't think we could go, but once the older lady found out that we were from Stellenbosch, she offered us not only her favorite driver's number but also she offered to let us STAY IN HER GUEST HOUSE IF WE GOT STUCK IN CAPETOWN! That's twice, we were trusted by strangers..! crazy.
We decided that we might as well stay in Capetown a little longer and go to the poetry session, called Verses. We called the taxi-girl from earlier, and she agreed to pick us up later.
The only thing that was standing in the way of us and more poetry was OUR CLOTHES! I looked a little too casual to be going to a bar/party, and the other girls wanted to get dolled-up too. So we decided to catch another cab back to the mall and buy outfits for the night. This time, we passed on the raggedy van and got a nicer cab. I tried to keep it cheap. I bought a shirt-dress at Woolworths (it's kind of like Target) and some black tights and black flats from Edgar's (which is like Goodys). I still ended up completely broke by the end of the night.
After changing clothes in the mall bathroom and eating at Subway (We found a Subway! It tasted just like it does at home.), we caught another nice cab to the Zula Bar to expierence Verses. Verses is like an open-mic poetry night; anyone that wants to come up and do some poetry can. Winslow was the host! This poetry was just as good as the poetry at the African Center. Even a few rappers and singers came on stage and performed. They were all so talented. I didn't get any pictures or video, because my camera had died. At the end, there was a live band that performed. The music was really good, but by that time, I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. Every song that they did sounded like "rock-a-bye-baby" in my head. While other people were jamming, I had my head in my lap. I WAS THAT TIRED!!
After the band was done, the party started. They played some pretty good rap music. A lot of it was old, but some of it was new. I danced a little bit, but the party really wasn't "poppin'." I think Cassie and Brittney were tired too. So, we said "Goodbye" to Winslow, called our cab from Stellenbosch, and left Capetown around midnight. We paid her her money (except I didn't have any more cash so Brittney had to spot me.. .I KNOW I STILL OWE YOU THAT MONEY GIRL. I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN!!!! )
Althought we didn't stick to our schedule, I had a great day in Capetown. It was so much fun, and even when it's raining, the city is still beautiful.
I looked on the internet and found a lot of ideas on capetownmagazine.com. The plan was to catch the train to Capetown, get a camera for Brittney, go to a photography exhibit at Joao Ferreira Gallery, shop a bit, go see some poetry at the African Center, and then be back on the train to Stellenbosch by 5:30p. WE DID NOT STICK TO THIS PLAN! hahaha.
We went to catch the train, but apparently the train schedule is different on holidays, and it had already left. So, we had to call a cab to take us to Capetown. While we waited, we stayed in Stellenbosch and ate a some KFC. The cab that came to pick us up was a nice, clean van driven by an Afrikaner, young woman. She was really nice, and we really made her laugh with our ridiculous conversations. She took us to the Waterfront Mall, in order for Brittney to buy a camera. For us to go to Capetown and back to Stellenbosch was 480Rand... that's about $70. Split 3-ways, that's not a lot of money, but when you're broke, like I am, it is. The CRAZIEST part is, she told us to wait until she picked us up later to pay her!!! I have never been trusted like that in my life! We could have easily not called her to pick us up, took another way back home, and saved 240Rand. We decided to do the right thing though, since she trusted us so much, and because we are trying to be good!
By the time we found Brittney a new camera (a really nice, hot pink, touch-screen camera), it was around 2 oclock. We didn't have enough time to go to the photography exhibit, because the poetry thing started at three. So, we made our way outside to catch a local cab. Cabs in South Africa are confusing! There are cabs like the ones I am used to seeing, then there are rusty, old vans, and then there are nice vans, and then there are really nice, expensive looking regular cabs. We decided to take an old, rusty van, because it would be cheaper. We got into the van, and we told them where we wanted to go. There were people already on there, so they dropped them off. And, then they proceeded to tell us that if we want to go directly to the poetry thing, we have to pay like 60Rand or something OR we could just pay 1 rand and they could drop us off as close as they were willing to get. We were just like "UM.. NO!" So, we only paid the 1Rand.
Me, Cassie, and Brittney sitting in the back of the taxi.
They took us to Long Street, and we walked the rest of the way to the African Center. We arrived just in time. The event we went to was called the Badilisha African Poetry X-Change. What they did was take us around to different rooms and perform different poetry that related to Heritage Day. It was really cool and so interesting. I am really happy we went. The poets were all different and had interesting things to say.
Winslow performing his poetry.
At first, I was a little niave. Heritage Day sounded like a good idea to me, but then after listening to a few poets, I realized that it's like Black History Month, except they only get ONE DAY to remember their heritage. What are they supposed to be remembering all the other days? Apartheid? Apparently, all the other days of the year, they are being told to forget their past and are being forcecd to fit into Western ideals of beauty, education, religion, etc. That's kind of messed up.The poetry was really deep, and it was so good. Even when some of the words were in Xhosa or Afrikaans, we could still find meaning in the way they spoke and their actions. There was even a musician at the end who sung a few songs and had us singing along too. Afterwards, we networked. We met some interesting people. One girl was actually from America and working at a school outside of Capetown. It was nice to hear her New York accent. One older woman had a dignified look about her that let me know she was rich. She said she had visited America many times and that her son was about to marry an American girl. We also met Winslow, who invited us along to another poetry session and party at a near-by club. We didn't think we could go, but once the older lady found out that we were from Stellenbosch, she offered us not only her favorite driver's number but also she offered to let us STAY IN HER GUEST HOUSE IF WE GOT STUCK IN CAPETOWN! That's twice, we were trusted by strangers..! crazy.
We decided that we might as well stay in Capetown a little longer and go to the poetry session, called Verses. We called the taxi-girl from earlier, and she agreed to pick us up later.
The only thing that was standing in the way of us and more poetry was OUR CLOTHES! I looked a little too casual to be going to a bar/party, and the other girls wanted to get dolled-up too. So we decided to catch another cab back to the mall and buy outfits for the night. This time, we passed on the raggedy van and got a nicer cab. I tried to keep it cheap. I bought a shirt-dress at Woolworths (it's kind of like Target) and some black tights and black flats from Edgar's (which is like Goodys). I still ended up completely broke by the end of the night.
After changing clothes in the mall bathroom and eating at Subway (We found a Subway! It tasted just like it does at home.), we caught another nice cab to the Zula Bar to expierence Verses. Verses is like an open-mic poetry night; anyone that wants to come up and do some poetry can. Winslow was the host! This poetry was just as good as the poetry at the African Center. Even a few rappers and singers came on stage and performed. They were all so talented. I didn't get any pictures or video, because my camera had died. At the end, there was a live band that performed. The music was really good, but by that time, I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. Every song that they did sounded like "rock-a-bye-baby" in my head. While other people were jamming, I had my head in my lap. I WAS THAT TIRED!!
After the band was done, the party started. They played some pretty good rap music. A lot of it was old, but some of it was new. I danced a little bit, but the party really wasn't "poppin'." I think Cassie and Brittney were tired too. So, we said "Goodbye" to Winslow, called our cab from Stellenbosch, and left Capetown around midnight. We paid her her money (except I didn't have any more cash so Brittney had to spot me.. .I KNOW I STILL OWE YOU THAT MONEY GIRL. I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN!!!! )
Althought we didn't stick to our schedule, I had a great day in Capetown. It was so much fun, and even when it's raining, the city is still beautiful.
Spring Break - The Garden Route
These blog posts are getting all out of order. Hahaha. Sorry. But anyway, this blog posting is all about THE GARDEN ROUTE! We went on this thing called The Garden Route a few weeks ago during Spring Break. Yes, I went on Spring Break in September! The Garden Route is more or less just a tourist attraction plan to get tourists to not just stay in Capetown and Johannesburg, but to explore what else South Africa has to offer. And, South Africa has A LOT to offer!
Garden Route Day 1, Saturday Sept. 6th
We had to leave Stellenbosch early in the morning at 5:30am! It was a pain to get up that early during Spring Break, but I was really excited too. Our first trip was to an Ostrich Farm! Ostriches are SCARY! They are very dumb and vicious, two attributes that do not go well together. They are too dumb to be afraid of humans. They are fast and have sharp claws that can kill you! I was already afraid of themnbecause they are ugly, but after the guide told us all these things about the ostrich, I was even more afraid.
The guide was a bit crazy himself. Some of the things he did, like pinching peoples’ butts to make them think the ostriches did it, seemed a bit inappropriate. I guess it was funny though.
We really got the opportunity to “interact” with the ostriches. Ostrich Kisses -- He made a few people put little food pellets in their mouth and the only tame ostrich they had, named Betsy, would come up and eat it out of their mouths. Ostrich Hugs – He put the food behind a person’s back and the ostrich would go around them and give them a hug. Ostrich Massages – He put the bucket of pellets in your hand next to your chest and ostriches come up behind you, over your shoulders, to eat them. He, also made a male ostrich do a type of mating dance. A few people even got to ride the ostriches! NOT ME though… even though the guide picked on me in particular, because he knew I was afraid, I refused to do anything. In the past, I was freaked out when I just rode a horse. I could not even imagine having a big chicken underneath me. Besides, to get off of those things, you had to fall off! Josiah got hurt pretty badly too. So, I admired the ostriches from afar.
After the ostrich farm, we went to the Cango Caves. The Cango Caves are limestone caves. Near the entrance of the caves is where the bushmen, the native people of South Africa, used to live. The caves have a general tour, but I had to go on the more extreme tour. On my tour, we did an extra hour of caving! The deeper you go into the caves, the smaller the passage ways get. So there were moments where I was literally crawling on my stomach between big, long sheets of rock. It was fun!
It was absolutely unreal. There were many safety precautions we had to learn. We had to always stand close together in a big group. If a cat approached us, we were supposed to stand still, hold our ground, and let them sniff us; if you run, they’ll know that you are afraid and are more likely to kill you. They really can tell if you’re afraid, so we weren’t supposed to act like we were afraid. I was absolutely afraid of all the cats. Even the baby cheetahs had sharp teeth and claws. It was still very fun though. When will I ever get to do something like that?
After a fun time with the wild cats of Africa, we headed to Monkeyland to spend time with the monkeys of Africa. The cool thing about both Monkeyland and Tenikwa was that they were not like zoos. Not only were we up close and personal with the animals, but the animals weren’t supposed to perform for us or anything. Both places stressed the plight of the animals on display, and how it was important to save their environments. In Monkeyland, there were monkeys climbing around EVERYWHERE… they were all around me. I couldn’t take many pictures or any video because my camera was just about dead at this point, but it was unbelievable. It was feeding time and there were little platforms of fruit sitting out for the monkeys so they were jumping around everywhere! We walked through the forest with monkeys all around us. They were in all the trees and running around on the ground too. We were urged not to have anything loose on us, otherwise a monkey might take it. We were really outnumbered by them!
I was so tired by the time we got out of Monkeyland, but the day still wasn’t done! We had a surprise dinner at Enrico’s. Enrico’s is a restaurant right by the beach. We had delicious pizza, and I got some ice-cream (of course!). The best part was that we could see and hear the ocean. After all of this, I was so tired, but we still stayed up late at Ingwe, told jokes, danced, and watched the Dave Chappelle “Rick James” episode.
Garden Route Day 3, Monday Sept. 8th
I had more cereal and toast for breakfast at Ingwe. I had to pack up my things, because this was our last day staying at Ingwe. After breakfast, we headed off to Storms River Adventures to do a Canopy Tour! Now, as friends and family, you all know I am afraid of heights! I was a little nervous about the canopy tour, but it had been something I always wanted to do.
After about two hours of riding around looking at all the animals, we ate at the Addo restaurant. I got some really good lasagna and drank my favorite drink, Rooibos tea! After this, we hoped on the vans and headed to Knysna. It was a pretty long drive. The place we stayed at in Knysna was called Buffalo Bay. It was poop compared to the other places we had stayed in my opinion. It looked like a crab shack, and it was very cold there. The bathroom had “leavings” in them, and there was a big spider found in there too. I was more than a little upset about it. We were right by the beach, but it still was rundown. Noel and I were without a room! We were told by the managers that the room that we had reluctantly chosen would leak during a storm. And, if there’s one thing I have learned about South Africa, it’s that it often rains! So, we talked to Mike and we got put at a beach house, where a few of the other students were staying. I was more than a little happy. We ate at the crabshack though. There was lamb stew, rice, and salad. The best thing was the bread. They made some homemade, delicious bread. All of us were eating bits of it all night. It was so good. After dinner, there was a surprise! A reggae group came and performed songs for us! It was really cool. The music was really good, and guess who the first person to dance was? I had to. I can’t believe people can actually hear good music and not move to it. So, I got up and started dancing. I made Lacey dance, and Abdul dance too, even though he didn’t want to. But, HE HAS DREADLOCKS… I refused to see a person with dreadlocks not dance to reggae music. Other people started joining us, and we just danced. It was so much fun. For the rest of the night, we danced and chilled out with the reggae group.
After this, a van took some of us to the beach house. IT WAS WAY NICER THAN THAT CRABSHACK! Even though I had to take a cold shower (we didn’t know we had to turn on the water heater), I would choose a cold shower over an entire cold night any day!
Garden Route Day 6, Thursday Sept. 11th
After another cereal and toast breakfast, we had a moment of silence to remember the victims of September 11th, and then we headed to a township in Knysna for a tour of the Rastafarian section of the township called Judah Square. This township is not as “outsider-friendly” as Kayamandi back in Stellenbosch is, so we had to be escorted into the township. Our guide was a soft-spoken Rastafarian guy; he was really cool and nice. He took off his hat and he had ONE DREAD, one fat dreadlock! It was kind of surprising and funny.
He told us all about Rastafarian beliefs and about their particular Rastafarian community. He even took us inside the place where they worship and have meetings (Although, he made all the girls cover up there hair before we could go inside… women must cover their hair in their religion), a school, and in the forest where they also have meetings and stuff. They had recently gotten busted for selling marijuana (Although they had been doing it for years. The bust was random. Smoking weed is basically apart of Rastafarian culture.), but they still grow it deep in the forest. It was a nice little hike. It was a fun, learning experience. After this, there was a stand where they had Rastafarian stuff for us to buy. **EVERYTHING I BOUGHT HAS BEEN STOLEN THOUGH…. I had bought a real cool hat, a marijuana bracelet, and earrings. All gone.. someone in my program stole them oddly enough. I left them in the van on the last day and someone took them. I thought these folks were rich! But hey, I guess rich people steal all the time… George Bush, Enron, etc.**
Anyway, after this, we went back into town. Jayden and I ate at some seafood restaurant. It was really good. We ordered too much though. They had really big portions. For some reason, we ordered sushi and an order of fish and chips (fries). But, I was full before I even got done eating my sushi! I found Abdul later on and gave him my leftovers. He’s a human garbage disposal; he’s never full!
After lunch, Jayden and I headed over to a mall. It was really small, but when you haven’t been in a mall for so long, you don’t care. There were some nice little stores. We decided to stay in town a little longer than everyone else too so that we could be able to look around more and enjoy the nice day. Knysna is a really nice town. After shopping in town, we headed to a little outdoor market. I felt like I had spent too much money, so I made sure to only bring 50 rand with me ($7). So, when this guy tried to make me buy this photo album, I was like “All I have is 50 rand!” I eventually talked him down to the 50 rand. It was funny. He was trying to sell it for like 180 rand at first. Hahaha **This stuff was also stolen along with my other stuff. I bought a nice, casual, purple dress and a classy little brown dinner dress from the mall. I even bought some accessories to go with the brown dress at this little market outside. And the photo album I bought was made from banana leaves, and it was really cool. BOOOOO to whoever stole it.**
After shopping, I was driven back to the beach house. It was almost time for dinner. For dinner, we headed to a restaurant right by the water. It was a ritzy place. My appetizer was a salad, but the cheese was a little too strong on it for my liking, so I gave it to Maggie. SHE LOVES CHEESE! I had some seafood curry pasta for my main course. It was really good, but some of the seafood was a little too fresh if you know what I mean. I don’t like seeing my dead food in its shell. So, I just put the oysters aside. The curry wasn’t spicy either; it was more of a ginger, sweet taste. It was unexpected, but I liked it. For dessert, I had a chocolate mousse. It was good, but by the time we got to dessert, everyone was in a ridiculous mood. People were acting so silly. There was a cherry on everyone’s mousse, but Jayden stole Josiah’s… so he stole mine as a threat to her… then I stole it back and ate it… so he put lemon juice in my mousse. It was stupid but fun! And the mousse tasted better with a little lemon juice in it too. Hahaha. Then after much inappropriate talk on behalf of Abdul, I decided to drink a little bit. I had a few (ONLY A FEW DAD!) tequila shots. The shot glasses here are smaller than in America, so I didn’t see any danger in it.
Needless to say, I don’t remember much after this. Sorry. I think we danced, because Hestea, our director, wanted the last night to be kind of glamorous. So, she asked us (Me, Jayden, Siobhan, and Noel) to do the Cupid Shuffle, a dance we had previously tried to teach everyone nights before. I don’t quite remember much, but from the pictures, it looks like we had fun. Hahaha
After this, I remember arguing with Josiah about something… I don’t remember what exactly. I think there was music, so I might have danced ?? And I don’t remember how we got to the beach house from Buffalo Bay, the crab shack, that night. No one has told me I did anything ridiculous, so I am happy about that. But I don’t like not remembering things. I’m in SOUTH AFRICA! I want to remember every moment. So, I haven’t drank any alcohol since. Don’t worry dad.. it’s cool! I’m good! I promise!
This was the end of our Spring Break. The Garden Route was great! I had a great time. The next day, we headed back to Stellenbosch. And, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO GAVE ME ANY KIND OF MONEY! I GOT TO DO EVERYTHING I WANTED TO DO, AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANY MONEY. IT FELT SO NICE TO JUST RELAX AND WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN PRICE FOR ONCE. LIKE, YOU REALLY DON’T UNDERSTAND. I WAS AVOIDING LOOKING INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THERE WAS NOTHING IN THERE, AND WHEN I FINALLY DID AND SAW THE BALANCE, I WAS SO OVERJOYED. I hope the things that “walked-off” are returned, because a lot of the things I bought during this trip were gifts for all of you. I love everyone! See you in less than 2 months! <3 dani
There are more pictures and video, but the internet is going so slow! I will be sure to post them later!
We did not do the entire Garden Route. The red line represents the part we did do, while the green line represents the part of the Garden Route we did not do.
Garden Route Day 1, Saturday Sept. 6th
We had to leave Stellenbosch early in the morning at 5:30am! It was a pain to get up that early during Spring Break, but I was really excited too. Our first trip was to an Ostrich Farm! Ostriches are SCARY! They are very dumb and vicious, two attributes that do not go well together. They are too dumb to be afraid of humans. They are fast and have sharp claws that can kill you! I was already afraid of themnbecause they are ugly, but after the guide told us all these things about the ostrich, I was even more afraid.
The guide was a bit crazy himself. Some of the things he did, like pinching peoples’ butts to make them think the ostriches did it, seemed a bit inappropriate. I guess it was funny though.
We really got the opportunity to “interact” with the ostriches. Ostrich Kisses -- He made a few people put little food pellets in their mouth and the only tame ostrich they had, named Betsy, would come up and eat it out of their mouths. Ostrich Hugs – He put the food behind a person’s back and the ostrich would go around them and give them a hug. Ostrich Massages – He put the bucket of pellets in your hand next to your chest and ostriches come up behind you, over your shoulders, to eat them. He, also made a male ostrich do a type of mating dance. A few people even got to ride the ostriches! NOT ME though… even though the guide picked on me in particular, because he knew I was afraid, I refused to do anything. In the past, I was freaked out when I just rode a horse. I could not even imagine having a big chicken underneath me. Besides, to get off of those things, you had to fall off! Josiah got hurt pretty badly too. So, I admired the ostriches from afar.
Noel getting an ostrich hug.
After the ostrich farm, we went to the Cango Caves. The Cango Caves are limestone caves. Near the entrance of the caves is where the bushmen, the native people of South Africa, used to live. The caves have a general tour, but I had to go on the more extreme tour. On my tour, we did an extra hour of caving! The deeper you go into the caves, the smaller the passage ways get. So there were moments where I was literally crawling on my stomach between big, long sheets of rock. It was fun!
After caving, we went to a shopping center to eat. I ate at Steers, which is like the #1 South African fast food burger place. They do have 100% beef burgers. They are really big. I think they have good chips (fries) too. The only thing is, they put too much sauce on the burgers. I have to remember to say NO SAUCE next time!
We then drove to the place we would stay for two days, Ingwe! Ingwe had a real camp vibe to it. There were cabins, bunk beds, and community showers. We found a huge spider in our sink, but I didn’t mind because I got to stay in the good cabin with the drivers. We had hot showers and other things, which the other cabins did not have. I shared a bedroom with Maggie Moo, and after a day of so many activities, we fell straight to sleep that night!
Garden Route Day 2, Sunday Sept. 7th
Ingwe provided us with breakfast! All we had was toast, cereal, bacon, and eggs. Now, let me explain something about South African bacon in general. This is very important! The bacon here is just like it was in London, England. BACON IS NOT BACON... it is like ham! And my friends and I just call it “BAM” … it’s not quite bacon.. it’s not quite ham… IT’S “BAM!” Hahaha. The eggs were a little runny, and I like my eggs hard, so I basically just ate toast and cereal. Cereal = plain Corn Flakes. I put a lot of sugar on them though. I ate toast and Corn Flakes every morning the whole trip.
I spent the morning trying to flat iron my hair, but I didn’t have enough time. I didn’t get a chance to flat iron the top so when you look at these pictures and see my hair is messed up, THAT’S WHY! hahaha.
I chose to chill in the town of Plett for the morning, however, because it was a Sunday and NOTHING is ever open on Sunday in South Africa, the town was dead. So, instead, we went to the beach. It was my very first time seeing the Indian Ocean, and yes, it is warmer than the water in the Atlantic Ocean.
We then drove to the place we would stay for two days, Ingwe! Ingwe had a real camp vibe to it. There were cabins, bunk beds, and community showers. We found a huge spider in our sink, but I didn’t mind because I got to stay in the good cabin with the drivers. We had hot showers and other things, which the other cabins did not have. I shared a bedroom with Maggie Moo, and after a day of so many activities, we fell straight to sleep that night!
Garden Route Day 2, Sunday Sept. 7th
Ingwe provided us with breakfast! All we had was toast, cereal, bacon, and eggs. Now, let me explain something about South African bacon in general. This is very important! The bacon here is just like it was in London, England. BACON IS NOT BACON... it is like ham! And my friends and I just call it “BAM” … it’s not quite bacon.. it’s not quite ham… IT’S “BAM!” Hahaha. The eggs were a little runny, and I like my eggs hard, so I basically just ate toast and cereal. Cereal = plain Corn Flakes. I put a lot of sugar on them though. I ate toast and Corn Flakes every morning the whole trip.
I spent the morning trying to flat iron my hair, but I didn’t have enough time. I didn’t get a chance to flat iron the top so when you look at these pictures and see my hair is messed up, THAT’S WHY! hahaha.
I chose to chill in the town of Plett for the morning, however, because it was a Sunday and NOTHING is ever open on Sunday in South Africa, the town was dead. So, instead, we went to the beach. It was my very first time seeing the Indian Ocean, and yes, it is warmer than the water in the Atlantic Ocean.
We went to another shopping center to eat. I had “Chinese” food. It was okay. The rice was good, but the “sweet and sour” chicken was so nasty. It was spicy! I have never had ?spicy? sweet and sour chicken, and it was ball shaped. However, I went to KFC and bought a brownie sundae called an Avalanche (yes, KFC has sundaes here!). It was so good that I forgot how bad the Chinese was.
After lunch, we headed to Tenikwa! Tenikwa is a Wildlife Awareness Center that takes in injured animals and nurses them back to health in order to release them into the wild. They also offer tours of the indigenous cats of Africa, including cheetahs! We got to go INSIDE the caged habitats with the wild cats, including the cheetahs!
After lunch, we headed to Tenikwa! Tenikwa is a Wildlife Awareness Center that takes in injured animals and nurses them back to health in order to release them into the wild. They also offer tours of the indigenous cats of Africa, including cheetahs! We got to go INSIDE the caged habitats with the wild cats, including the cheetahs!
It was absolutely unreal. There were many safety precautions we had to learn. We had to always stand close together in a big group. If a cat approached us, we were supposed to stand still, hold our ground, and let them sniff us; if you run, they’ll know that you are afraid and are more likely to kill you. They really can tell if you’re afraid, so we weren’t supposed to act like we were afraid. I was absolutely afraid of all the cats. Even the baby cheetahs had sharp teeth and claws. It was still very fun though. When will I ever get to do something like that?
After a fun time with the wild cats of Africa, we headed to Monkeyland to spend time with the monkeys of Africa. The cool thing about both Monkeyland and Tenikwa was that they were not like zoos. Not only were we up close and personal with the animals, but the animals weren’t supposed to perform for us or anything. Both places stressed the plight of the animals on display, and how it was important to save their environments. In Monkeyland, there were monkeys climbing around EVERYWHERE… they were all around me. I couldn’t take many pictures or any video because my camera was just about dead at this point, but it was unbelievable. It was feeding time and there were little platforms of fruit sitting out for the monkeys so they were jumping around everywhere! We walked through the forest with monkeys all around us. They were in all the trees and running around on the ground too. We were urged not to have anything loose on us, otherwise a monkey might take it. We were really outnumbered by them!
Lemars eating fruit.
I was so tired by the time we got out of Monkeyland, but the day still wasn’t done! We had a surprise dinner at Enrico’s. Enrico’s is a restaurant right by the beach. We had delicious pizza, and I got some ice-cream (of course!). The best part was that we could see and hear the ocean. After all of this, I was so tired, but we still stayed up late at Ingwe, told jokes, danced, and watched the Dave Chappelle “Rick James” episode.
Garden Route Day 3, Monday Sept. 8th
I had more cereal and toast for breakfast at Ingwe. I had to pack up my things, because this was our last day staying at Ingwe. After breakfast, we headed off to Storms River Adventures to do a Canopy Tour! Now, as friends and family, you all know I am afraid of heights! I was a little nervous about the canopy tour, but it had been something I always wanted to do.
Me, zipping through the trees!
We were extremely high up in the trees! None of the trees were drilled into either; this was another place that stressed the importance of protecting the environment. Not only did Storms River Adventures provide jobs for people in the community, but it protected the forest in the area. None of the trees were drilled into; instead, somehow, they used pressure from ropes to build all the platforms and stuff. I still can’t figure out how they did it! I was really scared the entire time, although I knew I would be fine. I had a great time though! It was so cool to just whiz through the air. You go pretty fast on those ropes too. To slow down, you must use your hand (we had on gloves) and apply pressure to the rope. I always had my hand on that rope! Hahaha. I was always trying to slow down! It was so much fun though. I can’t believe I finally got to do it!
After we were done, we got certificates, ate, and then headed over to meet the rest of our group who had gone bungee jumping. Did I bungee jump? NO..!!! No No No! I didn’t even consider it. I would probably pee and poop on myself. They would have had to push me off! No way. After waiting for them to get done buying souvenirs and stuff, we took a pretty long drive in the rain to Jeffrey’s Bay, where we stayed at Island Vibe!
Island Vibe was my favorite place that we stayed. It was right on the beach and had a friendly staff, restaurant, bar, pool and fool’s ball tables, and a television. I shared a room with Casey, Siobhan, and Jayden in a beach house! We could see the ocean from our room. It was beautiful. The only thing I felt a little uncomfortable about was the bathroom. The bathroom in our room had no door and the shower door was see-through. Where exactly was a decent girl supposed to make #2? That presented a problem. Hahaha. I had to sneak around a find a bathroom to use. Also, we had to put up a towel to cover up the shower door when we took showers. When we arrived, we took a tour, went to the beach and played in the water, and then we had to take quick showers to be ready for dinner.
Dinner was G-R-E-A-T! I think we had all been wanting some Mexican food, and we finally got some! We had a buffet-style burrito table, and we got to make our own burritos. I put chicken, BEANS, SOUR CREAM, lettuce, and just about everything else on my burrito. It was so big, I couldn’t close it. I had to eat it like a taco salad. I felt so fat for eating that whole man-sized burrito. Oh well... it was really good! It is my favorite meal so far in South Africa. Afterwards, we hung out at the bar, socialized, drunk a few drinks, and danced a bit. It was really fun. I went to bed pretty late, and I had to wake up really early the next day to catch a ride into town to go use an ATM.
Garden Route Day 4, Tuesday Sept. 9th
After a breakfast of corn flakes and toast (AGAIN), I decided that instead of catching the van that was going into town, it would be a lot more fun to just walk. So, I walked into town on the beach. I got to the ATM, and realized that I had left my card in the room! So, I caught up with the van and let them drive me back to the room. Then, I walked into town again. Jeffrey’s Bay is a tourist place. All of the stores and stuff seemed to be geared towards tourism. There are a lot of outlet stores, but they mostly only have beach stuff. So, if you aren’t looking to buy a bathing suit, there isn’t really that much to buy. After looking around town a bit, I walked back to Island Vibe and relaxed. I sat in our backyard, watched the ocean, and listened to the music on my I-pod. It was really peaceful.
After an hour or two, it was time to go sand-boarding. So, I hopped on the van, and we went to a place further down the bay. When we arrived, the manager of the place told us to take our shoes off. I couldn’t understand why until we went into a room to talk about safety things. The room was full of sand! It didn’t have a floor. It was just sand. It was funny. After, he collected our money and told us a few safety tips, we picked out boards and headed over to the sand dunes. Sand-boarding is like snowboarding, only on sand. It is really fun! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
After we were done, we got certificates, ate, and then headed over to meet the rest of our group who had gone bungee jumping. Did I bungee jump? NO..!!! No No No! I didn’t even consider it. I would probably pee and poop on myself. They would have had to push me off! No way. After waiting for them to get done buying souvenirs and stuff, we took a pretty long drive in the rain to Jeffrey’s Bay, where we stayed at Island Vibe!
Island Vibe was my favorite place that we stayed. It was right on the beach and had a friendly staff, restaurant, bar, pool and fool’s ball tables, and a television. I shared a room with Casey, Siobhan, and Jayden in a beach house! We could see the ocean from our room. It was beautiful. The only thing I felt a little uncomfortable about was the bathroom. The bathroom in our room had no door and the shower door was see-through. Where exactly was a decent girl supposed to make #2? That presented a problem. Hahaha. I had to sneak around a find a bathroom to use. Also, we had to put up a towel to cover up the shower door when we took showers. When we arrived, we took a tour, went to the beach and played in the water, and then we had to take quick showers to be ready for dinner.
Dinner was G-R-E-A-T! I think we had all been wanting some Mexican food, and we finally got some! We had a buffet-style burrito table, and we got to make our own burritos. I put chicken, BEANS, SOUR CREAM, lettuce, and just about everything else on my burrito. It was so big, I couldn’t close it. I had to eat it like a taco salad. I felt so fat for eating that whole man-sized burrito. Oh well... it was really good! It is my favorite meal so far in South Africa. Afterwards, we hung out at the bar, socialized, drunk a few drinks, and danced a bit. It was really fun. I went to bed pretty late, and I had to wake up really early the next day to catch a ride into town to go use an ATM.
Garden Route Day 4, Tuesday Sept. 9th
After a breakfast of corn flakes and toast (AGAIN), I decided that instead of catching the van that was going into town, it would be a lot more fun to just walk. So, I walked into town on the beach. I got to the ATM, and realized that I had left my card in the room! So, I caught up with the van and let them drive me back to the room. Then, I walked into town again. Jeffrey’s Bay is a tourist place. All of the stores and stuff seemed to be geared towards tourism. There are a lot of outlet stores, but they mostly only have beach stuff. So, if you aren’t looking to buy a bathing suit, there isn’t really that much to buy. After looking around town a bit, I walked back to Island Vibe and relaxed. I sat in our backyard, watched the ocean, and listened to the music on my I-pod. It was really peaceful.
After an hour or two, it was time to go sand-boarding. So, I hopped on the van, and we went to a place further down the bay. When we arrived, the manager of the place told us to take our shoes off. I couldn’t understand why until we went into a room to talk about safety things. The room was full of sand! It didn’t have a floor. It was just sand. It was funny. After, he collected our money and told us a few safety tips, we picked out boards and headed over to the sand dunes. Sand-boarding is like snowboarding, only on sand. It is really fun! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
I was pretty decent at it too, but there were people who were a lot better than I was. I was doing pretty good until I really fell for the first time. I feel face forward…. and rolled a few times too I think. It was scary. Suddenly, I realized “Oh my god… I can hurt myself!” There are no protective pads or anything. So, I got scared for a minute and decided to take it slow. The thing is, there was no way to stop! So, when I thought I was going too fast, there was nothing I could do but fall. I also couldn’t get the hang of steering. It was very difficult but very enjoyable!
After sand-boarding, I had sand in my hair, even though I thought I had covered it up, up my nose, in my ears, and even in my pants’ pockets! I was tired too, so I took a shower and then took a little nap!
I don’t remember how/why I got up, but I did. I got up and put on some nice dinner clothes. Siobhan and Casey came back and Hally Perry and Emily came over to visit. We watched the movie “Donnie Darko” on my computer and just chilled. After a while, it was time for dinner. So, we went up to the dinner area. This time, it was steak and potatoes! It was really delicious! Who doesn’t like a good ol’ steak and some potatoes? After eating we chilled in the bar and danced again. I got to bed a little earlier this night though.
Garden Route Day 5, Wednesday Sept. 10th
We had to get up super early to pack our things and hit the road. We left Island Vibe and made our way to Addo National Park. Addo is a reservation park for the animals in the area, and they allow tours. Their biggest attraction is the elephant. They have become a sanctuary for the elephant population of Africa. We arrived on a sunny but windy day. It was the sunniest weather I had seen, so I decided to wear a little sun dress. BAD CHOICE! I was freezing. We road around in these open, big safari jeeps. The wind just blew right through them. I got so cold, that I forgot how cold I was. I was in a pissy mood too, because people kept talking. Talking scares away the animals, and I didn’t want to risk not seeing an animal because someone couldn’t hold their conversation until the end of the ride.
Nothing could take away from the magnificence that was the elephants though! We had a really good guide, and he knew exactly where the elephants would be on the large reserve. After watching them from afar, we had a herd of them cross the street right in front of us. Then, we passed by some more elephants eating on the road. One was so close to me, I could have reached out and touched her. It was cool. We also so antelope, a tortoise, and warthogs. Apparently there are other animals there too (rhinos and such) , but we didn’t see those.
After sand-boarding, I had sand in my hair, even though I thought I had covered it up, up my nose, in my ears, and even in my pants’ pockets! I was tired too, so I took a shower and then took a little nap!
I don’t remember how/why I got up, but I did. I got up and put on some nice dinner clothes. Siobhan and Casey came back and Hally Perry and Emily came over to visit. We watched the movie “Donnie Darko” on my computer and just chilled. After a while, it was time for dinner. So, we went up to the dinner area. This time, it was steak and potatoes! It was really delicious! Who doesn’t like a good ol’ steak and some potatoes? After eating we chilled in the bar and danced again. I got to bed a little earlier this night though.
Garden Route Day 5, Wednesday Sept. 10th
We had to get up super early to pack our things and hit the road. We left Island Vibe and made our way to Addo National Park. Addo is a reservation park for the animals in the area, and they allow tours. Their biggest attraction is the elephant. They have become a sanctuary for the elephant population of Africa. We arrived on a sunny but windy day. It was the sunniest weather I had seen, so I decided to wear a little sun dress. BAD CHOICE! I was freezing. We road around in these open, big safari jeeps. The wind just blew right through them. I got so cold, that I forgot how cold I was. I was in a pissy mood too, because people kept talking. Talking scares away the animals, and I didn’t want to risk not seeing an animal because someone couldn’t hold their conversation until the end of the ride.
Nothing could take away from the magnificence that was the elephants though! We had a really good guide, and he knew exactly where the elephants would be on the large reserve. After watching them from afar, we had a herd of them cross the street right in front of us. Then, we passed by some more elephants eating on the road. One was so close to me, I could have reached out and touched her. It was cool. We also so antelope, a tortoise, and warthogs. Apparently there are other animals there too (rhinos and such) , but we didn’t see those.
After about two hours of riding around looking at all the animals, we ate at the Addo restaurant. I got some really good lasagna and drank my favorite drink, Rooibos tea! After this, we hoped on the vans and headed to Knysna. It was a pretty long drive. The place we stayed at in Knysna was called Buffalo Bay. It was poop compared to the other places we had stayed in my opinion. It looked like a crab shack, and it was very cold there. The bathroom had “leavings” in them, and there was a big spider found in there too. I was more than a little upset about it. We were right by the beach, but it still was rundown. Noel and I were without a room! We were told by the managers that the room that we had reluctantly chosen would leak during a storm. And, if there’s one thing I have learned about South Africa, it’s that it often rains! So, we talked to Mike and we got put at a beach house, where a few of the other students were staying. I was more than a little happy. We ate at the crabshack though. There was lamb stew, rice, and salad. The best thing was the bread. They made some homemade, delicious bread. All of us were eating bits of it all night. It was so good. After dinner, there was a surprise! A reggae group came and performed songs for us! It was really cool. The music was really good, and guess who the first person to dance was? I had to. I can’t believe people can actually hear good music and not move to it. So, I got up and started dancing. I made Lacey dance, and Abdul dance too, even though he didn’t want to. But, HE HAS DREADLOCKS… I refused to see a person with dreadlocks not dance to reggae music. Other people started joining us, and we just danced. It was so much fun. For the rest of the night, we danced and chilled out with the reggae group.
After this, a van took some of us to the beach house. IT WAS WAY NICER THAN THAT CRABSHACK! Even though I had to take a cold shower (we didn’t know we had to turn on the water heater), I would choose a cold shower over an entire cold night any day!
Garden Route Day 6, Thursday Sept. 11th
After another cereal and toast breakfast, we had a moment of silence to remember the victims of September 11th, and then we headed to a township in Knysna for a tour of the Rastafarian section of the township called Judah Square. This township is not as “outsider-friendly” as Kayamandi back in Stellenbosch is, so we had to be escorted into the township. Our guide was a soft-spoken Rastafarian guy; he was really cool and nice. He took off his hat and he had ONE DREAD, one fat dreadlock! It was kind of surprising and funny.
He told us all about Rastafarian beliefs and about their particular Rastafarian community. He even took us inside the place where they worship and have meetings (Although, he made all the girls cover up there hair before we could go inside… women must cover their hair in their religion), a school, and in the forest where they also have meetings and stuff. They had recently gotten busted for selling marijuana (Although they had been doing it for years. The bust was random. Smoking weed is basically apart of Rastafarian culture.), but they still grow it deep in the forest. It was a nice little hike. It was a fun, learning experience. After this, there was a stand where they had Rastafarian stuff for us to buy. **EVERYTHING I BOUGHT HAS BEEN STOLEN THOUGH…. I had bought a real cool hat, a marijuana bracelet, and earrings. All gone.. someone in my program stole them oddly enough. I left them in the van on the last day and someone took them. I thought these folks were rich! But hey, I guess rich people steal all the time… George Bush, Enron, etc.**
Anyway, after this, we went back into town. Jayden and I ate at some seafood restaurant. It was really good. We ordered too much though. They had really big portions. For some reason, we ordered sushi and an order of fish and chips (fries). But, I was full before I even got done eating my sushi! I found Abdul later on and gave him my leftovers. He’s a human garbage disposal; he’s never full!
After lunch, Jayden and I headed over to a mall. It was really small, but when you haven’t been in a mall for so long, you don’t care. There were some nice little stores. We decided to stay in town a little longer than everyone else too so that we could be able to look around more and enjoy the nice day. Knysna is a really nice town. After shopping in town, we headed to a little outdoor market. I felt like I had spent too much money, so I made sure to only bring 50 rand with me ($7). So, when this guy tried to make me buy this photo album, I was like “All I have is 50 rand!” I eventually talked him down to the 50 rand. It was funny. He was trying to sell it for like 180 rand at first. Hahaha **This stuff was also stolen along with my other stuff. I bought a nice, casual, purple dress and a classy little brown dinner dress from the mall. I even bought some accessories to go with the brown dress at this little market outside. And the photo album I bought was made from banana leaves, and it was really cool. BOOOOO to whoever stole it.**
After shopping, I was driven back to the beach house. It was almost time for dinner. For dinner, we headed to a restaurant right by the water. It was a ritzy place. My appetizer was a salad, but the cheese was a little too strong on it for my liking, so I gave it to Maggie. SHE LOVES CHEESE! I had some seafood curry pasta for my main course. It was really good, but some of the seafood was a little too fresh if you know what I mean. I don’t like seeing my dead food in its shell. So, I just put the oysters aside. The curry wasn’t spicy either; it was more of a ginger, sweet taste. It was unexpected, but I liked it. For dessert, I had a chocolate mousse. It was good, but by the time we got to dessert, everyone was in a ridiculous mood. People were acting so silly. There was a cherry on everyone’s mousse, but Jayden stole Josiah’s… so he stole mine as a threat to her… then I stole it back and ate it… so he put lemon juice in my mousse. It was stupid but fun! And the mousse tasted better with a little lemon juice in it too. Hahaha. Then after much inappropriate talk on behalf of Abdul, I decided to drink a little bit. I had a few (ONLY A FEW DAD!) tequila shots. The shot glasses here are smaller than in America, so I didn’t see any danger in it.
Needless to say, I don’t remember much after this. Sorry. I think we danced, because Hestea, our director, wanted the last night to be kind of glamorous. So, she asked us (Me, Jayden, Siobhan, and Noel) to do the Cupid Shuffle, a dance we had previously tried to teach everyone nights before. I don’t quite remember much, but from the pictures, it looks like we had fun. Hahaha
After this, I remember arguing with Josiah about something… I don’t remember what exactly. I think there was music, so I might have danced ?? And I don’t remember how we got to the beach house from Buffalo Bay, the crab shack, that night. No one has told me I did anything ridiculous, so I am happy about that. But I don’t like not remembering things. I’m in SOUTH AFRICA! I want to remember every moment. So, I haven’t drank any alcohol since. Don’t worry dad.. it’s cool! I’m good! I promise!
This was the end of our Spring Break. The Garden Route was great! I had a great time. The next day, we headed back to Stellenbosch. And, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO GAVE ME ANY KIND OF MONEY! I GOT TO DO EVERYTHING I WANTED TO DO, AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANY MONEY. IT FELT SO NICE TO JUST RELAX AND WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN PRICE FOR ONCE. LIKE, YOU REALLY DON’T UNDERSTAND. I WAS AVOIDING LOOKING INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THERE WAS NOTHING IN THERE, AND WHEN I FINALLY DID AND SAW THE BALANCE, I WAS SO OVERJOYED. I hope the things that “walked-off” are returned, because a lot of the things I bought during this trip were gifts for all of you. I love everyone! See you in less than 2 months! <3 dani
There are more pictures and video, but the internet is going so slow! I will be sure to post them later!
:-D
Expect a huge update soon!
Topics...
-Spring Break
-Men, Drinking, and the Club Scene
-Heritage Day
-Meeting Desmond Tutu
-Hiking up Table Mountain
Topics...
-Spring Break
-Men, Drinking, and the Club Scene
-Heritage Day
-Meeting Desmond Tutu
-Hiking up Table Mountain
