hectic!
less than 24 hrs before the trip and it's been a hectic day. i been up since 7:30am. i had to get up early to meet the management of my possible new apartment building to show me the apartment after its been cleaned up. that fool wasn't even there. so, i had to wait around over an hour for him. then i rushed to campus to print off some stuff... got a new student id (and this one is just as much of a hot mess as the last one).. went to the campus health center.. went to wal-mart (why pay a fee at an atm when i can get something and my monies at wal-mart? gotta love "cash back").. and like 3 laundromats looking for a decent price (all to be unsure if my clothes got clean.. and an old lady stole my chair i was sitting in as soon as my back was turned when i went to put my clothes in the dryer). typing this post is literally the first time i've gotten all day to just chill. david did a full day at work and i still wasn't done with these errands. i mean, they literally took up the whole day.
so, i really haven't given much thought to the fact that i'm leaving tomorrow morning. i'm still not looking forward to this trip. my friend patrice went last year and said that everyone ran out of money! she brought almost double the amount i'm about to bring, bought no souvenirs, and still ran outta money. i'm really not trying to do that. i'm trying to come back here with money, yah feel me? i am really stressed about it, but i think i can do it. do you know why? cause anyone who knows me, even for a short amount of time, knows that i can eat cereal everyday and be absolutely happy.. lol. i'm on a strict budget. no more than 60 TT$ a day. and unless its a detriment to the group, i will avoid spending at all costs. however, going to see the new harry potter flick DOES fit in my budget . lol.
well... my next post will come from trinidad and tobago!! <3
so, i really haven't given much thought to the fact that i'm leaving tomorrow morning. i'm still not looking forward to this trip. my friend patrice went last year and said that everyone ran out of money! she brought almost double the amount i'm about to bring, bought no souvenirs, and still ran outta money. i'm really not trying to do that. i'm trying to come back here with money, yah feel me? i am really stressed about it, but i think i can do it. do you know why? cause anyone who knows me, even for a short amount of time, knows that i can eat cereal everyday and be absolutely happy.. lol. i'm on a strict budget. no more than 60 TT$ a day. and unless its a detriment to the group, i will avoid spending at all costs. however, going to see the new harry potter flick DOES fit in my budget . lol.
well... my next post will come from trinidad and tobago!! <3
trinidad and tobago bound
wow. since the last time i wrote on here, i've been to las vegas, nyc, new orleans... been in a couple of forests... and ran through a couple of airport terminals (i saw soulja boy in the detroit airport. he is very very small. tiny even.). i've graduated and i live in louisville, kentucky while i go to graduate school here. louisville...it's aight. but now comes something to travel blog about... i'm going to be studying abroad in trinidad and tobago for about 2 weeks. i leave thursday!
i'm kind of not even excited about it. for one, there's all these rules. in south africa, i could basically do whatever i wanted as long as i wasn't purposely putting myself in serious danger. it was a real experience, you know? i got to explore on my own a lot... i essentially got to live somewhere. but, the director of this trip has already laid out some ridiculous rules... such as: i have to travel in pairs at all times, i have to stay in a group and make group decisions about stuff i want to do, and i have to absolutely be on time wherever i go but i have to be flexible because everyone in charge of me can/will be late. it's definitely got the feel of a field trip NOT a study abroad. there's a damn schedule. WE WERE BASICALLY TOLD NOT TO DRINK TOO. what the hell?
another negative is that i also am basically poor. i mean, i have money... i have it. it's just that i'm about to move soon and there's all these little variables that i cannot control that i have to be mindful of.. such as, i have to pay like 3 months of utilities because the person i live with decided to just keep the utilities to herself while she was gone for the summer... and also, unless she finds a roommate for august, i'm going to have to pay august rent in a place i don't really plan on living in... although, i'm painfully tossing around the idea of staying in the apartment in august so i wont be paying 2 full rents. blah. so, i have to save save save. i don't know if i'll be doing many food posts... it's looking like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich type of trip.. lol. chips and salsa. i've been secretly wishing the trip would get canceled... i've been wishing it for about..... .. .. 2 or 3 months now. i've obviously been unsuccessful.
the only positive is the students i'm going with are super cool and i'm looking forward to seeing them outside of the purely academic setting. it's a small group (5 in all) and everyone's nice and determined to have fun. i'm not going to say we seem like rule breakers... bbbutttttttttt.... we seem like people who don't like to get in trouble unless we think it's worth it. lol.
i'm kind of not even excited about it. for one, there's all these rules. in south africa, i could basically do whatever i wanted as long as i wasn't purposely putting myself in serious danger. it was a real experience, you know? i got to explore on my own a lot... i essentially got to live somewhere. but, the director of this trip has already laid out some ridiculous rules... such as: i have to travel in pairs at all times, i have to stay in a group and make group decisions about stuff i want to do, and i have to absolutely be on time wherever i go but i have to be flexible because everyone in charge of me can/will be late. it's definitely got the feel of a field trip NOT a study abroad. there's a damn schedule. WE WERE BASICALLY TOLD NOT TO DRINK TOO. what the hell?
another negative is that i also am basically poor. i mean, i have money... i have it. it's just that i'm about to move soon and there's all these little variables that i cannot control that i have to be mindful of.. such as, i have to pay like 3 months of utilities because the person i live with decided to just keep the utilities to herself while she was gone for the summer... and also, unless she finds a roommate for august, i'm going to have to pay august rent in a place i don't really plan on living in... although, i'm painfully tossing around the idea of staying in the apartment in august so i wont be paying 2 full rents. blah. so, i have to save save save. i don't know if i'll be doing many food posts... it's looking like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich type of trip.. lol. chips and salsa. i've been secretly wishing the trip would get canceled... i've been wishing it for about..... .. .. 2 or 3 months now. i've obviously been unsuccessful.
the only positive is the students i'm going with are super cool and i'm looking forward to seeing them outside of the purely academic setting. it's a small group (5 in all) and everyone's nice and determined to have fun. i'm not going to say we seem like rule breakers... bbbutttttttttt.... we seem like people who don't like to get in trouble unless we think it's worth it. lol.
I'm Horrible..
And here's why...
I'VE BEEN BACK IN THE STATES FOR MONTHS now! I got back November 22 and haven't updated my blog. I'm horrible.
Anyway, I'm back from South Africa. I am still soaking up all of my experiences there. After about 2 weeks, I was ready to go back.
It was weird at first. I was walking through the airport, sick from Delta Airline food, and I was just thinking "Oh my god! These people are speaking English!!!!" And, I was eavesdropping on everyone's conversations. It was just crazy.
When I first saw David, my boyfriend, I thought, "Who is this guy?" I had gotten so used to him just being a memory or a face on the computer screen. There was this weird, unique sensation that I cannot describe. Honestly, it took my a few hours to be like, "Ok, I remember you!"
Anyway, I am back. Back at school... back into the monotony that is Vanderbilt University. I cannot find a part-time job for the present NOR a full time job for after graduation. I want to be back in South Africa where the $1 I have in my wallet would be worth 10Rand!!
I'VE BEEN BACK IN THE STATES FOR MONTHS now! I got back November 22 and haven't updated my blog. I'm horrible.
Anyway, I'm back from South Africa. I am still soaking up all of my experiences there. After about 2 weeks, I was ready to go back.
It was weird at first. I was walking through the airport, sick from Delta Airline food, and I was just thinking "Oh my god! These people are speaking English!!!!" And, I was eavesdropping on everyone's conversations. It was just crazy.
When I first saw David, my boyfriend, I thought, "Who is this guy?" I had gotten so used to him just being a memory or a face on the computer screen. There was this weird, unique sensation that I cannot describe. Honestly, it took my a few hours to be like, "Ok, I remember you!"
Anyway, I am back. Back at school... back into the monotony that is Vanderbilt University. I cannot find a part-time job for the present NOR a full time job for after graduation. I want to be back in South Africa where the $1 I have in my wallet would be worth 10Rand!!
Old.. very old.. Trip to Cape Point and Boulder's Beach
Me and Jayden at Cape Point on a rock on the beach.
I have been waiting for Jayden to give me some pictures of this trip for ages. This trip happened so long ago, that I really don’t remember it that well. We went to Cape Point and Boulder’s Beach. First we went to Cape Point; Jayden and I hiked all the way to the lighthouse there, then hiked all the way down to the beach. I had a sinus infection at the time, so it was hard to breath, but I was determined to see and do all that I could while there.There were many baboons there, and the park rangers had sling shots and had to chase them away. The baboons were crafty too. In the past, they had gotten into the store there. Also, while we were there, one of them got in the car with this man who was on the phone. You couldn’t eat any food outside or anything, otherwise they’d come up and steal it. The waves at the beach were treacherous. One of our drivers told us a story about a guy on a family trip who had recently drowned there. Those were REAL waves. After Cape Point, we went to Boulder’s Beach and ate. After eating, we went to see penguins. Penguins are not as cute in person as they are on television. They stink, and they make an annoying sound. They weren’t really interesting, so I decided to swim instead.
Only a few people decided to swim, which amazed me, because I know more than a few people had their bathing suits on underneath their clothes. Jayden somehow talked me into jumping off this rock into the water. I been telling EVERYONE since I got here "I don't know how to swim. I just know how to stay alive in the water." The water was too cold to just slowly get into, so I had to jump. It was scary. I freaked out. The water was FREEZING. And, the waves were coming in; I wasn't used to waves while swimming. I'm used to swimming in a pool. Then, some sea weed wrapped around my leg. I freaked out! I started pushing Jayden's head under the water because the rock was too slippery to hold on to. I had to hold on to something. Hahaha.. sorry Jayden! I mean, I was really tripping.
This is at Boulder's Beach. Just look at me. I was so scared! That rock was cutting me up too!
I'm glad I did it though, because after that, I got in the water again and became more comfortable with the ocean.
Afterwards, we were supposed to stop at a winery, but I mean, once you've seen one winery, you've seen them all. So, some people decided to go on back home, including me. I also wasn't in the best of moods...To make it even worse, my stuff was locked up in Maggie's room, who had decided she wanted to go to the winery. So, I had to wait, wet and cold, for her to get back. Then, when she got back, she couldn't find the keys to her room, so I had to wait even longer. It was a complete mess. It was just one of those extreme days that start off promising, but end horribly.
I had fun though, and I learned a lot about other people that day.
Us taking a "jumping on the beach" photo at Cape Point.
