So world, can she do it?

Okay, here is the deal: I'm headed out of the country soon and I want to be mostly-basically seriously entirely finished with this blog by the time I leave. That means that I need to do some major backlog posting from all the LOADS of events that happened in April; namely, the Eastern Cape trip and the Guguletu homestay.

This post will cover the E. Cape trip. Note: I have lost the memory card to my digital camera, so I was unable to take photos of a lot of this trip. Other friends took photos of me, and I did buy a disposable, so I have "hardcopies", and I've also included links, where available, to the various locations we went to, to give you an idea.
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Eastern Cape Trip

Saturday - Day One

Today most involved road travel. The morning was interesting because it was me and all of my luggage wandering all over Diep River, because I had to return DVDs to the DVD shop and I didn't want to return them and THEN walk back to the flat to get my luggage and set out again. I have to say that it was really nice to get away from the city and experience more of the countryside--fed my soul. Still not a city-preferential person at heart, I guess! ;-)

We did go to Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn, and they were lovely, although they've been badly damaged by tourists over the centuries--the first graffiti showed up in the late 1800s! Yes, the little wags decided to put the date below their names. *rolls eyes*

http://www.cangocaves.co.za/ - we did the basic tour, because we didn't arrive in time for the adventure course.

Afterwards, we settled into these nice chalets in this greenish-mossy mountainous region and then drove back into Oudtshoorn for this small national arts festival. It was an Afrikaner festival, which was interesting, because even half of the food signs were in Afrikaans. Also, unlike in a European setting, we didn't stand out because everyone was dressed casually, so people would come up and speak to us in Afrikaans--leaving us clueless, because we don't know that much. Fortunately they were really laid-back and helpful. Of course, the excess amounts of alcohol probably helped. ;-) Char even managed to get this one guy from this group to do a round-up for her (the guys were amicably begging for spare rands for beer, so she decided to make them work for it.. *shakes head and laughs* ).

Sunday - Day 2

Today was up ridiculously early and on the road to Knysna. Blergh. On this whole, 10-day trip, we only slept in twice. Anyway, another lovely countryside bus ride to Knysna. Knysna has this small lake/harbour area, and then there are the Knysna heads, which are these cliffs jutting out over a narrow passageway into the sea. Quite beautiful.

http://www.featherbed.co.za/ -we did the ecotour stuff.

We had a ferry ride out into the lake, and then a guided tram ride up to the top of the western head(according to tram guide, lots of South African plants are fantastically useful--we kept wondering amongst ourselves "where's the poison ivy? Where's the NON-useful, helpful plants? Do they not have them here?" Cynical, curious Americans, I guess. ;-) ). Then we hiked down the head, and back to the ferry area, which was this beautiful series of covered wooden decks built among the trees and things--very cool! Had a really amazing lunch there: lots of salads and meats and starches and desserts and fruits. I had two granadilla, which is a tart, refreshing piece of plant matter better known as passionfruit in the US.

After Knysna, we went to a beachside backpackers lodge, where we chilled, napped, played pool, etc. Supper was a braai. ;-)

Monday - Day 3

Up and at them early in the morning and off to Bloukrans Bungy, the tallest bungee jump in the world. No, I didn't jump; I like the sensation of flying, not falling. It would have been a waste of money for me. However, I rode a really fun zip line across the gorge to the bridge, and I was able to stay there and watch everyone ELSE jump. Nothing like vibing off other people's highs and praying for their safety! ;-)

http://www.faceadrenalin.com/ - Bungee jump--I did the "flying fox"

After the jump, we drove on to Addo Elephant park, where yes, we saw lots of elephants and warthogs and gemsbok and rooibok and other kinds of "boks"(antelopes). Ostriches aplenty too--ostriches actually are becoming really common to us, if not quite passe. We suppered at the part restaurant, where my highlight was getting garlic-butter snails. I like snails. Snails are a lot more common and acceptable as an appetizer here than in the States. Sad.

Our lodging that night was at Aardvark.

http://theaardvarkbackpackers.co.za/

I stayed with Heather in a rondavel-like structure that was actually much nicer than a real rondavel: double bed, en suite bathroom facilities, floor, etc. The place didn't have the greatest atmosphere though--not sure about the owners, didn't seem to be a happy couple. :-\

Tuesday - Day 4

Up early again, and on the road to Buccaneers Backpackers Lodge. There was some gorgeous scenery here--a lot reminded me of the Appalachian Region, and the farms in Centre county.

http://www.cintsa.com/index2.asp

Upon arriving at the lodge, we had a chance to unpack, have lunch(every day there lunch was pizza and salad, so I had...salad...it was really GOOD salad, with feta cheese and all kinds of veg, and I LOVE salad but still...just salad on a busy schedule...I had to learn some gratefulness there) and then headed out for a four-hour safari at the Inkwenkwezi wildlife park. That was a lot of fun--in the classic open-air dune buggy sort of thing. The park was really huge, so two hours into the trip we were like miles away from the centre, with all this bush between us and animals. It started raining, but fortunately they had ponchos and wonderfully warm wool blankets. We saw white lions! So cool. Ended up back at the centre after dark and had a decent meal, then back to Bucs for some sleep!

Wednesday - Day 5

I must make note of the really great breakfast spread this place had. Mostly throughout the trip we breakfasted on muesli and yogurt and nuts and takeaway of various kinds. However, at Bucs we had the options of a traditional hot English breakfast, or a selection of fresh fruit and plain yogurt and toast and cereals and tomatoes--or both! And the breakfast room deck had this bench/table built right into the railing, so you could eat while looking out onto the lagoon and ocean. Not a bad way to wake up!

Today was 3-hour horseback riding on the beach! SO much fun--I never knew it was so much work to ride a horse! I'm hooked though, even though I fell off. It was partly the horse's fault, because she freaked because another horse freaked and then I was trying to stay on and neither me or the horse managed to recover our balance. Fortunately I felt on a nice mound of sand, so no harm done, just a lot of soreness the next day from both the ride and the fall!

During this ride, Ari had a really bad allergy reaction and had to leave(she knew she was allergic and forgot to take her tablets). Char had a bad reaction too, which was really surprising, because she's NOT allergic--we think some of the horse sweat got into a rubbed sore spot on her leg, and that mixed with whatever saddle chemicals--she had to go the doctor because she was all swollen up and not breathing. :-( Scary, but God was in control!

The rest of the day we chilled out, which was nice after all the traveling! Did some serious beachcombing with Heather--we're eco-friendly beachcombers who take the absolute minimum of shells and throw back the usabel ones for the hermit crabs. ;-)

Thursday - Day 6

Yes, up again early. Today was out into Transkei area ("Kei" is a river, "trans" means across). We went kloofing--well, they did. I rowed the boat and I climbed up the rocks and then I climbed back down and eased into the water. I'm not good at diving, and I didn't think this was the day to start learning. Plus, I was ridiculously sore from the horse riding and falling. Then we went to Mama Tofu's for an "Authentic Xhosa Village Experience." *snorts* Okay, it was really decent and nice, for what it was. I picked up a few Xhosa words as well, although I had trouble with some of the clicks. We stayed the night there in a more natural rondavel--no ensuite bathroom facilities, and well, there was a floor: dirt! ;-)

http://www.khayalabantu.co.za/ - Xhosa Village experience website

Friday - Day 7

Woke up, some more Xhosa cultural education, and then out for a "leisurely mountain bike ride for all levels." True, in that we did all make it back to Bucs. And they did fit us out really nice with water bottles and had a truck skimming the roads for any people who genuinely couldn't make it. Today, I was even more sore than yesterday, because there was also the kloofing/hiking stuff. I saw the bike, winced, and--only God saw me through those threeish hours. I was NOT going on the truck unless I really, absolutely HAD to--and I didn't, as long as I took things slow and walked some of the steepest hills and didn't mind being in the very back most of the trip! ;-) It was really pretty countryside, and "only" about 13 miles to bike--honestly, if I had been in better shape--but fresh off finals week, nada. Yay for God-power getting you through the otherwise impossible!

After arriving at Bucs, I hurt. All over. So I ate, then creaked up to my bed and flopped. And journaled. And dozed. And then prayed. Did devos. Then chatted with people and Steve-O (I praise God that we were able to keep in contact for most of this trip, to one degree or another. It really helped a lot), and then supper, which was a braai. I really need to go back over all my posts and count up the amount of braais. Then sleep.

Saturday - Day 8

Got to sleep in today! Yaaaaaay! :-D Then on the road to Jeffrey's Bay, a more touristy area than Cintsa. Started seriously journalling more of the trip--it was also at this time that Char definitively decided to go home early. We stayed at a backpacker's lodge right on the beach, but it was too cold to swim, so we chilled and went out for supper and then slept.

Sunday - Day 9

Slept in again! Wo0t! After breakfast (spread similar to Bucs), we went to the outlets for Billabong and Quicksilver, etc. I ended up getting a shirt for equivalent $20ish, but it's a really nice shirt that I'll actually wear, so that counts for something. ;-) Also, bought these super-sweet all-leather handmade sandals, that were made by the shop owner's husband--they look very medievalish. Too bad it's mostly been too cold to wear them here! Oh well. Then on the road again, and Char and Colleen did something called "tree-swinging", a treeline canopy tour consisting of ten zip lines of varying lengths. Sounded cool, but I was out of money, and *shrugs* no regrets over my morning purchases. I'll have to do that sometime in the future!

Meanwhile, those of us who weren't tree-swinging were supposed to have lunch at Tsitsikamma National park, then go on a hike. However, firstly they seated us on the deck, and it was a cold, wet, windyish day. Then it took 20 mins to get menus, another 20ish minutes to order drinks (and, we insisted, food), and then about another two HOURS to get our food! Meh. They were overcrowded and mismanaged, and we tried to keep our tempers, and often walked into the gift shop to get warm, because there was really no where else to go. The cool thing was that, as we were getting our food and tempers were fraying the most, suddenly praise and worship music came on the restaurant radio! How cool was that? It's so neat how God looks after His kids.

Then it was on to our final lodge, Antlers!

http://www.antlers.co.za/

We stayed in the big units, not the chalets, but still, it was really nice and they gave us extra towels and blankets. We toured the area, then set out for supper at Enrico's. This Italian restaurant on the beach SO made up for lunch--we had a warm, welcoming supper, complete with great appetizers. Actually, the appetizers... *laughs* Okay, so every else got this puffy bread, and I got a nice salad. They also put out little metal pots of garlic & oil and what LOOKED like pesto--and, since I can't have salad dressing, I liberally covered my salad in both condiments. It turns out the green stuff was green chilies instead...and Nene doesn't do spices very well...er...yeah, that was an experience I never want to have again! I didn't even REALIZE it was the chilies until I had finished most of the salad--I kept slogging through it because, well, I like salad..? :-\ *sighs* Live and learn!

Monday - Day 10

Up crazily early, and somehow ate a lot of the most protein-heavy breakfast I've ever had (eggs and boerwors and regular sausage and bacon--also grilled tomatoes and toast, if anyone wanted those), and it was good and set with a lovely service by one of the owners...but bleeeergh, heavy on the stomach on the bus ride. No regrets though! Then on the road for the long haul back to Cape Town. By this point we're all just wanting to get off the bus, stop moving, and eat regular food out of a refrigerator instead of takeaway or restaurants. We get home safely. I hug my bed. The end!
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Woosh! Okay, now for a lunch break!

Weeeeeek...wait, I forgot...um...oh, whatever...

Hello world! Life has been crazy lately. First there was the 10-day trip to the Eastern Cape, and then a brief, frantic 4-5 day period finishing a research paper, and then another Sunday-to-Sunday stayaway in Tambo village, a poor township in between Manenburg and Guguletu. I'm finally back from all of that amazing, glorious stuff--and return to a massive allergie reaction AND events almost every day! Yikes!

It's really odd to think that two weeks from today I will be boarding a South Africa Airways flight that will start me off to Pennsylvania. The first of the study abroad students left yesterday, and is likely in the air as I type this entry. Her name is Charlotte and she's been one of the few people I have really connected with here in South Africa. Due to my own introverted nature and, well, general principles of disagreement, I have not managed to form especially strong friendships here in good ol' SA, which isn't something I really regret. Rather, it makes me rethink how people come into and out of each others lives. A friend told me once that some friends are just for a season, and others just go with you wherever you are. I seem to make far more seasonal friends, I suppose. However, Facebook makes even defining seasonal friends vs. long-term friends difficult, since you can really find out about and keep in touch with anyone. There's almost a (true? false?) sense of intimacy inherent in the networking site. Hmmm.

However, I'll definitely miss her over the next few weeks, as she's someone I've come to associate with South Africa. Her departure has caused me to focus more on reconnecting with people Stateside meself--by the way, if anyone wants me to give them a call, they need to please message me with their phone number, because I can't access Geneva's intranet from over here. Thanks! I'll have the time, so I might as well.

Let's see, what else do I have to do...oh yes! Figure out the whole mess with the local hospital and insurance, because I still haven't been reimbursed from when I got sick in February. This whole ordeal has grown me, I'll admit, but at the same time, I seriously am going to work my hardest to just NOT get sick. Eish!

Lisa's 21st birthday party was yesterday. 21st birthday parties are big deals in South Africa--akin to an American Sweet Sixteen or even a graduation party. The drinking age is 18, so that doesn't really come into play. Instead, there is this big party with family and friends invited over, and the Guest of Honor requests various people to make speeches. Then the G.O.H. is given a key, often part of a ceremonial plaque when that can be afforded; this key symbolizes their independence from their family. They can come and go from the house whenever they like, without needing anyone's permission. Also, according to my friend Abbie "it means the parents are telling them to get out. They can leave now." That doesn't mean people do leave their parents house, but it's a nice thought.

I think I would like to do that for my 21st birthday. Then again, I've never known Americans to be big fans of making speeches or any of that stuff, and I've never successfully managed to get people over to my place for a party. Ever. *sighs* C'mon, the 21st has got to be special enough for that! :-p I'll figure something out. I've already figured out that the food theme will be Mexican and Tex-Mex, because those are two items I cannot get here in South Africa. I've actually taken to popping into "Mexican" joints just for amusement's sake--they commonly serve veggie burgers, chips, curry! *laughs* I've even seen an advert for a lentil burrito! Now THAT is fusion cuisine! It makes sense, because Mexico is so far away, but I still miss it.

Okay, the difference between a South Africa braai and an American barbeque:

Braais traditionally should use wood for the fire, although charcoal is common nowadays. There is a concept known as a "bring-a-braai" where everyone brings a good amount of a certain kind of meat and it's all cooked up and thrown together so everyone can try some of everyone else's. One of the central aspects of a braai is boerwors, that wonderfully rich, flavorful, fatty sausage that is IMPOSSIBLE to get in the United States. Other meats include chops, ribs, steak, and chicken; local fish such as snoek or hake can also be braaied. Side dishes include the typical green and potato salads, but also pap, the pasty maize dish, with "smoor", a savory tomato-onion topping that is really delicious. Sosaties or kebabs, can also be a part of a braai. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions may also be wrapped in foil and stuck among the hot ashes or coals and cooked. Another thing I've discovered about braais is that they never, ever start on time. Seriously. This is the reason one brings a snack along or hope someone else thought to bring crisps or something, because when people say "the braai is at 5:30 pm" what they really mean is that "we're going to start heating up the charcoal for the fire at 5:30 pm. The actual meat may not be done until 7 or 7:30 pm." Braais take place in a very relaxed atmosphere, and can happen, rain or shine--even having the braaimaster(usually a guy, and only one guy) outside cooking the meat in the cold, and then bringing it in to tbe enjoyed with the rest of the dishes.

Now, some of these customs are similar to the US barbeque. However, in the US typical meats include hotdogs, hamburgers, and bratwurst. In South Africa, hotdogs are "viennas" and it never occurs to anyone to stick them on the braai--the braai is for real meat. Hamburger patties are a Western idea as well. In addition, in the US there is a distinct lack of mealie pap in any form, which is quite distressing to me, as this is a really delicious dish that needs to enjoy a wider following (unless you're allergie to corn). I guess there's also the idea of abundance in a braai--you should always have more than enough to feed everyone, and latecomers, and surprise guests, and still have leftovers in the fridge. Perhaps it's part of the ubuntu concept sneaking over.

In the end, I suppose my preference for braais over barbeques is for personal reasons: I like boerwors and "real meat" better than hamburgers and viennas; I really like pap and smoor; and I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of a braai. *shrugs*

Anyway, I need to get to other stuff now. Posts about the E. Cape Trip and Guguletu will be forthcoming. Until then:

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." -2 Corinthians 13:14

Byes!