Hey everyone! We have been in Africa for a few days now. It has been quite the experience already. Shawn told you about “awesome” bush camp was. The food wasn’t great but it was pretty good. Shawn’s eating habits have definitely changed. I am already picky. I feel like everything tastes different, even though it is the same. I definitely dislike the meat here even more than in America. We are pretty much living off of PB & J, yogurt, and the snacks we brought for the plane. The grocery store has pretty much everything we need. They have some American brands and some that we have never seen before. There is a little complex about 30 minutes walk right by the ocean that has a café and a grocery store. We have been there a couple of times. Here is the rundown so far…..
Thursday: Arrived at Annie’s Cove. We tried to get organized but we were pretty much just overwhelmed. I (Alyssa) may or may not have had a slight mental breakdown. We were exhausted. I went to bed early!
Friday: We left for bush camp at about ten. We rode in these buses out into the Addo area. We were super thirsty from not wanting to drink the water at Annies. It got really hot and humid. On our drive we passed a lot of the township/shantytown areas. It is one thing to see this in pictures and movies and quite another to witness it firsthand. We noticed government-issued solar panels on top of many of the “houses” so at least they are hopefully receiving adequate electricity. There were also sporadic shacks located around the bush. I wondered how far the people that lived there would have to talk to get supplies. There were donkeys, goats, cattle, and chickens roaming the areas as well. The smell was pretty distinct, even from the road. It was crazy to see because these places are situated in such beautiful scenery. There is the awesome African bush with mountains beyond. We drove for about an hour and half before we reached the reptile farm. We have all learned pretty quickly that safety restrictions in Africa are pretty nonexistent. (I have SUPER awesome pictures to post later) After the reptile experience we headed to the bush camp. We all were sweaty and had to PILE in the back of this tractor. I am not exaggerating when I say we were like cattle being hauled. It was miserable an experience I will never forget! After the tractor ride we still had to walk down a little hill to reach the camp. For lunch we had Chicken curry with rice and salad. I didn’t eat the chicken but it was still pretty good. It started pouring but we still went to our “accommodation.” I stayed in a tent with Sarah (from New York) and Kristin (from UNI). Shawn got the privilege of sleeping on the bottom of the three person bunk but at least he was in a cabin. We then just played some get to know you games and things inside. Our three main leaders were Coach, Mano, and Smiley. They are three South African guys who were a lot of fun. …Oh and we had this vegetables, meat and rice for supper. Again, I didn’t eat the meat but the veggies were pretty good.
Saturday: It rained. A lot. We did more team-building type games and just hung out. We were all soaked in mud. Again, sanitation is not really an issue. After our meals we would wash our dishes all in the same buckets of water. It was pretty gross but whatever…we are in Africa. They had a zipline into the Sundays River that was pretty cool (though there was really no safety at all!) Shawn did that but I was worried about the sketchy water! Shawn got a thorn in his foot that was really painful. The view by the river was gorgeous though. We saw monkeys in the wild for the first time ever so that was pretty cool. For supper we had a traditional South African meal. Shawn will have to explain it to himself. He had Kudu sausage. I had more vegetables. You could look and see the mountains beyond. We had a REALLY long day. I was super tired. It was fun but we were all really ready to get back to Annies.
Sunday: We woke up and had breakfast at camp. I woke up to SWOLLEN eyes. I still don’t know if it was caused by a bite or my sunburn or what. My whole face was puffy and the swelling was affecting my vision! It was funny. (It is still a little swollen but I was able to put my contacts in Monday morning) I also found out that Shawn kept all of the guys in his cabin up because of his snoring. Welcome to my world! We then tried to pack up our stuff. After that, we took the same hike and crazy tractor ride to get back to the “road”. On our way we ran into four boys about 5 or 6 years old. I felt really uncomfortable because everyone started taking pictures of them like they were a tourist attraction. I don’t know. It was just tough to watch. I mean they are real, human, children. Not just a sad story or picture. After that we got on the buses and headed back to PE. Again, we passed the same little shanty towns and other areas. Once we got to PE we were smelly and tired. We all took showers and then made our first adventure to the Pick-n-Pay. The Pick-n-Pay is the grocery store/café area right by the ocean. It is a pretty long walk from Annies. (When I say we I mean Shawn, myself and bunch of other Americans!). We sat at Friends and ate and were able to talk to our parents. It was early there but our only chance for internet. We then went and bought some groceries and our first bottle of South African wine. It was pretty good but not great! We rode the minibus home. They are these crazy little buses with guys hanging out the window yelling. I was super intimidated but it went pretty smooth. You can pretty much get anywhere in them for R7 (about $1). You don’t want to take them at night or by yourself though. I met my roomate. Her name is Suzette and she is from South Africa. She is really nice and super helpful. Sunday night when we got back to Annies I was tired and didn’t feel too awesome. I went to bed early. Shawn stayed up and chatted with some friends.
Monday: We woke up early because we had orientation. We were only there for about an hour and didn’t really learn too much information. Shawn went with some guys to the Pick-n-Pay to get a phone (which we still don’t have!) I went with the girls back to Annies. We changed and put on our suits to hit the beach. It was a long 45 minute walk. The beach was AMAZING. It is so gorgeous. We also saw a ton of dolphins super close to shore. Africa is so underrated! I sat and read for a while and got FRIED again. I seriously put on sunscreen every 15 minutes. I am not exaggerating. At all. After the beach we went back to Annies. I read some more and just relaxed. We then went to our first rugby match! On our walk there…my shoe broke. There I was, walking with one shoe off on the streets of South Africa. I was not very happy and neither were my feet! It was okay though because once we were there Shawn tied my shoe together and worked pretty well. The rugby match was pretty fun. There was a HUGE group of students doing an African cheer that was really awesome. Seriously, they were harmonizing. At the beach earlier that day we met Claire. She is from South Africa and super nice. After the rugby match she took us to Barneys. Barneys is a pub near the boardwalk. It was packed because everyone was there after the game. We didn’t stay and Claire just drove us all back to Annies. When she was dropping us off the police came because she was kind of parked in the road. They were super sketchy. It was easy to see the corruption of the police in action. Once back at Annies a bunch of us made spaghetti and these cheesy bread things. It was interesting cooking with our little toaster oven with burners on top. We stayed up talking and eating until about 11 and then went to bed.
Tuesday (so far): We woke up early again to go to campus for more orientation. Campus is huge and really confusing. However, we found where we needed to go. Registering for classes was quite the ordeal. I still don’t really know what I am taking! We then ate some food in the restaurant area. We burgers and fries. I didn’t eat the burger but the fries were pretty good! We took a really long campus tour. We walked for over an hour and barely saw any of campus. Shawn and Patrick are going to Greenacres to try and get a phone and some pillows. I am sitting at Friends with a bunch of other girls. It is actually a little chilly today.
Sorry this is so long everyone. There is so much going on and I had to catch up. I think we are going to try and get internet at Annies so the posts will hopefully be more frequent. We miss you all a ton. It is still a little surreal. Everything is new! I have learned that things that seem simple are pretty complicated and things that seem complicated are sometimes pretty simple. It is pretty weird to be living in Africa and facing challenges everyday but pretty exciting too.
WE LOVE YOU!!
PS-Mom & Dad-HAVE FUN IN HAWAII!! Bruce & Niecer-Thanks for the email! Morgan-I will talk to you soooon!!!
PSS-I will try and post pictures soon!!!!
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