England with Marie

Miraculously finding Marie in London – June 24^th 2011.

I left South Africa around noon on the 23^rd to fly to Johannesburg and then on to London that evening. I hung out with Jan and Adrian in the airport and later Hanna from Norway came and Marius. So we had a nice little group of foreigners to hang out with. But I had been chatting with Marie and she said that she would come to London by bus and we would stay there for a couple of days. So we facebooked back and forth and she said that she would give me more details soon about where to meet and such. Well it was a couple of days before I was supposed to fly out and I hadn’t heard the more details. She had just said something about meeting at Victoria station around 10 because that is when she got in. I asked and she didn’t respond. I was a little nervous but was like oh well I guess I will figure it out. I checked my emails and facebook at the airport and still nothing. So I got on the plane not knowing anything but it didn’t even bother me for some reason. I was just excited to be able to see some movies. So Adrian and I were on the same flight, so that was pretty cool to know someone kind of randomly. The flight lasted about 12 hours. 

We finally landed. I got my bags and went to get my passport stamped. The lady started asking me 20 questions of which none of them I could answer. She asked how long are you staying? I said um like 5 days. She asked who I was staying with and I said my cousin from Bradford. Do you have her address? No. Do you have her phone number? No. Who are you staying with here in London? I don’t know. (I was hoping Marie did!) I said I am sorry I don’t know this information but that I was hoping to find it out when I got into airport and used the Internet. She said no that is fine, I wish you luck, stamped my passport and handed it back. I said thanks and was starting to get a bit worried, but still nothing to bad. It would work our right? It had to? So I headed to check the Internet hoping Marie had responded. I was beginning to think maybe she forgot about me.. which I mean really how could she forget about her favorite cousin? I got on and she had commented on my post that said I hope I can find Marie because I don’t really know where to meet her. So she had written I told you VICOTRIA COACH STATION in big bold letters. I didn’t know why she was being so sarcastic or why she had thought she had told me because I had never gotten anything. But I was like welp I guess we will give this a try. So I sat around for a bit not wanting to get to the coach station to early. I met a family from New Mexico, which might have just made my day. I then went upstairs (after talking to the information desk) to get a bus into the coach station. 

Well, conveniently my card didn’t work. I am pretty sure my dad has told the bank like 12 times where I am and where I am going. But they still love to block my account, which I guess is both good and bad. I was very impressed by the kind ladies working the desk. They were willing to let me call my bank, which ended up not working. Then the lady said that I should try the Internet. After I told her I had no money and my card didn’t work, she was happy to let me use their computer behind the desk. She just turned it around and got me to google. I tried to sign on to my bank account but it wouldn’t work because they didn’t have the latest version of whatever program is need to run it. So instead I got on to my email and emailed my dad that I urgently needed him to call the bank and tell them to unlock my card. I also found out that my mom’s cousin, Natasha from California, was also in London and she wanted to meet up. So I wrote down her phone number, used my dad’s credit card (for emergencies only) to pay for the bus ticket, and headed into town to find Marie. I got on the bus around 9:30 and they said I would get there around 10:30, which was after we said we were going to meet. But I thought well hopefully she won’t leave and will wait until she finds me. I got to the coach station and no Marie. I asked the lady at the information desk what time the bus got in from Bradford and she said right around 10. Great.. had she already left? 

Mind you I have two suitcases and big bad with a sling strap and also my bookbag and all of it was filled with glass from my stained glass class. So IT WAS HEAVY. I started walking around the station, then outside of it and then over to the one where the people depart. I walked up and down and couple of times and was about ready to give up or try to the Victoria train station when I happened upon her. She was walking out of the doors as I was about to walk in. I don’t think there has been a happier time on my trip – 1. Because I hadn’t seen her in about a year and 2. Because I found her! I was getting worried that I wouldn’t. I remember thinking if only she had given me her phone number I could have called her (using someone else’s phone since there were apparently a lot of nice people in London). But we found each other and immediately starting talking about why she didn’t give me more info. But she said.. I did! I sent it to you on Facebook and I said nope never got it. Later when we were at her place we realized that it showed up on her Facebook that she had sent it but that it was no where to be found on my facebook. So we decided that anything important must be sent my email because Facebook and Mark Zuckerburg must hate us! But all in all I was right, we found each other and it all worked out!


London with Marie.  

We walked all around London for a couple of days. Seeing all the old historic buildings, peaking into a couple art museums, sitting in on an Anglican service, and eating out at a pub. We stayed with a lovely old gentleman with a good and proper accent. We of course drank our fill of tea and ate crumpets. The weather was actually quite wonderful and it only sprinkled once – I don’t quite understand what the hype is about England being so dreary. It seemed pretty nice to me. I especially loved that the sun was up from about 4 in the morning till 11 at night (well until I wanted to sleep in – then it wasn’t so great!) I got to see the Westminster Abbey, the London Bridge, The Eye (a big Farris Wheel), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament and many more that I can’t even remember.

The first night there Marie took me to a pub and we ate some delicious food for only 25 dollars (the Pound is sooooo strong against the dollar it is absolutely ridiculous). She also ordered Fried Brie Cheese. It came with a raspberry sauce and it was the greatest ever! We also stayed out super late on evening till maybe around midnight (although it seemed like 9 since it had just gotten dark!) and we took pictures of Big Ben. It was amazing. I love taking night photos and it was a gorgeous evening. We also went to an Anglican service, which was very interesting. It was similar to Catholic Mass but I felt like it was a little more traditional. I wasn’t really sure what was going on but I did walk up and take communion. I just followed Marie – who had been living in England for a year and who knew what to do!

We also took a tour to Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Bath. The Cathedral was gorgeous and there was a wedding happening the exact time we were there. We got to see the bride and her father walk down the isle. I took some illegal pictures of it and it turns out they are some sort of royalty! When I got caught and told not to photograph, I played dumb and apologized. Stonehenge was incredible. It was just like you see in the books – old, falling down and surrounded by hills or green grass. The day we were there, there was a Druid religious ceremony happening in the center of it. Apparently it is a religion that revolves around the sun, so they come twice (or maybe 4 times a year) around the solstices. So all of our pictures have people where medieval looking outfits in the center of it! Marie was a bit upset and just wanted a picture without the people, but I thought it was pretty great because how many people have pictures where there is a religious ceremony happening in the middle of Stonehenge! Our next stop was Bath and it was so amazing. It was this cute city filled with rock buildings with a small river flowing through it. It is home to the Roman Baths – I was confused about what they are but apparently it is a museum filled with ancient Roman showers (or rooms and places they bathed). Marie and I decided not to go in and explore the city. I guess they are pretty interesting but I wasn’t to set on paying 20 some bucks to see some showers. I could go to the Home Depot for free and look at some!


Bradford.

Our last day in London, we slept in a bit, packed up our stuff and headed for the bus station. It was supposed to take us an hour or so but it ended up taking us FOREVER. We got stuck in some crazy traffic and ended up having to get off of the bus (which the driver was not happy about letting us off and I don’t think he was supposed to – but after begging we got off) and run to the bus station. We were a few blocks away and had all of my luggage – like 60 some kilos – well over 100 pounds plus Marie’s bag. We drug all of this stuff up a hill and about 3 blocks not really knowing where the bus station was. And we did all of this in about 10 minutes. We got the bus sweaty and exhausted just as they were about ready to pull out. We were so stinking lucky. I don’t really know what plan B was – all I knew was that we needed to make the bus and we did. I almost died but we made it. We got to Bradford – where Marie had been living for the past year around 9 that night. We took a cab to her place and got settled.

The next day one of her older friends took us around to see the Yorkshire Dales – rolling hills with quaint towns dispersed about them. It was gorgeous. Green hills, dotted with sheep and other livestock, surrounded by rock wall fences, which had been standing since the 1200 or 1300’s. So ridiculous! We wound through the narrow roads I swear almost dying several times. The worst was when a tractor was coming. He had to back up until he found a small place to pull into – then we were able to pass him.

Then next couple of days we spent hanging out in her school. She helped out in a 4^th grade classroom and did a lot of art things for the school. So I helped her out with some projects and interacted with the kids. They were mostly all from Pakistan and were mostly Muslim. I got to sit in on one of their prayer sessions where they pray to Allah. It was so interesting to hear how the children talked about marriage and women. Most of them will probably have an arranged marriage. They live such different lives than we do! I loved the kids so much and was sad to leave them. I can’t even imagine how Marie felt after spending the whole year with them!

My time in England had finally come to an end. We went out to eat (Abby, her boyfriend, Marie, Leigh and I) to an Indian place, which had the largest Naan bread I had ever seen. It almost took up the whole table! England was such a great time. I was sad when my 7 days were up. But I was looking forward to going to Spain and also getting that much closer to being able to go home! I left my large suitcase, which weighed in at only 45 kilos with Marie so she could ship it home for me when she shipped hers! I was happy to not have to lug around so much stuff. I was down to one carry on sized luggage and that is what I would have with me for the next 3 weeks!

The last day in Port Elizabeth, South Africa....

So after days of saying goodbye to lots of other people it was finally my turn to say goodbye to the few who were left. The last night I was there we had a final goodbye braai (this was much smaller than the first goodbye braai we had a week early – which I must say was pretty insane. I think I even met some international students I had never seen before!) After the braai, I said my goodbyes to Shawn, Alyssa, Patrick, Chelsea, Maria, Meli and maybe a couple others. There were not many left to say goodbye to. It wasn’t to hard to say goodbye because we know we will all see each other again next November for Shawn and Alyssa’s wedding! I got home and went to bed. The next morning was insane. I got up early so I could go to the glass studio and collect my work.. since it was only fired the night before. But when I got there it was still to hot to open.. so we had to wait. I ended up walking back home so I could finish packing and stuff and Tammy said that she was going to watch the temperature for me – she is a sweet heart. I got home and attempted to finish my packing. Well then June decided it was necessary to come up then as well – that is always a pleasurable experience. She rambled on about how messy things wore and how I need to wipe up the crumbs and do the 3 dishes that I left in the sink. And then she complained about not having matching forks when she knew that in the beginning they were all matching (come to find out they weren’t so she did apologize). Then she was saying that there were scissors missing (which I found for her). It went on and on. Finally I left and went to stained glass. My pieces were finally out! I didn’t get much time to look at them before they got wrapped but hopefully they look ok. Tammy and the professor wrapped them for me and then she drove me home! She is such a wonderful lady. I finally made it out of the house. I left a few things behind for Breana and then Tish and I headed to the airport. She was so sweet and decided to take me!!

We arrived at the airport and I put my bag up on the scale to see what it weighed.. it ready 31 kg (and I said that is ok right?!) haha nope so not it was supposed to be 23 kg. And it turns out I could only check one bag for free when going into London Heathrow. Perfect. I was planning on checking 2 and then taking 2 bags on. She told me I could re-arrange my bags and put my heavier things in my carry-on and then it should be ok. She motioned for me to go behind the counter where the conveyer belt was at for the bags to go on. So we crawled underneath the bar that went over the scale and made it to the floor space behind the counter. I opened up my suitcases and began to move things around. I threw out some unnecessary items and then put all my heavy glass in the smaller suitcase to carry on, which they said they would not weigh. After about 20 minutes we finally got it all sorted. The checked bag weighed about 23 – a little over so it was almost 24 and then who knows how heavy the smaller bag and my other carry-on bag weighed.. but let me tell you my shoulders and arms know that it was way to much for them to handle. So Tish got some random presents and I got to take all of my things on with out paying extra. I was so glad when they let me put my carry-on bag underneath the plane! So then I just had my two bags to worry about – my book bag with all the important things and then my pink bag, which was huge and filled with glass!

I got to Joburg with no problems. I was on the same flight as Jan and a couple of others so it was really nice because I wasn’t alone. So Jan waited for me to get off the plane and we headed into the airport to collect our hand luggage that was stored underneath. Then we walked around the airport, started buying things and finally found a place to rest and get some food. I hung out with Aidrian from Norway while Jan went up to some luxury lounge and got free food and Internet. Gosh why does he get everything cool!?

The cat drama.

So we had this kitten, which I think I have already talked a bit about that kept coming around. We thought it probably thought that our house was its home because it was there so often and would come around hungry and with flees. One day June came up (after the most peaceful 3 weeks of our lives when they had been gone) and found the bowls that we put on the ground for the cat. I explained that we didn’t want the cat but that we weren’t heartless and when it came around hungry we would feed it. She told us she would take it to the SPCA or then her husband later said that he would kill it. I felt bad for keeping the cat around and just wanted it off the property so that I or anyone else wouldn’t get in trouble for it. The missionaries came over that night and they said they had a family that would probably take it – so they could get it off out hands. I told them that sounded like a pretty good plan so they took it that night. All was good – I hadn’t heard from them so I figured it was taken care of. Well then the lady (the owner Michelle) came back and asked for her cat. I hadn’t known where she lived or seen her around for about a month. She came once, asked for a gray cat and then walked away. I told her I would call my friends and see if I could get it back. I called the Missionaries and they said they had released it on a random road somewhere. I didn’t want to call Michelle and give her the bad news so I waited for her to come back. I was terrified. She came back and was all upset when I gave her the news. I told her I was so sorry and gave her the missionary’s number. They told her the story and later she came back and talked to me. Keith (my photography/graphic design friend from Zimbabwe) happened to be there because I told him I didn’t want to be alone – that this lady was crazy and I was scared of her. She had also threatened to take me to quart. So she said I had to come down and talk to her face to face. So Keith came with me as back up. I started talking to her and she kept blaming me and I said I understand I am so sorry to give away your cat. She also said that I kept changing my story and all this other stuff. Then Keith butted in and said something as well and then it made her mad and she ended up running off back to her house crying hysterically. Her boyfriend was fun to deal with as well as he was yelling and saying how stupid I was for what I did. It was so hard because I really did feel bad and it stressed me out so much. I even cried over this crazy cat! So that was the last I heard from her. I left her a note on her gate that I am hoping she got to apologize. I guess she still is going to try to take the missionaries to court. So we will see what happens with that. Thank goodness this all happened when I had about 3 days left in the country!

Exams

This past week I had 2 finals (exams) - one on Thursday and one yesterday (Saturday). I studied quite a bit for them. They were my history classes about post-apartheid in South Africa. I really liked these classes. I learned about recent history in South Africa and about their political issues here! But it was a bit stressful having two tests so close together. I had to write 2 out of the 4 essay questions on the tests. So I had to know my stuff in order to write about an hour on each topic since the tests were 2 hours long. My last test is the 15^th, so I have a good little break. I think the tests went well, at least I hope they did! But last night was fun because Breana and I decided to have all of the CEA plus UNI people over. We made bacon wrapped shrimp and steak and everyone else brought sides. We had a lot of good food and fun. There were about 14-15 people in our pretty small flat. But it was great! We finally could have a small party here since our landlords are gone until next weekend. (Who are pains – June treats us like we are her grandkids and tires to tell us how to live our lives!)

Walks on the beach

I have finally been taking walks along the beach – I guess I took it for granted for awhile – but it is finally perfect weather and less busy. I walk 20 minutes to the nearest beach and sit and watch the waves crash against the sand. It is so peaceful. I decided that one day I have to live near the ocean and for longer than 5 months! One day at the beginning of June, I was just sitting in the sand because it was such a nice day. As I was watching the surfers and the waves I noticed dolphins. There were a few people on the beach that day as well. They were watching the dolphins as well. It was spectacular; the dolphins were riding the waves. The water was so crystal clear that I could see the dolphins in the wave even when they were under the water. It was obvious that they are made to streamline and move quickly throw the water. They would also jump out of the water. One time one dolphin jumped out and landed on another dolphin. It was just so amazing to watch and it made me want to be out there with them. I decided that I would ‘learn’ how to surf (more just figure out how to paddle out) so that I can swim with the dolphins. I just want a means to get out closer to them. My dream is to swim with dolphins one day and observe them more. Ever since Sea World, (only a few years ago) I got the idea that I should be a dolphin trainer. I am just a bit behind; most kids have this dream when they are 8, not 19! The only thing about this day that I am sad about was that I didn’t have my camera. However, I bet if I had had my camera I wouldn’t have actually watched the dolphins. I also don’t think that pictures would have captured the experience.

Today (June 11) I walked on the beach as well. I went to the market down by kings beach and after decided to make the trek back to Friends (to skype) by walking along the beach. As I was walking in the sand barefoot I saw a group of people gathered around something. I couldn’t tell what it was and thought maybe it was a turtle – it was light in color and was not moving (at least not very fast). But as I got closer, I noticed it was clear and it was a jellyfish. One of the girls gathered around it was kicking it around - of course only touching the top of it and not the tentacles. I wonder if she knew that the tops don’t sting you because of Finding Nemo, because that is how I know! They told me I should touch it – so I reached my foot out and squished it. It was dead so I didn’t feel to bad stepping on its head?! Or whatever I was stepping on. It was squishy put structured as well. So interesting. I just wish again that I had brought my camera. The beach was very busy today because it was so nice today (and since it is the middle of winter here nice days are harder to come by – as in there will be one or two bad days a week instead of all of them that are nice!) I got a little further down the beach and noticed a family looking at the ground. It was another jellyfish. So I stopped again to touch it will my foot and observe it. I ha never seen a jellyfish on the beach until today, something must have been up. Maybe there was a jellyfish killer somewhere out at sea today and they washed up? I am not up on my jellyfish facts, so I am not sure what could have been going on.