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.

Kitty

So one day this little kitten showed up at our house and she was meowing and seemed rather hungry. Avoiding the huge signs posted all over our house by our landlord June, that read ‘No pets allowed,’ we started feeding her and let her sleep inside. We decided we could keep her at least for a couple of weeks while they are out of town in Joburg. We haven’t thought it out what we will say if she catches us or what we are going to do with her when they are home, but we will figure that out when the time comes. She is way to cute to not keep. We had her for a couple of days, told some people that we had found a kitten and then one morning she took off. We thought we might not see her again and it was a bit awkward when the owner came by and asked if we had seen a gray kitten. Ok, so I didn’t lie but I said that we had seen her around but that we hadn’t seen her that morning because that was the morning she peaced out. It took kitty (which we have yet to name – but little kitty seems to be what we have settled on) a day and a half to make her way back – but she did. And you better believe that we were the happiest parents in the world. The only bad thing about her is that she is a little bit crazy and she eats us out of house and home – and of course she only really likes to eat meat and not anything cheap. As I am writing this she is standing on my desk and batting everything off of it. Then she proceeds to bat it around my room. I am blaming her for the condition of my room right now. But oh well, it is worth having her around. She is an excuse for me to stay in and do nothing. Although it gets me the title – crazy cat lady – but I don’t even care. 

Addo Elephant Park and the Cheetah Farm

Addo Elephant Park

near Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

(Really enjoyed renting a car and getting to drive around at our own pace searching and looking for wildlife. They also offer tours, if you would rather go that route! All in all it's a pretty good park and a great place to see some elephant!) 

Elizabeth and Vanessa (girls from California living in the bantry) came and picked me up in the car around 5:30 in the morning! It was still pretty dark out but the sun was just starting to rise over the ocean as we were driving by. So of course we had to stop and take a picture of this lovely sunrise and of the pier in P.E.

We only had some directions that Elizabeth had looked up online that were not very specific. So of course we got lost. First of all we had gone the long way around, it took us almost 2 hours to get there when it could have taken us 45 minutes. But we got lost and missed the turn so we had to stop and ask someone. The thing was finding someone. We were lucky an older man was walking down the lane that we pulled into. He told us where to go, so we turned around and headed back the way we came. We finally made it to Addo Elephant Park. We paid our 35 Rand, got our map and started figuring out where we wanted to go. As we stated driving we didn’t see much, just some pretty scenery and maybe some kudo, which we had seen a lot of.

This park had so many rules.. no getting out of the car.. no running over poop or dung beetles because they are protected there! So you have to watch for massive elephants and also small little black bugs!

We turned around a corner and I spotted some Zebra. So we sat and watched them for a while and then moved on. We saw lots of other things, some wart hogs and more kudu and other deer.

However, we hadn’t seen an elephant until we hit this one area where there were about 10 other cars and safari trucks (that's always a good hint)! There were some hiding in some bushes and we could barely see them so I tried to stick my head out of the window but was standing inside the car. We weren’t allowed to get out of our car, but I wasn’t technically out so I thought it was ok (foreshadowing...). We drove a little farther and found a huge herd of elephants. I was still kind of hanging out of the car at this point because I was trying to get the best view of the elephants. It was my first time seeing elephants in the ‘wild’ in South Africa. I feel as though it wasn’t much of the wild – since there were paved roads and fencing, but for me it was close enough to the wild ! 

I was minding my own business, taking pictures when a safari truck reversed quickly and pulled up right next to me. Mind you he had a truck load of tourists. He said firmly yelling through the window on the other side of the car, ‘Ma’am that is an 800 Rand fine.’ I sat back down and said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘You were out of your car and that is a fine.’ I explained to him that I didn’t think leaning out of the car technically meant that I was out of my car. I really honestly didn’t know other wise I wouldn’t have been doing it. He said that an elephant could charge and kill me, that it was for my own safety. I was freaked out the rest of the time because I thought they were going to make me pay. The guy said he had my picture and our license plates. I tried not to let it ruin my day.

I decided I would drive, to keep me from getting into more trouble or having to pay more fines! I was having a bit of trouble, then we found out that the parking break was still on! That was the issue. I did much much better after that. It was a pretty easy route. There were not to many cars so it was perfect. I don’t even think I stalled it when I was stopping and going. The only time I did was when I was trying to turn around. I got nervous because there was a car sitting and waiting for me! But I managed to do it. I got it turned around and got out of there. I don’t think I did to bad of a job. Maybe? I guess you'd have to ask my passengers! 

We got out of the park with no problems. I wasn’t on a wanted list or anything so I felt much better! Then we headed into town so we could get some food. It was a small little town with not to many choices especially on a Sunday. We finally found a restaurant as part of a hostel. I got a burger and some ice cream for dessert. The burger was amazing – it had pineapple and a sweet sauce. I loved it!

Daniell Cheetah Farm.

(A very nice little farm. The tour guide was very knowledgable and I felt like I was in his backyard! We even chatted about my 800 rand fine scare. We got to hold and pet and touch all the animals -- the ultimate petting zoo! I would highly recommend going here!)

Then we headed back to Daniell Cheetah Farm that we had passed that morning. We paid 50 Rand to get a tour and pet cheetahs and lions oh as well as some house cats. We learned that cheetahs can run around 100-120 km per hour! They also have claws like dogs, non-retractable. The cheetah we met was a 5-year-old female. She was so patient and purred so loud, like if a cat would be compared to a small electric car then this cheetah would have been a semi with no muffler! It was amazing to be so close to such a large and endangered animal. We learned that they don’t have a very high survival rate in the wild because after they catch there pray then have to wait about 15-20 minutes before they can start eating it because there body is so tired. That is usually when the food gets taken and sometimes their life as well.

After seeing the bigger cheetahs we walked by the babies. We weren’t able to play with him because he was to big and would probably end up hurting us. Not that they were mean but it would probably happen in them trying to play! 

This would be Mr. Timon and his little family!

And this is Pumbaa... 

'ummmmm, you know when we do this it makes you look like an alien with one eye, right? You look so silly!'

And this would be (a cat thing of some sort).

'Hey guys I can totally see you in there eating tuna and drinking milk without me. I see how it is... just ignore me and pretend like you can't see me! But I'm still here!'

Then we headed over to the lions. They had 1-month-old baby lions that we were able to hold and play with. It was like playing with a kitten (except they were much bigger and dirtier). We got tons of pictures and had to be told to leave.

We finally left the farm after seeing lots of different types of cats, returned the car returned and made it home. I had a pretty interesting story to share and tons of great pictures to show for it! I am glad I finally made it to Addo and got to travel with those 2 girls. It was fun being with a different group!

And how hilarious is this? The house cat was totally unfazed about be stalked by a lion, even took some time to rub it's nose on this fence. I bet this might be a different story in a month or two when the baby lion is 3 or 4 times that big!

Victoria Falls – Zambia and Zimbabwe (May 12 - 15)

Flying in to Livingstone, Zambia - the white is all the mist from Victoria Falls.

Mosi - the local beer.

Bridget and I before the booze/dinner cruise

From the dinner cruise

one of the little girls at the Local Cowboy School we visited in Livingstone

Spices and grains in the local market

Cooking peanut like nuts (ground nuts I think). She is wearing a chitanga (a piece of cloth tied around the waist) - something all women in the market wear. So we of course had to get them as well. The people loved that we were dressing like them  and complimented us!

Victoria falls from the Zambia side - this is the side we got wet on (torrential downpour in one part!)

V - for Victoria Falls (on the Zimbabwe side)

Zimbabwe - breath taking view 

Zimbabwe as well - I would have to say I might have liked this side better but I am glad I did both sides

 The day started off with me waking up at 4:10 in the morning so that we could leave by 4:30 and get to the airport in time for our 6:20 flight. I am not very happy in the mornings especially at that time but I got up and was making sure I had everything, hoping that the Annies Cove people wouldn’t forget me! Shawn, Alyssa, Patrick, Sarah, Hannah, Bridget, Coleen, and I went on the trip. We all got to the airport and made it through security. So we waited and waited and finally got on the plane to head to Joburg. We sat around in that airport and waited for our plane to Livingston. We got on that plane and headed for the falls. When we got closer we looked out and could see the falls from our plane. It was an amazing view of the 7^th wonder of the world! We were so excited to see them from the ground. We landed around 1:30, filled out the visa form and waited in line. We had to have US dollars to get it (which was a little strange) but Hannah, Bridget and I didn’t have dollars so we had to go exchange Kwacha (which we got out of the ATM) for dollars. We needed 80 dollars for the visa, which equaled about 400,000 Kwacha! It was so scary taking out that much money – even though it wasn’t that much. However it was pretty cool being a millionaire while I was there! We finally got it sorted out and were able to pay for the visa, which it turned out we probably could have gotten away with out paying. This was because they took all of our passports and stamped them and gave them a receipt before 3 of us had paid. Patrick told us this afterwards. But I still don’t think I would have not paid – I wouldn’t want to be stuck in Zambia jail for the rest of my life! (Although it was a gorgeous country with spectacular people!)

We made it to our hostel – Jolly Boys Backpackers – and got settled into our rooms. We paid for the room (which could have been paid in Dollars, Kwacha or Rand – mass confusion I tell you!). But I must admit I got pretty good at math and figuring out how much things would cost in all the different currencies. However, at first we were so confused by the money we would just set out what we had and le the people take what they needed. Good thing they were honest – at least we hope! We also booked and paid for a booze cruse that we would be going on that night, which we left at 3:30 for. We got down to the Zambizi River and waited for the boat to get ready for us to storm onto it. After we were all on the bartender opened the bar and it was all you can drink and then later all you can eat! Not a good idea to let college students have an all you can drink bar! They went crazy – well except for Coleen and I. I tried a sip of the local beer – Mosi – just to say I had it and to compare it to the local beer of Mozambique (which I think I liked better!) We rode on the boat and looked for animals, which we ended up seeing hippos and a crocodile. Just before the sun was about to set they served us sausage, chicken, coleslaw and a roll. It was so good and you better believe that I ate a lot – had to get my moneys worth (my mom has taught me well). Watching the sunset over the river was spectacular – so worth the 40 dollar price of admission. We were in ZAMBIA and it was amazing. I was with some of my really good friends here and we had a great time taking pictures, eating, drinking and of course there was lots of laughing. When we got off the boat we hung out in a little sand bar on the shoreline. We had the whole dance floor to ourselves. So we took advantage of it and danced for a while under the disco ball with our shoes off and feet in the sand! It was amazing – everyone was crazy and dancing and snapping pictures. I am pretty sure the few locals who were sitting at the bar were entertained! Everyone was drunk at 6 so you better believe that we had an early night. We went back to the hostel, sat around for a little while talking and people were drinking more. Then 9:30 hit and we were all in the room ready for bed.

The next morning the Chobby National Park people left around 7 to head out for their safari trip. Hannah, Coleen and I decided to hang back and see what we could do in Zambia for the day. I kind of wanted to go but I had already seen most of the animals (except for Cheetahs and Elephants, which I can see really close to P.E.) so decided I would try to find something else to do for the day. So we got up around 8, got breakfast and decided to go on a bike tour of Livingston. We left at 11, with the Local Cowboy (or so he calls himself). He was a skinny black man wearing a cowboy hat! He also brought a helper along as well to help carry things and make sure we were on the right path. We discussed where we wanted to go and decided to see the school that he started down in the small village just outside of the main town – it was pretty similar to the townships around here. So we got down to the school where we were greeted by lots of small children. One of the teachers showed us around the 4-roomed school and the kids wanted us to take their picture! Then didn’t understand that they need to stand back in order for me to get them in the frame but you better believe that after I took a picture they ran up to me so they could see it! It was such a great experience seeing the school that these kids go to and getting to ask the teachers questions.

We got back onto the bikes and headed into the township market. We were the only white people in the market, which had to be pointed out to me later. It is crazy how fast I am getting used to being the minority. When someone asked if I realized I was the only white person the whole day, I thought back no that couldn’t be because the teachers were white.. no wait they were all black.. oh there had to have been at least one.. but I don’t think there was. It just shows that people are people and it doesn’t matter what color of skin they have. God made them and loves everyone the same. I didn’t feel uncomfortable once or like everyone was staring at me.. well except for one instance. When we got to the market we started walking around the narrow isles filled with people (mostly women) and lots of fruit, vegetables, nuts, spices and even some chunks of special dirt that women eat when they are pregnant – interesting! We came up to one stand where our guide started speaking with her. As we were getting water he told us the lady had told him that we needed to be wearing chitengas (pieces of colorful cloth that the ladies would wear around their waist). Our guide, Local Cowboy, told us that the bottom half is what needs to be covered, that the top half doesn’t matter as much. However, for us in the Western world it is the opposite I feel like. As we were walking to the shop selling the chitengas, I started to notice a lot of people staring at us and they viewed us as outsiders. However, when we bought and put on our chitengas for 15,000 Kwatcha – the women in the streets all told us how wonderful we looked. They smiled at us – we had become like one of them. We walked around for a while buying produce, not that we really needed it but it was great to help out the locals. We bought tomatoes, okra, onions, and even a weird fruit that you crack open and there a little white dried up seeds that I later found out were essentially baking powder (I think). My favorite was when I went up to a young lady selling bananas. I asked her how much and she said 2,000 Kwatcha for 4 bananas. I gave her my money (which equals about 50 cents) and she had me pick out 4. Then as I was getting ready to leave she grabbed one more and shoved it in the bag. She handed me the bag and said have a nice day. I thanked her and walked away. It was amazing to see someone who has so little giving me some of what they had. I wanted to give her a hug and give her something more of mine, but instead I just accepted the kind gift and walked away. I will never forget how warm and loving the people in that small township in Livingston were. As we were getting ready to leave we stopped by one more shop and tried another local food. It was essential a doughnut – a fried ball of sweet dough. It was delicious.

We finally made it home after having to walk up the large hill to get back to the main town. It is so interesting to me how in almost every city I have been in – the rich live on the hill and the poor live below. It shows symbolism in that the rich feel as though they are above the poor. I just wonder how this all came about. Anyway we made it back home and told our two guides good-bye. It was such a wonderful experience and I felt as though the people were nicer and friendlier towards me. They didn’t seem shy or timid towards us, even though we were white. It doesn’t seem that way in South Africa. I feel as though a lot of the blacks are not as friendly towards me but I feel that comes from the Apartheid years. Don’t get me wrong it is not as though they are mean or anything – they just don’t seem as friendly and warm towards me.

The rest of the day we spent swimming and laying by the pool. It was a perfect end to a hot day riding a bike. That evening we hung out as a group and were in bed by 9:30 – man we were like old people. Haha

We woke up on Saturday fairly early to eat breakfast (I had my usual – a museli parfait – which was plain yogurt, museli (essentially granola – soooo good) bananas and honey. It was bomb. Then we got ready and jumped on a bus headed to the falls at 10:00. We got to the falls, paid to get into the park on the Zambia side and started down one of the trails. We couldn’t see much from the trail but when we could see part of the falls we were so excited. Even though we could barely see the falls we could still feel the mist and it was crazy to see the difference in the terrain between where the mist fell and where it didn’t. You better believe that one half was dead and the other was living and green! We turned around and headed back to try a different trail – this time we were headed straight into the falls. We started our hike and were staying fairly dry (which was important since we all had our cameras with us). However, then we reached a point where they were renting ponchos out for 1 dollar. I had a rain jacket so I put that over me and my book bag hoping I would stay dry – not a chance. We walked down the trail and the rain started and it got harder and harder to a point we could barely see anything. We decided to turn back and come up with a new plan. There was no way we wanted to take our cameras in fear that they might get ruined by the torrential downpour. So half of us stayed back – Colleen, Bridget, Sarah and I. The rest went in. They were so wet when they came out even though they were wearing ponchos. It was our turn. We first had to climb up a slippery ramp in the pouring rain with the falls crashing bellow us and to our right. We made it up with out slipping or dying, success! We continued our journey of getting drenched and not seeing much most of the time. However, there were a couple of points where if we waited long enough the mist from the falls would evaporate and we could see the falls. It was beautiful. We also saw some rainbows and I have to admit it was pretty fun walking out next to the falls and getting drenched. We finally made it back to the group feeling like wet puppies. My underwear was soaked but I was prepared and had brought extra shorts. Thank goodness because my biggest pet peeve is wet underwear!

We then walked up a trail to see where the falls started. We could see the large river and the water falling over the edge. We all had to get out on the rock and get our picture taken with the rushing water behind us. Mom would have been freaking out.. one wrong move and we would have been over the falls! (well maybe not but probably). Then we decided who was going to the Zimbabwe side and who wasn’t. There were 6 of us going and 2 stayed back. So Patrick, Bridget, Shawn, Alyssa, Colleen and I headed to the border. We walked and got stamped out of Zambia. Then we walked a while to get to Zimbabwe where we had to fill out paper work (like when entering any country) so that we could get our visa. We stood in a long line and when everyone was finally done we made our way across a huge bridge (which gave a us a great view of the falls) and then we hiked another mile or so up the hill to the town of Victoria Falls. Mind you it was about 1:00 in the afternoon and we were hot, wet, tired, and hungry! So our first stop was to get money out of the ATM (which gave us dollars because Zim uses US dollars!) and then we looked for food. We found a place with different fast food places. So I got a medium veggie pizza with pineapple and the works and finished it.

We then looked around the markets where I bought a couple Nyoni’s (something like that), which are little dragons that have some story behind it but they bring good luck. We headed down to the falls and paid 30 dollars to get into the Zim side. We walked into the park and started out on the trial. We immediately stopped and figured out all the money we paid to get there was worth it. We could see all of the falls and there was a double rainbow. It is hard to describe and the pictures don’t do it justice – you will all just have to make it there someday! It is truly amazing – we were there during the winter when the water is falling the most. During the summer here the water only trickles. The sound of the crashing water and the beauty of the water and mist was unreal. I loved every minute of it. We took a walk and were almost running because we were so excited to see more of the falls. We kept going to the different look out points and we would take pictures – trying to keep our cameras dry. We spent an hour and a half maybe in the park – I could have spent all day but it was going to be getting dark soon and we didn’t want to get stuck in Zim or be walking around at night. So we headed our of the park, picked up Colleen (since she didn’t go in) and this is when the money started leaving my pocket. I felt like Andrew – it was burning a hole. I walked out with a lot of souvenirs and not much money.. but it was a great day in Zimbabwe.

We made it back that night and chilled at the hostel, ordered food, and I made some of the food we had bought in Zambia. We played a game or two and were in bed around 10. We got up the next morning, packed our things and headed into the market in town to find more chitangas. A few of us decided that was how we were going to spend our remaining Kwatcha. The town didn’t have much so we decided to head into the township where we knew they would have them! We found a shop selling them for 7,500 kwatcha – which we tried to bargain down to 5,000 since we would be buying somewhere around 30 however he wouldn’t budge any lower than 7,000. It took us a while to pick out our favorites, but we finally got all that we needed and headed back to the hostel. We sat around for a while before we left for the airport, which we arrived way to early. But I guess better early then miss the plane (although I wouldn’t have minded staying in Zambia for a couple extra days! The airport was super tiny and it was funny to see how little they cared about security (or so I thought). But as we waited we sat around and played with the airport cat! (yup a cat roaming around the airport) such a funny site! Then we started boarding the plane. And when by bag went through they wanted it to go through again. So I put it back and she told me I couldn’t have the scissors that I had in there, which I have had in my bag since who knows when. So I had to dig around and find them and give them to the lady. She also made Sarah take out a metal spoon that she had in her bag. I decided that they lady just picked out thinks she needed and told us to give them to her! Haha.

We boarded and headed to Joburg, which we got business class again – nice big seats and at the front of the plane so we could get off faster! We felt pretty cool. They fed us and gave us free drinks – all that we could hold. The sandwich was amazing and so was the mango and tomato juice. I also got some wine to try but then give to everyone else since wine is really not that good! We made it to Joburg, sat around their for awhile and boarded our next plane to P.E. No business class on this one but we did get an awesome meal of chicken, noodles a role and some cheesecake with a beautiful sunset happening outside. I wasn’t complaining at all! We made it to P.E. in about an hour and a half. I watched out the window as we flew out over the ocean so that we could turn around and land at the airport. I could see the college and recognized a lot of the buildings. We made it home about 8 and I slept like a baby. It was such a great trip, nothing bad happened and we all got along great. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend!