All good things must come to an end...

The past couple of days have been my last ones in South Africa. I am on the plane right now from DC to LAX, and I have a mix of emotions. Excitement, nervousness, tiredness, anticipation, tiredness (getting on another 5 hour flight after an 18 hour flight can do that to you :)), and many more emotions. I do not know how I am even awake right now! I don't even know where to begin wth my story of this semester in South Africa. I ahve experienced some of the most exciting, thrill-crazy adventures, but I also have experienced some of the lowest moments in my life seeing the poorest of the poor. I have encountered and taken care of many people infected and dying from HIV, which has really challenged my faith. I am excited for my journey back home, and I am looking forward to beginning the process of growth and understanding of everything that I have expereinced, but I am little scared too. But I am so thankful to my family, school, and God so much for the opportunity that they gave me to come to South Africa. Thank you everyone who supported me, prayed for me, sent me packages :), and skyped me while I was gone. Thank you for always thinking of me! :) You guys are the best. My trip would not have been the same without your support, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I have seen, learned, and experienced countless things during my time in South Africa, and it will be a trip that I will never forget for the rest of my life. So, as I have ended all my other blogs....UNTIL NEXT TIME....OR SHOULD I SAY.....UNTIL NEXT TRIP.....

Jaws in real life! Time to go shark cage diving!

On May 1, a group of 7 students and I went shark cage diving. AaGGggHHhhhh! It was THE craziest thing I have ever done in my entire life! our group had to be picked up at BI in Kalk Baii at 5:30am, so some of us who were staing in Oceanview had to be picked up at 4:30am! It was a super early morning start, but I knew it was going to be all worth it in the end! From BI, the van took all of us students and four others on a two hour drive to Gaansbaii. It is one of the most popular areas to see great white sharks in the world! When we got there, we had a quick breakfast at a restaurant and then boarded the biggest ship in the shark cage diving industry. IT actually held the world record for around the world in the shortest amount of time in 1998! It was pretty cool. :)

In
In Gaansbaii, the boat took us to Dyer Island, right next to what they call "Shark Alley." I got a little sick on the way out there, because we were right smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But I also think it was from all the excitement/nervousness from the fact that I was about to get into a metal cage and essentially swim WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS! So we finally stopped in this area, and everyone who was shark cage diving (cuz some people just came along for the show) got divided into three groups. I was in the third diving group. :)

The divemasters and the boat crew threw chum in the water, as well as tuna heads as bait, to attract the sharks, but I didn't really expect for the sharks to come. But when the first group went into the cage, great whites soon came after about 10 min.! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Total we saw either 6 or 7 different great whites (not sure if the 7th one was the same from earlier), and I saw 3 while I was in the cage myself! One of the sharks was a 12 footer, and it almost jumped into the part of the cage that was uncovered! CRAZY!

What the divemaster would do is throw the bait in the water, close to the boat, and as soon as the sharks bite into it, he would begin to pull it away from him, essentially bringing the shark to the cage! So this one shark had a really good grip on the bait, that while the divemaster tried to pull the bait back towards the boat, the shark came full force attached with it! In my second time in the cage, a 15 footer shark jumped out of the water at the bait and got so close to the cage and started ramming the cage! Yes...I was in the cage! SO INSANE! Totally the biggest rush of my entire life! I thought that jumping off the world's highest bridge was the craziest thing I had done in my life, but shark cage diving totally topped that experience times a million! I couldn't beleive that I could even see the shark's super sharp teeth!

After, we had lunch at the same restaurant where we had breakfast and then was brought back to BI and then eventually to Oceanview. Shark cage diving was the best way to end my South Africa semester! It was an opportunity that I knew I would never be able to do again! :)

Later that night, Virgina and Berna held a braii (bbq South Africa style) for Brianna and I's last night in Oceanview. They invited some family and friends. Of course again, the food was amazing! There was so much of it! We had steaks, porkchops, salad, pasta...everything! The next morning, Brianna and I went to their home church with them called New Apostolic Church. It was definitely a different experience, because the service was held in Afrikans and English, and I had never been to an apostolic church before. But I am happy that I have been able to experience so many new things during my time here in South Africa. I have learned alot about the people, history and culture of South Africa, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! :) My time is coming to a close here...so until next time....

Sssstttooorrrrmmmerrrsss! RUGBY TIME!

On April 28, Friday, after History and Culture class, a group of five of us journeyed out to Newlands Stadium for the Capetown Stormers vs. the New Zealand Crusaders rugby game! :) It was my second and last fugby game that I got to attend while in South Africa. But this one was different than the Sharks game that I went to earlier in the semester, because the five of us got tickers in the standing room section only! :) I didn't really know much about this area, but after being in it, I swear it was like the hooligans section! There were so many crazy fans, cheering at the top of their lungs the entire game! HARD CORE STORMERS FANS! :) There were so many posters for the players and flags flying, all showing Stormers spirit! I was so close to the filed, I could literally feel the action! :) The Stormers won the game 42-14, so of course, we celebrated later that night! Virginia picked us all up from Newlands and brought us all home. Her and Berna have been amazing...so hospitable! Got home about midnight, and even though I had to wake up about only 4 horus later for shark cage diving, I tried to go to bed, but there was so much excitement from the night and anticipated excitement for the next morning! :) So until next time...

Last full week in Capetown....

Tonight, April 25, was my first night in Oceanview with my homestay sisters, Virginia and Berna. I may have stated earlier in my other blogs that they are high school teachers for one of the main languages of South Africa, Afrikans. They are really sweet, and they cooked a great meal for us on our first night. My fears of not having good slowly began to go away..we were off to a good start. :) Went to bed that night in my own bed and myown room, which was nice because I have been sharing a room with a roommate or even three other girls for all my time in South Africa.

The next day, April 26, a van picks up the people who are at Oceanview in home stays to bring us to Bible Institute (BI) in Kalk Bay for class. We have another history and culture class of South Africa, and after class Virginia and berna pick us up from BI & tell us that they are going to take us around the city. Brianna and I were quite excite to get shown around by people who have lived in South Africa all their lives. We drove down the Atlantic Seaboard, stopping at Chapman's Peak, Hout Baii, Llandudno, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, a quick stop through Kirstenbosch Gardens, and then the Capetown Soccer Stadium. And of course...we took pictures at each place. :) They even showed us where they grew up before being forcibly removed from Noordhoek because of the Group Areas Act, which forced them into Oceanview. Later that night, they took us to Grandwest Casino, which was like a mini Vegas, but with a theater, ice skating rink, bowling alley, arcade, and even mini theme park for kids. IT was really fun and great people watching! :)

On APril 27, the entire group of students and I went on a Peninsula Tour. Seeing the Cape of Good Hope was my favorite thing about today. It wa so fun to be able to walk up to the lighthouse and look over where both the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. That was so crazy to me! Looking out into the oceans was so peaceful, and I was able to get some really good pictures. Later in the day, our group went to Boulders Beach, where there are tons of penguins! :) It was funny to see so many in one place!

On April 28, I had History and Culture of South Africa class once more. Today was especially cool, because we watched the DVD entitled Amandla, which was about music and the change music endured during the Apartheid regime. Amandla, which means power in Zulu, also talked about how music was the hope for people of South Africa during such an oppressive time. It was their strength, and it was a way to express themselves. It was a very powerful DVD, and I learned so much from it. Later that night, our group was supposed to go to a Redbull soccer extravaganza, but it got cancelled because of very very windy weather. Right now in Capetown, it is winter, so we actually have been really lucky that it hasn't been raining that much. :)

On Thursday, April 29, our group journeyed out to Stellenbosch and Spier. Both cities are some of the top-producing wine places of South Africa. These cities are beautiful, but after doing the township tour of Langa, the difference between the two areas is massive. The areas of Stellenbosch and Spier have been very much maintained with that old Victorian style. I remember having to think to myself once on the Stellenbosch and Spier trip if even I was still in the same South Africa that had all these townships and rural areas. The vineyards and the land were jsut so beautiful, I couldn't imagine, even though I knew, that jsut a couple cities down was the oldest township of the western cape, Langa. In Spier, we were not able to walk around the city, but it was very relaxing to just walk around the vineyards and picnic areas. This week has been pretty jam-packed, but it's been alot of fun, and Friday is not even here yet....Until next time...

Weekends were made for fun

On April 23, Lyndsey, Brianna, and I were able to venture out to Groot Constantia Winery. It is the oldest winery in the country of South Africa. We trained out to Wynberg and then we got a 5 taxi (less than a dollar!) to the winery. The taxis are the main mode of transportation, but it kind of is a weird thing. There is like this stop where all the taxis are and certain ones go to certain places, but the thing is is that it doesn't say what taxi goes where and the drivers for them are no where to be found! :) haha So at first, we literally had to go from taxi to taxi asking who would take us to Constantia. When we finally found one, we were excited cuz we thought we were going to be well on our way, but little did I know! :) The different thing about here is that the taxi does not leave until the entire car is full. There were a lot of other passengers in the taxi, and I couldn't even imagine how long they had been waiting, but when we got in we were only waiting for one more person...but we had to wait! I thought to myself that people who rely on the taxis for thier main transportation, how inconvenient it can be for them sometimes, becuase what if you have to get somewhere at a certain time ya know? And it's not like you can come earlier to prevent this from happening, because you don't know the schedules of other people. It was a crazy concept to me. So different from the hustle and bustle of the States back home.

So we finally got to Constantia, and it was gorgeous! I could not believe my eyes! The winery, the landscape, the view, and all arond....all of it was breathtaking! WE also got to go on this private tour with just the three of us, and that was also a treat as well! :)

The next day, April 24, our group hiked Table Mountain! One of the most famous landmarks of Capetown, and all of South Africa. It is known all around the world, becuase of its table top looking stature. :) It was supposed to be a three hour hike, but I ended up doing it in about an hour and a half! During the hike, the view was amazing! It was so gorgeous....I could see the entire city! when I got to the top, the view was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen in my entire life! Our group had lunch up on the mountain, and then I was able to ride the cabel car dwon. The entire expereience was one that I will never forget. This entire trip. I have just beena ble to do so many incredible things. I feel like everything that I have seen in the pamphlets, on tv, in the tourist books, I have all been able to do! After hiking Table Mountain, it was so evident how beautiful the city of Capetown is and why so many people call it the Mother City of Africa!

On APril 25, a group of us girls went to Hillsong Chruch. It is similar to Saddleback, very mega church style, but I really enjoyed it. The pastor talked about the power of God's redemption and His saving grace. We are His children, and his grace is amazing. IT was really cool, becuase one of the ladies in the church was able to share her story and God saved her life, literally, from a lifestyle of drugs and depression. It was amazing. After, the girls and I were able to Green Market Square, where we were able to buy lots of souvenirs and shop around for some really cool gifts, for some people back home. :) Later that afternoon, I switched over from staying at BI to my homestay in Oceanview. Like I have been staying in my past posts, I am kind of a nervous, but I know it will be an experience I will never forget. I feel like I'll really be able to learn from them much of the history of South AFrica, because Oceanview, where they are living, is a result of forced removals of the aprtheid. I will blog about my expereience afterward. :) My parents were saying that being nervous wabout staying in someone else's home is understandable, but they also encouraged me to be open to new experiencxes, so that is the attitude that I will go into this expereience with. :) Until next time....