We all left campus around 8:30am and went for a 2 hour bus ride into the Drakensberg Mountains. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The purpose in going on this trip was for our History class because, in these mountains, there are caves that hold paintings from the San Bushmen people from years and years and years ago. We only looked at those for about 20 minutes though and, to be honest, it wasn’t that cool. And I feel okay saying that because even our leader Reagan said it wasn’t worth it. :) Haha. But the beauty made it worth the drive! Something I’ve realized about this place is how rich and vivid the colors are. The blue sky, the green grass….everything is just gorgeous. And there was a river we hiked along all day, and eventually got to go swimming in! It was so refreshing on such a warm day and there were so many funny situations that happened that made me fall in love with our group all over again. I just feel so blessed by the people that are here. While we were waiting for some people to get back to the vans, we saw a bunch of baboons running around! They aren’t nearly as cute as Rafiki in the Lion King…I know, I know….I was disappointed too. They’re actually pretty ugly and I hear they’re kind of vicious too. Luckily, we all got away without a scratch. And then my friend Logan found a chameleon and I got to hold it! And the amazing part is, they really do change colors! Haha. It’s the craziest thing to sit there and watch an animal actually change from green to black. So weird. Anyways, here are some pictures from today!
After we all dried off from the river, we loaded back up into the cars and came home for dinner, which was absolutely hilarious. I sat at a table with all guys (which is such a rarity here, since there’s 40 girls and 13 guys) and they spent the whole time trying to teach me how to “act like a guy” and help me understand “what it’s like to be the minority here.” :) Ridiculous. And then, all the guys went out tonight for “boys night” and I was invited just because of this dinner! Haha I didn’t go but felt honored to be the only girl invited. Until they started calling me a “man girl”….that was kind of a bummer.
After dinner, instead of going to boys night, I decided to go into the game reserve with some girls. I STILL hadn’t seen a zebra and everyone else in our group had, so these girls were determined to help me find one. Towards the end of our hike, we finally saw a pack of them and started following them. What we didn’t realize however was there was a brand new baby zebra in the pack, and apparently, zebras are VERY protective of their young. So we’re following them on the path and they eventually go into the bushes that are lining the trail. This was around 7:30pm, so it was dark outside and Katie had her flashlight with her. She shined the light on the zebras so that I could see them and right as I’m telling her how beautiful they are, they all start running toward us!!! My friend Lauren starts running, yelling, “They’re coming!” so the rest of us take off down the trail, hearing them chasing after us! We’re all screaming and laughing at the craziness of this situation, as we’re running away. Lauren then yells for us all to jump into the bushes on the other side of the trail, so that they wont see us. Katie literally leaped into the bushes, and I jumped in, with my friend Kristen landing on top of me. I turn around to see the zebra right above us on the path and I say, “What should we do??” Kristen yells to me, “Run! Just run!” Haha So we kept running for another few minutes until we were sure we lost them, and then finished our hike through this creepy, pitch-black trail, praying that God would protect us. :) The funny thing is, everyone else who has seen them has gotten within probably 10 feet and talked about what gentle, kind animals they are. I know it has to do with the newborn baby but it’s definitely not what I was expecting for my first zebra sighting! As most things on this trip though, it’s something I’ll never forget.
Last update: on Monday, we’re going to meet our Zulu pen pals! Our teacher said they are going to make us traditional Zulu food, which includes sheep brain, cow tongue, and chicken feet…she wasn’t kidding. So I’m nervous but it’ll be quite the experience! :) And then on Tuesday, we have our Zulu midterm. I don’t feel prepared for it AT ALL but I’m hoping it’ll be easier than I’m imagining. Say some prayers for me on Tuesday! :) Alright, those are all my updates for now. Thanks for sticking it out!
With love from beautiful South Africa,
Alex
P.S. Tomorrow, it was a month ago that we left LAX to come on this adventure. I can’t believe it’s been a whole month!!! Some days, it feels like we’ve already been here a year; it just SO feels like home. And then there are other days it feels like we just got here last week. Crazy.
P.P.S. Tonight, I finished my first journal already! Only a month in! Good thing I packed two extras…. :)
what a great picture of you sitting on that bench... ;)
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