South Africa

Hallo and greetings from Cape Town! Wondrous things abound in the city crouching at Table Mountain’s ankles! What a beautiful, energizing place. Even when it is cloudy (which it has been for a large part of our stay), the clouds are massive and righteous, not simpering gloom-clouds like in some cities. When the sun comes out, everything gleams and the air is like clean new sheets. The first day I visited the language committee of South Africa to discuss multilingualism (quite a pertinent subject in a city with 11 official languages!), then got back, napped, and went out to dinner with some friends at the waterfront. We had to turn in early because the majority of us had safaris the next morning, so I got a teensy bit of sleep before waking up at 5 for my all day transit to KwaZulu Natal, a region of South Africa, where me and around 40 SAS kids camped for 2 nights at the Sontuli camp. The first night it was rainy and freezing and the absolutely zany safari leader, Qobus, told us oddball stories about him “in the bush”, being charged by lions and having his shower water pilfered by elephants and so on. The culinary goddess, Mama Cook, made some spectacular lasagna and salad, which made me realize how much I miss home-cooked food, living on restaurant and mass-produced cruise food for the past month. The next day we woke up at the sinfully early hour of 5 (AGAIN!) and went for a fruitless drive through the wilderness, seeing only rhino dung and a buffalo carcass. We returned to camp, ate unbelievable French toast, then had SHOWER HOUR, lunch, a wildlife discussion, and then went for a 3 hour safari drive all over. We saw several rhinos (including two adorable rhino babies!!), armies of impala, kudu, zebra, some warthogs, 3 or 4 buffalo, one very relaxed giraffe, and some very creepy vultures. Back at camp we had a traditional African stew, sweet potatos and rice and sat around the fire, played some hare-brained game Qobus came up with involving rotten eggs, playing cards, and impala droppings. We had to put the impala droppings in our mouths and spit them across the fire, draw on, name, and eventually crack our eggs, and act out animals based on the cards. It was hilarious and utterly devoid of sense, so I loved it. Then we ate marshmallows and went to sleep. The next day we drove back and saw more impala and other related animals on our way back. That night my friends and I went to sushi at the waterfront, the went to a teeny little bar called The Dubliner and danced and watched this hysterically lame musician play over-popular American rock songs to the sheer joy of drunk girls. This morning I visited the Khayelitsha township, which was so so so cool. It gave me a glimpse into the other side of Cape Town, which I needed. The people were so friendly and open and hard-working, and the kids were totally nuts, they practically swarmed us everywhere we went and wouldn’t stop playing with my hair and climbing all over me. It was so gladdening to see these people even in the midst of poverty and government distraction as to their plight, they remain purely optimistic and empathetic to those around them, which makes one seriously re-evaluate any negative or self-pitying emotions that existed beforehand. This trip is really making me a better person, or at least it feels like it. There is not enough time in the world to waste it on unhappiness or lethargy or self-absorption. I know it sounds stupid on a blog all about me, but I mean it! Wishing everyone back home the very best and sending allllll of my adoration!