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Floss is packed away. (in my carry on. of course)

It's HOT today!  SOO hot.  I packed my jeans in my backpack, cause it is one of those days when you sweat as soon as you come out of a cold shower.

Just gave away the last of my shampoo, conditioner, carrots, cheese, tape, and tea...the random things that I have had with me at all times on this trip.  All packed up...catching a cab to the airport in an hour.

Talk to you/see you all soon!
I hope that my blogging has provided some entertainment for you over the past two months.
Thank you for being so supportive of me being here.  It was always nice to have a familiar name in my inbox when I checked my email!

Love,
Cori

Did you know...

That during the world cup, south Africans will not be allowed to
drive?! They must use public transport or walk. If they are found
driving, they will be arrested and only released when the world cup
ends.

Also, they are giving the kids a month off of school for the world
cup. Nope, they are not making up the time during another part of the
year. Just an extra month off.

And finally, my last random note for the day: if you see a baboon,
don't let him see your cell phone. They like cell phones. They will
take your phone out of your hands and dismantle it. But, they do like
cameras and will pose for photos. If they really like you, they will
put your head in their arms and rub your head!

Another educational day in south africa.

I have had the same headphones for 5 years

And somehow I decided to lose the ear piece now. Just in time to move
into a room with the loudest snorer ever. Awesome.

back in Cape Town...

My last few days in J-Bay were really nice and pretty relaxing.  When the wind wasn't blowing, it was so SO beautiful and warm there, and the ocean was unbelievably refreshing.  I was staying at a guesthouse just overlooking Supertubes (where the Billabong Pro contest is held in July), which was just the perfect change from a hostel.  It was clean and quiet.  The owners (Steve and Anne) basically took me in as their child.  They made great breakfasts each morning, and invited me to have dinner with them each night.  They used to be in the restaurant and bakery business, so they made great food.  At first I felt badly that they were going to cook vegetarian dinners just for me, but I soon realized that they really didn't mind.  The three of us sat and had dinner and tea each night, and I really felt like I was in a family or friends home...not one of two strangers!  They were just so SO sweet.  Also, they had an awesome dog.  Overall, perfect...and perfectly timed in my trip.

This morning, I had to catch the bus to Cape Town.  They give the pick-up times in intervals, so that you are ready at the earliest that they may arrive.  The time was 8:30-9:00am.  Since the bus was picking up at a hostel which I was not staying at, I decided to go a few minutes early...just in case!  (however, every other bus has arrived significantly late.)  I got there at 8:15 this morning, and stood for a while.  At around 8:40, a woman came out and asked me if I was waiting for the Baz Bus.  Yup, I was.  She said that I missed it a while ago.  Great.  Luckily, she called the driver and he turned around and came back to get me.  He wasn't super happy, but then again, neither was I.  I did feel bad that all of the people on the bus had to come back too, but since he was 30 minutes early, I am not sure why he expected me to be there!  Anyway, I got on the bus, and everybody was friendly...and eventually, the driver was too. 
13 and a half hours later....I am in Cape Town! (around hour 12, we had a little problem when there were 3 seats on the bus and 4 people came to get on...all with tickets. hmm. minor problem.  30 minutes later...sort of fixed, and we were on our way again)
It was a long bus ride and I was really ready to get off of the damn bus, but we did drive along the Garden Route, which is really really beautiful.  During other times of year when everything is in bloom, I can only imagine how nice it is!  We stopped in a lot of cute towns...I took note of them as places to visit if/when I ever make it back here.  Don't worry...I am not adopting any African children, I am not taking a teaching job here, I am not canceling my flight.  I REALLY AM coming home this week. Promise =)

As we were driving today, I was thinking about how many different people I have met along the way these past 2 months.  Both Africans and visitors.  People have such interesting stories, both good and bad. But, for the most part, people really are so friendly and so welcoming.

This country is unbelievably beautiful, yet at the same time, unbelievably fucked up (sorry, can't think of a better word right now).  There are so many issues that just make my head hurt trying to think about how they can really make progress.  I have had so SO many conversations with different people here about the people, the politics, the history, the culture, etc. and it never becomes boring...and the same topic is never covered twice (well, unless to laugh at something ridiculous).  But, as I said, beautiful too.  The landscape...beaches, forests, desert, cities, small towns, large towns, townships, rivers, oceans, lakes, ponds, sand dunes, mountains...humidity, heat, dryness, cold, wind, rain, rainbows, thunder, lightning (almost every night!), sunsets and sunrises that are breathtaking. 

I just have so much to say as I start to wrap things up and think about my time here.
I guess the rest of it will come up in conversation...or somewhere down the line.

I will be in Cape Town until Wednesday afternoon...
The hostel has Internet, so feel free to write and I will more than likely be able to write back! (no guarantees...i AM still in Africa)

I hope that you are all doing well, and for those of you in Boston, Philly and DC...I will see you next weekend!

heaven

yup, i think i arrived in heaven.

jeffreys bay ("J Bay") is BEAUTIFUL.  and get this...it is safe too!!

This is the first place that I have been to that has windows without bars in front and front doors without gates and houses without electric fences. 

the beaches are unbelievably beautiful.  there is surf for people of all skills.  the people are friendly.  i am staying at a great guest house with the nicest owners.

this definitely came at the right part of my trip.  i will be here until Saturday, when I have a long long bus ride to Cape Town.

 

When You Read You Begin With A-B-C

Let's start at the very beginning,
a very good place to start.
(that's for you, Bess!)

As I mentioned in my last post, the hostel cooks a free dinner on Sunday night.  For the non-vegetarians (since that is all that is relevant to this story), there was lots of rice, some veggies, and some chunky meat thing.
We all ate dinner...it was nice...social, whatever.  There was no live music, and people were all pretty tired after a long day in the sun, so I was hopeful that it was going to be a mellow night.
Finished dinner...had some tea (my new addiction since being in this country. damn tea with sugar.)...plucked my eyebrows...flossed my teeth...read my book...Typical Cori things, right? Right.

I met some new guys who were staying in the same dorm room.  They seemed pretty young, but pretty chill.  There were some others who were clearly going to be drinking into the night, and I have no idea what other sort of drugs the one guy was on, but he was pretty out of it.  Either way, he seemed fairly harmless...maybe just a bit annoying.  So much for an early, quiet night, I was starting to realize! 
Then the trance music starts at the hostel across the road. (across the very, very small road....i.e. in my right eardrum, while sitting on my bed in the humid, mosquito filled smelly room)
The oh-so-lovely music stopped around 2am, so I was thinking that maybe I could actually get to sleep.  And then one of the roommates comes back....

I hear him burp...like, a wet burp...like, I had a feeling that he was going to puke, kind of burp.
And then the fountain of rice and meat and alcohol began pouring and splatting onto the floor from the top bunk bed.  I looked over at him, and he was totally passed out in the position that he puked.  Head hanging off of bed.  Puke all over himself, all over bottom bunk bed, all over floor.  Room now smelled like shit.  Actually, not so much like shit.  More like red bull, meat, rice, and alcohol blended up and then stored in a moldy room for a few days.  Yup, that's about how the room smelled.  The room with no fan or circulation of air at all.

At this point I realized that I was not going to sleep (yet again), and there was no way that I was staying in that room.  So, I went outside to the courtyard area.  There were still a few people lingering around, but I decided that I would try to sleep in the hammock out there.  I went back into the room to grab my sleeping bag (the guy was now awake...clueless...I gave him a good "fuck you" and then walked out.  very friendly, i know.) and attempted to get comfortable in the sleeping bag in the hammock, while covering myself to avoid mosquito bites and fluorescent light right above my head, but still hoping to be able to breathe.  This was not possible.  So, I just sort of laid there and went back and forth between being too hot and swatting away bugs.

While laying there, two of the people from my room came outside.  They were a couple who I met earlier in the night.  They didn't know that I was there, and they proceeded to sit there and break up.  Yup, like right out of a movie sort of break up. "It's not you, it's me." sort of shit.  YES, she was right, it WAS her.  She was clearly gay!  She clearly had a crush on this other girl who she had been hanging out with!  I so badly wanted to jump out of the hammock and inform the dude of this, but I didn't...I just tried to stay still and hide in my sleeping bag.  Once the break up was over, I had a few minutes of quiet.

Then I heard some animals running my way, and I was pretty sure that I was going to be eaten.  Turns out that they were just two dogs, but they still scared the shit out of me.
Laid there for a bit longer.  It was now just past 4 in the morning.

Suddenly, I heard this horrible scream.  I was pretty sure that it was a scream of somebody in trouble, but it was hard to tell if people were just drunk and messing around or if somebody really needed help.  I was trying to listen if I could make out any words (in particular: HELP!!), but I couldn't.  It was the middle of the night and I was alone, so I wasn't going to wander the streets to find this person (even though everybody in this town told me how safe it was and how i could hike alone, blah blah blah).  I was a bit disturbed, but wasn't really sure what to do...About 3 minutes later, I hear somebody running into the courtyard of the hostel from outside.  Like, charging.  This is the second moment of the night when I was pretty sure that I was going to die.  He comes running through, screaming:  "Help! Somebody help!  We need a medic! HELP!  My friend has just been stabbed!"  At this point, I look at him and realize that he definitely needs help...I jump out of my hammock, not really sure what I can do for him.  I have a phone, but I don't know who to call....He wakes up his friend who is sleeping in the tent area and continues screaming.  Somebody else comes out of her tent and says that there is a doctor staying in one of the dorms.  In the meantime, I figure that though I am no doctor, I do have some medical training, and perhaps more common sense than a bunch of drunk people.  He (understandably) was totally frantic and all over the place.  I asked his friend to show me where the girl was, and he took my hand and ran me across the road.  By the time that we got there, there were a few guys helping her and they seemed to have it under control.  There were people everywhere, crying and screaming.  There was one girl who had been with the girl who got stabbed, and literally walked away for a minute...and that's when it happened.  She was really losing it, so I sat her down before she had a total panic attack or passed out.  Then she realized that she didn't know where the third girl was who was staying with them.  More chaos.

Somebody came and picked up the girl.  She was doing OK.  Still alert...she was able to stand up and walk to the car.  She definitely lost a lot of blood though.  Not really sure where they took her, as we were pretty far from anything resembling a hospital.

Then, all of a sudden, there is running and screaming going on in the hostel.  They found the guy!
When the girl was screaming, these two guys who have a house nearby heard her and came outside to help.  They started chasing down the guy who attacked her, and as he ran across the river, they pretty much stoned him.  They threw rocks at him until he fell to the ground, and then they tied up his hands and dragged him back to the hostel.  When they got him back there, people were pounding on him....on their way to killing him.  Somebody yelled to them to think about what they were doing...Yes, this guy just did a horrible thing, but were any of these people really wanting to kill somebody?!
So, after they beat the shit out of him, they stopped.  Probably just short of killing him.

Still in shock, I stood for a minute.  I asked the two guys if they could walk me back to my hostel, cause there was now no way in hell that I was going alone.
They kindly walked me back.  We stayed and talked for a bit, and I got the story of what had happened. 
Evidently the three girls were staying in a tent on one side of the hostel, where they were the only tent.  Not wanting to be alone over there, they decided they they were going to crash with their friends in a dorm.  So, when the girl was attacked, she was just going to her tent to get her sleeping bag.  It sounded like the guy tried to rape her and then ended up stabbing her after she was screaming.  Evidently he also raped a 5 year old a few years ago.  Somebody from the town recognized him.

Needless to say, I definitely didn't go to bed after this.  I tried to read my book, drink some tea, pace back and forth outside...Wasn't really sure what to do with myself, but between the smell of vomit that was stuck in my nose and the whole thing that just happened, I was pretty sick to my stomach.  THANKFULLY, at about 6:30, I saw some people packing up their car and asked where they were headed.  I wasn't actually asking for a ride, I was just making friendly conversation.  It turned out that they were driving right past the town that I was heading to.  (My bus was supposed to leave at noon....back up the terrible road....back to the main town....to catch another 7-8 hour bus.)  They kindly offered me a ride, and I couldn't have jumped on that offer any quicker.  I threw my stuff into my bag and got out of there as soon as possible.  They were super friendly...a young couple from Austria...they had arrived the same day as me...the perfect people to spend the day with.

Miraculously, I made it to Port Elizabeth without puking, though I was afraid that I was going to puke for the first 3 hours.
I guess I have heard stories of people being attacked, but I have never been in the middle of it like this.  It scared me, but more than that, just made me sad.  Sad because people are so fucked up and do things like that.  And sad because this girls life is forever changed.  And sad because she is just one of so many people who encounter situations like this.  It made me think about the fact that most of the girls at camp had been raped, and a few of the counselors had scars from being stabbed, and I just can't imagine trying to go on with life without being afraid of everyone/everything.  There was a part of me that wanted to get on a plane and fly home.  Though I realize that I need to be cautious, I also need to remind myself that most people are good people and I can't leave this country walking around thinking that everybody is going to do something bad.

So, that was my night/morning!
I am in Port Elizabeth now, and I took my own room at the hostel.  Definitely in need of a night of sleep.  It is a quiet place in a mellow area...a welcome change. 
I was supposed to travel with two others today who are probably wondering what on earth happened to me...how I disappeared from the hostel in a super remote town!  They are booked at the same place as me, so I will hopefully see them when they arrive tonight.

Off to get some food for dinner, and then back to my hostel to relax with normal people and try to clear my head...

For the rest of my trip, I am in surf towns..staying in good places.  So, please don't worry about me too much now that I have shared this story.
I promise that I don't wander around at night alone, even in the surf towns! (which is why i need to end this blog...cause it will be getting dark soon!)

love,
cori

awesome day.

today was a great day. 
when i arrived yesterday, i asked about the hike that they do here to an area called "Hole in the Wall."  They said that they were not leading the hike today, but that i could do it myself.  it is about 10k and should take about 3 hours.  i asked person after person..."Can I really do it alone?  Is it really safe?  Is it well marked?  Are you SURE?!?"  Each person re-assured me that it was definitely doable on my own.  I wasn't exactly sure what to take from this, but luckily, I didn't have to decide.  I met a nice couple (Ralph and Marguerite) from Jo'burg who were also looking to do the hike...and similarly, were hesitant to do it alone.  So, we decided to meet up this morning. 
We started out and immediately couldn't find the start of the trail.  Luckily, we found somebody to ask.  Once again, this guy told us that the trail was well marked, blah blah blah.  Well, we had a great day, but it might be a small miracle that we all made it out un-injured!  We definitely missed the "trail" on numerous occasions.  At the start, there are arrows painted on rocks.  Now, this was nice, but...I did wonder if they were pointing us in the right direction or not, because they were small rocks...lightweight rocks...rocks that somebody could easily move to point in a different direction.  I am pretty sure that they lead us the right way, but the problems came once there were no longer arrows.  The local kids conveniently place themselves in these areas and ask to be your guide.  The guy who I was with spoke Zulu and a bit of Xhosa, which was helpful.  He asked a few of the kids if we were going the right way....but we didn't take a guide.  At one point, we decided to just follow the coast since the tide was out.  Well, this may not have been the best decision, as we ended up scaling up this mountain face.  There were many rocks that looked like they were solid....but, they basically caused rockslides when you held them.  Super sketchy.  Alas, we made it up and out of that area, and then opted for a "guide."  Two young boys lead us the rest of the way.  Of course, as soon as we decided to let them lead us, the arrows started again!  We were happy to have them guide us and to pay them a few bucks for their work...there are many kids just asking for "sweets" or money...so, these kids who are doing something are much more deserving.  The hostel that I am staying at places a lot of emphasis on supporting the kids who guide or sing or make crafts, but not giving sweets or money to the "beggars" in order to avoid the travellers creating begging children in the community.  After 3 hours, we made it!  The hike was unbelievably beautiful.  It was all along the coast...the ocean is so blue...the surrounding lands so green....sheep and cows all along the way.  The Hole in the Wall is created by waves and it is basically a large hole in the rocks.  As the wave shoots through, you can climb up on either side and jump off of the rocks into the ocean.  Or, you can swim through and ride the wave back.  It was really neat and really beautiful, and well worth the walk.  We were all in agreement that we didn't want to walk back if we didn't have to, especially since by the time that we ate something and relaxed for a bit, it was getting late in the day.  We met two great people who (THANKFULLY!) gave us a ride back. 

After sweating all day and jumping in the ocean, my shower was exceptional.  I just walked up the hill to see the sun set.  The people from the hostel bring a bunch of drinks up there for "sundowners."  I have seen some of the most amazing sunsets since being in Africa, though this was not one of them.  The wind picked up...which hopefully means that tonight will be cooler than last night.  It will be nice to not sleep in a pool of sweat and mosquitos...then again, if tonight is anything like last night, it will be hard to sleep anyway!

Tomorrow, I leave Coffee Bay.  The trip back to the main town is about 2+ hours on the bumpy road, and then I catch a bus to Port Elizabeth.  I think that is another 7+ hours (ugh!).  I will be there in a "quieter" hostel for three nights, and then I go to Jeffrey's Bay for three nights.  I am staying in a guesthouse there, which I am looking forward to!  It is nice to have my own space every once in a while!  After that, I head to Cape Town, which will be another long day on a bus.  I will be there for two days, and then I head home!  Crazy how time has gone by so quickly.

I have met a few nice people here who are also heading to Port Elizabeth tomorrow...so, I will have some familiar faces around at least for another day!

This hostel does a free "African" dinner every Sunday night, so I am going to go check that out now.  Meanwhile, I continue to be bitten by mosquitos. ahhh!

through sheep, cows, donkeys and potholes....

i made it to Coffee Bay, and awesome little beach "town."  Not sure you can call it a town, as it is really just a bunch of huts, but it is beautiful.  met a few people yesterday and had dinner with them, which was great.  met two others as well, and we are meeting up in a bit to do a hike.  i am looking forward to this because 1) i feel all of my muscle turning to mush, and 2) it is a beautiful day and this is supposed to be a great hike.  gonna go grab a bite to eat and then head out...will write more later!  (i will have plenty of time, in my attempt to get on the time schedule of the crazy partiers who go to sleep at 4 in the morning!  they are SOO loud!)

umm. is this real life?!

so, after all, perhaps i should have stayed at my peaceful hut.
let me set the scene for you:

 

the theme of the night at this gross party hostel is "bikinis and boardshorts."  right up my alley, right?!

so, there are lots of drunk people walking around in little clothing.  also, there is a pool outside, which means that there are drunk people swimming, which i hate.  they are all wearing glow bracelets and glow in the dark face paint, and there is terrible cheesy music playing.  it is about 85 degrees and humid outside, and since i spent the day walking around some pretty gross parts of this city, i feel like i am covered in a later of sweat and a layer of bugs.  it is just past 11 at night, so now people are drunk enough that the girls are becoming annoying and dramatic and crying and shit.  The bathrooms at this place smell like shit and I may get more dirty than clean when I decide to use the shower.  My room is directly next to the bar....which is oh-so-quiet.  And, the keys on the computer have leopard print stickers on them, which makes it really hard to type since I can't see the letters!

 

early in the night, i was sitting outside reading my book and drinking a beer.  this annoying british guy started talking to me.  he came down to this town a few months ago, and has pretty much been bumming around since.  so clearly, we already have nothing in common, and i am just trying not to be totally rude.  he was pretty convinced that he was going to get me to go out later in the night...obviously he doesn't know how stubborn i can be.  he and his cousin were discussing their night, and it seemed to consist of drinking, cocaine, and acid.  maybe some pot stuck in there.  oh, and lots of cigarettes.  awesome.  just what i was hoping to do tonight.  well, either that or to sit around in my sweatpants with some friends and probably go to sleep before midnight.

 

i was happy to have a few drinks and hang out with some friendly people.  unfortunately, i chose the wrong place for that!

so, i decided that i would just be a total lame ass and sit around and read my book.  i have been sitting here for about two hours, reading "Three Cups of Tea."  Many people come up and ask why I am reading..."It is New Years Eve!!!"  Yes, I know.  Just another night of the year as far as I am concerned =)  I can't tell you how many times people have walked by and said, "A book...?" or "Reading?!"  I am sitting there reading, and behind me is a fog machine with people dancing on the bar and screaming.  Don't worry, I did take a small break from reading...that's when I went into the kitchen to make myself a snack of cheese and tomato.  The only other person in there was washing out shot glasses.

 

Surprisingly, I have not met any other Americans on my trip.  Until tonight...

there are a few here.

Three of them are peace corps volunteers, so I had some small hope that they may be friendly enough to invite me out with them, or to engage in a conversation.  Not so! 

 

I am now at the point where it is actually comical.  I am not really uncomfortable anymore...just looking forward to tomorrow.

So, i decided to use the computer to write this update.  but, when i signed on to my email, I saw an email from Chase card services stating that there was a charge that they want to verify.  It was for $160.93.  I was sure that I never bought anything at this cost.  Shit.  So, I push the button to say that this was not made the attempt at a purchase, and a notice came up saying that they would be calling me shortly.  Knowing that I wont be answering my phone, I called them.  I used almost all of the minutes on my phone to make this call, only to realize that it was in fact me!  It was not actually charged.  It was an attempted charge that was declined!  Yesterday, I tried to take out cash at an ATM.  After two tries, I realized that I was accidently using my credit card instead of my ATM card.  OOPS!  So, that was the attempted charge.  Nobody stole my credit card.  I was just dumb yesterday...and again tonight. OY!

 

Well, there you have my New Years update.

I hope that you all have a great night that in no way resembles mine!

 

Love,

Cori

 

 

center of it all

I have moved!  I am now staying at a hostel in the middle of it all.  Evidently the big parties tonight are on Florida Street, which is right where I am.  Should be interesting, since you all know how much I love new years!

I walked all around Durban yesterday.  One thing that I had not known is how big the Indian culture is here.  In some areas, I no longer felt like I was in South Africa!
Some random things that I thought were funny/interesting/noteworthy:
-Sign advertising an attorney.  His last name was Ramdass.  Sign read:  Ramdass Attorney.
-Sign advertising a plumber.  Sign read:  Rock Hard Plumber
-Kids in park playing soccer with an empty liter coke bottle.  Not even phased by the fact that it wasn't a ball.
-I went to go meet some of the other counselors from the camp.  They told me to meet them at "The Workshop," which I looked up (thank goodness for iTouch!) and realized was a mall.  I wandered for a bit and then found a cab.  He didn't know where the place was, so I gave him the address and we found it.  Later, I realized that I think that I told him that it was called "The Warehouse," which is why he had no idea what I was talking about.  Oops.  This reminded me of when I was a kid and I told people that I got my ears pierced in The Cottage (I meant, The Village in NYC!).  I made it there safely, and I was definitely the only white person in a many mile radius.  It was good to see some familar faces, and I think that I am going to meet up with them again today.
-Walked down to the beaches. It was super windy and gray outside.  The kind of day where in SD nobody would be at the beach.  It was SOO crowded.  Couldn't even see the sand sort of crowded.  There were places to go to find missing children, sort of crowded.

I bought a long sleeve shirt yesterday, cause i have nothing warm with me.  They forgot to take off the security tag, so i am going to walk back down there now to get it taken off...

Happy New Year!!!

To the other extreme

I just took a cab into the city and noticed that I was right near
the place where I am being picked up on Saturday morning. I have to
be ready at 6:30am. So, I decided to stop in and see if they have a
bed available, since it makes more sense to stay there rather than cab
there at the crack of dawn. They were able to get me a bed in a 10
person dorm for two nights. The place is the typical party hostel,
with bar and loud music at all hours. Not especially clean either,
but definitely more social and more central and with internet! So, it
should be an interesting (perhaps annoying) and memorable new years
after all!

Maybe not the best choice....

Oops. Maybe I should have stayed in the city. I reserved a bed at
this surfers place away from the city, thinking that mellow and safe
was the way to go. The problem is that I am now staying in this hut
near the beach, but the weather sucks and I am far from everything and
the only way to get anywhere is with a taxi. I have a feeling that I
am going to have the quietest, earliest to bed new years eve...ever!
At least I have a bunch of lizards,frogs,and mosquitos to keep me
company! (don't worry, I am in a malaria free area)

Maybe not the best choice....

Oops. Maybe I should have stayed in the city. I reserved a bed at
this surfers place away from the city, thinking that mellow and safe
was the way to go. The problem is that I am now staying in this hut
near the beach, but the weather sucks and I am far from everything and
the only way to get anywhere is with a taxi. I have a feeling that I
am going to have the quietest, earliest to bed new years eve...ever!
At least I have a bunch of lizards,frogs,and mosquitos to keep me
company! (don't worry, I am in a malaria free area)

Landing: take two

The past few days have been truly invredible. Hard to put into
words. I have a hundred or so photos, but they don't do justice. I
feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to join Jodi on this
safari.

We arrived at the airport on Saturday morning and realized that we
were in for quite a luxurious trip. Far from the hostels and camp,
that's for sure. We were the only two people on our flight!! A 12
passenger plane...just the two pilots and the two of us! It was a
beautiful (and slightly nauseating) one hour flight to the Madikwe
Game Reserve area. It was a bit nerve wracking when we hit turbulence
and i watched the pilot tighten his seat belt! He then looked back at
me with a smile and a thumbs up. Excellent. Much better. As we were
landing I tapped Jodi on the shoulder, as I was sure that we were
about to die. We were definitely overshooting the runway. As we got
close to the ground, we suddenly shot up again! The pilot looked back
and let us know that there were zebras on the runway. Hah! This was a
great introduction to the trip. Zebras on the runway. REALLY?! (a
definite "is this real life" moment)

We were picked up by a great guy named Stuart who would be our guide
for our time there. To get to the lodge, we drove back down the
runway (read: dirt strip) where we did in fact see the zebras that had
been in the way, as well as a few giraffes. Amazing. The lodge was
incredible, aside from the millions of ants that found there way into
all of my stuff.

We woke at 5am each day and went on a drive for a few hours and then
went on another in the evenings. Elephants, giraffes, wildebests,
impalas, wild dogs, lions, rhinos, hippos, buffalos, kudu, so many
beautiful birds...

Though it was SO beautiful and such a unique and amazing experience, I
am ready to go back to hostels and traveling the coast for my last two
weeks here. Off to Durban in a few hours! Jodi heads back to the
states this evening, so it is just me again. But, I may meet up with
some of the counselors from camp later this week, and many people have
given me advice of places to go/things to see on my trip down the coast.

I should have internet access almost every day for the rest of my
trip, so feel free to email and I will do my best to respond.

Love!!

Back in jo'burg...until the morning!

Just a quick update....
Flew back from Bloemfontein this afternoon...had a nice, relaxing,
mellow few days on the farm. If I don't run around soon I might go
crazy, but otherwise, all is well! It was great to see an old camp
friend again (Laurens) and meet his family. They were extremely
welcoming and kind. They weren't sure what to do with a vegetarian,
but somehow still managed to feed me more than enough, including lots
of puss(otherwise known as custard). I went to my first braai (BBQ),
where we were high on a hill when the wind picked up and we thought
that we were going to start a forest fire. It was one of the many
"only in Africa" moments. The farm was beautiful and HUGE...had some
interesting conversations about the country and it's history and the
range of problems that exist here today. I really enjoy hearing the
viewpoints of so many different people, an these were the first
Afrikaners that I had spoken with since arriving.

At the airport, I met up with my friend Jodi who I met at the camp.
We checked into a hotel (yup! No hostel for me tonight!) and then
another friend from camp came and picked us up. We went and hung at
her friends house for a bit, though there was a small exodus upon our
arrival. Just another awkward moment to add to the list! It turned
out that they had been hanging out since this morning and it was
getting late.

Jodi and I leave for safari tomorrow morning. I have no idea whether
or not I will have internet there, but I will be back in the airport
for a few hours on Tuesday, so I will update again then.

I hope that you all had a nice Xmas...or, for my non Xmas celebrating
family, I hope that you all had some nice family time this week.
Hopefully I will be there the next time you are all together.

Have a great weekend!!
Love, cori

Welcomed luxury

Well, most of you would not call this luxury. But, it is clean...I
have my own room....and bathroom...no frogs or Mosquitos....no singing
and dancing of Zulu songs....no power outages....I am not being
electrocuted every time that I shower...and I have access to foods
that are not all white on color and made from some sort of corn product.

I am in a part of Johannesburg called Melville. I arrived here
yesterday with two of the girls who were also volunteers...jodi and
aly. Both of them are camp directors so you can imagine that we got
along pretty well.

Aly left for England today and jodi left for cape town. So, this is
actually my first night alone since arriving! Tomorrow I am going to
Bloemfontein to visit an old camp friend and then I changed my plans
so that I fly back here on Friday and meet up with jodi. We are going
on safari together. Super excited to have somebody to go with!!

I am typing on an itouch so it would take me hours to write all about
the camp experience. I will have to do that in person... Which will
also make it much more entertaining. Suffice it to say that I have no
regrets at all. But, I was definitely ready to be done and I don't
know what I would have done if there had not been other international
volunteers there with me. There were some seriously strange
moments....interesting ones....frustrating ones...
There was constant singing and dancing. There were many times of
cluelessness as I was surrounded by people speaking Zulu. But, these
kids were incredible and camp definitely provided a life changing
experience for them. It was unbelievable to be a part of it.

I hope that you are all having a healthy holiday season!!

All is well in SA...except for Internet access

The Internet is on and off here, so I am going to try to write this update, and see what happens....

 

For the first time since arriving here, I am on my own.  Big time sucky! 

Well, technically, not alone.  I came to a hostel and met up with a girl who will be volunteering as well.  She is from Canada...seems real nice.  We head out early tomorrow morning for Magaliasburg, which is where we will be until the 20th.

 

So, this past week...

 

I arrived on Friday night, and was incredibly thankful to have a friend to pick me up at the airport in Cape Town.  He quickly took care to be sure that I was safe, teaching me about hiding things behind seats in the truck, locking doors, panic buttons, etc.  We arrived at the hostel and couldn't get in.  OF COURSE!  I mean, I always have trouble traveling and all had gone smoothly until that point!  It turned out to be pretty funny.  He had a code to get in, and the code didn't work.  It was like 11 at night, so nobody was at the desk...luckily, after a few minutes a guy came in and opened the gate.  Turned out that we had the wrong code...maybe from the last hostel that he was at?!  who knows... so, it was nice to go inside and relax a bit, talk a bit, and get to bed.  The other option would have been to sit in a bar until the sun came up and somebody let us into the hostel!  hah.

 

Saturday, I was pretty tired from traveling.  We walked around Cape Town and had a pretty mellow day. 

 

Sunday, we went to Muizenburg (a beach area).  I went for a quick swim in the ocean, which felt amazing.  Evidently, I brought the bad surf curse with me because the surf was great until I arrived, and continued to be crap the entire time that I was there.  Nonetheless, it was awesome to just sit on the beach for a bit and watch some kids run around in the water and dance.  Song and dance is everywhere here.  It seems that everybody just has this inate ability to sing.  It is amazing.

 

Monday we hiked Table Mountain...aweseome views of Cape Town!  It was FREEZING on top.  Not like cori-cold.  Actually cold.  It was super windy, so we spent about 20 minutes on the top of the mountain and then couldn't feel our hands...

 

Tuesday we did a wine tour in Stellenbosch.  We met two cool girls from Canada, and then there were three older people on the tour.  It was neat to drive through some towns and to see the wine country.  All beautiful.  Learned a bit about wine...tasted some good wines.  Overall, great day.  On the way back, we realized that one of the women on the tour was the owner of the hostel next to ours.  She invited us over for drinks.  Just what you want after a day of drinking wine, right?!  We went...

 

Wednesday we wandered around Cape Town...saw a little soccer match...the Botanical gardens...the Waterfront.  We weren't exactly moving quickly (see Tuesdays events).  That night, we tried to do a full moon hike that I had read about.  It is at an area called Lionshead.  The idea is that you hike up on the full moon night so that you watch the sun set and the moon rise.  Well, we drove up there and felt like we were driving to a concert.  There were thousands of people there!  So, we decided not to do.  Neither of us are huge fans of crowds.  We ended up driving up to Table Mountain, where we had hiked a few days before.  It was a great place to watch a beautiful sunset over a beautiful city.  Another great day....

 

Thursday...went for another swim at Muizenburg...tried Lionshead hike again..AWESOME!  This time, we went much earlier...it was a beautiful day...a beautiful sunset.  We hiked down before the sun was setting, and saw crowds of people coming up.  It turned out to be perfect since we got to watch the sun set as we hiked down...and we avoided the crowds!  This was probably one of the best moments since being here.

 

So, on Friday, we took of for Johannesburg.  (Note: I am safe, so don't flip out when I told you that we drove!).  We drove.  This is a long story to try to explain while typing, but the short version is that there is a school outside of Johannesburg that is run by a woman who is a family friend of my friend.  Last April, their computer lab was broken into and all of the computers were stolen.  Another school down in Cape Town had 30 computers to donate, but they had been sitting there because they had no way to transport them.  So, we took them.  The problem is that with a truck full of computers, it isn't safe to stop anywhere.  So, we drove straight...18 hours. WAHOO!  The idea of that many hours in a car sounded horrible to me, but it didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as I thought.  Actually, I kind of enjoyed it!  We literally drove across the country.  Some interesting moments along the way....stopped by customs...lots of road construction...sometimes you just get out of the car and sit for a while...Also, since there was so much weight in the back of the truck, the lights on the front looked like brights.  Driving through the night, you can only imagine how many people flashed their brights at us, thinking that our brights were on.  It became like a game of light flashing...

 

We arrived safely on Saturday morning....slept for a few hours and then walked around and got some lunch...

We were staying with an extremely kind and welcoming family.  She is the one who runs the school.

Yesterday, we walked around...I got to see where my friend grew up...saw the botanical gardens...heard some great live music...saw a wedding in the park...went to an African flea market. 

 

This morning, we went to the school to drop off the computers.  When we arrived, two girls were there to give us a tour.  It was really funny, and slightly uncomfortable, as they definitely thought that we were important people of some sort.  The tour was literally a tour of everything, including every classroom, teacher and bathroom in the school.  At the moment, it is for 10th and 11th graders, so there were about 80 students.  After the tour, they had the entire school waiting outside to welcome us.  Imagine the look on my face. And my love for being the center of attention.  Clearly, something was lost in translation, as the students definitely thought that we had something to do with the donation of the computers.  They didn't realize that we simply drove them up there for them.  So, after a welcome...they sang a welcome song, and some of them were dancing.  They all had these amazing smiles on their faces.  Then, we got a thank you song.  We were extremely awkward, not knowing how to respond.  Just imagine, the two white people standing up in front of the entire school.  OY! 

It was a pretty incredbile experience though.  And yes, I obviously now want to go back and teach at the school.  It is a maths and sciences school.  (Don't worry, I am still coming home!)

 

That is the short version of my week.  Lacking many of the funny moments, but I am typing about 200 words a minute and my hands hurt and I am just trying to get in as much as possible, while saving every few sentences as the Internet continues to cut out.

 

I will be in touch again in a few weeks.

I feel so luck to be here...this has been a truly incredible week.

 

Love,

Cori

 

 

Safe in Jo'Burg!

Hello everybody (including Kya and Sarah!  Woop Woop!),

 

So, I made it to Johannesburg in one piece.  I am luckily enough to have a friend and a nice house to stay in for today and tomorrow, and then I head to the hostel to meet up with the other volunteers.  We leave for camp in Tuesday morning.

 

I had a fantastic week in Cape Town.  On the last night there, we did an amazing sunset hike....a great way to end a great week in a beautiful place.

Now, on to new adventures.  I will try to sit down before leaving to volunteer and write a full re-cap on the past week.

There were only a few neither safe nor fun events =)

Actually, that is not true.  They were all fun!  And, I am in one piece and healthy.  Just covered in bites.

 

I hope that you  are all doing well....

super quick update

i promise a real update this weekend, but for now..

 

all is well here. have been in cape town since arriving, and will be here until friday or saturday.

have done some great hikes, seen a beautiful beach, a fun wine tour yesterday, and met some great people from around the world.

i am heading up to johannesburg this weekend and will hopefully have a day to prepare for volunteering.  i will write a real update then. promise!