ok soo october has been a very crazy month! i will try my best to cover it all :) (i'm not capitalizing or using proper punctuation because i'm too lazy today haha)
one saturday a couple weeks ago we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens..beautiful botanical gardens unlike anything i've ever seen! it was a gorgeous day so once again i was practicing my photography skills for a couple hours (one of the pics is on my page, the rest will be put up on facebook maybe soon or maybe not til december haha) and then we put down a blanket and ended up laying out tanning and reading for awhile that afternoon..so relaxing and peaceful...a look in any direction was huge bunches of bright colored flowers and cloudless blue sky..so content in that moment.
so tuesday, the 14th, started our 6 day excursion to eastern south africa..a trip of a lifetime to say the least.
we had to wake up at 330am...i am so not a morning person so this was extra difficult and i was so tired i was nauseous..to help this, we had to get a on a plane and fly a couple hours to durban (no time change luckily!). that same day we drove a couple hours to hluhluwe (still not entirely sure how to pronouce this haha) and we did a river cruise up the st. lucia estuary and saws tons of hippos in and out of the water..absolutely enormous but at the same time really cute! haha they were bobbing around the water in huge groups and at times entertaining us by fighting (again, pics will possibly be up soon)..we also saw a couple of the hugest crocodiles about 10 feet from the boat!...then we drove to stay overnight in a bed and breakfast nearby where they had zebras and wildebeests casually hanging out about 50 feet from where we were eating dinner...really cool! zebras are really the coolest looking animal..not sure if everyone knows, but every zebra has different stripe patterns, like we all have different fingerprints. just a fun fact haha so we also found a couple lizards and frogs in our apartment that night too! haha anyway, it was a beautiful place with wonderful ppl working there and we had a really fun night with great food and great company! then the next morning we had to wake up at 430...another early morning. we got picked up in the coolest safari jeeps and all piled into two of them and headed out to hluhluwe game reserve for our 6 hour safari!! we saw giraffes, rhinos (my new fav animal btw), lions (which is extremely rare, and we saw 3!), and tons of buffalo, zebras, warthogs (pumba from lion king), waterbuck...aaand no elephants! :( the biggest animal and they are the best at hiding unfortunately! we had an awesome day though! it was so fun driving around seeing these animals out in the wild, early in the morning, being on their turf as opposed to seeing them in cages at the zoo. it was a really awesome experience! then we drove back to durban and stayed at a nice hotel on the beach! we hung out there for two nights..went out to eat at a restaurant bar/grill and then at an indian restaurant..then went to the casino (i lost 170 rand..right around 17 bucks) and even though i lost money, i loved ittt! i am definitely going to mohegan multiple times when i get home haha it won't be as fun with dollars cuz rand is like monopoly money, but i'll still give it a shot! we went to the beach one of the days in durban considering all we had to do was cross the street, and touched the indian ocean..it was surprisingly warm but not quite warm enough for me to swim yet haha then friday morning we woke up and drove a couple hours to the drakensberg mountains, largest mountain range in south africa...it was the nicest resort with the most stunning views i have ever seen! we all stayed in chalets (apartments) and ate 7 course buffet meals for breakfast lunch and dinner...heaven! it was such a serene place because it was in the middle of nowhere, no noise of the city, cars driving by, or any light pollution..it was just nature with gorgeous scenery. we went horseback riding saturday morning through the foothills...absolutely amazing. one of my favorite parts of the entire trip. it was just 3 of us at the time and it was so quiet and beautiful..sunny and warm..all you heard was a slight breeze rustling the fields and trees and the trotting of the horses hooves on the ground (also occassionally katie was freaking out when we started going too fast which led to her falling off the horse...funniest moment i've ever witnessed after i knew she was ok)..with all of that, it was a fantastic morning and i found a new love for horseback riding! we also did zip lining from soo high up (the stairs going up was the scariest part i think), and 4 wheeling through the foothills the next morning right as the sun was coming up..so freakin cool is all i can say! adrenaline rush. i was getting seriosuly into it thinking i was pro haha and then one of the days we spent relaxing by the pool tanning and reading! overall, absolutely amazing trip! i did so many new things and experienced so many new places...i could never replace it and can't wait to be able to put up pictures to show all of you just how spectacular it really was because words can't even describe!
back to cape town...this past saturday was our first day out at the beach!! it was an absolutely gorgeous day..right around 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky..we spent the day at Camp's Bay, lounging, tanning of course, reading, and a little bit of shopping! there were a bunch of guys in speedos, very normal here, and some topless women..apparently also very normal. very european feeling once again..heavy european influence in cape town because it was settled by the british and dutch.
sunday we took the pool cover off at our house yay!! needs a little vacuuming but overall its really really nice! can't wait to be able to swim! :)
last night was so cool...we went to a jazz club with our guide, vernon. it was AMAZING! there is a whole music genre we've been missing out on here in cape town. the jazz music is so great! the band was phenomenal! we got drinks and some appetizers and sat for hours listening to this band then there was a jam session where random ppl came with their instruments and all played together! it was so awesome because they obviously had never played together and didn't know each others styles or anything and it sounded so awesome..like they had been playing together for years! it was such good entertainment to say the least! we are all hooked now and plan to spend a lot more of our nights at jazz clubs because we have a lot of time to make up that we have been missing out on for the past 7 weeks haha
SOO that is my life this past month in a nutshell! there is a lot more in detail but i think i covered the important stuff :) it's been amazing so far and i'm happy the summer weather is here for more good times to come! :)
i will update again sooner rather than later this time!!
love you all! <3
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Soo happy :)
So let's see where I left off...
Friday we had our first maternity exam which went well and our crazy cultural class that is confusing ALL of us because none of us understand anything about politics, especially politics here..what's cool is that a lot of stuff that is going on now (I don't know if anyone has been following SA's current chaotic political situation besides Maddie) is very relevant to our class and it's cool to be able to discuss a lot of it with our teacher, who seems to know everything about SA's history.
So on Saturday, Carolyn and I went into downtown Cape Town to Long Street to shop! It was so much fun! We both bought a couple things, but we found a lot of the stores were a little too crazy style for us but it was still really fun to window shop! Then we took a taxi to the Waterfront and we went to the two oceans aquarium which had some of the most different kinds of fish I've ever seen..definitely worth the trip! Actually we saw these crabs that were from the ocean off the coast of Japan taht had legs that were a couple meters in length...absolutely huge and I was fascinated by them and I think I stood at that tank for 20 minutes haha Then we continued shopping at the Waterfront mall cuz we didn't have enough yet for the day haha
Sunday was just a regular day spent at the house in the gorgeous weather just hangin out and then Monday was a boring day at clinical because noone decided to have a baby that day!
But it was made up for Tuesday and today because I saw 3 live natural births and a C-Section between the two days! We were again the cheering squad but one of the women today was SO sweet because she was so appreciative of our support in the delivery room. It was really nice to know she liked having us there and that we actually helped her through the process. Also, one of the deliveries I was allowed to cut the umbillical cord when the baby was born!! This was so cool to be a part of the delivery. I asked the Dad if he wanted to do it but he said he wanted me to so of course I took teh opportunity! After the birth, the Dad took a picture of me with the baby. It was definitely a memorable experience that I'm lucky to have been a part of! One of the nurse's said that some people believe cutting the cord makes you the godparent of the child haha I hope not in this case!
Now tonight we are going to our Professor's house for our weekly dinner with her. In fact, this is our last one with her because she leaves next week after our excursion.. It is one of the girls' birthdays today so we are celebrating tonight with dinner and cake then we'll take her out for drinks Friday night!
That's all for now!
I'll write again this week!
Friday we had our first maternity exam which went well and our crazy cultural class that is confusing ALL of us because none of us understand anything about politics, especially politics here..what's cool is that a lot of stuff that is going on now (I don't know if anyone has been following SA's current chaotic political situation besides Maddie) is very relevant to our class and it's cool to be able to discuss a lot of it with our teacher, who seems to know everything about SA's history.
So on Saturday, Carolyn and I went into downtown Cape Town to Long Street to shop! It was so much fun! We both bought a couple things, but we found a lot of the stores were a little too crazy style for us but it was still really fun to window shop! Then we took a taxi to the Waterfront and we went to the two oceans aquarium which had some of the most different kinds of fish I've ever seen..definitely worth the trip! Actually we saw these crabs that were from the ocean off the coast of Japan taht had legs that were a couple meters in length...absolutely huge and I was fascinated by them and I think I stood at that tank for 20 minutes haha Then we continued shopping at the Waterfront mall cuz we didn't have enough yet for the day haha
Sunday was just a regular day spent at the house in the gorgeous weather just hangin out and then Monday was a boring day at clinical because noone decided to have a baby that day!
But it was made up for Tuesday and today because I saw 3 live natural births and a C-Section between the two days! We were again the cheering squad but one of the women today was SO sweet because she was so appreciative of our support in the delivery room. It was really nice to know she liked having us there and that we actually helped her through the process. Also, one of the deliveries I was allowed to cut the umbillical cord when the baby was born!! This was so cool to be a part of the delivery. I asked the Dad if he wanted to do it but he said he wanted me to so of course I took teh opportunity! After the birth, the Dad took a picture of me with the baby. It was definitely a memorable experience that I'm lucky to have been a part of! One of the nurse's said that some people believe cutting the cord makes you the godparent of the child haha I hope not in this case!
Now tonight we are going to our Professor's house for our weekly dinner with her. In fact, this is our last one with her because she leaves next week after our excursion.. It is one of the girls' birthdays today so we are celebrating tonight with dinner and cake then we'll take her out for drinks Friday night!
That's all for now!
I'll write again this week!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Very exciting update...INTERNET IS HERE!!!!! +this past week
YAY! That's all I have to say...finally internet at our house!! Internet is different here though cuz it's prepaid
So...about the past week...
Friday night was a blast! The restaurant was so African themed and the food was amazing..we had so much fun being a big, loud group of American girls haha we enjoy making scenes wherever we go..and the ppl here like it actually haha..some were taking pictures...kind of awkward but you know me, I soaked it up! haha Dancing at the clubs after was sooo much fun...and let me tell you..these ppl here can dress and dance, girls AND the guys! So fashionable and a great love for music and rhythm..it's so awesome!
Saturday we saw whales!!! BLUE WHALES(biggest whale in the world) in fact (for you Hill) and they were so beautiful! They were jumping and splashing and basically showing off for us which was just fantastic cuz obviosuly that's what we were there for! We did a little shopping and had dinner overlooking the bay which was really nice!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were clinicals!! I absolutely loved our facility and the staff was so welcoming! I felt at home within the first day. We saw two live births which were beautiful and we actually became the cheering squad for the unit haha We were helping to support the mothers during their deliveries and then afterwards we helped to take care of the newborn babies! They were SO tiny and the cutest things everrrr!
Last night we had a group dinner at our Professor's apartment--mexican. Delicious. Walking home we got caught in a hurricane storm aaaand we have funny pictures absolutely dripping, soaking wet..I had no umbrella but worse, I didn't even have a hood on my jacket. It was hilarious! All we could do was laugh hysterically as we trudged home (15 minute walk) in whipping winds and buckets of water falling out of the sky, completely unexpected haha
And today we had a very long day of class while it was beautiful outside :'( Oh and after class I was extremely motivated for some reason and took a pilates class then a spin class..just thought I'd let ppl know I'm actually using the gym membership I bought and it's not going to waste!
Tomorrow is our first exam.. And of course tonight we get the internet and now none of us can possibly study..way too excited!
I will definitely post pictures this weekend! I have about a thousand at this point sooo I probably won't do ALL of them obviously, but I will make a few good albums and put them up for everyone!
I will write again soon! xoxo
So...about the past week...
Friday night was a blast! The restaurant was so African themed and the food was amazing..we had so much fun being a big, loud group of American girls haha we enjoy making scenes wherever we go..and the ppl here like it actually haha..some were taking pictures...kind of awkward but you know me, I soaked it up! haha Dancing at the clubs after was sooo much fun...and let me tell you..these ppl here can dress and dance, girls AND the guys! So fashionable and a great love for music and rhythm..it's so awesome!
Saturday we saw whales!!! BLUE WHALES(biggest whale in the world) in fact (for you Hill) and they were so beautiful! They were jumping and splashing and basically showing off for us which was just fantastic cuz obviosuly that's what we were there for! We did a little shopping and had dinner overlooking the bay which was really nice!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were clinicals!! I absolutely loved our facility and the staff was so welcoming! I felt at home within the first day. We saw two live births which were beautiful and we actually became the cheering squad for the unit haha We were helping to support the mothers during their deliveries and then afterwards we helped to take care of the newborn babies! They were SO tiny and the cutest things everrrr!
Last night we had a group dinner at our Professor's apartment--mexican. Delicious. Walking home we got caught in a hurricane storm aaaand we have funny pictures absolutely dripping, soaking wet..I had no umbrella but worse, I didn't even have a hood on my jacket. It was hilarious! All we could do was laugh hysterically as we trudged home (15 minute walk) in whipping winds and buckets of water falling out of the sky, completely unexpected haha
And today we had a very long day of class while it was beautiful outside :'( Oh and after class I was extremely motivated for some reason and took a pilates class then a spin class..just thought I'd let ppl know I'm actually using the gym membership I bought and it's not going to waste!
Tomorrow is our first exam.. And of course tonight we get the internet and now none of us can possibly study..way too excited!
I will definitely post pictures this weekend! I have about a thousand at this point sooo I probably won't do ALL of them obviously, but I will make a few good albums and put them up for everyone!
I will write again soon! xoxo
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