Lions, Tigers, and Bears! (Not really)

July 22- July 28

Mzoliiiiiiiis!! We got some of the absolute best barbeque from Mzolis, a little restaurant in Gugulethu. If you know me, you know that I am very picky when it comes to the foods that I put in my mouth and I was really afraid to try this. For one it was in a township, so I was expecting it to be a little side of the road thing that they have on the side of the road where they cook smiley (sheep head). However, it was a pleasant surprise to get there and see that it was in an actual building that had a giant tent outside and it was very nice. I was also a little concerned because Godfrey told us that they were going to just pile all the meat up and bring it all out on the table. He said it would consist of beef, lamb, sausage, and some other stuff that I did not know the name of. So he brought it all out and it all looked so delicious and edible so I just dug in and it all was good and I did not care what type of meat I was eating. It all was delicious and did not make me sick so I was really satisfied about that.
            

 

The next day we went to a primary school in Langa as well as that afternoon we went to the US Consulate.  After visiting the school, everyone came out with their interesting stories about how they had so much fun in their classrooms, but I was kind of bombed out because my teacher did not let us interact with our class at all. She just told us to sit there while she continued on with her lecture. She was not fascinated in the least bit that we were there. Which didn’t really bother me any, but I could just tell that some of the students looked really interested like they had some things they wanted to say.

At the Consulate, I was really at first trying to figure out what we were doing there because the lady was giving a lecture to South African students and the things they needed to know before traveling and going to school in America. But after she was done we were there kind of like a panel to answer any questions that some of them may have had about life and college life or anything else they may want to know about and that was kind of cool to be there to give them advice because it would have been nice for me to have had someone to give me a few answers before I arrived here. One girl found me on Facebook already and asked me a question and I was so glad to be able to help.

We went to the Cape of Good Hope and it was really beautiful just like everything else is in this city!

 

We got to do a short tour and sit in on a class at the University of Cape Town, and I have to say that I was so glad to be there and see something familiar. Students, a campus, books, anything! It was just a good vibe and I loved being there! I loved how everyone was so integrated and it wasn’t segregated at all like the actual city is and that was a great thing to watch. That is a school that I would actually consider for myself to attend because I loved it so much.

Safari dayyyy! Even though I was overly excited about this, it actually turned out to be kind of a disappointment. We did get to see a lot of animals, but it seems like we were just at an extra large zoo because all of the animals had been imported there and weren’t in their natural habitat and some of the animals were even gated off from the other animals. Then it was freezing cold! The bus had no windows and it was windy… not a good combination! But beside all the bad, we got to see hippos, zebras, lions, rhinos, ostriches, and more. We also came into close contact with some of them and I was so afraid that the lions were going to attack us. They said that the lions had lost their fear because so many people come through there and sometimes they come up to the truck and bite the tires and things like that. One more great thing was that we had an AWESOME breakfast at that resort! ( they had made the reserve into a resort as well so you know the safari couldn’t have been real) . It was the breakfast that Ive had since I been here.

 

                                                

 

 

 

The safari was a 2 hour drive away from where we lived and on the way I saw some beautiful mountains with waterfalls flowing through them and it was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen since I’ve been here! Overall, the week was great! And I’m a little bit closer to coming home, which I miss so much!