This past weekend was amazing! Absolutely incredible. We left Friday morning to Hluhluwe Umfalozi Game Reserve which was about four hours away from African Enterprise. Once we got there we got into our game vehicles and drove around till five. Friday was not the best day. I was pretty tired and we didn't see many animals. Saturday was a different story. We left our super nice tent cabins at 4:45am and drove until 5pm. It was a long day of sitting but the fact that we were in the African Savannah where there are lions and elephants just running around made it worth it. I was definitely surprised by terrain. I was expecting flat grasslands but it was very hilly and beautiful especially when the sun was rising. Saturday we didn't see all to many animals either but it was a good day nonetheless. One scary thing was that there were hyena just running around our camp so it was pretty sketchy walking around which us boys did. Sunday was the best day by far. I had such an awesome safari guide, Steph, who was super knowledgeable and cool. We woke up early Sunday and right away we saw so many animals. There are many white rhino in the park but finding a black rhino is really rare and we happened to see one super close. That was really cool. We finally saw our lions. There was a pack of nine or so lions just chillin. It was so cool to see them up close. The most amazing thing happened as we were leaving the park though. We were about 1km from the exit when Max asked randomly if there is any animals in this park(it was funny because we hadn't seen anything for about an hour) so our guid said 'ya lets just look', so we stopped on the side of the road and literally a couple seconds later we saw an elephant coming out of a tree. Then more elephants approached us and next thing we knew there was about 15 elephant, including three baby elephant, who crossed the road right behind us. It was quite a sight because 10 giraffe also came out and crossed the road at the same time. It was unreal and I thank God for answering our call as we were leaving. It just really uplifted the mood of everyone here and this week has been great so far because of it. I know that this will not be my last safari.

Week 5

One more week of class! It sounds so crazy but its true. This past weekend our group split and half went on the Safari while our half stayed a night in a Zulu homestead. The night was so awesome, one of the best experiences so far. We got to stay in a hut and eat some traditional Zulu food. When we first arrived we toured the homestead and learned about some of the Zulu culture. We got to see how they make their hut floor out of cow poop and how they dance. We drank Zulu beer and had the best meat I have ever had in my life. It was such a great weekend. Tomorrow we are going on a safari. Ya that's right.

Week 4

We are done with our fourth week of class. It's going by so fast! This has been a great week though(unlike Cupertino's with the shooting and Steve Job's passing). We had a toga party a week ago which was super fun and this weekend I am going to stay a night at a Zulu village. The group of people that we have here is amazing. There is great community and I feel like I am getting to know more people on a deeper level. Today I saw finally saw zebra in the reserve right next door!!It made my week.

Adventure

Today was an adventurous day. I started the day off with a run in the reserve at 6:30 this morning before breakfast. After tea time Mark, Aaron, Justin and I went through the jungle to find the third waterfall behind African Enterprise. We climbed up the second waterfall and followed the water to the third. There was no distinct path so it was bushwhacking all the way. About 20min ago we had the coolest lightning storm I have ever seen. The sky was lighting up like it was day and there was even a flash of green which was awesome. Today's been an outdoor day here in the beautiful South Africa.

2nd Week of Classes Done

We are a third of the way through courses!!! So far classes have not been all too bad but they are very long. I went on two field trips in art class this week, one to a museum in Pietermartzberg and then to a ceramic studio out in the country side. It reminded me of Napa valley with green rolling hills. On the way back from the studio we stopped at some little shops including a wine shop and a Belgium chocolate shop. I had some super good white chocolate truffles:). Then this weekend we tried to go bowling but it ended up being closed so I had a dance off with some black people in the parking lot. It was pretty epic. On Saturday we went to the Drankensberg mountains to see some Bushmes cave paintings. I dont know if it was work the two hour drive but it was a nice hike. The valley looked like it was straight out of the Lord of the Rings. Today we went paintballing which was soo much fun. I didnt get hit too much but I definitely got some girls. Next weekend is the safari!!!!

Durban Day

We have finished our first week of classes. This week I've gone hiking(didn't see any zebras though:/), scared the girls coming back from girls night. Derek, Mark and I went for a night hike then hid in the bushes and jumped out at their car. They were pretty scared. Today we went to the beach in Durban. Amazing beach! It was really windy so it was a little cold but the Indian ocean is fairly warm, warmer then Cali beaches for sure. Friday night Fish taught us line dancing, then it turned into a dance party. I just have to say that I put on some spectacular moves and that's all I can say about that. What happens in South Africa stays in South Africa. (Just kidding, I dont want dana getting to worried). It's just been amazing to see how God works here. People are so friendly because the keep their hope in Christ. Tomorrow I'm going to a Black church so it's about to get crazy!

First Couple Days of Class

We had our first day of class on Monday. We have classes in one of three rooms in the building in the picture. I had History of South Africa and Intro to Art. We only have class for six weeks so its intensive. I had Intro to Art for 4 1/2 hrs with lunch in between. So far the food has been good. Its about the same as any food we have back at home with chicken and rice. We had tacos tonight so its nothing new. The coolest thing is that we have tea time twice a day. One at 10:30am and 4:30pm. Today I had Life and Teachings of Jesus with Reg who is the coordinator for the program here. He's really smart and a White African. The culture is not all that different here around the white people but one difference is that here people say it like it is. White people are white, blacks are called black, coloured people coloured, etc... asians and indians alike. In America we are so conscience about offending people but here they dont beat around the bush. Today we also went to some service sights which are ones we are going to be working at. Its amazing that we get to work with the people and get involved with the community. This semesters has started off amazing. 

African Jungle

Past couple days we have been taking tours of Pietermartzburg and the AE campus. We stopped by the train station where Ghandi was arrested and we went to a birds of prey place where there were falcons, owls, etc.  We hiked to a waterfall which is on campus. The hike was straight through the jungle. It was so amazing. Also, there is a game reserve just outside the front gate which we go to. Many people wake-up early to take a run/hike in there. I have class for the first time in about an hour so I'm pretty excited.

Nickname Transfomation

Cowboy/Fish
No Neck
Helen Keller
Sleepy(my personal favorite)
Chipotle
The Asian
Lone Ranger
Expressionless-->Expressionless no more
Cameraman
Kobe
Montana

African Enterprise

We have arrived to our residence for the next 10 weeks. Mark and I are rooming together in a chalet that has four rooms. This place is awesome. It has the feel of a camp with a dining hall where we all had dinner together. We are surrounded by green rolling hills. There are little monkeys all over. They kind of look like squirrels and as long as we keep our windows closed they shouldn't be too much of a nuisance. Were going to get pepper spray soon so that we can keep the monkeys away. Tomorrow were going to tour Pietermartzberg but for now there's not too much more to inform you of.  

We Have Arrived

We made it. After 21hrs of flying our group is finally in Johannesburg at Road Lodge. The trip started at 3:30am Tuesday morning.  Mark and I stayed up the whole night. We waited for about 30min at the trolly stop when Carrie Domen, one of the apu study abroad office staff, said it looks like the bus is not going to show so people started getting in friends cars just as the bus pulled in. That was a close one. On the bus ride to LAX I fell asleep and it took a good head rub for me to wake up. Once we got through security everything went smoothly. Our flight stopped in Dakar to refuel which is along the western coast of Africa. Surprisingly South Africa didnt need any custom papers so it was just the passport and in we went. It was so easy to enter this country. Its about 10pm and I'm going to play some cards and then go to sleep. We just came back from a place across the street where we had some sweet Hawaiian pizza. Tomorrow we tour JoBerg which is going to be cool. Friday we travel to Pietermartberg.

62 Days