Bungee Jumping at Bloukrans/Stormsriver, South Africa

I have to do a bungee jumping update...so. BUNGEE JUMPING UPDATE! Definitely went bungee jumping on June 6th and love every minute of it. The most nerve wrecking part was standing on the edge...then it felt like i was gliding through the air, flyin' like a bird. Awesome experience. We traveled along the garden route...I went with Siel, Daniel, Casper, Vitek, and Gabby - all crazy Europeans haha...except Gabby (Canadian) - go Norte Americanos! Anywho...it was beautiful along the garden route with all the mountains and coast to drive along. We stayed in a backpackers not too far from the jump, and had a very nice stay there. We met a bunch of Brits who did the jump earlier that day as well. We stopped in Plettensburg Bay and took in the view on a little hiking excursion, stopped in Mossel Bay for some quality time on the beach, chased some seagulls, and then made it back to Cape Town in the evening. Our driver had a little trouble finding where I lived, but we found it eventually - teamwork haha. It was an amazing experience I had with everyone, one that I won't forget!

Cape Town!

I'm gonna attempt to upload fotos! me and the family went into cape town on sunday...to the V&A waterfront. very touristy area, but lots of south african history and local shops as well. we ate at the cape town fish market, a very popular restaraunt chain in the cape...and we also had a very nice view of table mountain as well. it was pretty cool seeing all of the entertainers on the street...everywhere you went, people were doing something. i saw a tin man - dancing all robotically and whatnot ;) i also saw some ladies dancing with fishing poles in traditional clothing...it looked like fun so i joined in. the lady grabbed my arm and started dancing with me! that was cool. there's so many different cultures here, that there really isn't a typical south african - which is kind of cool in a way. i'm making friends at school that are from all different ancestry and ethinicity, all with their own culture...and it's pretty eye opening. many people portray south africa as the now happy-go-lucky democratic rainbow nation. and it is, in some aspects, and especially with the younger generation. but south africa still has many many many problems that it needs to work out. it's quite the shocker coming from my little bubble that i lived in in america into a country that has had a pretty turbulent past. some things i don't understand, and i never will - but i've learned to accept that. i sometimes don't agree with the views of many people here. but, i've realized something. people are people, and in south africa especially, they've grown up in a society that associated superiority with the whites...some whites here still believe they're superior. i don't agree with it, but like i say, people are people. it's just a situation that i have to deal with, and take as a learning experience. i feel very very fortunate to have grown up in a society where racial tensions and discrimination/segregation are virtually non-existant. i can't wait to go to orientation on the 25th! really looking forward to seeing how everyone is doing.

Update

So, I've pretty much decided that I'm a terrible blog writer...sorry! Well, here's an update - same routine...going to school, hanging out at home. I might go out this weekend with some friends...not too sure yet. This past Friday we went to the 4x4 derby-thing. That was fun. What else...not too much. The wildfires are coming closer to home, but they're still pretty contained in the mountains. Well, I'll try to update every few days or so...or after we do something really cool. And I'll try to upload pictures.

I'm in Cape Town!

Well, it's been an eventful week. Too much to write in one blog, so I'll give the following summary: We landed in Joburg on Thrusday and had a 3 day orientation. There were three American students(me, Trish, and Sebastian), two thai, two german, one brazilian, and one paraguayan. We had fun, and then on Sunday we had to catch our flight into CT. I met my host family, who are all very nice people. Gerhart drives really really fast haha. Anyway, we went home, I got settled in, then we went down to Table Bay to get ice cream. I had a nice view of Table Mountain and the city, which was so surreal. Then, basically I've just been going to school and hanging out at home. I've been making some friends at school but you definatley have to work at friendships here - it's not like in the U.S. where someone smiles, and you're friends within two minutes. Anyway, I'm a bit culture schocked, but I'm managing. School is hard, but what can you do? It's hot hot hot here - 115 fahren. yesterday. Hopefully it'll cool down today.

relieved

so, i got my visa back today - i have to give the consulate credit...they processed that sucker in under three days. i'm 7 days until leaving, finally packed for the most part, now all i have to do is wait!

Waiting on that darn visa!

When AFS said this whole process was 99% waiting, they weren't kidding. I sent my visa in last wednesday, and i hope that the consulate will send it back to me in time...i'm 8 days till leaving! Besides that, I got my host family, and they're all very nice people. I'm in Durbanville, about 20 minutes outside of Cape Town, and I'm going to Curro private school - they said they'll take me camping as soon as I get settled in there! Very excited

Host family!

Alright...so everything went from moving at a glacial pace to...the space shuttle lifting off - nice analogy huh? What am I talking about?? Well, in the past week, I've gotten information about my visa that needs to be applied for, my host family, and the school that I'm to be going to! I'm not placed in Johannesburg anymore, but in Durbanville, Western Cape, which is a suburb of Cape Town - 15 minutes from the city and the beach! I'm very very glad things are starting to move along. What I'm waiting for now is the visa support documents from AFS. Once I have those, I'll throw those into my visa application, send it the consulate, and pray to God my visa comes back in time! Hmph - whoever invented visas is...how to put this nicely...stupid. Oh well. HOPEFULLY everything works out well!

Waiting on the family...

So, I got news a couple days ago that I'm to be staying in the Johannesburg area...however, still no host family. Hmph. Just got all my medical stuff squared away - all I'm waiting on now is the visa and host family information. Hope it comes soon!