Cassie's adventures

I have been learning so much in Cape Town with our planned homestays, human rights weekend, and internship, but I have also been spending plenty of time going on little adventures of my own. I went paragliding off of Signal Hill.  Sitting at the top getting all harnessed in I was getting so nervous. I asked my instructor what to do in case of emergency and he says back to me, “Turn around and kiss your instructor long and hard because it’s the last one you’ll both have.” What a great joke but it didn’t do much for settling my nerves. Luckily everything went really well. Paragliding ended up being really relaxing and just a beautiful view of the city. 

I have of course been enjoying as many days at the beach as possible.  I don’t know what it is but something about putting my toes in the sand and getting that salty breeze it just has the power to completely transform my mood; Probably because it reminds me of home on Block Island.  I have been taking in as much of the nice warm Indian Ocean at Muizenberg and Fish Hoek that I can get.  The beaches here are so unbelievably beautiful.  The water changes from a teal to a green to a deep blue.

I spent one morning in Noordhoek riding horses on the beach which was just a cherry on an already perfect sundae.  I rode horses as a child so it brought back so many great memories.  We got to trot a good amount and even though it was muscles that I had not used in a long time I was able to get right back into it. It felt so good! The entire time I was taking in this amazing view of this beautiful beach with a mountains right across a bay.  All while riding a horse. I do love all animals but horses definitely make my top 5 favorites.

                                                                           

Carnival is this big parade and celebration that goes on every year in Cape Town.  People get dressed up and wear masks and dance.  It was definitely different from the parades I am used to and a lot more creative that I have seen.  A lot of different cultures were shown in the parade.  My favorite part wasn’t watching the parade though.  Kiya and I took a seat and watched random people pass by while loud music was playing and the amount of people dancing surprised me.  There were moms and dads dancing with their sons and daughters and friends walking by just dancing.  I thought it was funny how one of the first stereotypical things I heard about Americans was that we were all good dancers and here I was watching so many people just enjoying the music without a care in the world. I have yet to see something like that in the United States.

I also went skydiving while here in Cape Town.  Skydiving is something I have always wanted to do for a long time but I was always a little too nervous. I finally signed up for it without letting myself think about it too much. On the way there I zoned out listening to music still putting off the fact that I was going to be jumping out of a perfectly nice flying plane to free fall, or fly as I like to say. It did not hit me until Val jumped out of the plane that I was actually going to do it. Next was Manuela and then it was my turn.  The instructor kept telling me to smile; I guess he could tell I was a little tense. Next thing I knew I was flying. I had a sudden panic but it went away quickly as I took in the view of South Africa below me. Then I looked around for Val and Manuela and had yet another panic attack when I couldn’t find them in the air. I’m sure it was only about 10 seconds of worry but it felt like minutes. Finally I found them floating in the air and I was back at ease. By then the parachute had been pulled and I was left to enjoy the view as I glided down. When I got back home my mom and grandma were more than thrilled to hear I landed in one piece and I am so glad I took that leap out of the plane.

During our excursion we spent a few days in Kruger National Park. As I am a really big animal and nature lover, I had the time of my life! We managed to see the Big 5, lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and buffalo.  Although some of them were a little more difficult to see than others it was still really cool.  My absolute favorite part was seeing the lions. There was a female lion standing guard watching over at least 5 baby lions. I was absolutely ecstatic over it. The cubs were lying in the grass playing with each other. The female was close by watching over them.  At one point one cub walked over to her and laid down with her.  I wish I could relive it over and over again.   It was also really cool to go on the walking safari, although we only saw a hippo in the distance, which is actually much safer that way, I was able to learn so much. All of it was definitely a great experience and something I would not trade for the world. I  just hope one day I can go back and spend at least a week on another safari adventure!