Lauren had a great excursion but good to be "home"

Last week, we went on our excursion to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park! It would be impossible for me to talk about all the awesome things that we did over excursion but I can mention a few that stood out to me.

On Tuesday, we went to the Boys and Girls Club in Soweto. In the morning, we helped out around the club doing landscaping, gardening, making food, stuff like that. That was really fun, besides a small incident where a giant rat charged at me from under a rock! The kids were all really excited and willing to help too – I actually had to fight to keep my shovel because they kept trying to take it! And then after lunch, we got to play with the kids. I played soccer with them, and let me tell you, these kids kicked my butt. It was really amazing to see so many children playing together and having a blast, and I am so grateful that they have to opportunity to go to a place as amazing as the Boys and Girls Club.

Lauren with her new friends at Pinville Boys & Girls Club in Soweto

Kruger was also absolutely amazing! We went on two different game drives, one the night we arrived and one the next morning at 4am. Not going to lie, I fell asleep on the morning drive. But I woke up whenever we saw animals! One of my favorite things about Kruger though, was that we also got to see animals and enjoy the beautiful park outside of the structured game drives and tours. On Saturday, for example, Morgan, Jenna, and I were just walking around the campsite and we ended up down by the river. We saw an elephant right across from us, on the other side of the river! And then we watched it cross the river, and disappear into the trees. A little while later, we saw hippos emerge from the water too! It didn’t feel real, seeing all these exotic animals casually eating grass in front of us, and I know that I will never forget that.

Morgan, Lauren, & Jenna in Kruger National Park
with elephant in back left!

To be honest though, I was really happy when we finally got back to our house in Cape Town. I loved being in Johannesburg, but it made me realize how much I love Cape Town and how special it really is. There is so much to do in Cape Town and we have barely even scratched the surface! It’s scary to think that at the end of the month, we are all going to have to pack up our things and leave this place that I have honestly begun to think of as home.