Snigdha's excursions . . . to Jo'burg and hospital

Snigdha in Kruger

Oh boy.  So much has happened since my last blog post.  We went to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park on excursion and it was awesome. Johannesburg is definitely a very different place from Cape Town and I expected it to be more metropolitanesque of an area.  In Cape Town I’ve been hearing the saying that people often go to Johannesburg to work because that is where the money is.  The first night off when we were there I could tell because the minimum cab fare was R70 when it’s R30 in Cape Town.  Again, just a very different place from Cape Town.  We went to casinos and museums and a prison that housed Mandela and Ghandi and other political prisoners.  It was an amazing experience to be at the museums because for a brief moment I felt like I was standing in the middle of history itself.  The level of brutality people faced during apartheid was horrifying.  Visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum as well as the Sharpeville Memorial really opened my eyes to the struggle that people faced.  And it is not just any people, but students.  Kids my age and even younger were in the streets in Soweto protesting for a better education.  I myself have taken education for granted but being at the Hector Pieterson Museum I saw how students died for their right to learn.  I kept asking myself if I could ever have the courage to participate in a protest like that.  I have never in my life had to fight for the right to education and so I don’t think I’ve ever really appreciated just how lucky I am.  I was talking to a friend and she told me that her parents would never have let her go into such a protest no matter how noble the cause because ‘life threatening’ is just too much of a risk.  I was thinking about this and realized how my parents would have reacted the same exact way.  I wonder how all the parents whose children marched and died that day in Soweto felt.  Did they know that was the last time they would speak to their child?  Did they allow them to protest? Or did the child him/herself insist on marching? Student protests at this level of intensity are something just so foreign to me that I just can’t relate.  It is something so far from my mind that I can’t believe something like this is actually real.  The Soweto Uprising doesn’t seem real, yet the photos are as real as it gets. 

Johannesburg was just fun because I got to be around all my co educators again.  It felt like orientation. Except this time we all knew each other and it was a lot less awkward.  It was nice to be in each others’ company once again.

I wish the trip could have lasted for a bit longer because as soon as we got back I got sick.  Very sick. Like hospital sick.  That was not a fun experience at all.  However, the hospital I stayed at was very nice and my doctor as well as the nurses were just fantastic when it came to taking care of me.  The admitting nurse asked me what type of insurance I had and I didn’t have an answer for her. Clearly I was not educated about my own health insurance or the health insurance here in South Africa (it’s called Medical Aid by the way) and I just came off as an ignorant American: the one thing I feared the most. But I was also in a lot of pain so I didn’t really mind anything at that point except getting on an IV.  Hospitals here are very similar to those in America. Nothing’s really out of the ordinary.  Except the TV really only played Afrikaans soap operas.  All my nurses were student nurses.  I was in a room with four other beds but I had my own curtain for privacy.  It was a little bit scary spending the night alone in the hospital but I was knocked out after they gave me the drugs.  I only spent one night in the hospital and the throat infection cleared up over the next couple days.  Being sick in a different country is a lot different than being sick back home because everything is so much more dramatic than it needs to be.  I built up everything in my head (so did my parents) and it was just scary. But it was an experience.  I have come full circle with my trip so far!

Ava's busy weeks

With three weeks left, we’ve just arrived home from the greatest adventure yet: excursion. We started off flying to Johannesburg and there, we went to several museusm and visited Soweto. Then on Friday morning, we left (very early, I might add) for Kruger National Park to see the Big Five. Johannesburg is quite a city, very much like New York around Central Park. This is the dream city, the place of opportunity and gold and I have seen now lived to see a large part of it. We visited the Hector Peiterson Museum, the Apartheid Museum, Constiution Hill, and the Sharpville Memorial Museum. While all of the museums were amazing, my favorites were the Apartheid Museum, which is absolutely stunning, and a must-see before you die, and the Hector Peiterson Museum. Since the Apartheid Museum is essentially self-explanatory in the name, I should explain the Hector Peiterson Museum. 

In late 1976, with apartheid in full swing, a new law had passed mandating that subjects in school were to be taught in Afrikaans. Afrikaans was not only restricted to white, but to classified coloured as well as native language. This law, under the Bantu Education Acts, would mainly effect black students who speak Xhosa, English, Zulu, Sutu, etc, but not Afrikaans. In Soweto, students were outraged. They came together to protest this law, where if it went through any longer they would fail school subjects and matric. On June 16th, between 10,000 and 20,000 black students gathered together to march in protest to Orlando Stadium in Soweto. By the end of the day, the death toll neared 150 and the wounded amounted to over a thousand. The apartheid police had open fired on the crowds of unarmed students and the first of those students to die was a 14-year-old boy named Hector Peiterson. There is the iconic picture showing Mbuyisa Makhubo holding Hector’s body while his sister cries besides them. On that day, hundreds of families were shattered in a barbaric manner with no reason from the police. After that day, hundreds more died in uprisings all over South Africa, where police would enter townships and open fire at random. This museum told the story of that day and of apartheid during those years. I found this museum to be so impactful because of the pictures, the stories and the videos of the Soweto Uprising of 1979. The videos play loudly as you watch and read the testimonies of that day from the police and of the students. It paints a horrifyingly real picture that screams, “Yes, this actually happened and we were never the same”. When you walk out of the museum, there is a fountain with rocks and on of those rocks, a little ways away from the fountain, is a quote from Mbuyisa Makhubo’s mother (the boy pictured with Hector Peiterson). She says her son, who disappeared after that day and has not been seen or heard from since, is not a hero. She explains that as a brother, it was his duty to carry Hector out of there. He could not have lived knowing he was left alone to die.  It’s amazing to see the range of ages and types of people who gave up their lives in the struggle for freedom.

           

Kruger National Park was another experience all together. I have been to zoos before and seen the Big Five in real life before (the Bronx Zoo has had all of them at different points in the past 20 years), but this was something completely different. It is one thing to see an elephant behind glass and another to see a mother elephant and her babies crossing the road less than 15 ft in front of you. The park does not look like the scenery set up in the “Lion King”, unfortunately there was no pride rock, but we did see a mother lion and her cubs relaxing in the grass on a night game drive. While I am not entirely into animals as I am into exhibits about people, it was well worth the 8-hour drive from Johannesburg to mPumalanga.

           

This past weekend, a small group and I went to Plettenberg Bay for a weekend vacation. After a7 hour drive for which we left at 2:45 AM for, we arrived at Cango Wildlife Ranch. There, I got to pet some cheetahs named Mia and Mini. The next day, I had an incredible experience playing with elephants at Knysna Elephant Park. Elephants are the largest land mammal and also one of the smartest. They are highly emotional and cognitively sound creatures. 

At Knysna, the elephants were hurt at one point and taken there to recover, being fed and cared for by humans. The elephants eventually remembered the feeders and the place felt they could open it up to the public to have close encounters with these large and magnificent creatures. There are currently 9 elephants and they have a huge acre of land to roam free and breed on as they please. The Park serves as preservation center for elephants in the area. The ones there are the only ones native to Knysna. You can walk with elephants, feed them and interact with them and you also have the option to ride them. I unfortunately did not ride, as my other co-educators did, but being able to hug, kiss, feed, and walk with the elephants was more than enough for me. I had a long interaction with one of them, Sally, the largest female. I looked into her large, bight brown eyes and you can actually see someone staring back at you. I understood her and she understood me. She stared for a bit and let me pet her, nudging me softly from time to time. The elephants of South Africa were poached ferociously when the English-speakers arrived. The Knysna heard was nearly extinct (out of thousands, only 3 remained at the start of Knysna Elephant Park in 1994). They were killed off, sold, forced to move as a means of “being saved” and stood by while their homes were destroyed. Their story reminds me of the people of South Africa. Why does it seem that humans destroy everything they touch? If not to look at other human beings who have had their basic human rights stripped from them by other people, look to nature. We come and conquer. There is no stone that is to remain unturned, no life unscathed. We cage and abuse animals because they do not have the voice to protest or the rights to protect them the ay humans are protected. And yet, humans become objects to also be mistreated. As I look at the vast expanse of land ahead of me on the way back to Loch from Plettenberg, I think about the race of humanity. We are all racing against time and each other but in the end we all come back to the same place. We all come back to where it all started: in Africa’s old and wise soil.

Kiya's week in Jo'burg

These last few weeks have been amazing. I cannot describe how appreciative I am of the opportunities I have been provided with. The time we spent in Johannesburg was very informational. I learned much more about the events leading up to the fall of the apartheid government. I found the Hector Pieterson museum interesting in terms of its content and structure. The museum shed light on various accounts of that day which was beneficial for me. I appreciated the diverse perspectives because it helped me understand why people were acting and reacting the way they did. Another impactful historical landmark was the apartheid museum. As soon as I walk in I knew how powerful the events represented on the walls were. What I found most interesting was the videos displayed through the museum. There was one video that showed how violent black South Africans were post 1990. It made me think about what apartheid had done with in races as well. There was now a separation between individuals who were just fighting for equality together. It helped me understand the lasting effects the system had on the oppressed. Apartheid aided blacks in hating themselves and one another. It changed their opinion of the world we live in the damage done psychologically was permanent. There were no laws created that could possible heal the wounds.

Kiya at Soweto Boys & Girls Club

I also enjoyed spending my morning and afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club in Soweto. The children there were so warm and inviting.  It reminded me of being home. I thought it was cool that we were able to help with various projects at the club. I felt like my contribution was needed and it made my experience  there more fulfilling. I enjoyed playing with the children and getting to know a little about them. They were so excited to be in our presence and we were just as excited to be in theirs. I found the purpose of the club very important and vital to the children who were members. Organizations like the Boys and Girls Club are critical in communities like Soweto. The children really value their time spend there.

Lastly, the Sharpeville memorial was also an impactful place we visited during excursion. I heard so much about the massacre in 1960 and the trial where 6 individual were sentenced to execution. It made the events “real” when we were able to speak to people who were there and experienced being shot and imprisoned. Upon leaving Kruger I had a sad realization that my time was almost up. I reflected back to orientation and thought about all that I had learned and the many cuisines I was privileged enough to digest.  

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.  

Melanie on her excursion and returning home

Getting to travel to other areas of South Africa for excursion was really great. The sites we visited in Johannesburg really brought together a lot of what we’ve been learning here.

The first Museum was the Hector Pieterson Museum, dedicated to Hector Pieterson, who was a student killed during the Soweto uprisings. The museum made me realize how really young the students of the Soweto uprising were… I knew they were students but I hadn’t pictured them so small and young (as young as 11 and 12).

The Mandela Family Home was really cool to go to and get to walk through where Nelson Mandela lived. I realized a couple things that I hadn’t known. First of all I never knew the US was involved in the capturing of Mandela to send him to prison. I also saw two juxtaposed pictures of right before he went and right after he was released from prison and it was profound seeing how much he really aged. Overall it left me wanting to learn even more about Mandela’s life because I continuously am hearing more and more amazing stories about his character and the imprint he left in South Africa and the world.

The apartheid museum was a really eye-opening experience. There was so much information and so many personal stories captured and it felt really surreal to imagine all those things had happened here recently. I’m more used to museums being much deeper into history.

Constitution Court

Going to Constitution Hill was cool. Their courtroom was designed very symbolically to be inclusive of all the different cultures in South Africa.

Melanie at the Pimville Boys & Girls Club in Soweto

Going to the Boys and Girls Club of South Africa was by far my favorite day. Marita and I sorted through and alphabetized SO many files and it felt accomplishing to finish. Then we played with the kids all afternoon and they were so energetic and fun.

Lastly, Sharpeville was also a really profound area to visit. Meeting a man who had been shot and survived the massacre where 69 people were killed at a march also felt surreal. It made me realize how much living history there still is in South Africa. Going to the cemetery where all the victims were buried was really emotional. I learned that they had a mass funeral for all the victims and I kept imagining each victim’s families and friends surrounding the massive line of graves. I can’t even imagine the amount of grief and shock all gathered together on that day. It also made me sad to learn that Sharpeville does not receive many visitors, especially for being such an important part of history.

We returned to internship at Klipfontein Primary School to some bad news. One of the first clients we met had passed away while we were away. We knew she had cancer but it still never really hit me that she would pass away so soon. The husband and another elder man from the family came and were discussing where to go from there, specifically in regards to getting financial support from the government for caring for the two young children. It seemed like there wasn’t much time for grieving, right away they needed to take steps to figure out how they were going to take care of the kids. Next there was more sad news. The crèche teacher’s daughter’s father was stabbed by his girlfriend and died last Tuesday. It was terrible to hear about and I realized how death is a much more common part of life in the poorer communities here. When the teacher left to take the day off I ended up holding her daughter, Cailin, for a long time while she cried that she missed her parents. I felt sorry knowing that this child would grow up now without a father.

Melanie at Maitland Cottage

 On a brighter note, our activist project has been going really well. We are very thankful to everyone who donated to our project and we were really surprised by the amount of people who supported us that we far surpassed our goal! We are now looking forward to shopping for supplies and toys. Today we went and one girl who we’ve particularly bonded with had good news that she is going home for seven weeks. It’s sad that we won’t see her again but we are so excited for her to return home. She told us a bit of her story and it left Lauren and I so inspired by her strength and positivity, but also sorry that so many young children have to face such serious challenges such as worrying about if they will ever walk again. Overall, it reminded us why we decided to start this project and now we are excited to complete it!

Also, was so sad to miss the championship basketball games but GO HUSKIES!! We enjoyed waking up at 3am for Emily’s parents to live-stream us the game anyway!

Savannah's excursion experiences

Last week’s excursion to Jo’burg and Kruger was a nice change from our everyday life in Cape Town. When getting of the plane in Jo’burg, we were greeted with tall buildings and humid air. The first night, we were taken to a steakhouse where I took full advantage of the R220 spending limit. I got steak with potatoes, a large salad, and a chocolate brownie. I didn't hold back to say the least. 

While in Jo’burg, we visited the Apartheid museum. A guide took us through the 2.5 hour tour telling us interesting facts and giving us great insight. As we entered the museum, we were given a ticket that randomly classified us as white or nonwhite. The nonwhites were given a separate entry into the museum. As we walked through there were pictures of Mandela and other anti apartheid activists and several exhibits. My favorite exhibit was the video celebrating Mandela’s life. It was so astonishing seeing such a powerful figure that was love by many. The Apartheid museum was definitely my favorite museum that we visited. 

After a 7 hour bus ride, we finally made it to Kruger. On our way into the park we immediately saw monkeys and elephants. Soon after we saw impalas and giraffes. That night, we went on a game drive and saw a leopard, lions, and hyenas. Our guide, who apparently had very good vision, spotted a chameleon in a tree and pulled over to pick it up. My pictures from that night did not come out very well, but it was nonetheless exciting to see. 

Emily K, Savannah & Katrina overlooking the falls at conclusion of weeklong excursion 

By the end of the week, I was finally ready to return home to Cape Town. As much as it pains me to say, we don't have a lot of time left here and there are so many more little things I want to do here before I go home. One of them being all you can eat sushi downtown. I think I'm going to bring that idea back to the states. 

Emily B's excursion experiences

Going on a safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember but I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity. Little did I know that I would be able to during my time in Cape Town. The whole adventure began as a part of our spring break excursion. We started in Johannesburg and toured many fascinating and contemplative museums. Johannesburg and many of its surrounding suburbs were hubs of activism during the apartheid years and there are many museums to commemorate the bravery of those who stood up against the injustice.

           

One of the most moving museums was the Hector Pieterson Museum. It chronicled the movement against teaching Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans in all schools. Over 20,000 high school students protested in the streets of Soweto where police killed approximately 176 students. One of the defining images of the massacre was of the body of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson being carried by another student with the victim’s sister running by his side. The thing that struck me the most was a quote that was said by the boy carrying the body of Hector. She commented on those that called her son a hero saying, “he is not a hero. In my culture picking up Hector is not an act of heroism. It was his job as a brother.” I thought the sentiment of that statement perfectly embodies South Africa. Though it is marred by tragedy and sorrow the underlying value is of Ubuntu- I am because you are.

           

After going to the Apartheid Museum and the Sharpeville Memorial, we headed off to Kruger. After a rather long drive through the beautiful countryside of Mpumalanga we finally reached the park. As we were driving into the entrance there were two elephants grazing near by! I could not believe it! Never in my life had I been so close to a wild animal in its natural habitat, and little did I know of the sites to come. We quickly put our things in our rooms and ventured out for a sunset safari. After driving only a few more minutes we saw a wide range of animals from more elephants, to zebras, impalas, a lion with her cubs and my personal favorite was the illusive leopard. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

           

We woke up very early the next morning for a sunrise drive starting at 4:30 am. Although we did not see as many animals this time I still saw buffalo and a very rare endangered vulture. After a quick midmorning nap I was back up to go on the walking safari. I did not know what to expect but out park rangers were very good explaining things as we past them and spotting animals many miles away. We reached a spot in the bush were we got out and began to walk. I hadn’t thought about thorns before this but they definitely became apparent as the stuck my feet while walking. After only a few minutes we saw a giraffe lazily munching on leaves. Though he stopped and stared at us as we approached he remained. I was surprised at how close we were able to get to him! We continued on our way and came across the animal I had been waiting the whole time to see, the rhino! The rhino is becoming seriously threatened as it is poached for its horns. Even in a national park like Kruger it is a huge issue. That is why I was so excited to see one. Though we were not that close I was astonished by the size of the animal. Though it was so big it definitely took notice of us and pretty quickly lumbered away.

The group continued to walk and we started to see large bones. Our guide stopped us and told us that they were elephant bones from a female who was around 50 years old; she apparently died of natural causes. We came across the site where the majority of the bones were and I noticed that the skull was missing. The ranger explained that when an elephant dies it omits vibrations across the plains for many miles that the other elephants pick up on. The other elephants then go to the site and wait for the scavengers to eat the body. After that the elephants take the skull to a secret location where they bury it in a funeral of sorts. That was the final stop before we made our way back to the lodging.

The entire experience of excursion was amazing but the safari was definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Tina's excursion experiences

This past week was a much-needed break from my routine, which has become internships, classes and trivia. I was excited to go to Johannesburg and go to a place I probably would never have the opportunity to go to otherwise.  I instantly liked the city as we were driving through on our coach bus, seeing the metropolis vibes and mixture of city and greenery.  I did not realize how much I missed being in a city and having access to so many different attractions, restaurants, and sites. It made me think back to Storrs and to what exactly I do to occupy my time in the middle of nowhere back home, and how I desperately want to go to New York, or really any major city, once I get back.  

During excursion, I had potentially one of the best meals I have eaten in South Africa at a restaurant called Coobs, and I won 60 rand on a video bingo machine called “Glitzy Kitty.” I bartered for souvenirs and played with cooked chicken feet at a traditional South African restaurant. I was excited to go to all the different museums and to have a schedule, and to just be a tourist.  It was a refreshing change of pace.

I would say that the Apartheid museum was my favorite attraction in Johannesburg. I was surprised by the amount of information within the museum, and was taken aback by how long it would actually take to go through it in its entirety. I wish we had the opportunity to spend more time there, because even being there for two hours left much to be desired.  I thought it was a really beautiful museum, laid out very clearly and effectively, which made reading for information pleasurable and made me want to continue on.

I have to say, hands down, my ultimate favorite experience, perhaps on the entire trip, was going to Kruger. Having done an evening, early morning, and night game drive, I was able to experience utterly different animals, temperatures and overall moments; each proved to be wildly entertaining. I could have honestly spent weeks just doing tours because each time provided a totally different experience. By the last drive, I mastered being able to stand and take pictures while the car was in motion, learn what setting of my camera to use for what animals and what time of day, and where to sit to get the best pictures and overall safari experience. Although I did see leopards, lions, and hyenas the most, it was also really great seeing zebras, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos sporadically. It was unreal being so close to the animals and seeing them interact in their natural habitats. Throughout the trip, I had to remind myself that I was in Africa and that these animals could attack me at any point in time for encroaching on their space; it was the real deal. It definitely was one of the coolest things I think I’ll do in my lifetime, and I hope one day to be able to experience it again, with my friends and family.

Courtney's 5 days in Johannesburg

After a two hour flight from Cape Town, our spring break trip began in Johannesburg by checking into the Westford Hotel in Santon, a ritzy part of Johannesburg. We had pizza for lunch, and then headed to the Rosebank Mall and Market. There was a craft market in the basement of one of the buildings. I was hoping there would be different crafts from Cape Town, however, they were exactly the same. The people selling them were just much pushier. It was very overwhelming, and we quickly left without purchasing anything. We then walked around the actual mall, which was pretty similar to other South African malls we have been to, and comparable to U.S. malls. On Sunday night dinner at Trumps Grill in Nelson Mandela Square, which was delicious. Emily and I split a fried halloumi salad (South Africa’s version of mozzarella sticks).

On Monday, we woke up bright and early, and headed first to the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto, the largest township in South Africa, right outside of Johannesburg. We then headed to Nelson Mandela’s home he lived in before he went to prison and for 11 days after his release.

Courtney writing her name on the wall at Wandie's Place in Soweto.

Gift & I

On Tuesday, we volunteered at the Pimville Boys and Girls Club, my favourite experience in Johannesburg by far. We started the day by helping in their vegetable garden. We first weeded the garden, and then began creating rows and planting. A large group of children worked with us, and it was evident that they loved garden. I talked to a few young girls about gardening, and they said they wish they could have a garden at home, but they do not have a yard or any space to plant. After lunch we got to play with the children, and I fell in love with two young girls, Gift (10) and Thando (6). They taught me different South African clapping games, and I taught them some games from the U.S. After a sad goodbye, we went to Monte Casino that night, and had dinner at Billy G’s, a buffet restaurant. After dinner, I tried out a few slot machines. I spent 20R ($2), and ended up winning 30R ($3), so I quit while I was ahead.

On Wednesday we started the day off by visiting Constitution Hill where South Africa’s Constitution Court is located (this is their highest court, similar to our Supreme Court). The court was built in a former prison, and the other part of the prison was converted into a museum which we also toured. For lunch we visited another casino, and ate at a diner type restaurant, which took forever. We spent the afternoon touring the Apartheid Museum, which was extremely interesting, and had many great exhibits, but was very overwhelming in its size. They had an exhibit dedicated to Mandela’s life, as well as a new one on sports during Apartheid, which I particularly found interesting. That evening we ate at a restaurant called Poppy’s, and I had by far the worst meal I have had in South Africa. The entire meal took roughly four hours, and I had Thai Chicken Pasta, which caused me to throw up before even leaving the restaurant.

For our final day in Johannesburg we spent the day in Sharpville, where 69 people were killed by the police in an anti-pass law demonstration. We spent time in a museum, a visitor’s center, the old police station, a memorial and then visited the cemetery where they are buried. That evening we had another night off, so I ate at a delicious restaurant, Coobs with Val, Tina, Jessica, Emily, Manuela, Kiya and David.

On Friday we woke up bright and early to head to Kruger! On the way we stopped at a rest stop, and I saw one of the strangest things I have ever seen: They had a zoo behind the rest stop. There were rhinos, buffalo, and ostriches, with viewing windows in the bathroom above the sinks.