Hike and a half!!!

Today I woke up exited to finally be out and be active. Today was the day that we were to be led up the Table Mountain Range by a hiking guru Ivan. At the begining a few people were struggling and our team work was not visible at all. The terrain was rough and totally up hill for over 2 hours, tough at times and I have some awesome pictures to prove it. Once making it to the top the most rewarding feeling came over me as with every other hike ive done. This one was more special because it was a totally different envioronment then im used to. The rocks are different, the brush is different and the views are like nothing i can ever explain, completly breath taking. At the top we were told to find a spot and seclude ourselves from each other and think about the hike we had just completed. We were asked to think about which you believe matters more, the journey or the destination. How the hike relates to our life. We had an hour to just sit in nature and think about life, it was the most relaxing time of this whole trip that ive had, it was amazing!!!
The hike down was an adventure in itself, it was tough because a majority of the climb up was straight up. Some people were nervous getting down so it backed up a line which was difficult because for me it is harder on my knees to take little steps than it is to walk at a normal pace. We all got down eventually and I have some scrapes and a swollen knee to remember the trip oh and allong with the most amazing pictures of the whole trip. Today I learned that our group really has an issue with teamwork which is unfortunate but it will all be over soon so I can be back with the people that I work well with!!!!
Ill update the rest of the week soon. Boring day of meetings tmw. Maybe off to a real Braai with Donovan tomorrow while hes in Cape Town!!!!!!
Night,
Meganne

Class and Research

The first thing we talked about in class this morning was clarifying that everyone had the professors numbers in case of emergency.
We covered the logistics of shark cage diving for tomorrow including when to eb on the bus, who should take dremamine, and what the day would consist of.
We discussed the 5 stages of group dynamics, forming, storming, norming, preforming, and adjurning. We also concluded that our group is still in storming stage :-/
During class we also did a short personality test. I turned out to be an East, Im detailed and have to have a plan for everything before moving on. Amber turned out to be a north, wants to get things done asap. We complement each other so well as partners. During camp we were able to balance out eachothers strengths and weaknesses. For example, if we were in a rush to get something planned Amber could take the lead and get it done while convinsing me that it would work out without a deffinite plan. By taking a look at this we also analyzed our campers in regards to this personality test. We concluded that Yvonne was a west, dreamer, joanne was a north, get it done, and Lindo was a south, caring. so we had a mix of personalities but did not seem to have much clashing.
At 11:00 we headed out by bus to the Cape Town fan park to do some research on the International perceptions of South Africa.
Once we had completed all 12 surveys Amber and I grabbed some food and drinks then headed out to Green Market Square for yet some more shopping! And in search for a necklace thats pendant is the shape of africe with 3 figures inside. Greenmarket Square is a large area where people set up tents to sell their products. We bartered with some people but didnt succeed in getting the prices we wanted so we moved on. At about 4:20 we found a cute stand with jewlery that was already reasonably priced so we took a look around, mind you we had to get on the bus at 5. Amber ended up being able to take the prices down incredibly, she left with 2 necklaces and two bracelets for only R200 roughly $30.With only minutes to spare Amber spotted the necklaces we had been looking for all day. I tried to stop her because I thought she just wanted to look at more jewlery. We left the tent with 2 africa necklace for R250, not bad considering they are sterling.
Back to Wellwood for dinner and internet!

Week at Rocklands Centre

Monday-
We arrived at camp at about 11 and settled quickly into our orientation cabins before meeting the rest of the Solid Ground team. The day was a bit chilly and there was tea and biscuts (my fav!)waiting for us when we got to the lounge area. Shaun and Vyan, who run the camp introduced us to their team, marius, kirk, and tessa before having a quick brainstorm and lunch. We got the opportunity to face some fears and work on group dynamics by trying out the rock wall. Everyone did an awesome job and got all the way to the top, even both of our professors. Instead of being shy like I usually am in new surroundings I decided to tell Shaun that I have experience in belaying to see if he would let me help out the team during the week. HE was thrilled and had me show him what I could do, he was impressed to see that the training is the same internationally. We ended the day with an amazing braai, south african BBQ, of chicken sausage and assorted salads. Time for a good nights rest before the campers arrive.
Tuesday-
8:00 breakfast, French Toast!!!!! Thats a first.
We all brought our stuff into the cabins that we were assigned to for the rest of the week and settled in before the campers started to arrive around 10. We were expecting around 60 campers, unfortunately only 35 showed up. This in the end was a blessing we had a few that were hard to keep track of. We all met as a group and the JWU students put on a small welcome dance for all the kids, they loved it. The campers were divided into their countries, cabins, and we went off to get everyone settled. Our girls were great, they all wanted to be at camp and learn and do as much as the could from the short amount of time they had there.Camp photos were by cabin infront of our flags, our country was Switzerland. Tea break came next where we made braceltes in our group color, white. The girls got to know each other and us during this time. Freetime was pretty much a free-for-all where all our girls split up and joined their friends from school. Lunch was great, burgers and fries! We shared some icebreakers with the kids after lunch in the sports hall.
We broke into two groups and worked as a team to get a hulla-hoop around the circle with out letting go of eachothers hands. The first time it took quite a bit of time for the kids to grasp how to get the hulla-hoop around, once they caught on it only took 2min to get it around roughly 25 people. We broke for tea, again, then enjoyed more icebreakers such as the human knot and trust falls. We decided it would be fun to teach them how to play kickball. Everyone caught on quickly and had tons of fun playing until supper. The group of leaders met with Shaun and Vyan after supper to reflect on the day and solve any problems we found during the day. This was a great idea that I was surprised was scheduled into each day. I enjoy bing able to recieve and give feeback and meeting with Shaun and Vyan everyday was a great way to achieve this. A movie and popcorn was on the schedule for evening activity. Popcorn was homemade and the movie was "Cool Runnings", about an olympic Jamaican Bobsled Team. A great choice for teachig kids more about leadership, strength, and courage. Our group chatted after the movie about what they saw. Yvonne was eager to look further into the movie and give her thoughts. The others, Lindo and Joanne, seemed to sit back and let Yvonne do all the talking. We urged them by asking which character they would relate themselves
with, this helped them open up a bit.
Cocoa and Biscuts, then bedtime. All the girls showered before bed. Amber and I were thrilled with this because it meant we would be able to wake up later and shower ourselves in the morning.
Alarm at 7

Wednesday-
To our surprise the girls wanted to shower in the morning as well. They didn't mention this until both Amber and I had finished and it was already 7:15. Breakfast was at 8, we made it on time but without much to spare and a lot of pushing the girls to move faster when getting ready. Needless to say we will be waking up earlier tomorrow. We were spoiled with French toast this morning. Rotations of activities began at 9:00. Activities included, climbing wall, crafts, first aid, and concert prep. I was stationed at the climbing wall with Kirk so I can't explain to you what the other activities were like. From the sound of it everyone had a blast throughout the rotations. I enjoyed being at the climbing wall belaying for the first 4 hours of the day. I was totally in my element. I enjoyed helping the kids face their fears and get all the way to the top. At the begining of each session Kirk would do a short briefing with the kids with analogies of the wall being their life and all the safety rules. The last rotation Kirk had me give the speech. This gave me an idea of my leadership skills and proved to me that I could run the wall by myself. I will deffinately take this away with me and utilize it back at home where I work the adventure program at Lake Greeley Camp.
After lunch the Reptile Man came and gave a presentation on snakes. It was cool to see what kindof snakes live in South Africa. A lot of people were afraid and I was impressed with how many people would volunteer to hold the snakes even though they were unsure. I took a picture with a 6' Iguana. Once the snake man left we all gathered and took a hike up the mountain. It started off really well. It was sunny out the trail was fairly dry and everyone was in the group. It started spitting so Kirk, who was leading, decided we should take the
short cut instead. SInce we had already passed it the group was told to turn around and follow Tessa. Some people assumed this meant go back the way you came so the group got a bit split up. Everyone eventually figured out that we were going a different way and saw where to go. At a muddy section one of our leaders and his camper stayed to help people get past. The group was really spread out at this point. Amber and I stopped to take pictures at the top of a huge boulder. All the leaders met breifly with Shaun to quickly brainstorm which electives to do and how to best control how the kids decide where they want to be. We all agreed on soccer, kickball, human foozball, and chill zone. The kids had to pick one and stay there for the duration of the time before supper.
Supper was a traditional Braai which I have explained earlier.
Evening activity was a talent show. Our girls came up with a skit about accepting everyone.
Cocoa and Biscuts then Bedtime!
Alarm 6:30

Thursday-
We did a lot better this morning getting ready. We were first to breakfast. The initiatives (low ropes) course began at 9:00. Each leader was either manning a station or traveling around with a group of kids during this time. I was at a station called Break Out, where the group is a family of ants living in a house that had just been raided and the need to crawl on the washing line and over the wall to safety. I found that the groups that had guys in them just went for it and planned as they went along while the groups of all girls planned first and adjusted the plan to what wasn't working. I only found one group that did not think out how to get everyone over the wall. They just went for it and forgot to plan for how they were going to get the last person over. During breaks Donnie and I completed our station with some help from Shaun and Vyans oldest son (9), he gave me a boost to get up over the wall.
During tea Amber and I distributed face paint to each group so they could support their country for the upcoming game of human clue. The game was a lot of fun but Im not sure all teh kids really understood the concept of the game. It was a trial run so we knew it wouldn't be perfect. Our group had some girls that tried really hard to not have to play, they tried asking to use the toilet expecting us to let them go alone, but we saw right trhough it so we went as a group. Unfortunatly this didn't solve everything, A lid of a toilet got flung off and crashed on the floor. Apparantly this happens easily.
Lunch was awesome mac & Cheese.
We then had another presentation, this time on birds. More people were excited about this one, though some did scream when the birds would fly close to them. My favorite bird was an owl named goggles.
Tea break/meeting, we met with Shaun to figure out what would best fit the schedule next. We decided on taking a walk down to the beach until supper then doing a personality test. The walk to the beach was about 30 minutes. Once at the beach the kids could walk around and explore. I found some seaglass and some cool shells. There were a few penguins hiding in little caves walking out on the rocks to jump into the water. They were soooo cute.
After dinner we staying in the dinning hall and took a short personality test before heading up to the forum for certificates and the drum cafe. Each camper recieved a certificate stated they had completed a week of leadership at rocklands centre.
The Drum Cafe is an interactive drumming session. Each person gets their own drum and the band teaches you how to play. It was a lot of fun and was great to learn something cultural. A couple of my campers fell asleep though so after they were wide awake and decided they did not want to be the good quiet girls anymore. I had to ask them multiple times to get the cocoa and take it to the cabin. Amber and I wanted them in bed because we hadnt had time to pack up and we needed to leave in the morning at 8:30. This was the only time that I lost my temper with my girls. There was no way to get them to listen, one of them actually decided that she wanted to hide from us which made matters worse making us think we had a lost camper. We finally got them into bed and asleep by 11:30.
Alarm 6:00

Friday!-
We woke everyone up at 6 so they would start packing while others were showering and vice versa. We were the second group to get to breakfast. At 8:30 both groups got onto their buses and headed for the ferry to Robben Island. The ferry left at 11:00 and we were touring the island by 11:30. Our tourguide was a man that had been imprisoned on the island. He gave a lot of information but I was so over tired and a lot of it was so dry that I did not get much out of the trip. It was stunning to see how small Nelson Mandela's jail cell was, about 5X5, And where they worked in the quarries. After the tour we headed to V+A waterfront to watch the USA vs. Slovenia game at Quay Four, a local bar. It was packed with people, mostly England fans that had been there all day awaiting their game starting at 8:00. Unfortunately we tied 2-2. We met people from the states and joined them for a few drinks before we left at 8:30 for wellwood. We were told to meet at the V+A parking lot we had met at before. Somehow in the trek to the bus Katie, a fellow student, was left behind. We waited and searched for her for almost an hour. As the bus was pulling back into the parking lot after driving around looking we recieved a call that katie was safely back at Wellwood. I was so proud that she thought quickly to find help and get herself back to Wellwood via taxi instead of waiting helplessly around for an hour and being left in Cape Town alone.
We got back to Wellwood at about 10:45 and went straight to bed.
Class Tomorrow

Class time and Rocklands Planning

About half of us showed up to breakfast this morning. Which wasn't a surprise since we didn't get in until 2:15 and most people were out drinking until 1. I am getting pretty sick of not getting a full nights sleeps whether its because i was forced to go out or because i am being woken up by people coming in late. There needs to be some serious structure changes!
Class started at 10 and we had a discussion about group dynamics and attitude. I felt like i was being blamed for the group not working together or being on time or respecting everyone. I'm not sure how others felt nut I definitely wasn't in the best mood throughout this conversation. We broke off into groups of four to do an activity that represented the 7 steps of management. We were given 35 cups, assigned a leader, observer, and two workers to build the tallest and strongest structure out off the cups in 5 minutes. The catch: only the leader could talk, the workers were blindfolded and the only ones who could touch the cups, and the observer watched and took notes. Our group worked together the best with no frustrations or complications while building.
We met as a group at noon to plan out our week ahead at Rocklands Camp. It was successful and we got our schedule planned out and we are meeting later tonight to come up with a welcome show for the campers on the first night. We are finalizing everything after dinner tomorrow and we head off for Rocklands at 11am Monday morning. There is no Internet access so I may not be able to blog until next Saturday, bummer, but I'll keep a journal no worries.
Talk to you soon,
Meganne

WINELANDS TOUR

Our first stop of the day was The House of J.C. Le Roux who is a major producer of sparkling wines in South Africa. We had a brief tour of the facility including the production line. We got to try 5 different varieties of their Sparkling Wines. There wasn't a one that wasn't delicious. They all had the perfect amount of bubbles and the perfect range of sweet and tartness. Amber and I went a little crazy buying bottles but we couldn't resist the prices were sooooo good. About $7 a bottle. It is such an easy gift for friends. The only issue is how to get it all back to the states. Wont worry about that right now. Today was definitely a relaxing day to explore new areas and taste amazing wines. We stopped in Stellenbosh for lunch and some shopping around. Amber and I had brought snacks along with us so we wouldn't have to spend money on lunch. Unfortunately this just gave us more time to shop, I didn't buy anything that I didn't believe was needed. I got some amazing paintings at a little tent fair and some cool salad spoons.
Our last stop was at Solms Delta. The setting was amazing!!!! We all sat at a long picnic table with a view of the vineyard. We sampled 5 different wines there, each was very different from the other. They were all good just nothing stood out too much to me.
Dinner was back at Wellwood
A group trip was planned on Wednesday to go to the casino tonight. It is an hour away an we were planning to leave wellwood at 7:30 and the casino at 2:00. Looong day.
When the time came to leave Amber and I were not in the mood to go out. We weren't told about this until arriving so neither of us didn't pack clothes for this type of event. Apparently since we all requested trips like this we were forced to go out and stay up until after 2 am. Since I was already getting sick this really pissed me off, I should be able to decide for myself whether or not it is good for my health to be out and about, which it definitely was not a good idea. We decided to make the best of it and went ice skating and bowling while most everyone else went drinking and dancing. When the time to leave rolled around we were waiting for two people and it was decided by the professors to leave them and since they are adults they can find their way back to Wellwood. My argument to this is that if they can make the decision to be late and fend for themselves for a ride why cant I make the decision to stay in and sleep. Tonight started a whole discussion on how if we all want to have a good time and get the most out of our trip we are going to have to step up and lead ourselves and start sticking together on decisions.
Hopefully no more drama to come,
Meganne

Sports Day

Woke up with a sore throat this morning. Everyone seems to be getting sick, I'm praying this is just allergies but I'll have to get a lot of sleep the next few days to stay healthy.
Today we got the opportunity to see the Rugby Museum, a high-tech health gym, and a local cricket stadium.
Even though I'm not a big sports nut it was still interesting to see how another country runs their sports and fitness. I was amazed by the gym, it had the best equipment, a pool, fitness instructors, they even give you a personal fitness test when you first sign up. I would love to find a gym like this at home but I bet it cost hundreds a month.
I don't understand cricket at all but it was cool to see the stadium. It was sunny today so I just enjoyed being in the sun for the first time this trip.
After a quick lunch we met with the organizers of Two Oceans Marathon and Agus Cycle Tour. It was fascinating to learn about all that it takes to put on a large event like these for a community. These event draw in participants form all over the world. Even though I'm not a runner, Stefanie inspired me to make it a life goal to complete a marathon.
Winelands Tmw!!!
Meganne

First Township Visit

First off I will explain what a township is. A township is what we would think of as a shanty town in the Great Depression. A plot of land is cluttered with little shacks that are constructed of any building material that could be found. The people that live in townships are living in poverty. When I would think of poverty in Africa I would imagine the commercial that asks people to sponsor starving children. I don't want you to think I am saying that townships aren't bad to live in but the commercials show us the absolute worst part of them. The people are always happy and proud to be South African. In all legal townships each shack has electricity and running water which they don't have to pay for. They are better off than the commercials depict but nowhere close to acceptable.
Masiphumelele is a township in Cape Town that houses 25,000 people but should only house 15,000. The unemployment rate in Masi is over 50%, therefore most children cant even afford to wear new school uniforms which go for about $50 each. We had the opportunity to visit one of the schools in Masi. We visited with the second grade. They were so well behaved while sitting in class. We had the chance to interview a few of the kids to put in a video about our trip. The kids all filed into the hall and immediately pummeled anyone they felt like for a hug and a picture. They were fascinated by everything we had from pamphlets to cameras. They loved being able to see a picture of themselves immediately. the smiles on their faces are still engraved into my memory and probably will be for the rest of my life.
More townships to come,
Meganne

Khayelitsha Day 2

We woke up and had tea and donut like pastrys before packing up and leaving Vicky's.
We headed out to the District 6 museum to see what it was like to be forced out of your house and into segregated areas in a short time. It was shocking to learn that once segregated into different areas the different groups werent even allowed to associate with each other. I couldnt image living in a world where you couldnt talk to friends you have had for years just because they were a different color than you.
We had an early lunch today since we didnt have much at Vicky's. We had about 45 minutes to grab something before we had to meet with the City of Cape Town's Communications Department where we got to learn the ins and outs of planning for a FIFA World Cup. I wasnt aware that it takes over 4 years to get it all sorted out.
It was finally nice enough outside to go up Table Mountain. It was about 35 degrees at the top but well worth it. The view of the city from that high is incredible, unfortunately the cloud cover comes in really fast so it can ruin some pictures. dont worry though I got a few. There is a little cafe/restaurant at the top where you can grab a coffee to warm up.

Khayelitsha

Day one of our overnight township experience.
Khayelitsha is the second largest township housing over 1 million people. Many people live in the same type of shacks that I described before but some have actuall houses. Vicky runs a B&B out of her house year round.
When first getting to khayelitsha we toured the fan park that was organized within the township. A fan park is a place where people who couldnt get tickets to world cup games to watch them on big screens and get together to represent their country. I think it was a great idea to have a fan park within a township because than everyone can get a chance to witness the world cup no matter of your social status.
We met with Elise, a woman who volunteers within khayelitsha, to visit local schools and community centers. \when visiting the schools we brought along coloring books and lollipops to give to the kids. It was a rush to see how excited the kids got over a lollipop, something we think of as so simple and available to us.
We got to visit with an organization called Women for Peace where they served us an amazing authentic lunch and performed cultural dances. The teenagers that are involed gave us a short walking tour of the township to give us an idea of their life.
For dinner we headed over to Vicky's B&B. This is where the lifechanging experience really began. While waiting for dinner to be served we took another walking tour around a different part of Khayelitsha. There was a little girl that latched on to a couple of our students for the duration of the tour, we werent sure whos kid she was but she wanted to come with us for whatever reason, it was cute.
Dinner was another authentic meal which I wasnt really a fan of this time. I dont do well with spices so I didnt eat much. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it though. Vickys house only has 6 bedrooms so some people had to stay other places within Khayelitsha. I was deffinitley nervous to see if I would be one of those. Luckily Amber and I were assigned to stay at Beauty's next door, we werent comfortable with this and ended up sleeping on vickys couches which turned out well. Some people got sent to a random persons house, turned out to be vickys cousin, and ended up coming back because they werent comfortable witht the situation. We'll just say that some people got luckier than others  but we all got a shocking experience out of the night.
Meganne

Technical Difficulties

Hey guys for someone reason Meg can't post right now. She should be able to start posting again around Wednesday!! Sorry to those of you who have been following her on your trip!!

-Tammy

Waterfront and Class bonding-ish

Today we got to see more beautiful landscape as we made our way into Cape Town. Even though we drive the same route almost every day each drive is different because of the ever changing weather. The weather hasn't been too bad but it definitely doesn't relate to the US right now. I would compare it to the end of a New England fall, sunny most of the day then bone chilling once the sun goes down if you aren't dressed properly.
Our first stop in Cape Town was a walking tour through the botanical garden and past government buildings. The garden was gorgeous, a wonderful mix of exotic flowers, greenery, and wildlife. The most stunning of all was the "birds of paradise". Our walk through the garden lead us to the South African Museum where Frans lead us through explaining the history of South Africa. The most mind blowing thing was how they crafted all of their tools to get through a days work and entertain themselves. They take ostrich eggs and break them up into pieces to then shape them with their teeth to small discs that are used as beads.
For lunch and the rest of the afternoon we headed to Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, known as V+A by the locals. The waterfront views are breathtaking. It is like you are looking out onto a mixture of New England, Florida, and Colorado. The sands are as soft and white as Florida, the color and nature of the water and its currents reminds me of my beach at home, and the mountains surrounding the water resemble the view of being in the valleys of Colorado.
A group of us found a cute outdoor Italian restaurant to grab some lunch. The food was fantastic!! We even all tried a bite of Ostrich that John had ordered. I would definitely eat it again. We went off for a bit of shopping but knew we were coming back at the end of the trip so decided to wait to spend money on ourselves.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side today so we couldn't go up on table mountain. The cable car up does not run if it is too windy and if it is cloudy there is no point in going up because you wont see a thing. I will fill you in on Table Mountain once I get there. We did get to drive up Signal Hill, opposite Table Mountain, to see an almost ariel view of Cape Town.
We spent a bit more time out then planned and ended up being late for dinner. Big no no!
Once finished with dinner a group of us sat down and had a bonding chat. We all came to the conclusion that we need to plan what to do after dinner because we all split and people get left not knowing what others are planning on doing or end up just bored until they can fall asleep. It was a successful chat and hopefully there are more to come.
Meganne

annoyed

I was going to try and blog today but what I felt like writing aparantly doesnt meet standards. I am here to blog about my days and exactly how I feel about them Im not here to sugar coat anything or keep it politically correct. Sorry

Uneventful day of Class

Today we began class at 9:30 and listened to guest speakers from Downhill Adventures, A research project creator, the directors of Rocklands, and about the history of Africa (by Frans) until 4:00. We had a lunch break at 1:00 same situation as dinner, yay! I decided that on one of my free days that I will be going cage diving with Great White Sharks. I can not wait!! That should be a thrilling blog for ya! Another dinner at 6....the town must be into rec fishing or something on weekends because the whole place smells like bait and is really unappetizing. Calling it an early night. Off to Table mountain tomorrow, I hope the weather cooperates so pictures will be good,
Stay in touch,
Meganne

Cape Peninsula Tour

Good News!!! Breakfast was full of recognized food like eggs, cereal, yogurt, and bacon. It was a relief to know I would start the day with an enjoyable and filling meal.
The coach (bus) left promptly at 9:00am to begin our scenic tour up and around Cape Peninsula. I felt as if my camera was never off for more than 5 consecutive minutes. the landscape in South Africa is breathtaking, it is like nothing I have ever seen before.
Our first stop was Duiker Island where a colony of seals (mostly male) live. There was a man on the bulkhead playing with his 500lb seal, who he has been training for 8 years, named Peachy Boy. We were allowed to pet and feed him and even give him a hug for a picture. Amber and I took advantage of this opportunity and got a picture together with Peachy Boy. We boarded the tour boat and took a gorgeous ride out to the island. Everyone was snapping pictures of mountains and jumping seals.
About 40 minutes later we arrive by coach into Table Mountain National Park to see Cape of Good Hope and Cape point. Cape of Good Hope is the southern  most part of western cape. Cape point is home to an old lighthouse that holds the highest visual distance from sea, 63meters. Before entering the park our tour guide, Frans, gave us a serious warning about wild baboons. They will approach you if they suspect you may have food and snatch it away. This means they will steal handbags because they have learned that there is most likely some food in them. If you are caught feeding them you will be fined.
The view from Cape Point Lighthouse is fantastic. You get a 360 view of the western peninsula, as far as you can see that is. The walk up is the hard part though. Amber and I decided we should try and run it, we didn't get too far :-( but it's the effort that counts.
WE stopped and Cape of Good Hope for about 20 minutes to explore. We climbed the rocks for a bit and then the wind picked up and it got a lot colder. The weather changes so fast here.
On our way back to Wellwood we stopped at Rocklands, the camp we will be working at for a week while we are here, to take a quick tour so we had an idea of what to expect. The facilities are amazing, they have everything from as swimming pool to an indoor rock wall. It made me begin to think that this may be a good place for me to have my externship. Need to look into that.
About a 10 minute drive and we were back at Wellwood to get ready for another interesting dinner. I'm not going to go into it because I don't want to bore you with the same situation every night.
Headed to the Internet cafe after dinner then hug out at a local bar for a bit. Again not going to go into it but because I'm not blogging to start drama or bitch about stupid things. Lets just say I should have gotten more sleep than I did but didn't because of immature behavior.
Waking up at 7
Meganne

Day Cont...

After moving into our "shoebox" we all met for a brief meeting with the owners of wellwood lodge, where we are staying for most of the trip. Wellwood is owned  by a couple that is very serious about their beliefs and the way the lodge is run. I thought it was odd that they refer to their staff as "our black staff" when speaking about them. during orientation everyone was so tired that no one paid any attention to the rules that the owners laid flat out for us, blah, blah, blah....It was a bit much to handle after not sleeping for almost three days.
Amber and I decided to figure out how to tetrus all of our stuff into our "Shoebox" after being told the rules. We then needed to fix our internet craving and went on a search for the internet cafe in town to continue our blogs and catch up with people at home.
We were left to explore Fish Hoek before dinner at 6. The shore is the most stunning part of Fish Hoek. When you look out to the horizon all you see is water and mountains. It is hard to describe becasuse I hsve never seen anything like it. Today was cloudy so pictures did not come out well so I will have to try another day. The local kids run around and play rugby on the beach and will even come up to us and chat because they are curious of new people.
Dinner...pretty much all i need to say ughhh. Amber had the worst experience and will probably be scared from it for a while. The culture over here is very different and they look down on you for wasting food wven iof it was'nt intentional. They serve us 3 courses and expect us to finish absolutly everything on your plate. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against experienceing and learning about new cultures I just have a problem when I am degraded because I havent conformed to their exact ways.
The dinner was unidentifiable and at a point when you are full completely unedible. I managed to force feed myself every last bit but Amber had trouble. The staff refused to clear her plate with a small pile of meat still left. They passivly made her finish her meal by doing this. It was painful to watch Amber struggle with this slimmy meaty substance. After an eventful dinner we decided to lay low and head back to our "shoebox" and try to stay warm and continue our journals.
Fun to come,
Meganne

Arrival into South Africa

We took a bus into the small town of Fish Hoek (means fish corner) from Cape Town International Airport. the views along the coast were gorgeous!!! I was expecting coastline but I have never seen such amazing views consisting of both mountains and ocean on either side of the street. I am so over tired that I may just fall asleep right at this desk writing. We arrive at Wellwood Lodge in Fish Hoek and get assigned to our rooms.
You know what really sucks?....Two girls with two large suitcases EACH sharing a room the size of a SHOEBOX while everyone else has ample room for all of their stuff without having to climb over empty suitcases. But at least we have hot water and a shower. We are left with the rest of the day to ourselves to explore Fish Hoek and settle into our (tiny) room. Amber and I decided to head to the internet cafe to catch up on our missed emails and blogging. Glad I could get caught up.
It will become more eventful soon. We are going to see penguins tomorrow!!
Speak to you soon,
Meganne

Up Up and AWAY!!!!!

I arrived at the airport at 7:00 pm on June 1 for my 10:30 flight to London. Come to find out our flight is also occupied by a group of english students (about high school aged) that were full of energy. This was going to be a looong night. the flight went smoothly though I only got about 30 minutes of sleep. We landed in London then Amber and I started our search for the Yotel (pay by the hour room for long transfers) about and hour and a half later we finally made our way into our cool and comfy beds for a much needed nap. About 1 hour before boarding an announcement over the PA is looking for both our Professors. We never did find out why they were so late but they nearly missed the flight because of it. Great first impression for all of us who never met them :-/ At 8:30pm June 2 we were finally on our way to South Africa!!!! 10 hours later and hardly any sleep we all staggared off the plane to find our guide, exchange money, and get working cell phones.
Now the REAL adventure starts.
Meganne

Adventure Begins...on the way to JFK!

Expecting a nice ride to JFK my family and I (missing a few) jumped in the truck. We hit traffic an hour in and then the bickering began. Dad can't follow a GPS, mom doesn't like the way Dad drives, and the dog is barking at strangers in cars next to us. To make a long story short, the easy ride to JFK turned out to be a 5 hour mess. I considered walking at one point we were going so slow.

Down to the WIRE!!!!

One more day until I fly away!!!!
Eerything seems to be snowballing into one day. I still haven't touched my suitcases and there is still one paper just waiting for me to write. ughhh Starting to stress out just a bit. There is so much I need to get done but also so much stuff I want to do. Its Memorial Day and I'm not on Block Island (family tradition) or at a BBQ because of all of my organizing. I am determined to be done with everything today so I can enjoy tomorrow with my friends and family with out any stress.
Let ya know when Im fully EXCITED
Meganne

Packing and Papers OH MY!!

Time to stop procrastinating!!! I have a lot to organize in order to leave Tuesday. My room is scattered with the many random things that some how need to get into 2 suitcases ahhhh!!!! The weather in South Africa can be unpredictable this time of year. One day is could be 70 and sunny and the next will be 50 and overcast with rain. This calls for a wide range of clothing and plenty of layers (meaning more stuff!!).
Since I am traveling for a Study Abroad program its not all about the sightseeing and learning about a new culture, I do have some work to do to earn credit for this. I have 3 papers to complete by tuesday as pre-departure assignments. I'm not quite back into school mode after the end of Spring tri so its been a bit tough to get started. But have no fear they will be finished by takeoff.
Speak to you soon,
Meganne