CATS AND MORE TUTUS?

Hey all! So I wanted to do a quick blog post to update you on two very cool experiences I've had in the last few days, as well as some upcoming things!

CATS!  Last week I had the incredible opportunity to visit the Cheetah Outreach Center.  The main focus of the center is to teach people about cheetahs and provide a great experience for visitors since the cheetah population is drastically declining.  There is estimated to only be about 7,500 cheetahs left!  They raise cheetahs as cubs and use some as ambassador cheetahs to travel the world and educate people.  We first got to watch a cheetah run which was VERY COOL.  Not many people get to see cheetahs really run, because they very seldom do it.  We then got a tour and got to watch the other animals being fed that they have on the property.  Then we got to interact with 2 cheetah cubs (they are about half the size of adult cheetahs but don't really look like cubs!).  Then I got to hold a meerkat (Timon from The Lion King).  It was a very great day!  Here are some pictures:

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF PART OF THE CHEETAH RUN

Tutus!
This afternoon I had the incredible privilege of sitting down with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Reverend Mpho Tutu.  They talked to us about their new book, The Book of Forgiving (which can be purchased HERE, as well as politics, their lives, etc.  It was an incredibly humbling and powerful afternoon that I will never forget.  I mean really, WHO ELSE gets to sit and have lunch with DESMOND TUTU!  I am truly grateful for this experience.  They also told us about this great initiative that they started called the Forgiveness Challenge.  For 30 days you will receive a free email with stories of forgiveness, tips on forgiving and exercises to make your life more positive.  EVERYONE has some forgiving to do, even if it is with yourself.  CLICK HERE to read more about the challenge and sign up! Here are pictures from that:

There are only 20 days left of my incredible journey here in South Africa, and I plan to make the most of it!  Keep an eye out for shark cage diving, my visit to Parliament, and MUCH MORE coming in the next few days!  Love you all!

My 21st Birthday, a Tutu, and WHAT was biting at my leg?!

Hey everyone! I'm super sorry that it has been sooooo long since I last posted!  I'll just have to give you all some quick updates on what I've been up to!

Speaker:
A few weeks back we had a woman speak to our group that was on the TRC.  She told us some of the stories that ended on a somewhat 'positive' note...(like families receiving closure by hearing the actual story of what happened to their child or where their body was buried) and some that were not so pleasant.  It was just very cool to hear her speak about all that she experienced!  She was also formerly the leader of the Black Sash which was a non-violent women's resistance organization during apartheid.

Easter:
So this was the first time I have celebrated Easter without being with my family, so it was pretty strange.  However, we decided to make the most of it!  Since this was during the holiday break in the semester, half of our group was rafting in Namibia, so there was only a few of us home.  We dressed up and went to mass...and it turns out that people here do not dress up for Easter mass!  Whatever, we looked good:

Then the group of us made a DELICIOUS Easter brunch!  It consisted of fruit salad, french toast, breakfast potatoes, eggs with mushrooms and onions, bacon, sausage...it was just so good!  Here you are foodies:

DESMOND TUTU!
So for those of you that don't know who Desmond Tutu is, he was the first black Archbishop of Cape Town and is a huge social justice advocate.  He played a very big part in the opposition of Apartheid, and he is a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He, along with Nelson Mandela and others, created the TRC.  We were fortunate enough to attend one of his very small prayer services, and got to meet him after.  He is a very funny, caring, and all-around good guy.  I was very honored and humbled to meet him.  Here are pictures:

 My birthday!
So as you may or may not have known, April 27th was my 21st birthday.  However, my birthday celebrations really began on April 24th.  I walked into Imbasa, the school I am teaching at, and BOTH of my classes decorated the board with birthday messages, sang happy birthday, gave me presents, and every kid wrote me a birthday card.  It was absolutely adorable.  I was overwhelmed by the love that these kids showed me.

If you have not seen it, here is a video of a few of the kids singing happy birthday to me outside: CLICK!

Ok flash forward to the night of April 26th, and the house decided to take me out to celebrate.  It was a very fun night and I had a great time!  Here is a picture of us from dinner:

THEN on my birthday Carra, Maira and Domonique decided to take me to the amusement park in Cape Town!  It was an absolute blast and the rides were actually really great!  Here are a few pictures from that day:

Now, you are probably asking yourself two questions: what the HECK is that giant animal, and why are you wearing those bizarre aprons?  Well, to answer your question about the animal...we do not know.  Carra asked him when we took the picture, but since it's a big giant character, he/she did not answer.  As for the aprons...well, we decided to go on a bit of an adventure.  At the amusement park was a ride called the SLINGSHOT which is basically a human catapult.  Well...I'll just let the pictures and video explain:

***WARNING*** in the video you are about to see, I just need to apologize in advance for Carra's very loud screaming and my WEIRD, BIZARRE laugh that I was unaware that I was making until I saw the video.  CLICK HERE IF YOU STILL WANT TO SEE IT...TRUST ME, YOU DO.

April 27th is also a special day in South Africa, because it is Freedom Day.  This year marked the 20th anniversary of the end of Apartheid!

Table Mountain:
Yesterday, after months of staring at it from afar, I finally decided to hike Table Mountain!  Table Mountain is probably Cape Town's most iconic landmark.  It is a giant mountain that is flat at the top like a table...get it?  Anyway, Table Mountain is believed to be about 260-million years old...six times older than the Himalayas and five times older than the Rockies.  It is a beautiful sight and was recently named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!  The hike was not easy, but after making it to the top, the views were completely worth it.  Here are some pictures:

So we make it to the top, and I'm sitting at the table (yes, there is a restaurant, gift shops and tables up there) trying to recover from the hike, and I feel something pulling at my anklet that I had on.  Thinking I got it caught on something I look down, and to my surprise I see THIS:

They are called Dassies, and apparently they like to hang out on the top of Table Mountain...and smile for pictures?

Anyway, thank you for bearing with me during this long blog!  May 7th is election day in South Africa, so that will be very exciting to be here for.  Classes are also coming to an end, which means there are bound to be a lot more adventures soon!  Stay tuned!  As always, you can see the full album with plenty of pictures from all these events RIGHT HERE.  Thank you all for the love, support and birthday wishes you've been sending me!  38 more days in South Africa and I am sure as heck going to make the most of them!

Speakers, Retreat, and Mandela's Cell

Hey everyone!  I know I haven't posted in a while, so I apologize that this post is going to be fairly long.  I will do my best to make it informative and exciting!  Also, by the time you're reading this I will have hit 1000 views on my blog, so THANK YOU for reading and the constant support!

Retreat-
The weekend after the mid-semester trip, all 19 of us went on a retreat to the beautiful city of Hermanos.  The retreat was lead by author John De Gruchy.  We discussed South Africa, reconciliation, religion, and much more.  It was a very nice weekend, and the scenery around us was beautiful!  Here are just a few pics (these are the pictures from just my Iphone, I took some amazing ones on my film camera but have yet to get those developed so I will post at a later time):

Speakers:
We have had 4 very unique speakers in our Friday classes for Marquette, but in order for you to understand one of them I need to give some background information about South Africa.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission-
After Apartheid ended, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and many other political and religious leaders of South Africa came together to form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).  This group would hold hearings where people of South Africa could talk about the horrors they witnessed in an attempt at a national reconciliation.  The TRC also held hearings where perpetrators of violent acts during Apartheid could apply for amnesty, or a pardon for their acts.  There were, however, some rules.  The perpetrators needed to a) have committed the act during the time of Apartheid, b) the act must have been politically motivated, and c) the perpetrators must give ABSOLUTE full disclosure of the details of the event during the hearing.  Only then would the board decide to grant amnesty or not.  Now the TRC had many flaws and could never actually achieve full national reconciliation, but they definitely helped in the respect that people got to share their stories, families got to receive some closure by finding out what really happened to their loved ones that were killed, and just some effort was being made to remember what happened during Apartheid.

Amy Biehl-
Amy was a graduate of Stanford University and was studying at UWC (where we study) on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1993.  She was very passionate about the fight to end Apartheid, and would join in on many protests and demonstrations.  Although she was white, she was appalled by the way South Africa was treating people of other races.  On August 25, 1993 Amy was driving a friend home in Guguletu, a township outside of Cape Town.  A mob of angry black men pulled her out of her car, and she was stabbed and stoned to death.  After her death, Amy's parents founded the Amy Biehl Foundation in Cape Town.  This organization, where a few of my fellow housemates volunteer, offers programs to help empower and educate youth in impoverished communities in Cape Town.

Now that you have some background, let me tell you about the speakers we've had.

Two of the speakers that came to talk to us were two of the men that killed Amy Biehl.  While this might sound shocking to you all, there is a lot of events that happened since that day.  Amy's parents met with her killers, and forgave them completely.  They believed that this is what Amy would have wanted.  The Biehl's brought these men back to their home in the US to see where Amy lived, and treated them like family.  These two men today work for the Amy Biehl Foundation.  I have to say it was quite shocking seeing these men sit in front of us.  They told us the story of what happened that day in August, how their lives have changed, etc.  For them, killing Amy was not personal.  It was a politically motivated attack.  There was a mob that formed in protest of government activities, and their emotions were high.  This led to them killing Amy.  While I do not think it is OKAY what they did and by no means CONDONE what they did, I can understand in a way what they were feeling and why they did what they did.  They talked about this a lot, and I think it is an important distinction...to UNDERSTAND why they did what they did and to CONDONE what they did.  Anyway, it was a very interesting talk and I am glad I got to hear their story.

Another speaker was Molly Blank, an American filmmaker and journalist who, coincidentally, came to South Africa on a Fulbright Scholarship.  She was very interested in the school system in Cape Town, so she taught and observed different schools in the area.  She was appalled by the gap between the white schools and the black schools, and created a documentary entitled TESTING HOPE.  It was a very powerful documentary, and we talked with her about her experiences, the creating of the documentary, her current projects, etc.  This really hit home for me because I am teaching in an all-black school while I am here and I see the conditions that these students are in while they are in school.  The sad reality is that a large number of my students and black students across South Africa will not be able to pass their matric (an exam that is similar to our high school diploma) NOT because of their smarts, but because the schools could not teach these students to their full potential.  If you are interested in learning more about the movie or purchasing it, you can CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE to see some of her videos from her latest project.

The last speaker that we heard from was former Mayor of Cape Town Frank van der Velde.  He was the mayor from 1991-1993, which was still during Apartheid.  During his time as mayor, he organized Nelson Mandela's speech that he gave after he was released from prison.  He told us the whole story of the crazy events of that day and what went on behind the scenes to actually get Nelson Mandela to the location where he spoke.  That was a very cool experience!

District 6 Museum:

Yesterday we went to the District 6 Museum.  District 6 was a residential area in Cape Town where, during the Apartheid regime, its 60,000+ residents were forcibly removed strictly because the government wanted to use that area to make a "white-only" area.  The entire township was flattened by bulldozers and wrecking balls.  Today, most of that area is still in shambles.  Here are just a few pictures from the museum:

Robben Island:

I had the honor and privilege to visit Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned.  This was a very humbling experience.  We saw the island, the kennels where the guard dogs were kept, the houses of the guards, and finally the prison.  We got to look into the cell where Nelson Mandela stayed for 18 years.  He had a pot to go to the bathroom in, and slept on two THIN mats with a blanket.  When I looked into that bare, tiny, uncomfortable cell, I could not help but think of what that experience must have been like.  I think I would rather have been dead than stay in that cell for so long.  Yet, Mandela was a hero.  He not only stayed there, but he worked on ideas to improve this country and came out even stronger than he went in.  I already knew how amazing Mandela was, but this just showed me HOW STRONG Mandela really was.  During his stay, he wrote a manuscript of his experiences that would later be called Long Walk to Freedom.  It was turned into a book, and in the last few months turned into a movie.  For those that haven't seen it, I would HIGHLY recommend it.  Here are a few of the photos from this experience:

To see the rest of the pictures from these last few weeks, you can CLICK HERE.  Thank you all for the non-stop love and support that you are sending my way.  If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me!

I also am accepting mail here, so if you want to mail me a letter or anything, ask me for the address!

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My 10-Day Adventure!

Hey everyone!  It's been a while, but I've been on the MID-SEMESTER TRIP!  This was a 10-day trip travelling around South Africa and doing some ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE things!  Here is a day-by-day breakdown with some pictures along the way!

Day 1-

After leaving at 4am, we headed out in our HUGE bus to the city of Knysna.  The town itself was a nice place with a lot of shopping.  We had lunch, and then our driver told us that he moved our reservations from BUNGY JUMPING from the next day to in a few hours.  We got to the place and I was FREAKING OUT.  We got harnessed in, and made the long walk out to the bridge.  The walk may have been the scariest!  It was a little tiny path that you could see below you.  I got to the place where we were jumping, and they announced that I was going 2nd.  I was almost crying.  It is the TALLEST BUNGY BRIDGE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!  Anyway...I'll just let you watch the video of the insanity that ensued.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

The bungy was crazy.  If they didn't push me, I don't know if I could have jumped!  The first second was TERRIFYING, but after that it was just pure bliss.  After calming down, we went back to the hostile.....

So we get there..and things are cool...until about 3am.  We had a room of 6- the 5 of us guys and a random guy.  I wake up to the door opening...the random guy walks in with a girl...and they have sex...in our room...on the bottom bunk...with one of the guys from my trip on the top bunk.  I can honestly say it might have been the most awkward experience of my life.

Day 2-

After waking up and remembering the awkward experience of the night before, we drove to Port Elizabeth.  We stopped and ate lunch on the beach.  The bus then decided to break down for a few hours so we sat in the repair place.  Then we went to our hostile on the beach in East London.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We had our own little cottage and everything.  There was a club inside which we danced in and stayed up super late.  It was a great day.

Day 3-

Ok, so I got woken up early again...but this time by MONKEYS.  The monkeys decided it would be fun to jump on our roof all morning, roll off into the bushes, and jump back on the roof again.  I mean...only in Africa right?

We left East London and headed for Coffee Bay.  Words cannot really describe how beautiful Coffee Bay was.  As we drove up, the little kids in the villages would run out to wave and say hello.  The hostile was SO COOL.  The boys had their own hut, and it was across the river.  We had to cross the knee-high river every time, but that was awesome.  We spent some time on the beach, and the waves were so strong you could barely stand.  It was fun though!  Then it was the full moon.  On full moons, lots of South Africans love to party; they treat it as a holiday.  We went to the top of a hill and watched the sun set.  Then we went down and had a DELICIOUS traditional Xhosa dinner, and there were some Xhosa dancers that performed.

 Day 4-

COFFEE BAY!  We spend this whole day here.  Me and a few others decided to go on a Xhosa village tour which was really cool.  We got to interact with some of the kids, saw the huts where people lived, and had lunch with one of the women.  It was so cool!  I really learned a lot!  That night we went to the hostile across the way and danced to a drum circle and saw a fire dancer perform.  It was a great night.  I did not want to leave!

Day 5-

Despite not wanting to go, we left Coffee Bay and headed for Durban.  We spent this whole day driving and just had dinner in Durban.

Day 6-

In Durban, we went to Sea World in the morning.  We saw penguins and a feeding, a seal show, dolphins, and different types of fish in an aquarium.  Then we left and drove to Johannesburg for the rest of the day. Fun fact- the hostile we stayed in was built by the mafia!

Day 7-

BEST DAY EVER!  The rest of the group went on a tour, but since I did this tour when I first flew into Johannesburg, Duke and I did our own tour.  We started at the elephant park.  There was a mother elephant and two of her younger elephants.  We walked around with them, fed them, and watched them swim.  It was so cute!  Here are some pictures:

Then we went to the lion park!  I DIED.  We first played with the 3 week old baby lion cubs!  Their eyes were open, but they could not see.  They were so fluffy!  Here they are:

THEN we went to play with the 4 month old cubs!  They were SO CUTE.  They just wanted to play and nip and cuddle!  Here they are:

Next we went to play with the "devils".  They get their name because they are literally devils, but cute!  They are huge, but think they are little cubs.  They jumped on me, nipped, ripped my pants, and just wanted to play!  Here they are:

Then we went on a tour of the other animals.  We touched a Caraco cat, pet a grown cheetah, and touched grown tigers!  We even saw a one week old baby lion still with its mother!  Here are some of those pictures:

Last, we went on a walk with some of the lion cubs.  They ranged from 9 months to 14 months old.  They were very well trained, and just walked by our sides and played in the grass.  Here are some of those pictures:

It was honestly one of the greatest days of my life.  It was SURREAL!

Day 8-

We left Johannesburg and drove to our lodge right outside of Kruger National Park.  It was so cool!  We went on a drive in search of the "Big 5" animals.  We only saw three: lions, elephants and rhinos.  We even saw a baby elephant suckling!  Here are some pictures:

Then we went back and had a nice dinner around the campfire.


Day 9-

We woke up really early and drove into Kruger!  We saw a bunch of animals, and we saw 3 of the Big 5 today: elephants, lions and BUFFALO.  We even saw a baby baby elephant!  Here are some pictures from Kruger:

At night, we went outside and could not believe the stars in the sky.  You could literally see every star.  You could see the Milky Way, and we saw at least 5 different shooting stars!


Day 10-

Our last day, we went for a bush walk in the morning.  We saw giraffes and a baby, zebras, and learned a lot about different plants, animals, and animal tracks.  Then we drove back to Johannesburg and flew back home!  OH and on the way back we saw a SUPER BABY RHINO:

Overall, the trip was an absolute blast.  To see the full album of all of the pictures, CLICK HERE.  If you have any questions, comment on here or on Facebook or email me!  HOPE YOU ENJOYED!