Hello from Stellenbosch South Africa! 

 

I have been about an hour outside of Cape Town for the last three days at Stellenbosch Uni, and have made my way to an internet cafe so I could tell you about my adventures so far and let everyone know that I'm safe, disease free thus far, and having a fabulous time! However, I forgot my journal so I'll have to try to remember as much as I can....

 

The plane ride with South African Airways was... interesting... aka incredibley long and uncomfortable... but all worth it of course! I sat next to a South African man for most of it - he'd been in Texas for some sort of science project with his students. It was hard to understand each other's accents so we didn't talk much after that. His dominant language was probably Afrikaans... which is a form of Dutch (I think!) since the Dutch (and the British) settled SA... a little history for you!

 

We got to Port Elizabeth at night on Tuesday and went out for a Windhock (pronounced Vintook) at a bar on the beach of the Indian Ocean - touched it for the first time there. the next day we went to Addo Elephant park - saw loooots of elephants, zebras, wart hogs, jackals, etc. Next day we went to Tsitsikama where we did the zip lining through the tree canopy!! that was soo incredible. there were 10 lines. i was the very first to go and was kind of nervous the first few times but by the end i was wishing there were more lines. probably some of the most gigantic and coolest looking trees i've ever seen... and i was in them! the tallest tree was 600 years old. the forest looked similar to something at home but much much greener and bigger trees and lots of ferns on the ground. on the way there we stopped at Storms River Bridge which goes over a giant river gorge with a tiny river in the bottom with jagged rocks throughout. that night we stayed at Storms River Park right next to the ocean in these little log cabins. we hung out by the beach and looked at the stars that night - lots of shooting stars!

 

(please excuse my lack of capitalized letters - trying to be fast!)

 

next day we woke up early and swam in the indian ocean at sunrise!! it was so cold so it was more like a run in / run out type deal! later we hiked up the side of a mountain along the ocean and over to a suspension bridge. very wobbley .... so naturally i jumped on it :-)

 

then we left storms river and headed to Knysna. a very nice town, would definitely live there (south africa is kind of the anomoly of africa - it's very nice here and very developed. Knysna is a very cute beach town with shops and what not. my mom would even like it!!)

In Knysna (Nise-na for pronunciation) we checked out the local forestry (since this is a forestry class technically). we drove up a mountain ridge - literally a scary steep ridge and up to the top of a mounttain! i thought we were going to roll down the side! but it was worth it to be at the top. could see all the mountains and out to the ocean and could see part of Knysna. We stayed at Victoria Bay in beach-side villas at the top of a hill. at the bottom by the water was a small restaurant were we got amazing calamari - that is the big thing at these coastal towns it seems...

Next day we went to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Saasveld and mingled with some students there. it was fun to exchange our experiences and knowledge as most of them are about to graduate and I just did. later that night those students and their prof came to our villas for a "braai" aka cook out. sooo much fun. swam in the Indian Ocean - an actual swim despite the cold - that night! It is extremely salty!

 

next day we drove 5 hours to Stellenbosch and on the way stopped at PetroSA - petroleum company of South Africa. got a tour of the plant and learned what they do. after their presentation i asked about whether they invest in alternative energy resources like biofuels (switchgrass, wood, etc) and whether the plant could be converted to a biofuel refinery when there is no more petrol / gas. surprising answer was that the processes aren't that different, so it could be converted. the special thing about this plant is that they convert gas, as in natural gas in gas form, to liquid fuel. they explained the whole process but it involved chemistry so i have no idea how that works. then we continued on our way to stellenbosch. last night we got dinner at a really nice place but it was super cheap - food is inexpensive here but clothes are more expensive than home.

 

today (monday) we got a tour of the forests here - they are in these incredible mountains - reminds me of pictures of the Rockies, minus the snow of course. it is winter here tho, so everyone looks at me crazy in my flip flops and tank top when they are bundled up with boots and a coat in 60-70F degree weather. and the sun is still very hot mid-day but they are cold!

we stopped at a little place in the forest mounttains for lunch. it made me feel so peaceful and appreciate what i'm doing, what i'm learning, and where i am. i got some green tea because i was feeling so zen :-)

tomorrow i will go to a lecture here on biofuels and then we are touring the winelands and doing a little wine tasting - i will come back so sofisticated swirling, sniffing, and sipping my south african wine! wednesday we were in Cape Town all day just sight seeing - lots of overlooks along the Atlantic ocean. we visited Table Mountain National Park and the Cape of Good Hope - we were pretty much of the tip of the Cape Peninsula. 

 

Leaving for Mozambique tomorrow - should be quite a different experience. Will be at Gorongosa game reserve for a few days as well as Envirotrade. Then will be on to Kenya for my research and applied work with the youth at the Children and Youth Empowerment Center in Nyeri. Can't wait to get started and see my favorite little ones (and big ones) again! i might be distracted by playing with them when i'm supposed to be building a manual hay baler for the older youth's hay baling business.... hopefully not TOO distracted... lots of work to do!

 

I wish you could all be here with me! the pictures will never do it justice. will blog again about Mozambique and progress in Kenya again in about a week!

 

love to all!

 

- LT