High Africa and Cheetahs

During the first week, our program organized a bunch of activities for us to get acquainted with each other and with the area. The first of these was called “High Africa”.

So all of our group bused southeast through Stellenbosch and the wine country. When we arrived at High Africa, we discovered it was a camp like facility with small cabins, high and low ropes courses, rock climbing wall, river rafting, and this aw

esome outdoor patio/bar. Our group really got to bond at this camp and we had some of our first great memories of the trip.

There was a massive river right next to the camp and a bunch of us wanted to swim in it. We were hesitant to get into it for fear of what might be in it. We were convinced it was safe though, by the hosts of the camp. Swimming out into the rich African river was one of the most invirgorating experiences I’ve ever had.

The last night at High Africa involved a massive party out on this awesome out door patio/bar. Everyone there was quite smashed and we all had an amazing time. Spiders, shaving cream, urine, music, and alcohol were involved.

On our way back from High Africa, we stopped through Stellenbosch which is the wine country of South Africa. We stopped at this amazing restaurant called Moyo which had every kind of meat imaginable (ox was my favorite). The food was amazing, there was live music, and we got our faces painted. At this restaurant, there was also a cheetah reserve. For a small fee, we I got to go into the pen with an adult cheetah and was able to pet it for a few minute and talk to its care taker. SO COOL!

We got back later that night and decided to venture out to a local bar because it was really our first chance since we’ve been, and who did I randomly bump into? Kara Brown..wtf!

Hey everyone. I’ve been a little slow in getting this blog together, because of how busy I’ve been and how I’ve not had internet available to me readily since I’ve been here. Its been awesome so far and here's how it began...

Flying High

Cape Town is far away. Very very far. My flight there contained two legs. Detroit to Amsterdam was 8 hours, then a 5 hour lay over, and then Amsterdam to Cape Town was 11 hours. If you know me, you can guess where this is going. My future roommate, Ian, and another kid in my program happened to be on my flight from Detroit, so after the plane we met up and decided to venture into the city for a taste of the local bud. I had done a little planning before hand (Thanks Daboosh) to find out that there’s a train that runs right from Schipol International to the center of the city, which is right next to about 20 coffeeshops. The three of us made our way to the city and walked around at 7am local time to find the nearest place.

We found a place called Resin which was thankfully just opening. Inside the walls, tables, etc were mostly some shade of green or glowing green. We chatted it up with the guy running the store and then attempted to make our way back to the airport. The bunch of us slightly underestimated the whole “getting back on the plane” part. After staring, incredibly confused, at the train map for 5 minutes, I had to end up asking at the information counter. We eventually made it back through security where we first began to meet other kids from our program.

The flight to Cape Town, to me, felt shorter than the first leg due to the epic four hour nap that hit me almost as soon as we took off. Highlights of this flight were, waking up still feelin good, five episodes of The Office, free red wine and actually good airline food.

The Penthouse

When we arrived, I found out that me and my two roommates were not going to be able to live in our originally planned housing. Basically, the renovations made on the place we were supposed to live in still made the apartment too shitty to live in. As a replacement we would eventually move into the top floor of a small apartment building with many other Arcadia students. In the meantime, we stayed at a nice bed and breakfast for the first week while our place was getting furniture.

Our apartment now is small but pretty nice. I’m in a double, and the third roommate is in the other bedroom/common room. A little kitchen, little bathroom, but two HUGE porches. We also threw down cash to get ourselves a coffee table and speakers to go with the couch and chairs already here. Its been a nice upgrade and it finally is starting to feel like home.

This me and my two roommates Ian and Dave at Robben Island. Good times. Many more to come.