Elephants, Elephants, ELEPHANTS!!!!

Hello Everyone!!

This past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. Lets be honest, the sole reason I came to Africa was to play with elephants. Finally, that's pretty much all we did this week. I'll go ahead and apologize early for my obsessing.

Monday we were supposed to leave for Addo Elephant National Park and Samara Game Reserve. I was awaken by a knock at the door saying that our trip was cancelled due to the weather. I mentioned that it had poured all weekend so there was lots of flooding and apparently the rain made the dirt road in the parks inaccesible. Needless to say, I had a small panic attack.

We were picked up and taken to the university for a lecture at 10:00. We were given a lecture by Craig Tambling on game reserves and the best way for them to function. He told us we would be going to Addo on Wednesday, but that they were still trying to find a place for us to go the next day. He studies lions and big carnivores and how they affect game reserves and would be going with us on our trip. I suggested we go to Addo for both days ( my way of getting two days of elephants) and he agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!

We left for Addo the next day. Craig told us that there are approximately 4 elephants per square kilometer in the park so I was obviously ecstatic. We drove in and were greeted by warthogs. They were EVERYWHERE throughout the park. Craig told us that they are an invasive species and breed like crazy so the park has a big issue on their hands. Some of the lions at Addo have VHF collars on so he brought a receiver that would allow us to track them down. We would stop at most high points to try and find them. About 20 minutes into our time in Addo I spotted the first elephants. They were pretty walking through the bush pretty far away from us. I was beyond excited. We kept on driving through the park and about 15 minutes later we came across...... ELEPHANTS NEXT TO THE ROAD!!!!!! There were 3 bulls eating on the side of the road. Addison and I were sitting in the front seat and Addison had a window seat, but it was on the opposite side of where the elephants were. Our chaperone was sitting by the window right next to them and wasn't too into the trip...UGH, I almost kicked her out of the van. We backed up in hopes they would walk in front of our van, but they turned around and walked the other way. It didn't matter because I was within 50 feet of my favorite animals on earth. I was seriously considering running out of the van and hugging them.

We continued on our way and had a picnic lunch. We never got to see lions, but we did get to learn a ton about them and how they can affect game reserves. We successfully tracked them down, but since the bush is so thick we were never able to see them. Lions are obviously a huge tourist attraction, but they eat a ton so they can severely affect the prey populations on the reserve and can be expensive to maintain (electric fences, extra food, etc.) We did, however, see over 40 elephants. We saw 4 HUGE bulls by a watering hole. One of them walked right past our window. Elephants are absolutely beautiful and unbelievably huge. I thought my day was going to be awesome, but it was 8,000 times better than I could have ever expected. To say I was happy would be an understatement. I was awe-struck and am an even bigger elephant-lover now. I think I had a huge smile glued on my face and I just couldn't get enough of them. We left Addo and on our way out got to see tons of elephants grazing in the bush. I was so excited that we were returning the next day to learn about elephants.

We met our teacher Marietje (pronounced: Mah-ree-key...I don't get it either) who works with elephants and rhinos. I noticed that we both had elephant rings on the same hand AND the same finger so I immediately assumed we were soul sisters. Within 5 minutes of entering the park a family group of elephants walked past us. They were probably within a foot of our van. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I could actually look them right in the eye. I took a lot of pictures, but I didn't want to miss a thing so I just stopped and watched. They really are beautiful. There were three babies in the family group. Side Note: Family groups are females and their children. The mothers are usually all related. The bulls leave the family groups when they are 15 years old or so and take off to living on their own or form bachelor groups. Marietje told us that there are 640 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) elephants throughout all of Addo. Addo covers a very large area in South Africa, it's one of the largest national parks they have. They also have 60 black rhino in the park. I asked if the rhinos had been de-horned to prevent poaching and she said no and that Addo had had no poaching issues which I thought was AMAZING.

She told us that Addo was created in 1931 to conserve the 16 elephants that survived a government-mandated decree to kill the 3,000+ elephants that had been living in that area and had been causing problems for the citrus farmers. All of the elephants that are living in the park are descendants of those 16. Elephants are pretty disruptive to the area that they live in. The areas that they had been grazing in looked a little but like a tornado had gone through. They also seriously affect the vegetation since they eat a ton and for about 16 hours a day. The vegetation, especially the vegetation that they like takes a VERY long time to grow back. Since the park aims to conserve biodiversity they have to consider the elephants affect on the vegetation and try to save it. They have currently been expanding the park to try and accommodate the growing elephant population and trying to help the vegetation grow back. However, you can't expand forever. She told us that the park is probably going to have to turn to culling ( killing :( )the population. She said that they need to remove about half of the population. I asked about contraception for the elephants, but she said that would be costly and hard to achieve since all of the females would have to be given the contraception. She also said that it would be very costly to relocate some of the elephants and wouldn't be a realistic option. If being a psychologist proves to be a lucrative profession for me I'm buying a ton of land and starting an elephant park and saving all of the elephants that I can. On our way back I was tearing up thinking about how special the day had been. I was thinking about how much I would of liked to share it with each of you reading this blog! Addison showed me the video of the elephants walking past us he had taken set to some music from the Lion King and I lost it and started sobbing. Seriously, one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to witness.

Yesterday, we turned in our portfolios and Addison and I visited the Kwantu Elephant Sanctuary. I asked several people about the treatment of the elephants in these sanctuaries and they all sad that they heard these places were good places to visit. They have 4 elephants at the sanctuary and they are all female. We were able to ride and feed the elephants. The elephant riding was cool, but my favorite thing was feeding them because I used it as a chance to feel all over the elephants. They said that they had trained the elephants which was a little concerning to me because I have read A LOT about elephant training and it can be pretty brutal. I asked the guys how they trained them and they said that they rewarded the elephants. When we climbed on them I noticed that the trainers had bull hooks in their hands which I really didn't like. Addison said his trainer was very kind to his elephant and I noticed that the other trainers were nice to theirs, but I thought my guy was kind of mean. Of course, these are wild animals and if i want to be allowed to touch them then of course they have to be trained. It was an AMAZING experience none-the-less. I just really wanted to touch elephants and I finally got to. I loved feeding them and touching their trunks. Their trunks are so strong and their skin is tough. They have big brown eyes with long eyelashes. They are the most beautiful things on earth. I'll probably never have another chance to touch an elephant and I am so glad that I got to do so.

Today we just hung around Port Elizabeth. We leave tomorrow at 1:30 to head back to AMERICA! South Africa has been an amazing experience and I'm so glad I got to share it with such an awesome travel partner. I'm not entirely sure how Addison handled me the past couple days. I'm surprised his hand/leg didn't fall off after all of the squeezing it endured due to my excitement. I'm sure after the 472nd time that I told him elephants were beautiful and that I loved them he wanted to tape my mouth shut, but he didn't and he shared my excitement. What a trooper! I promise, I've tried to get him to blog with me, but he's opted out. I promise that we'll compose a cool blog post tomorrow on our way out all about our experience and I'll beg him to write some.

I'm so excited to see all of you guys! We love you guys!


It's almost time for the Olympics! I'm so ready! I tear up on almost all of the commercials. Especially the one about the guy who tears his hamstring and his dad helps him cross the finish-line. It gets me every time.

We've been watching the news and our thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Aurora, CO. What a tragedy. 

Love you all so much!

Natalia and Addison

Week Three in Africa

Helloooooo!

We are so sorry for our silence! Between the many trips this past week and working on our portfolio we've neglected the blog! No worries, I'll fill you in on the past couple days now, though!

So, the last thing we mentioned was that we were going to Great Fish River Nature Reserve and staying the night. We left PE and drove the 2 and a half hours to the reserve only stopping for a picnic lunch. Great Fish is actually 3 reserves amalgamated (one of my GRE words, go me!!) into one and it's huge. We got to our accommodation, a big house called Grassland that we would all be staying in. The house was cool and it sat up on a hill and overlooked most of the reserve. We were told that rhino (!!!!) lived on the reserve so naturally it became our goal to see one. Im not sure if I've mentioned that I have a vendetta out to see an aardvark?? Well, I do. They are nocturnal and they look so cute, but they are very elusive. There were huge termite mounds all over the reserve that had holes in the from where they had stopped for a snack so I was pretty excited.

Once we got situated we decided to go on a game drive through the reserve looking for the rhino. We have now concluded that hoping to see an animal gets you nowhere. We always see the animals we don't really care to see any more of, like springbok. We drove around for over an hour with an impressive tally of sprinkboks sighted, some impala, and a couple ostriches. When we got back we were all pretty hungry so we had a pre-dinner snack. The house didn't have electricity or running water when we arrived, but there was a lady that seemed to not be able to speak any english waiting for us and somehow we were able to communicate and get the water turned on. We asked about electricity and she mentioned a generator and our professor, Steve, thought he asked her to turn it on, but when we got back it was getting dark quickly and nothing was happening as we flipped the switches. Addison, Steve, and our NMMU chaperone, and I set out to find this generator, and Addison and I found it! We got it turned on and just as night fell we had lights. We didn't have heaters either, but there were tons of blankets on our beds so that was nice. I went and expected the bathrooms and the showers that were outside the house and was so thankful that I had taken a shower before leaving PE. It would of taken a lot of negotiating to get me in that shower.

Addison and I bought stuff to make smores because while we were at the farm in the Karoo we had a fire to warm us up in the dining hall and we all started wishing we had a smore to go along with our dinner. Steve grilled some kind of sausage for dinner and we had it with beans and hot dog buns. We can't remember what it's called. He couldn't explain what it was to us, which is generally a bad sign in my book. We asked if it was like a hot dog and he said no. Was it like sausage? No. I swear he said something about it being like mince meat taken from the intestines or something, but no one else heard that. Anyways, I tried it smothered in mustard and it wasn't that bad. Addison liked it too!

After dinner we went outside and had our smores. They don't have graham crackers here and there marshmellows are flavored so we got the closest things to the original ingredients and it ended up being great. While Addison and I were in Belize his professor taught me how to find the Southern Cross in the sky when you're in the southern hemisphere, but I couldn't remember how to find it. While we were at Ganora I found what I thought was the cross from what I could remember him telling me. I asked Steve and I was right! We ended up staying around the fire for awhile and we talked with Steve about all sorts of topics and it was great! He talked to us about everything from the apartheid to cool wildlife. Addison told me yesterday that he is a biologist for Save the Elephants. He told us he works at Addo (a national elephant park that also houses other big game) so I figured he was into elephants, but I didn't know he was that big of a deal or else I would of begged him to be my mentor.

We all got into bed and Steve told us it was time for lights out. I didn't realize that meant time to turn off the generator. I slept in like ten layers of clothing and was under about 5 blankets. When he turned the lights off you couldn't even see in front of your face. Of course, my brain decided to remind me at such an appropriate time like this that we were veeeery far from any other people and I was in complete darkness. The windows were all closed so there was literally no light. I don't know how I fell asleep. I literally went into superhuman mode and was trying to rely on my hearing in case any intruders came in.

We woke up at 6 in the morning to go on another game drive. I was hoping that since it was still kind of dark we might see an aardvark! Unfortunately, we didn't, but we did see more ostriches and some kudo. The guy who manages the reserve was counting his animals by flying above the reserve on a helicopter. We were in the area he was counting that day so we figured the animals were all scared which is why we didn't see any. We continued on to PE after stopping in random spots on the reserve to do some experiment that Steve thought would teach us about species in different types of land, but it didn't work. We stopped at a farm stall that sells biltong. It's kind of like beef jerk, but a little juicier and great!

On Wednesday we went to St. Francis Bay which is an hour west of PE. We were going to learn about coastal development because many people have buit mansions on the sand and they are now falling into the ocean because of erosion. It was really cool and the town is very pretty. It's a rule that if you build a house there it has to be a white building with a black roof. The houses were very very pretty and not as pricey as you would think when you converted them to USD. On our way back we stopped underneath a massive bridge and I needed to go to the bathroom. I went into the bush and as I was walking I kicked a leaf and exposed a gun on the side of the road!!! It really scared me so I ran back to Addison and told him. I used the bathroom elsewhere and we tried to find it again, but couldn't. We stopped at a flower reserve and saw some really pretty flowers too. We also got to see an African Penguin rehabilitation reserve that was super cool. They were feeding them when we got there and they are precious.

On Thursday we went around PE and studied urban conservation with two of the PhD students at NMMU. It was pretty interesting! They showed us a lot of areas that are home to certain plants that can only be found in South Africa and sometimes PE. The municipality is trying to conserve these areas, but they have to deal with social aspects and lack of funding. They showed us a park that stretches throughout PE, but that people have been too afraid to use because muggers used to hang out there.

It's been pouring here all weekend. It was a little disappointing because Addison and I were hoping to go to an elephant sanctuary. Yesterday we were working on our portfolio on campus and tried to call a cab to get home. They told us t would be an hour at least before they got to us so we walked the 20 minutes to the lodge IN THE RAIN. The only positive part of our walk was that I saw two frogs.

We leave for Addo Elephant park and Samara Nature Reserve tomorrow, but we are only doing a game drive in Addo :( :( :(  This  rain has brought a cold front, and Steve told us that when it's cold elephants hide in the brush so you can't really see them :( :( I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I get to FINALLY see an elephant face-to-face and not behind a cage... or else I may just go rogue and live the rest of my life in the brush of Addo.


We miss you guys! We have 6 more days in Africa and then it's back in the USA! Speaking of USA, I am so excited for the olympics!

Love Love LOVE, Natalia & Addison

Into the Wild

Hello Y'all!

I am so excited for this post because today has moved into my top 15 favorite days OF MY LIFE. After 2 weeks in Africa we finally got to see WILD ANIMALS (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). They weren't elephants, but we got to see several of the animals on my 5 favorite animals list (FYI- 1. ELEPHANTS 2. Tie between giraffe and zebra 3. whales (all whales, I don't discriminate) 4. turtles/tortoises 5. dogs/cats (including BIG cats).

Today we went to the Kragga Kamma Game Park and to the Seaview Lion Park which are both about 30 minutes from the Beacon Lodge. We made an appointment at Kragga Kamma for a guided game drive at 10 this morning. We = our environmental group. It was only 165 Rand per person to go on a two hour guided game drive all through this park. At about 20 bucks for person we thought it was a no-brainer and quite the bargain. Anyways, we were able to get the driver that takes us to te university to stay with us the whole day and drive us to and from the parks.

On our drive into the park we saw giraffes, zebra, wart hogs, rhinos, and ostriches, ALL within the first five minutes into the park. Needless to say, I almost had to be sedated. We have been promised zebra sightings on almost every game drive/walk we have gone on and have not seen them. They are quite elusive. When I realized we were finally going to come faec-to-face it was almost too much to handle. I am not entirely sure how to prepare myself and those around me for when I finally get to meet an elephant. I may go into cardiac arrest.

Anyways, we got into our truck vehicle (it was large, uncovered and windowless) for the game drive and set off. Right by the parking area there were wart hogs (PUMBA) and nyalla. The driver told us that nyalla are very shy and people rarely get to see them so we were really lucky. You can imagine how someone who already feels like they are over the moon feels when they're told that the game drive is starting off on a lucky foot (I'm not sure if that's an expression..my heart is still racing just thinking about how much fun I had today). Right after that we came across a herd of giraffes (!!!!!!!!!!!!) feeding. It was awesome. There were tons of impala, springbok, and wart hogs just lounging everywhere. I have concluded that baby anything are the cutest things ever..even baby warthogs.

After the giraffes we saw a herd of zebras and then moved on to see the rhinos. I'm not sure if y'all are aware about the recent increase in rhino poaching. In the past 3 years poaching has increased exponentially because of a myth that it cures cancer has spread. Their horns are made out of keratin and they are essentially the same thing as our finger nails. The myth is false and the rhinos are in danger of extinction because of the cruel and ruthless ways that the poachers remove their horns. Most of them end up bleeding to death. It's awful. If you're interested in more about this atrocity you can google it and there is tons of information about it. Kragga Kamma is a big supporter of saving the rhinos. The rhinos that live at the park have had their horns filed down to deter poachers from attacking them.

We got to see the grandmother, mother, and daughter rhino all feeding together. They have a bull, but he was off hanging out alone. the driver told us that they normally hang out as a family, but this bull just arrived at the farm so they are just getting acquainted. We moved on and got to see a bunch of wildebeest (for you Lion King enthusiasts- the ones that the hyenas got to run over Mufasa), waterbuck, and water buffalo just hanging out. It rained pretty much all day yesterday so the path we were on was pretty muddy in areas. Due to this mud our truck got stuck. It took about 15 minutes, two kind game park goers, and a strong chain to get us unstuck. It was quite the ordeal and all the time we knew that we were in the little grassy area between a herd of wildebeests that can stampede and run over a lion and the three grazing rhinos...so it was a little worrying. We finally continued our drive and got to see several ostriches before going into the cheetah reserve (!!!!!!!!). They have 9 cheetahs staying in the reserve and they were all basking in the sun when we saw them. Cheetahs are so pretty and they looked like little kitty cats stretching and yawning in the sun. They were all cuddling together and they blended in so amazingly with the grass that we almost didn't see them. They were so so so cute.

After our game drive we drove about ten minutes to Seaview. On our way there we saw a horse running full speed towards our van. I guess it broke out of the farm it lives at and was just enjoying it's new found freedom. On our drive up to where the lions, tigers, and other big cats were we saw more giraffes and zebra. It was so exciting and I was pretty much bouncing off the walls. We got to wear the lions and tigers were and we got out. They were in a fenced in area ad they were all divided up. The tigers were in an area and the lionesses were separated from the male lions who were also separated from one another. The fenced in areas weren't that big so it was kind of upsetting to see these mighty animals still coped up..even when in Africa, but it was a game reserve so I'm assuming they have their best interests at heart.

We drove through the fenced in area and the lionesses were eating some carcass of an animal. They are so beautiful. After that we drove up to the nursery where they keep the cubs. They keep the cubs up there until they are 14 months old to keep the male lions from eating the male cubs...I think, that's what someone in our group said they did. We got to walk around on this boardwalk type thing that goes above where all the cubs are kept and watch them play. They are seriously the most precious things ever. Like I said, baby anythings are the cutest things ever. We then discovered that you could pay to go in and play with the cubs....so we did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Addison and I decided to go in and play with the lion and tiger cubs. The other people in our group did the same, but also played with the hyena cubs. The hyenas were actually really cute (of course) even though they aren't the cutest adult animals ever. The boy hyena cub was named Edd, like in the Lion King. Addison and I went into the lion play pen together with 5 workers from the park. They had 4 lion cubs and they were precious. Three were male and one was a female and they were brothers and sister. They were so cute and they were pretty big, I don't remember how old they were..I want to say like 6 or 8 months old. We got to pet the three males, but we didn't get to pet the female because she was in a really playful mood and they didn't want us to get scared. They told us not to run and not to shout, even if they started playing with us because that would scare the babies. It was such an amazing experience.

After the lions we moved onto the tiger play pen. There were 4 of them too and I can't remember how many were male or female. We went in and petted one of the tiger cubs that was napping in a tree house. The tiger cubs had really soft fur and they were so pretty. I have concluded that Addison's cat Sassy must be part tiger since her fur is sooooo soft. After that we got to pet Ruby. She was a little tiny cub that was gorgeous. They told us to approach them from behind and to pet them near their tails because they really liked that. We got to pet all of the little cubs and then we moved on to Orr. He was the biggest cub they had and the oldest at 8 months. Whenever we started petting him he turned his head and started nudging it towards us playfully. They told us to step back and he got up and pounced on the little cubs and even one of the workers. When we first went in I wanted them to play with me, but then I remembered that they were strong wild animals and that I probably wouldn't be laughing if he pounced on me. 

Today was absolutely amazing and I had so much fun getting up close and personal with the animals of dreamt of meeting after all my trips to the zoo! While we were going through  the park I found myself humming Hakuna Matata to myself and wishing my family was with me. I wanted to share meeting the animals that we have fallen in love with thanks to the Lion King and the zoo. I have decided that after I become whatever it is I will become I'm bringing you guys to Africa. Promise.

Tomorrow we are leaving for the Great Fish River Nature Reserve at 10:00 in the morning. We'll be there for the night and will update once we get back on Tuesday!!

We love all of y'all and miss y'all tremendously!

Love, Natalia and Addison 

The Karoo

HELLO y'all! We are finally back from the Karoo!

Well, technically we got back yesterday, but yesterday was a day of playing catch up...mainly on sleep for me. Since we are off on Fridays we will be using the day to work on our portfolios and studying for our respective tests. It also looks like it's going to rain today so it seems as if that's our only option.

Here is our what our adventure in the Karoo consisted of:

We left Port Elizabeth at 8:30 in the morning and crammed 6 of us plus a chaperone from the university and our professor into a van that was not nearly as luxurious as the vans that we've been taking to the university. Addison and I were crammed into the back of the van with my room mate from West Virginia, Sienna. I'm using crammed to describe Addison's situation, but I was actually nicely nestled into my seat..one of the benefits of being short! My only complaint was that I was next to the window and the sun was shining rather brightly and I was getting really really warm. The Karoo is about 4 hours away, but it took us 8 hours to get there because we stopped just about every hour to explore.

Our first stop was to a quarry to looks for fossils. Our professor (we were actually never told his name or what to call him so the chaperone girl called him Doctor and we just followed suit) is a zoologist/geologist so he was all about this fossil digging stop. He told us that the fossils we would find in that area would be 390 million years old and we were mainly looking for fossils of shells and leaves. Addison found a fossil which he tossed back into the pile and I found none. Everything looked like a rock to me... I discovered that day that being an archaeologist/geologist/paleontologist is not a very reasonable profession. Our professor gave me a really nice  fossil of a shell, but then told us that you're not allowed to bring them into the United States so we need to hide it in our baggage. It was cool, but I'm not sure I want to be held up at customs over this fossil of a shell.

We piled back into the van until our next stop; a little country store on the side of the road. The Doctor said that they had the best springbok pie. Springbok is basically their white-tail deer. They are everywhere. We didn't try the pie though. There was a precious dog named Rocco that lived at the store that we basically all fell in love with.

We continued on our way until we got to Camdeboo National Park. We stopped there for awhile and got to see a bird's eye-view of the topography of the Karoo. It was really beautiful. We looked over this area that was called the Valley of Desolation and looked over the town of Graaf-Renet that was on the other side. The town sits at the mouth of a dam of the Sundays River and if the dam ruptures that river will take it's natural course and wipe the town out. We stopped in that town and got lunch. I've mentioned that KFC is huge here. Well, KFC was our only option that was quick. I've actually never eaten at a KFC before, but it was different than in the US. They also did not have any sauces, not even ketchup. I get a little grumpy when I'm hungry and the guy that was working the cash register and I were not communicating very well. Needless to say, it was a kinda stressful moment for both of us, haha.

We went on, finally, to Ganora Farms. The farm was really nice and very interesting. We saw tons of sheep on our drive out to the farm from PE and the farmers at Ganora had lots of sheep too. Our accommodations were beyond nice! We had heaters and electric blankets. Oh! I forgot to tell y'all. None of the building here in South Africa have A/C or heaters. Everything is built out of cement blocks to keep the temperature locked inside. So, it was a treat to have a heater because it can get a little cold at night. They had two dogs and they have 13 cats. They are also rehabilitating meerkats at their farm. They said people get them as pets and then dump them in the wild and they no longer know how to survive on their own. So if you bring them to the farm they will help them get used to being in the wild again and they will then release them when they are ready. They had 3 and they were so sweet and cute. They would follow you around and they lived in harmony with the dogs and cats. They also had an owl with a broken wing that they were tending to. The farm sat on a huge piece of land and it was really nice.

We had dinner that night in the dining hall. We had kudo for dinner that night and it was actually delicious! We also had some pudding for dessert that was amazing.

The next day we began our day with a lecture on the Karoo fossils. We learned how fossils are made and where to look for them in general and tin the Karoo. He also taught us about mammal-like reptiles. He told us that in the Karoo you can find them and they are the link between reptiles and mammals. The doctor then showed us a museum of fossils that they had made for him there at the farm. They have found tons of fossils of mammal-like reptiles in that area.

After our lecture we walked to an area in the farm where they have bushman paintings. They also have drawings that a young man who hid on the farm during the time of the Anglo-Boer war in South Africa made. The bushman paintings were so cool. They date as far back as 7,000 years ago and they are still visible. Mrs. Steynberg, that owns the farm, has learned a lot about the bushman culture and lifestyle and was able to give us a lot of information on them.

We had lunch after that. They were called fete-cakes and it was basically fried dough. They were delicious with jam and butter. We then went on another fossil dig at a creek-bed that was nearby the farm. I did not find anything again, but some people found the fossil of leaves that we were looking for. At this point, Addison and I were kind of over the whole fossil thing and just took to throwing rocks into the creek or just breaking rocks in half to see if there were any fossils inside. The fossils they found dated back 240 million years, which was pretty cool!

We had mutton for dinner that night and some pineapple dessert that was pretty good. The mutton, on the other hand, was not my thing.

We were supposed to go on a canyon walk wednesday morning and look for more fossils (our professor is REALLY into them), but it was too windy. We ended up having a lecture on human evolution instead. It took a weird turn at the end, thanks to our chaperone, and we started talking about religion and all these different topics that had nothing to do with what we were talking about and things got kinda tense. After our lecture we went to Nieu Bethesda. This town sat at the bottom of the mountain from the farm. We ate at a local brewery there that makes their own beer and their own cheeses. The beer I got tasted like tobacco so that was interesting. Addison's tasted like iron and old man, I believe he said, so that was interesting too. All of the cheeses were made from sheep's milk so I thought it tasted really weird. Addison found one that he liked though.

We went on a walk through the farm with a man that was a descendant of the bushman. He showed us all of these plants that they use to cure certain issues that they are having. It was interesting, but some of the uses for the plants were kind of far-fetched. He taught us how to use a plant to wash yourself to get rid of bad luck, basically. It was interesting, none-the-less.

After our walk we had a break and then we had dinner. Our dinner was lamb with some pumpkin tart, which was really really good. I forgot to say that we had the most delicious breakfast every morning. they brought out all sorts f jams and they were all so amazing! I think I had 4 pieces of toast every morning so I could have a little bit of each one.

On Thursday morning, we packed up our van and traveled the 4 hours back to PE. We saw tons of monkeys on our drive back and lots of Springbok. Once again, I was next to the window and roasted thanks to the sun.

Anyways, we're off to study now! Hopefully tomorrow we get to go visit one of the Elephant Sanctuaries here in South Africa so I can finally be united with the most amazing creatures ever :)

We miss all of y'all and love y'all!

Natalia and Addison

A Week in Africa

Hello Everyone!

We have been having some issues getting on the internet lately so we haven't been able to get on and update y'all about our adventures!

This past Thursday we were taught by the department head on all of the environmental and ecological  issues that South Africa needs to deal with. The professor was very interesting and very involved in the nature reserves here, which I think would be so awesome. He talked to us about how climate change is greatly affecting the vegetation and the animal life here in South Africa. With the way things are going, he told us that in 40 years species of plants and animals will be extinct. It's sad and scary that this will happen in my lifetime and who knows what will be going on whenever my kids join the workforce. It was a rather depressing lecture, but it definitely made us think.

We don't have class on Fridays so we went shopping to get stuff for our Karoo trip. While we are in the Karoo we are not entirely sure what we will be doing, but we will be there for a week. It's further inland so the temperatures are more extreme and we'll have cold nights and warmer days. Karoo is an area north west of us and it includes several different biomes like deserts, grasslands, and there are mountain areas too. We are staying at this place called Ganora Farms and it sounds like it is a sheep farm. All we know is to bring warm clothes..so it should be fun!

We haven't really talked about the food situation here. Pretty much every restaurant serves hamburgers. Fast food is HUGE here. Their favorite restaurants are Wimpy's and KFC. KFC even delivers and you can order online. When we went to the townships there was a KFC in the middle of the town and it was actually a really nice building. There is a McDonald's, but it's not like ours. They only have 5 different items pretty much and they serve cakes and muffins and stuff like that too. Most of the restaurants serve everything. The restaurant we went to on friday served croissants, sandwiches, pastas, pizza, hamburgers, fish, and tons of desserts. Most of the restaurants are like that and they are so inexpensive for us. It was 5 of us and we ate for 311 rand. I was mistaken when I said it was 10 rand to 1 dollar, it's like 8.5. So we basically ate for maybe close to 40 dollars for 5 people at a nice sit down restaurant. The food is all really good too!

I have finally started to feel comfortable enough and familiar enough with my surroundings to go running here. My room mate, Sienna from West Virginia, runs too so we have been going in the morning on the beach. I mentioned that they drive on the left side of the road and they also walk/bike/run/ on the left side too. It took us a while to remember that and I'm sure everyone thought we were really weird when we were zig -zagging all over the place trying to get back on the right side.

Yesterday, Addison and I planned to study all day. We walked to the Summerstrand village to get lunch and then catch a cab to the university. They told us that was the best way to travel and that public transportation wouldn't really be a trustworthy form of getting around. We ate and called the cab and ended up sitting there waiting for almost an hour. We called them and they said they were really busy and didn't know how long it would take to come get us so we just came back to the lodge and studied here.

Today, we are going to try and study again! We leave for Karoo at 8:30 tomorrow morning. We won't have internet access and it sounds like we won't have cell phone reception. I'll see if we can use the phone at the farm to try and get in touch with our parents and let you know that we are safely there.

To the Oxonians reading this blog, I have been craving Pita Pit and fried rice from Noodle bowl. I found some hummus at the grocery store, but it's nothing like the roasted red pepper hummus at Pita Pit :(

We miss you all and love y'all!

Natalia and Addison

First Official Day of Class

Good Evening!

It's 8 in the evening here in Port Elizabeth. Today was our first day of environmental lectures! We were picked up for class at 8:30 and met in the biology building. The building is pretty big and each floor is devoted to a different field of study (ex: zoology on floor two, pharmacology, etc). Our professor for the day was a lady that specialized in marine ecology and worked for a company that does impact assessments of the environment in South Africa. She lectured us about the environmental issues that South Africa has to deal with, which are a lot. They are overpopulated, have tons of water issues (they face droughts pretty often and have water quality problems), and are affected by invasive species of plants and animals. We also learned how we would be graded. We have to turn in a portfolio at the end of our month stay that is a summary of our whole trip and the lectures. We also include how the trip has affected our view of South Africa and affected us.

After our lecture we went on a "trail walk" at the game reserve located behind the university. It rained the first couple days we were here so this trail was more like a large collection of ponds. The girl that took us is working on getting her doctorate in zoology and wanted to show us some of the invasive plants that have made South Africa their home and some wild animals. This reserve isn't like the big game reserves, only zebras and some small antelope type animals live here. I was pretty excited to see zebras (I think Addison was too), but we didn't end up seeing them. Today also marks day two that we haven't seen a monkey on campus. We even ate lunch out in the open today AND I left my food out hoping one would want to meet us. The closest we got to seeing a zebra was going through their fecal matter. Yup. Our guide seemed to enjoy picking up all the fecal matter we came across and making us observe it.

We have been studying for our respective tests now. Yes, I have finally pulled out my GRE stuff and have been studying. Tomorrow we have our last day of class and I think it may last from 8:30 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening. On monday we leave for a week long trip to the Karoo! We won't be able to update that week since there isn't internet access. We are going with a professor and he is showing us the different biomes that can be found in South Africa. It should be a good and interesting time, but that's not for a couple more days so we'll mention more later!

Natalia & Addison

Yes, that's Zebra fecal matter.

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I'm the only guy on the trip so I lucked out in the accommodations department. I get an apartment to myself. On the downside I have to wake up extra early every morning to battle the bath tub (it has no shower.) Above the tub which I assume was made for toddlers is a 2 gallon hot water heater that when combined with another 2 gallons of cold water gives me almost enough water to cover my feet.

Evil

I'm still at the point where I understand less than half of what most people with a typical accent say... The lady at the lunch counter where we ordered lunch rolled her eyes the first, second, and third time I had to ask her to repeat what she had said. Oops. Figuring out the lectures was fun too, I just hoped she didn't call on me because most of the time I had no clue what was going on. Something about polluted water? I don't know. Luckily the only grade is a journal we turn in at the end of class... and 95% of that is opinions and feelings and what not.

My super awesome notes from the 3 hour lecture

After lunch we went on a nature walk which was pretty neat at first because I had no idea that there was this giant nature preserve (>880 ha the girl said) in the back yard of the university. I caught a glimpse of some little creature.... the girl giving us the tour I'm pretty sure had said what they were about ten times but that bit of info was in the 50% of things I couldn't really interpret due to her accent. Anyway the "nature walk" quickly turned into "let's cross 25 creeks in our tennis shoes and dissect poop." It was still pretty fun, not what any of us were expecting for sure.

I'm trying to study for the DAT but it's been pretty hard because I need internet for some lectures and problem explanations and whatnot and the internet rarely works... and probably more prevalent is the fact that I absolutely hate everything on the DAT and have a hard time caring about any of it at all.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It's a long day of lectures but hey, we are getting 6 hours of  bio credit and after tomorrow there are only like two more lectures (if that.) Can't get much better than that, plus from the 50% of what I do understand it seems pretty interesting.

Addison

NMMC and Port Elizabeth

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday we met all of the other people in our program. They are from all over the USA. My other room mate is from West Virginia and she wants to be a vet. Today we began the day at 8:30 AM. We got picked up from the Beacon Lodge and headed to campus for an orientation, campus tour, lecture, and tour of Port Elizabeth. The university is pretty. There are 6 different campuses in South Africa. Four are in Port Elizabeth and two are in George. George is three hours away and, I guess, the halfway point between us and Cape Town. There are monkeys that live on the campus, but we didn't get to see any today. They said that they become especially friendly when you are eating your lunch and if you are playing with anything that is shiny. The University and where we are staying are located in Summerstrand. This is a white suburb of Port Elizabeth and it kindof reminds Addison and I of Miami. The architecture of the houses is pretty similar to the houses you see in Miami. All of the houses are surrounded by tall walls or gates and have signs outside their houses saying that they are protected by armed response alarm companies. Some of the houses have bars on the windows, but they are to keep the monkeys out.

After our tour we went to our lecture which was on the History of South Africa. Now, I'm going to be honest and tell you that I am relatively ignorant on the history of South Africa. It's sad, especially since a lot of the big deal events happened during my lifetime. I have always admired Nelson Mandela and I knew what he stood for, but I just didn't know very much of the background to the Apartheid. Our lecturer began by talking about the unemployment rate in South Africa compared with the United States and the European Union. South Africa is at close to a 40% unemployment rate. He then broke that figure down into the different racial groups that contribute to it. Of that figure, 80% are black Africans, 15% are "colored" (Colored people are essentially "mixed"- they are the child of a European and a Black African), and 10% are white. He then delved into the issues that surround that 80% of unemployed black Africans. Most of the blacks in that category are males between the ages of 20 and 30. He told us that people are always wary of traveling to South Africa because they hear about high crime rates. He told us that the biggest percentage of criminals are black males between the ages of 15 and 30 and that an astounding amount of the crimes do not happen in the white suburbs, but happen in the black townships (translate: 99.99% black communities). He wanted us to understand that South Africa is just 18 years into it's new democracy and the wounds that are left from the Apartheid are still very fresh and nowhere near to being healed. He said that we would be faced with images of life that are so far and so different from the life we are accustomed to and he wanted us to understand why things are the way they are and to question these reasons. Racism is still very much so alive in South Africa and the amount of inequality that surrounds this racism is really frustrating. Of course, I didn't have to travel to South Africa to tell you that...the ties that can be made to the issues that are still alive in Mississippi are really astounding. His lecture was meant to be a preface to the tour of Port Elizabeth that we were about to go on and it really was perfect.

We set off on a tour with the rest of the students in our Environmental group (there are 6 of us), our tour guide- a man from a township here in Port Elizabeth, and a university intern that is a white African. He began by driving us around Port Elizabeth. By the way, they drive on the left side of the road here and they drive like MANIACS. Our tour guide didn't or else everything would of been a blur, but the taxi drivers are seriously all over the place. The British influence is also very evident. We are staying in "holiday flats" (translate: vacation homes) and they say cheers when they leave and call each other mate. He showed us the port and the down town area. The port is huge and the down town is very obviously European inspired. The buildings are all very beautifully and artfully designed. Then we went to where all the townships are. I'm going to stop for a second to tell y'all that I'm not sure if I can describe these peoples living conditions accurately. If you picture the slums that they depicted in Slumdog Millionaire you've got a very accurate picture as to how these people live. There are people walking and hanging out on the streets. There are little children all over the place and SO MANY dogs. We were experiencing such a mix of emotions. I felt awkward for being a "tourist" in their township, so guilty for the life I live, sad for the lack of opportunity they have(and for the dogs...I'm not even going to go there..I would take every single one home if I could....Maybe Sam could get 12 new friends Mommy and Daddy???), and angry that people live like this. We took pictures (I know, I know...but it'll serve as a good reminder when I'm beginning to think my life is too hard or I wish I had another purse or something equally as petty) that we'll include for y'all to kind of get a feel of what we're talking about. We stopped to have a typical South African meal. It was...good, haha. We had beef, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and rice and gravy. Oh, and cow stomach. Which I tired! I know I didn't have to go to South Africa to try it, but hey! It wasn't my favorite thing in the world, but it wasn't too terrible.

 The man who gave us our lecture said that so many people are so quick to pull out their money and stuff them in the cups of the people that are out begging, but in the end the only good it does is for their ego. He said if we really want to help, we should look into NGOs that seek to educate these people and help them find jobs and put our time and effort and money into these programs. He also said for every 7 people that come to South Africa, 1 permanent job is created. So here is our PSA, COME TO SOUTH AFRICA!!

We hope y'all are enjoying our blog! We miss y'all and love y'all! 

Love, Natalia and Addison

Getting To and exploring Port Elizabeth

Hello again!

Sorry for the past couple days of silence we've been having some technical difficulties and some trouble getting on the wifi around here! I'm currently at the coffee shop next door using and abusing their "free" wifi.

Let me update you on our past couple days! We left NYC on Friday morning. The plane ride to Johannesburg was actually 14 hours and some minutes. Our plane was pretty huge! I took some pictures of it, but it doesn't entirely do this huge vehicle much justice. Our seats were pretty comfortable and we sat together this time around. We also had the two side seats so we didnt have to squeeze in with 2 other people in the middle aisle of seats. Surprisingly, it didn't feel like 14 hours. I guess that's because I watched 5 movies and slept for, altogether, probably 6 hours of the flight? Addison doesn't sleep well on flights so he watched movies and studied for a bit ( yeah, I know... He makes me look like such a slacker on a regular basis..). If you're interested in watching a good movie anytime soon I suggest Big Miracle. It's about whales trapped in Alaska. It's good, but, I will warn you, the last 30 minutes are a mixture of joy and sadness. I had to contain my giddy laughter and my tears so I wouldn't look like a crazy person. The plane had a camera on its tail so we could watch our plane in flight on the tv! It was cool and Addison really enjoyed that. I've got some pictures of that too.

We got to Johannesburg at 7:30 am their time. There was a giant stagnant line at customs, but right when we got up to the line they opened up a whole section and we got through in 15 minutes rather than what looked like it would take an hour. We got our bags and had to wait 4 hours to board our next plane. We got some snazzy little go phones ( think back to the phone you had in 2000 and that's the one we've got. It's pretty much identical to my first phone). We were able to exchange money. The exchange rate is pretty close to 10 USD for 1 rand. I got pretty exhausted while waiting to board our plane to Port Elizabeth and pretty much passed out on the floor. Addison got pictures of that too.

We got to Port Elizabeth at 3:30 or so. We were picked up by a girl that works for the university named Jadey and went to our temporary housing. There was a big rugby game that night between South Africa and England so she suggested we go watch it at a restaurant or bar. Both Addison's and my room mates weren't home when we arrived. We had every intention of going and watching the game, but after taking a shower the jet lag set in and we realized we had no idea where to go or how to get there...so we both passed out around 5:30-6:00 in the evening. I ended up sleeping 14 hours. I only woke up because Addison texted me at 7:15 ish. We knew that all of the Ole Miss people were staying at the same place we were so we tried to figure out where they were. I know a couple of the girls that are on the trip already so I was keeping an eye out for them. We finally saw one of them leaving he house and pretty much ambushed her. I guess I should mention that we hadn't exactly eaten anything since our plane ride from Johannesburg so needless to say we were pretty hungry. We did have some of the snacks my mom sent with me (thank you, mommy) though, but goldfish and Pringles can only do so much sometimes. My friend, Jessica, was able to tell us where the super market was and how to get there. We caught a cab and went a couple streets down to the mall that has a Pick-n-Pay (grocery store) and other restaurants. We went to Wimpy's, like McDonalds, and thoroughly enjoyed our hamburgers and chips (translate: french fries).

The mall is across the street from the beach so we took a little stroll before catching the cab back to our houses. Port Elizabeth is pretty. The beach looks a lot like the beaches you see in California where there are lots of big rock formations on the sand. The water is pretty cold, but there were lots of people out surfing. We also saw lots of people with their puppies (!!!) out enjoying the beach. The plant life here is really interesting. There are lots of tropical looking plants like palm trees, but then there are pine trees and other types of trees that don't seem like they belong next to a palm tree.

When we got back we had to pack to move to our permanent residence for the month. As we were coming back Addison and I were talking about this sign we saw that said to Beware of Monkeys. When we were leaving for the mall I saw this monkey running on the roof of the university. One of the girls with us said that the monkeys will get in your house and steal your stuff if you leave your windows open. As we were walking back to our houses we spotted a monkey in someone's window. We took more pictures then were probably necessary of these monkeys and were probably a little more excited than was necessary too. There were like 2 or 3 monkeys that hung out on the roof and on the trees right by our houses. Monkeys are basically their raccoons and mongooses are their squirrels.

Our permanent houses are pretty nice. I'm rooming with a girl from Ole Miss and some other girl we'll meet today from...well, we don't know. Addison has a room to himself. Side Note: Addison is studying while I'm blogging (....I KNOW..I'll start tomorrow..). We also met the precious little puppy that lives at our new house. Naturally, we're in love. We're staying at this place called Beacon Lodge. I don't know what her name is, but she wears a cone around her head. She has a bad eye and she messes with it so they put a cone on her so she won't touch it. She is so sweet and can not get enough of your loving. She even followed Addison upstairs to his house and sat on his couch waiting for him to pet her. If you don't give her the amount of attention she wants she barks at you to let you know she's displeased. This was her when we got back, she was in a state of complete happiness. It was precious.

We walked on the beach last night with my room mate, Alicia, and a girl named Amanda that is getting her masters and is taking another class, but is from Ole Miss too. We got dinner at this place called the board walk and it was delicious. Amanda is older than we are and has assumed the position of mother of the pack. She is constantly on the look out for suspicious characters and warning us of their presence. If anyone of us gets our stuff stolen, it will be pretty shocking.

Sorry for this super long entry...I promise I'll try to keep my stories short and update sooner so it's not super long! We miss all of you guys! Classes start tomorrow so I'll try to update while on campus and tell y'all all about class!

All my love, Natalia

And So It Begins!

Hello to all of our family and friends!

Addison and I thought that it would be a good idea to start a blog while studying in South Africa to be able to remember this incredible trip and to be able to keep all of y'all in the loop! I'm assuming I'll be the main author of this blog so bear with me as this is my first time as a blogger (so excited to become a part of the blogosphere)!! I'm sure if I try hard enough, though, I can get Addison to contribute some of his experiences and thoughts.

So we left for the airport in New Orleans this morning at 7:00 a.m. with my sweet parents. Our flight left at 10:40 for JFK in New York. We ended up not sitting next to each other, but Addison was behind me so it wasn't too bad. I'm probably not the best flight partner anyways..I fall asleep before the flight attendant finishes talking about what to do in case of an emergency. It was a two and a half hour flight and I think Addison was able to get a little bit of sleeping time on the flight as well. I'm currently reading the memoir that my grandfather wrote so in between my naps I was able to read a couple of chapters. Maybe it's because it's about my family, but I am thoroughly enjoying it! I highly recommend it ;)

We got to NYC at 2:40 or so in the afternoon, and we've just been enjoying being in New York. We ate at this delicious restaurant called Tony's (I think). The plates of food were humongous and soo tasty! We got fettuccine alfredo and chicken parmesan and put a pretty nice sized dent in the giant plates! I guess sleeping on a plane has that affect on you?

Anyways, We've got a looooong day on the plane tomorrow! I'll try and update on the plane ride (I mean I have like 13 hours so I'm sure I'll find the time).

My mom suggested I learn some words in Afrikaans-- So, I will leave you all with this picture of us on the subway(it's a little blurry) and totsiens y'all! (translate: good bye y'all). Also, shout out to my boys James and Wade! NBA champs!!

Love Love Love, Natalia