Lions, birds, and train stations. Oh my.

Today was our first group field trip from the A.E. center here in Pietermaritzburg. After breakfast at 8, we put together our lunches for the day trip around the PMB area. Our first stop was a birds of prey sanctuary on the outskirts of town, in cow country (I could tell by the smell). The sanctuary was awesome - a huge exhibit of African falcons, eagles, hawks, owls and vultures, most of them endangered to some degree. After walking around the place a bit, looking at each individual enclosure, we were treated to a show. The lady who ran the place brought out owls, falcons and hawks one at a time to show off their impressive hunting skills. These birds were amazing! At one point in the show, the trainer hid bits of meat around the stage area while one of the hawks couldn't see, and within a minute the bird had found every single piece. After eating lunch (this was good timing for the next part), we got to see the vultures eat lunch. This involved the trainer throwing a fat hunk of red meat in the cage, and about a dozen ugly, squawking scavengers absolutely shredding the meat apart within 2 minutes like it was their last meal. It was nothing short of pure carnage.

Next, we went down the road a few kilometers to the Natal Lion Park. And, oh yes, did we see lions. After a decent wait and a short drive, our bakkie (that's what they call small trucks here) arrived at the gate of the vast lion enclosure. Far from being a zoo, this place had at least a dozen full grown lions in a natural environment, with miles of land to roam. As we approached the fence, one by one, all of the lions form the pride walked toward us to investigate. It was like nothing I've experienced before. Being within an arms length of a full grown lion is something I won't forget soon. We spent about 10 minutes with them, as they paced back and forth, probably looking at us like we were their next meal.

We left the lion park to head back into the heart of the city. We drove through the downtown streets, passing centuries old Victorian buildings, surrounded by Zulu crowds and flea markets all around. We ended up at the train station, where Mohandas Gandhi was kicked off of a train for trying to ride first class as a non-white passenger. Apparently, it was significant enough of a moment in Gandhi's life that many identify the incident as one of the major motivators for Gandhi's peaceful revolution in India.

For the last portion of the day, we drove back toward AE, to a place appropriately called World's View. From the top of a decent-sized hill, World's View looked out across the whole PMB area, as the thick clouds and sunlight combined to make a truly beautiful horizon. A few group photos later, our field trip was finished. It really was a well-rounded day, as I got to see a few more highlights of this beautiful country.

Kloofing around

Today we went on our first field trip for biology to a game reserve near Durban. We hiked down into a kloof, which is the South African word for valley or gorge. Apart from being one of the coolest hikes I've ever been on, I got some quality off-campus time to stretch my legs and get away for a while (while at the same time being in class!). After we made our pb&j sandwiches and gathered our packs for the small day hike, we loaded up the van. We drove through Pietermaritzburg toward the coast, and eventually ended up at Kranskloof Nature Reserve, just northwest of Durban. We parked the van near a community park at the bottom of the kloof, crossed the street and began our short hike into the nature reserve. Like most hikes I've been on, I followed a meandering trail through a fairly dense forest, slowly making my way up and down hills. But eventually I began to hear the sound of rushing water, and knew that a stream must be nearby. As I came closer and closer, the sound got louder and stronger. I rounded the corner and I could see the top of a gigantic waterfall. Peering down from the edge of the kloof, I could see about 30 or 40 feet down a natural set of slippery rock stairs. The hike continued down into the kloof, and the waterfall went out of sight for a while, until we found ourselves at the very bottom of the waterfall. If there's ever been a kodak moment, this was it. The mist from the falls smoothly enveloped everything within 20 or so feet of the bottom, as the rushing white water stampeded down the mossy steps. I could have spent days there, soaking up the light mist and breathing the thick forest air. After a few dozen pics, we continued on our loop through the kloof, eventually ending up back at the park near the top where our van was parked. For a first field trip, I'd definitely say it was a success.

And then we had classes...

We've arrived here at the Pietermaritzburg campus yesterday, and started classes today. It was a long day, but a long day that went by fast (if that makes any sense). It looks like Mondays will be my busiest days for the next 6 weeks. We started the day at 7:30 with community breakfast at the dining hall, followed by a chapel service next door in one of our lecture halls. We stayed in the lecture hall for our first class of the semester: History and Culture of South Africa, lectured by Reg Codrington, a native South African with a grandfatherly charm and storehouses of wisdom. Reg used the time to give us a more specific orientation to our campus here in Pietermaritzburg at the African Enterprise Center. This consisted of a few powerpoint slides, mostly showing pictures of all the deadly animals we should look out for, with Reg sharing a few stories through his half smile as he talked. Reg's orientation was followed by what I think will quickly become one of my favorite parts about living in South Africa: tea breaks. Twice a day, we'll take a break in our classes to get refreshed olde English style: tea and crumpets - no joke. So after our first class session with Reg, we gathered in the dining hall for our first "refreshment break". My next class was Humans and the Environment, the biology class I'll be taking this semester. This took up a big chunk of the day as I sat through a long lecture from my professor Stanhuisen, who's thick South African accent and quiet voice make her lectures a little hard to follow. Thankfully, she provided a powerpoint to accompany her lecture. What was most exciting about this lecture was finding out that every Thursday we'll be going on various "practicals" where we go out on a field trip and spend the day off campus in various nature reserves and beaches. Sounds like my kind of biology class. Tomorrow: no class til my 4:30 psychology class, so lots of reading, relaxing and photography to do tomorrow. PICS TO COME

Day One

My first full day in RSA. We started the day here at our hotel near the Johannesburg airport with a fantastic South African breakfast, complete with eggs, French toast, fried tomato, sausage, fresh fruit and bacon (way better than American bacon!) – the works, easily the best breakfast I’ve had anywhere in a long time. While breakfast was supposed to be the first activity of the day, I found myself wide-awake in my room watching the sun peak through our window shades as I marinated in the humid air. This is definitely the most humid place I’ve been, and it’s going to take some adjusting for me, a dry-aired Coloradoan. After our FANTASTIC morning meal, we loaded the bus for a day trip to Soweto, a suburb within the city of Johannesburg.Soweto is a place completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen in-person. As our bus entered the township, we passed by corrugated iron roofs, masses of shacks and miles of barbed wire fences. Slums and hostels lined the roads on each side, while makeshift produce stands filled in the spaces in between. I’ve never seen anything like it outside of a National Geographic. But what impacted me the deepest today in Soweto was the people. No matter where our bus went through the township, from parks to churches to marketplaces, we were greeted with waves and smiles. Waves, smiles and dances from people who lived in rusted, beat down shacks and who suffer from a 40% unemployment rate, as well as an extremely high HIV/AIDS infection rate. Our first stop in Soweto was at a monument commemorating the 11 chapters of the new South African constitution, composed after the end of Apartheid in 1994. The monument was housed inside a cone-shaped brick building, and staffed by an outgoing man with two teeth and a flute. As we left, the man played the national anthem of South Africa on his humble recorder. We moved on to visit several other monuments and parks within Soweto, always greeted by waves and peace signs. Our guide brought us to her restaurant, Chez, which was housed under a corrugated iron roof held up by dark red bricks all around. The inside of the restaurant was decorated by about a dozen paintings, each one unique, but shared common colors of red, yellow, blue and green. I am falling in love with South African food dangerously fast. Lunch, consisting of squash, spinach, corn, potatoes, rice, beef and lamb, was nothing short of amazing. So far, I’ve noticed that South African food is practical, filling, but still leaves room for deliciousness. After our meal, some local kids greeted us at our seats with a dance routine, and few APU students even joined in. After lunch at Chez, we moved onto one last monument, commemorating a 1976 anti-apartheid uprising in Soweto, when hundreds of Africans were killed during a protest.The apartheid museum in Johannesburg was our final stop – I left this place with a mix of emotions, historical info, and the beginning of an understanding of the people of South Africa. The museum exhibited the period of time in South African history, from 1948 to the early 90’s, when the national government enacted policies that separated races within the republic. Citizens were issued identification cards that categorized individuals by their race – their respective race determined where they could live, where they could work as well as regulated many other daily activities. It’s tough for me to fathom how a nation could ever be reconciled after such horrible injustices, but the apartheid museum itself is a testament to the progress this country has made in the last two decades. I have so much to learn from this place and its people. Next: we fly out of Johannesburg to Durban, and will eventually end up at our campus in Pietermaritzburg

Cruising the Atlantic

Just finished my first airline meal ever – WOW that was tasty. Right now, I’m onboard our South African Airways flight en route to Dakar, Senegal, which left from Dulles Airport in D.C. earlier today. The day has been a long one so far, but I’ve noticed how time passes in a weird way when you’re traveling around the world. My brain is stuck in “vacation mode” right now, as it hasn’t really hit me that I’ll be in Africa within the next 12 hours. I lucked out, nabbing a window seat, so right now I’m looking out at the massive right wing of this 747, watching the red light blink away in a constant rhythm, the pulse of the plane ticking away tirelessly as we drift thousands of feet above the Atlantic. A smooth mix of Coldplay, Jason Mraz and Nickel Creek passes through my headphones, mixed in with a little White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys and MuteMath. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed and excited at the same before. Next stop: Dakar for refueling, and then on to Johannesburg.

12 hours from now...

A bus will pull into Azusa Pacific University, I will load my suitcase and dufflebag and a new chapter in my life will begin. Around 2:30 AM tonight/tomorrow/Thursday, I'll begin my 21 hour journey to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. From LAX, we'll fly straight to Washington DC, and load up on South African Airways flight bound for Johannesburg. We'll make one stop in Dakar, Senegal before finally, 21 hours later, I'll take my first step onto South African soil. This afternoon is all about packing, checking my packing, unpacking and repacking, so that hopefully, by 2:30 tonight I'll have my black dufflebag and brown Costco suitcase full of everything I'll need for my 4 month stay, a 9 hour time difference ahead of my home here in the good ole USA. While I'm sure i hasn't hit me completely yet, I cannot tell you how excited I am to begin this new chapter. This will be an adventure that will undoubtedly shape me at my deepest level, and form me into the man I will be for the rest of my life.