The past month has seen Shane and I in a repetitive
cycle. After our Easter Break we
enjoyed a change in our school schedule, this consisted of the dropping of our
Xhosa Culture class and the addition of The History of African Human Migration. Other than that, school is the
same. Seeing as term 2 is now in
full swing and we only have four more weeks of school left a lot of tests,
papers, and projects have sprung up.
We suffered through a group presentation about a week ago in which Shane
did famously and I not so much (nerves got the better of me). This week we handed in a couple of
papers and are ecstatic to have no more for the remainder of the term.
Last Saturday (April 28th) Shane left shortly
after noon to join Allie and Sarah for some soccer. Upon arrival Shane discovered that they were the only white
people in attendance and there was a soccer tournament in progress. Before he even found Allie or Sarah he
was asked to join a team, and ended up playing a forty-minute, 11-on-11 game
with all South African guys! Freaking Sweet!----Shane.
The week that followed was stressful with the few papers
that were required of us. Friday
of that school week meant no school (public holiday) until the following
Thursday so we had a lot of free time.
A majority of it was spent hanging out with Allie and Sarah, as we are
seemingly the only four international students on a budget! On Monday we actually left Port
Elizabeth together (the four of us) and made the forty-five minute drive to
Jeffrey’s Bay. Once there we
parked in town and did some shopping (though no one ended up buying
anything). After this we went to a
family owned farm where we could do some “zip-lining” into a small body of
water. We were thrilled with the
weather as it was 90 degrees and sunny.
When we pulled onto the property we were greeted by signs
threatening danger from the dogs on the property (I laughed when I saw
them—Jack Russell types). We
pulled up to a makeshift gate and a door off to the right opened and a girl of
about 10 walked out with a clipboard.
We each signed and paid R10.
She then asked if she could give us directions in Afrikaans, which we of
course refused. We were then told
to follow the fence, turn at the big bush, and walk down the stairs… very
specific. A little confusion
followed, but we found the stairs.
The zip line was crude at best, with each end attached to large boulders
and a thin rope used to bring the handlebars back to us. Shane was brave and went first. He traveled down the line smoothly and
dropped into the water. Ice cold
water. The three of us waiting up
top enjoyed the pitiful sounds he made when he realized just how cold it was. After a little bit of arguing Allie
decided to go next. After moving
about two feet from the cliff she slipped off and plunged into the water (sun tan
lotion had made her hands slippery).
Because of this mishap, the small line that is used to pull the handlebars
back up got snagged on the zip line itself. None of us knew what to do, so Shane went to where the line
ends (there is a path off to the side) and climbed from the bottom up to where
the snag was. He was able to get
the rope untangled, but suffered because of it. The cord that the line slides down is apparently sharp (not
to mention rusted) and Shane managed to cut up his palms, fingers, and the
arches of his feet. Obviously he
was done for the day. After some
convincing Sarah took her turn without any problems. I refused to go both after seeing everyone’s reaction once
they hit the water and not wanting to hurt myself. Allie took a second turn and this time made it down the
entire length, but did not let go until she was at the end (causing the thin
line to snap)! It was time to
leave.
Since that took
about an hour and a half, lunchtime came and went. We drove back into town and found a café and inhaled some
mediocre food. Towards the end of
the meal we realized that time was running out (Sarah and I had an appointment
to ride horses) and hurried to get the check.
The road to Papiesfontein (horse place) was rough and cruel
on our Kia Rio, but we managed.
Sarah and I were the only two signed up for the 3-hour ride so Shane and
Allie planned on going to the beach to lay out. We quickly paid and were then led to our horses. I received some lessons along the way,
but for the most part enjoyed fantastic views of the surrounding
landscape. Reaching the sand dunes
was probably the best part, though galloping down the beach was fantastic as
well. After completing the circuit
we dismounted and waited for Shane and Allie to arrive, during this time we
discovered two puppies and three kittens on the property and promptly fell in
love. It took about a half hour
for our ride to show up and once it did we learned that neither had enjoyed the
beach because of the abrupt temperature drop (about 15 degrees)! The ride home was relaxing and we were
all eager to do nothing for the rest of the night. We utilized the car to once again get groceries and then
went to Annie’s and enjoyed some of Sarah’s cooking (best home-made macaroni
ever)!
With the few days of break that we had left to us we went
and saw the Hunger Games (alright) and a week or so before that saw the
Avengers (AMAZING). J I do not anticipate writing anything
again until mid-June or so when we take one of our last trips here in South
Africa!
