TIA (This is Africa)

Last Updated on July 24, 2013 by

To start off this post, I would like everyone to listen to “Shosholoza.”  South Africans call it their second national anthem; it is beautiful and all of us here are a little too obsessed with it.

Amazing, right?! This past week has been bittersweet…Today is my last day here in Stellenbosch before we depart for the Garden Route tomorrow morning.  Where has the time gone?!

I will begin at when we climbed (not hiked) up Table Mountain two Fridays ago.  It was rocks upon rocks so we were stair stepping the whole way.  The climb took 2 hours to complete but the view was completely worth it.  It was breathtaking, along with everything else here in South Africa.  We were above the clouds.  Words cannot describe so of course I am attaching pictures.

The next day we went Shark Cage Diving! AH! I took an underwater camera so I don’t have those pictures yet, but it was insane.  The sharks were so close that we could see their teeth.  Yikes.  The water was a bit freezing but it was worth it.  We went into Shark Alley (where they film Shark Week on the Discovery Channel).  So many seals, I think they told us about 60,000 seals are on the rocks at one time.  It was crazy!

We had classes all week, but this past Thursday was the 4th of July! We did not forget to celebrate, everybody.  We had South Africans wearing their red, white and blue!  We showed them how to BBQ the American way and had fireworks!  It was a memorable 4th of July.

This past weekend we headed to Warmwaterberg in the Swellendam mountains.  It was such a relaxing weekend.  We stayed in a little cabin that reminded me of Snow White. We hiked all weekend; it was amazing.  The views were incredible and the stars were MAGNIFICENT.  We could see the Milky Way, probably the most beautiful thing I’ve seen.  Unfortunately, cameras can’t pick it up or at least my camera lens can’t so I couldn’t document it, but I will remember it forever.  We stopped at wineries on the way back on Monday and there were schnauzers there. I was a too excited and wouldn’t stop petting them; it made me miss my schnauzer at home.

Tuesday, we had our last class and final exam. Wednesday and today are free days before we head out tomorrow morning.  This will probably be my last blog before I’m home but no worries, I’ll blog and put pictures up from the Garden Route!  I’m sure I will have many adventures to document while I’m there.

Time to pack and check things off my to-do list! It’s bittersweet.

Enjoy the pictures 🙂

Totsiens (goodbye in Afrikaans)!