Saturday, February 23, 2013

African Mornings

I wake up early every day here. Today I woke up especially early. 3am, how delightful! I have woken up at 4 one morning, but this is the first day I have been up this early. I'm probably just too excited, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO KRUGER PARK TODAY!!! Not everyone is going, so people kept asking me if I was going... Honestly, I'm not even sure why that was a question. So far I have caught a gecko, loads of frogs - including at inopportune moments like when people are trying to skype with their parents, whoops!, a dung beetle, a lizard, some sort of cricket, and an ant. So depending on how much time people have spent with me here, they might know that question doesn't even need to be asked! Here is the website for Kruger Park, and I am definitely taking my camera so hopefully I'll get some good pictures to post for you all. And here is a healthy dose of the 80s, just for good measure, because what else would you listen to when you are up this early before going on Safari: Baltimora! And just in case I wasn't already awake, an alarm somewhere in the valley just went off, so I'm definitely not going back to sleep now!

Just a quick review of our Friday (the 22nd):
First, after breakfast, was Hands on Deck. It's a monthly meeting where we get to find out about projects everyone else is working on, here and abroad. We also said goodbye to Sophie and Chris, who are leaving early Monday after being here six months. I've only had the privilege of spending a few days with them, but you immediately get an idea of just how amazing they are, and the bonds that can be formed here. Then we had a session with Alicia, which was really good. The rest of the morning/afternoon, the six of us (minus Mariah and Mel who were running errands in Nelspruit) enjoyed an afternoon of landscaping. Moving dirt,  trying not to kill grass, seeing lots of critters, including said cricket insects, frogs, spiders - big and small!, and lizard. We took breaks for lunch, and before dinner to relax and cool off a bit. I had leftover curry for dinner. Food expires much faster here, so I need to clean out some leftovers taking up space in my refrigerator. Then we went to Lynn and Jayme's for a quick debrief session, which ending up involving a walk and scaling some rocks. In Africa, it is much harder to be "lady-like". I'm always jumping out of the Venture, or off of rocks...thank goodness for long skirts and leggings!

It's just about time for me to actually get ready now; I hope everyone has a great weekend!.

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