Graaff- Reinet Weekend Trip

January 25th- January 27th

Now that I have informed you all about the FreeWalkers lets jump right into what we did this weekend! Where on Earth do I begin.  

Friday: We left Port Elizabeth around 2:30 and heading about two hours slightly northwest to Graaff- Reinet. The drive there was actually not bad. Murray turned on some "African Beats" and we watched out our windows looking for animals! We saw monkeys, Kudu, Blue Cranes, Springbok and Ostriches!  We stayed at Murray's sisters lodge: KingFisher Lodge!  Every detail of the house was beautiful!

After we snacked around and got the tour of the house, we cleaned up and headed up to the Camdeboo National Game Reserve that surrounds Graaff- Reinert! We were able to hike up the mountains of the Camdebdoo Game Reserve to watch the sunset over the Valley of Desolation. The views were absolutely breathtaking! My photos do not do justice for how pretty it was on top of the mountain! If you were to look down it was slightly nerve-wrecking! Regardless, it was a great time up there! After watching the sunset we went down to a restaurant called "The Gentlemens Club". The restaurant was originally built for ONLY men to enter. The wives would have to wait in the car while they shot pool and hung out with the guys! Women have only been going there for about 10 years or so.  The food was delicious! I split a meat trio with one of my roommates and still didn't finish it! It was a platter composed of three fillets: one springbok, one beef and one ostrich fillet.  The ostrich fillet was better than any other fancy piece of steak I've eaten anywhere in America! Yum! Oh and the cream soda here is even better than anywhere in the states, and its GREEN!

Saturday: We started the morning out right by waking up to some fresh fruit and bush tea before beginning our long day outside. Murray and Jordy took us to a small little town called Nieu Bestheda and it was too cute! It felt as if you were walking back into time. Everything was simple, quiet and all around peaceful.  After a little tour we took a donkey carriage over to a little restaurant called The Brewery where one of Murray's friend decided he was tried of the busy lifestyle he used to live and decided to move. He moved onto some land and built a restaurant where he creates his own goat cheese spreads, homemade breads and hand crafted beers. The goat cheese, Kudu salami and homemade bread is served on a rather large platter and put in the middle of tables to share! Our table shared three :) Yummmmy! After lunch we went on a boat tour through Camdeboo National Park! I was a little afraid to get into the water but I was assured that the only thing in the water were catfish!

After the boat tour and showering we headed out to see the township that many people live it! It was a great thing to see but at the same time very hard to see how people lived. It was heart-wrenching to see the children in such rough living quarters and to think only a few miles up the road we were staying in such a beautiful home.The people were all very happy though, no one looked miserable. We noticed many dogs and cats running around that we obviously not taken care of and they were referred to as "township animals" and we weren't allowed to touch them.   

  

We ended the night off right down at Miemies. Miemie's is a restaurant that is based in a family home inside of a township. The owner of the house: Miemie and her husband Richard used to work on Murray's family farm and when they lost the farm, Miemie and Richard moved to the township.  When Murray created the FreeWalkers he wanted to build a restaurant for Miemie because she used to cook on the farm! He and some of the volunteers created a restaurant in her backyard! It was literally tin shacks with African cultured decorations inside.  The food was again amazing and we were surrounded by friends and laughter! Miemie and her family were very welcoming into their home and we really enjoyed learning about the South African culture as well as eating true South African food! We finished the night off dancing with everyone and bringing the night in with many laughs, mostly at my poor dance skills!

One of the tables in the backyard! 

Other Cost Students Emily and Liz. 

Homemade rolls that were baked in funnel cake batter and others were put on the grill! YUM! 

Miemie is camera shy!  

Miemie's grandson Sean! He did not speak English! He was my buddy for the evening!   

I dont even know what everything was, but it was all amazing!

Miemie!

Sunday: For breakfast we had ostrich eggs and to get the egg open you must hit the top of it with a spoon and then flip it over and do the other side. Then you are to "blow" out the yolk! I volunteered to blow out the yolk! It was a disgusting sound but after it was cooked it was good to eat! I wasnt a huge fan of the ostrich egg, but only because it was spicy! Im such a big spice baby! After breakfast we said our goodbyes and went back towards Port Elizabeth and stopped at Daniels Cheetah Breeding Farm and Spotted Cat Conservatory. The farm is used to breed wild cats and to healthy raise them and then release them into their natural habitat! We were fortunate enough to be able to pet one of the tamed cheetahs! Her name was Ola and was 8 years old. 

Whew! It was quite a weekend but such a great one at that!  

I also wanted to give a heads up on my grandfathers surgery! The surgery went smoothly and he was joking around with the nurses shortly after. True to his sweet, loving Pop-Pop spirits! Thanks for the many prayers, I have no doubt that each and every one of them was heard!  

Here in South Africa, they say "See you just now" instead of goodbye or see you later. I think I will start using that phrase often! :) 

The FreeWalkers

I mentioned in an early post that I would be explaining who The FreeWalkers are, the story behind these two is one that cannot be easily put into words. I was going to try and remember everything that they have told us about how this all began but instead I'll just copy and paste from their Facebook page!
 

 What is Freewalker? 

Freewalker is a state of being…it is humanitarian, adventure, and freeing, it is realizing that one person can make a difference...and that person can be you!

Freewalker is a Volunteer & Adventures for Charity organization that is doing its part in making a difference in South Africa, while having fun at the same time! The mission of Freewalker is to create sustainable solutions in the fields of education, conservation, healthcare, and community development through international volunteering, while providing opportunity for volunteers to experience the adventure of exploring South Africa’s diverse landscapes, colourful cultures, ancient history and abundant wildlife.

Who is this crazy Freewalker Team?

Freewalker’s Team, consisting of Murray Luscombe and Jordana Meyer, guarantee to make your stay the most memorable one in South Africa! Like it or not, they are with you 24/7 and ready to help you with anything at any time. Murray is a local enthusiast, passionate about his country and is always coming up with innovative ways to have fun and Jordana is a wildlife biologist from the USA who thrives on sharing the wonders of this country with fellow travellers. Each volunteer is unique, and they make it top priority to understand what an individual is hoping to gain from their experience and then going the extra mile to make sure that is fulfilled. The Team prides themselves on making the stay unforgettable! You dream it and we at Freewalker make it possible!

IN A NUTSHELL....

We are just two enthusiastic, dynamic people trying to make a difference in this World and realized the impact of a small deed….We wanted to give travellers a different taste of this amazing Country…take them under our wings and share with them the wonders of a new culture, explore the vastly diverse landscapes and most importantly show them how they can make such a difference in another’s life with a simple smile or help to save endangered wildlife with passion in their hearts, and all while having the time of their lives! Therefore, Freewalker was created!
   

Victoria Park Grey Primary... My School

Wednesday January 23rd

Before telling you all about my first few days, let me first backtrack a little bit!  So there is this thing, this miserable, awful, no good thing called jet lag.  Well it has absolutely killed my sleeping and eating habits. Until Monday evening I had not gone to bed before 4am. Its been awful, along with that I found out the hard way that the tap water is not safe to drink, after being told otherwise. I just cant win! But I am living on a beach so I cannot complain too much as everyone is sitting cuddled up in blankets and sweatpants.   

Dr. Ryan, Nicole, Jill Niemeyer and Maddi

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My advisor from NKU Jill Niemeyer and the Dean of Education Dr. Carol Ryan came into town to do a visit of our schools and living arrangements! It was great to see a few familiar faces! We had some down time to sit and relax with them and show them around PE. We were able to have dinner with them and the FreeWalkers Murray & Jordy! We will be doing all of our traveling with them and I will post about them soon! All the food here is amazing and fresh! Here is the FreeWalkers website if you are interested in reading about their volunteer and charity work!  

http://www.freewalker.co.za/

So we started school on Monday and they placed me in a Grade 4 classroom. Everything is backwards here. They write the date so that the day is first instead of the month (23/01/2013), they drive on the other side of the road, on the other side of the car! It is taking a little getting used to. But, anyways my Cooperating Teacher is very sweet and spunky! She has a great personality and the kids in the school adore her.  The classroom looks very similar other than a few major differences such as the students learn two other languages besides English. The languages are called Afrikaan and Xhosa. Xhosa is a language that is made up by clicking of the tongues and the students are NOT allowed to speak it unless in Xhosa class. This is the language that they speak in their townships, but are not encouraged to speak at school. I suggest everyone take a moment ant youtube what both languages sound like because they are very interesting! Within the three days I have been in the classroom I have heard at least 3 other languages besides the ones previously mentioned. South Africa has 11 official languages! It is very cool!  The school day begins at 8:00 am and ends at 2:00pm for the older students! The students are very intrigued by the fact that I am from America! They ask all sorts of funny questions such as "Do you hang out with Justin Bieber?" or "Is Beyonce really that tall?"  or "Have I ever gotten to eat lunch with President Obama?". Today I showed them a powerpoint of where I am from and my family and things that most average Americans enjoy! They were disappointed when they saw that Kentucky does not look like the "Jersey Shore". They do know "Turtle Man" though, which is not much of an accomplishment I am afraid.

My Grade 4! 

This is my buddy Mihiali! (Ma-KLI-Li) There is a Xhosa click within his name! He is very energetic and a goofball 

I will continue to post about school or even about the languages tomorrow! It is getting late here! Off to bed to start a new day in a beautiful place! 

Until Then! 

Weekend Adventures

Monday January 21st, 2013

Hello! Well this weekend has already been AMAZING! Saturday we spent the day at the beach and went out to dinner at a local grill called Barney's! It was so much fun, there was live music and they played American music! We were told that we don't stuck out like sore thumbs until we start talking! :) It was a really great time! 

Blue skies and blue water! Absolutely Amazing! 

Standing at the bottom of the dunes!  

Bottom of the dunes!

On Sunday we went Sandboarding and Snorkeling with the FreeWalkers Volunteer and Adventures Charity Group. The drive there was full of gorgeous views. We even saw a monkey climbing someones house! The sandboarding is so much fun, it was miserable to walk up the dunes though! It took me quite a few times but I finally got the hang of it. I had so much sand in my hair, in my mouth and at one point I faceplanted into the sand and came up with sand in my ears and noses! Other than that it was a blast! 

Sandboarding with Murray! He had to guide me down the first few times. SUCH A BLAST! 

We ate lunch at a place called Barnacles that sat up on the top of the hills overlooking the ocean. It was absolutely breathtaking.  Maddi and I shared the most amazing dish: Fried Calamari and Queen Prawns (like crawdaddies). Apparently the best part of the Prawn is the brain and everyone sucks it out. So....we did just that! 

After lunch we headed down the beach to snorkel! The water is absolutely freezing! We had to wear wetsuits to stay in the water for a longer period of time, It felt good though because I was so sunburnt at that point.  We got to see some cute teeny fish and even saw an OCTOPUS! 

We started school today! I will post more about the school, classroom and the students this week! I promise! 


Until then! Hope all is well with everyone!