Doing my best with what I've got =)

19/03/09
I absolutely love it when people are genuinely nice, or genuinely friendly. Passing by when you say hello to someone and they give a full acknowledgement of that hello and return it with one equally as friendly. Maybe I grew up with the ‘mid-west nice’ and that’s what I’m used to, but either way it’s refreshing to meet people who show the same enthusiasm or appreciation of just a friendly hello. I think that is definitely going to be a quality when deciding where in life to live. Anyway, it has been awhile and let me give you a brief update to what has been going on in my neck of the woods… Our internet is changing. We were allowed one gig for 10.00$ (US) a month, and if you ran out you could pay 8$ more for your second gig. Well, the international office decided to go through and completely change the way internet is run, so to have unlimited, but slower internet we are going to have a pay a lot more- either 30 or 50 US dollars. With the 30$ package we aren’t guaranteed to be able to skype, so we are waiting to figure out. Since I ran out of internet on Sunday while skyping with my parents (sorry I didn’t get to say I love you or good bye or happy birthday one more time) I have been trying to be patient while the new internet gets sorted out. Ryan, the new internet guy comes every day at 4, so yesterday I was awaiting his arrival and I come into a conversation mid way and the first thing I hear him say is that the internet should work for everyone, unless you have a Mac. Lovely. Oh Africa, I am learning so much patience from you… So it will be a bit longer till I have internet, apparently they are flying in someone who is an expert on Macs. On a brighter note! I attempted hand washing my clothes again yesterday and today, and would like to report to you= success! Being now that I have moved into our spare bedroom and now have my own room I bought some rope and now my laundry is strung across my room, probably spending the next two days drying, but nonetheless it was something fun and entertaining to do!
St Patty’s day took an interesting spin this year! We at Annie’s (where I live) knew we had high expectations and wanted to make our Irish friends proud, so covered in green and with our green dye to go with us we made our way out to a favorite pub for live music, dancing, topped with meeting lots of new Irish friends! Needless to say, I believe everyone had a good night. Ah, now lets backtrack.
Since I have been able to travel a little bit in both directions, up the East Coast and the West Coast, I feel as if I have been able to experience a little of the country and am gaining a grasp for different lifestyles and even just the smallest differences from that of home. One thing I love is the fact that homes here just seem so warm, as if they are built with the welcome aspect engraved in them. They are friendly and open, inviting and completely individualized. When you look around at the furniture and the tables and chairs that they have, you have to wonder if they are complete originals because it doesn’t seem as if they could be mass produced. I love the personality that just shines through. Last Friday night a group of 4 of us traveled to Kenton-On-Sea. Backpackers weren’t an option there, so we stayed at a bed and breakfast. Let me tell you- it was adorable! Marlene was the friendliest, most helpful lady. Her home was beautiful and we stayed in “Tree Top” beds- a complete upstairs with a deck and living area, a fireplace and even a cold hot tub that ran into a waterfall that went down the rocks. Since we were venturing out early the next morning, she had to wake up early but it was the most amazing breakfast any of us had experienced since we have been in South Africa. Gave us a slight taste of home, but without a doubt, a perfect beginning to the day. The night before we drove along the curving, never ending, roundabout roads of Kenton without streetlights and the biggest speed bumps that our poor rented car, Babe (like Babe the Blue Ox) encountered first hand. We finally reached our end destination, the much-anticipated Floating Restaurant on the River, yay! I decided to have steak, but they had the best calamari I have ever had and if by chance I ever go back, I know what I’m getting!
Ok, enough with all the boring details. Saturday when we were on the beach about to go deep sea fishing, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt- to my family members who I know would have loved this experience so much and then I got to experience it, and I’m not even a fisher! It was just the joy and the feel of being on the water that was so great. It felt like a jet ski when we were going over the huge waves getting of the beach, but our skipper was skilled and we all felt safe. We ended up spending close to 5 hours on the ocean. That is quite some time when you factor in the smell of the fish, the rock of the boat, and needing to use the toilet! Ha, but it was a great time. I was excited to catch my one tiny fish (don’t worry I caught several), but I spent most the time rebaiting my hook. The others I was with were much more experienced fishers and we caught a beautiful array of sea life- including many sharks! I couldn’t believe when Sam pulled of the first one- probably 6 ft long, and then many more to follow- leopard sharks, pajama sharks, spotted something and then your classic smooth looking blue ones. Scary but exhilarating! Nial, our captain and expert for the day, took us back to his home, cut up the fish for us and we enjoyed coffee with him and his wife and just talking. They have a beautiful oceanfront home that is just breath taking. Kari and I even ran down to the ocean to chase after the dolphins we saw swimming.
Our fun filled day was then greeted with some interesting turns as we entered our next city to visit, Port Alfred. The backpackers we attempted to stay at was interesting to say the least, I’ll spare you the details, except for the fact of it felt like we walked into a family’s living room and home, but not welcoming in the least bit. Didn’t take us long to move on from there. We ended up staying at a nice inn that was about a 10-minute walk from restaurants and beachfront, as well as the town and shops. We had a nice two-bedroom cottage with a kitchen, living room and bath; we even got to experience taking baths again since there wasn’t a shower! Another mini adventure inside the adventure. Another early morning followed, we ate, shopped, took a stroll on the beach and a scary, scary pier with the biggest crashing waves (don’t know how/why we managed to walk to the end) and then decided we enjoyed the quite small town feel of Kenton better, and headed back to explore those beaches.
We parked babe at one of the beaches and just started walking around, and what seemed like a harmless beach trek ended up being quite the adventure of finding caves and gorgeous beaches, exploring rocks in all different capacities and climbing hills and breaking my feet because I, being the smart one, decided when we were getting out of the car to go ‘South African style’ and not wear any shoes, bad idea! We managed to photo graph much of the jot: ranging from climbing up rocks and peering over the ocean, to walking out next to crashing waves, to finding deep holes, climbing up huge sand dunes, and being lost in a mountainous bush, completely blazing our own trail. Good thing Kari, Matt, Sam and I are adventurous types and it felt good to be active again.
Wow, I am at over 1400 words and am afraid that if I keep going then I won’t have any readers left! I understand the overwhelming-ness of my typing so I should spare you and stop for now. Wish the internet was a bit more convenient so that I could update more, but 10 posts in about a months time isn’t too bad is it? Thinking of you all and sending my love!


Sending this days later from the computer lab at school. Will hopefully have internet this afternoon... but with tests and presentations coming up, no guarentees that I'll be able to post any time too soon. Excpet the one I am currently working on now that I'll post shortly after.
Much love, ya'll =)