Giraffe, Politics, and a Roadtrip

Hello everyone!!

So life lately has been both really busy and really fun...here is a summary.

Last weekend on Saturday, Geoff (our BC program coordinator) took us in his truck to two nearby game reserves. We left early in the morning so we could see more animals – they all hide and sleep during the hottest part of the day. It was a really fun and adventurous day, complete with a picnic at a bird-watching hut, prickly pears, and a little bit of off-roading to see the following: giraffe, ostrich, zebra, baboon, springbok, kudu, antelope, tortoise, and MASSIVE earthworms (i.e. 3 feet long). It was a really fun trip :) Here are a few of MANY pics:

We saw these signs... but not all of the animals on the sign. Maybe next time!

To my fellow Deer Runners: every now and then, did you ever wonder what a springbok looks like? I was never in that cabin, but here are 3 grazing springbok!

Ostrich!
Allegra, Lindsay, and Me - 3 out of 4 of the BC girls here at Rhodes. This is us in the bird-watching hut.

GIRAFFE IN THE ROAD (obviously.)
A herd of (what I THINK is) some kind of reedbuck, but it also could be antelope. As soon as we pulled up, they all started STARING at us. We silently took as many pictures as possible but they quickly ran away.
And last but not least, ZEBRA!

Last week I took my first Rhodes test - in politics! The test was quite HECTIC, but I love that class because it is really challenging me to critically think about social issues & ideals and government. Not easy, but REALLY cool :)

This past weekend (yesterday and today) I went to Jeffrey’s Bay with two other BC girls (Sheneita and Lindsay) and two friends from my res (Sarita and Katie). Jeffrey’s Bay is a beach/surf town about 3 hours away from Grahamstown, so we rented a car and took a road trip. The beach was beautiful, and the town really quiet and relaxing (almost ghost-town quiet, we couldn’t figure out where everyone was)! We stayed in a really cute homey backpackers hostel (with a LOT of character) in the center of town just a 5-minute walk from the beach. It was a fantastic group of girls, and we had a lot of fun travelling together! Overall, the trip was just stunning… even though it didn’t all go exactly as planned. These trips never do… Here are a few pics of J-bay:

Sheneita from BC (left) and Sarita from Joburg in our awesome hostel.
Katie, from Port Elizabeth - our lovely reliable safe driver!Sheneita and Lindsay, on the beautiful J-bay beach.
We woke up to see the sunrise this morning. And... nobody complained! Impressive. Although it was cloudy, the sky was beautiful and the beach was so peaceful! We also saw lots of dolphins playing in the waves! Stunning.

Well, that's it for today. Please let me know how you all are doing (How is/was spring break?? How is COSMOS? How are classes/How is school?? Do you know your summer plans? How is Europe/Asia/Austrailia/South America/North America/Africa??)!!!!

Love,
Lindapants