Zebras Fart?!?! OR How many elephants did YOU see before breakfast?

The trip is nearly over and I am having a hard time fully digesting everything that we've seen and done. I know it will be right around mid-August before everything really sinks in. Sunday was a low-key day that began with church in the capital city of Mbabane. The pastor was out of town and the guest speaker was mercifully brief. Mosaic church has us spoiled with its hour long services. Afterwards we headed to the Mlwane Game Park for lunch in the form of a braai (pronounced like 'try' with a 'b') The camp keeps fires going so we threw on some steaks and had a delicious picnic lunch. Warthogs and deer-like Nyala wandered through the tables looking for scraps. We'd run through our chunk of luck the other day at Kruger so we didn't see too many animals on our afternoon drive. We did see our first zebras though and enjoyed the fresh air That park had no big cats so we were free to get out of the car a little. You can also rent bicycles or horses and ride next to the wildlife. That night was call-making time in the Blosser household so we talked to our cousin Rhonda who is their daughter and who is my age, and our Mom. She was very happy to hear our voices.

Monday we had a few things on the agenda before our departure to the overnight trip we had booked. AD and UM took us to meet the staff at Trans World Radio where they work. We took a tour of the facilities and had donuts with the staff. The Swazi's are incredibly friendly people who are polite and proud of their country. After the visit we headed over to the Rema Orphanage for a visit. I can't really articulate everything that ran through my mind as we walked through the facility. There are 70 kids at this branch, 160 total in three different places. They are bright smiling children who jumped up to sing us their favorite song. They were excruciatingly adorable. They sleep 2 to 4 to a bed even now that the ones sent in my by Uncle's sister have arrived. The bathroom facilities are ridiculously inadequate and the fridge isn't functional. Laundry is done by hand, usually by the kids doing their own clothes because there is no washer or dryer. They keep losing housing space because of inability to pay rent at so many different places but they have their own property if only they could find the money to build on it. If only I could write the check myself.
After a sobering visit we stopped at home to change gears completely and pack for our overnighter at Mkhaya Game Park. We booked huts in the middle of the park for the night. When we got there the first thing to be done was sign the "I won't sue if I die" indemnity paper since we'd be in open jeeps around unpredictable wild animals. Fun! Shannon and I dorked out as the landrovers were exactly like the cars in the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. We took one look at the canvas pockets in front of us and said, 'Please remove all hats and glasses and place them in the pouch in front of you.' We then got very sad for ourselves at being too nerdy for words. I do have to say that Disney's Imagineers are no joke, even the fake engine sounds are authentic. The main difference was that these had no seat belts and there was a very real danger of being thrown out, whacked in the head with tree branches, or being knocked over by a rogue elephant. The coolest thing happened on the evening drive when we ran into a herd of elephants who were all play fighting and trampling through the bush. We also spotted hippo and creepy buffalo who stare at you right back. The sunset was beyond description. We got to camp later than we should have so it was dark already. The only lights marking the paths to our huts were kerosene and looked so vintage lighting the way. The huts are open air and straight out of Tarzan's Treehouse with the beds draped in mosquito net and everything. It was practically time for dinner so we headed back to the fire for more jokes and a delicious dinner.
The next morning you are woken up with coffee brought to your room at 6am. We had to be on the jeeps by 6:30am for the morning game drive. We had some really cool sightings of rhino, giraffe, elephants, wildebeest, and more. The zebras were awesome and Shannon and I were in hysterics when one of them farted the loudest fart ever heard. We had been warned that when they jump out of fear they might do so because they feed all summer, fattening themselves up for the dry season. There is so much fatty oil in them they fart when running away. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't heard it. Back at camp breakfast was delicious and eaten in the middle of a million crested guinea fowl. They look like strangely colored chickens. After that they kick you out by 10am and it's homeward bound.
I am sad we're leaving tomorrow but I am anxious to switch out of Africa mode and into Paris mode. I bought so much stuff here I'm going to have an interesting time making room for all of it. I'm glad I will have a month with none of the distractions of home to really contemplate everything I've absorbed here. There have been alot of conversations, about alot of different topics that need to be sorted through and considered. I actually miss home alot. I must be getting old. Anyway, I will write again once I'm settled in Paris. The first few days might be busy with meeting roommates, unpacking, and language placement tests so we'll see.

Stop, Think, then Think Again Condoms

The title of this blog was spotted at the Swazi/South African border where free condoms are to be had in abundance. HIV issues and all...It made me laugh.

We had the most amazing couple of days. In our last episode we were just preparing for our long drive to South Africa and Kruger Park. Kruger is a massive game park where all types of African plants, animals, etc are free to roam in the wild. Actually I doubt the plants roam...but you never know... We got up and were out of the house before 9am. Our destination was the Whiteriver area and Mercy Air, an organization that flies missionaries and other humanitarian flights all around the continent. They rent out apartments there for the equivalent of 10 bucks a night. UM and AD have friends that live on property so we were to have dinner with them and stay in the apartments. We stopped for shopping and lunch at a place called Castorbridge. It had some nicer stores and restaurants. We managed to get a book in Afrikaans for my weirdo friend Tabitha and some really good chocolate. After lunch we headed to Mercy Air and got a tour of the grounds and operation. While AD went for a walk with her friend, UM, Shan, and I rounded up pecans. We managed to fill an entire bag with fresh pecans...which, until I was shown an example, would not have known to be pecans if you'd pegged me in the face with one. They come in green fruity type skins and a shell you have to crack before getting to the butter brown pecan-y center. It was a trip tramping around in the brush and woods...I forget how much of a city girl I've turned into until I get out in nature again and then my Alaska upbringing comes rushing back. After getting nice and dirty we rested for a minute in our phat apartment before being called to dinner. Dinner was butter lettuce from her garden, fresh feta, chicken skewers and steamed fresh broccoli. It was divine. We had to be up at 3:30am to make it to the park at sunrise and I was exhausted anyway, so we went to be at 8pm. yes, you read that right. I haven't been to bed after 10pm since I left home.

We still got a full nights sleep and I wandered around the field trying to see the Southern Cross while waiting for everyone else to be ready. The stars down here are amazing, it's like being on a completely different planet as none of the constellations look familiar. Finally we get on the road at 10 after 5am and we're the 3rd car in line at the gate when it opens at 6am. The sunrise was fantastic and the whole park glowed in the light. We had our first sighting of some impala and then a lone hyena. I didn't know what to expect so I didn't expect much. We were in the park for a total of 11 hours and there are too many words to describe the experience. Running into the 'big five' or any of the animals is such a strange combination of dumb luck and chance considering you're not allowed out of your vehicle except at certain guarded campsites. In order to get great pictures they have to be close...so it's really a gamble. My Aunt has been complaining that she never sees the big cats when she goes and Shannon is relatively unlucky with celebrity sitings so I hoped that my good luck would counteract both of theirs. When we stopped for lunch we left AD alone for 5 minutes and in that time she saved our stuff from a rogue monkey but got a bad scratch in the process. i told her that in order to see the cats that life was making her pay the price. LITERALLY 5 minutes after we pull out of the campsite we and one other car spot a leopard with its cub on the side of the road waiting to cross. All of us freaked out and then I laughed and laughed at how correct I had been. If she hadn't gotten that monkey scratch which delayed us we would never have seen the leopard. There were a ton of other experiences but for me, none can ever top the first sighting of an elephant in the wild. It lumbered through the bush and across the road to join its friend. We turned the car engine off and watched them pull up bushes and shrubs for fun. Later that day we got caught in a heard of adult and baby elephants that were scattered behind and in front of us all on the road and beside. It was beyond description. Other sitings were giraffe, monkeys, baboons, various deer-type creatures, black and white rhino, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, warthog, and so many more. The drive home seemed to take alot less time and we all snoozed our way through a quick dinner of leftovers before passing out from a very long 15 hours in the car.

Today we had nothing on the official agenda I made up so after a frustrating call to Orbitz to try and fix a ticket issue we had breakfast. Breakfast ended up lasting for about 5 hours because we got on some rather serious and inflammatory topics. There is alot of history between my dad's family and my mom and all the things surrounding their divorce. We got to correct some of the misnomers and learn quite a few things about ourselves and our family. It was a really good talk and I had a really big personal breakthrough of my own about my dad. Finally we shutup long enough to get ready and head out for the last bit of shopping we hadn't finished. We stopped by the famous candle factory here in Swaziland and got some really cool shaped candles after watching how they were done by the workers. Batiks are also a big thing to buy here. Those are a kind of textile where they put wax on areas not to be dyed, then the material is dipped in color, the wax is removed in hot water, then put back on in other places, then dipped in a new color...at the end of the process you have a really cool wall hanging, tablecloth, etc. The quality of the artwork here is phenomenal and I've been really restraining myself by reminding myself whatever I do buy needs to be carted around Paris for the next month. Afterwards we ate dinner and UM pulled out the home video collection. Shannon and I laughed until we cried at our Dad's 80s bouffant and porn-stache.

Tomorrow we have church in the morning then we're going to go somewhere nearby to braai, or have a braai...not sure which. It basically means BBQ.

Pictures: Giraffe, leopard, rhino, baboon, Elephants as seen from the car for perspective, African sunrise

Road Trip Cankle and Africa for Beginners

Photos: Shan, A.D., and U.M., Execution Rock, and the craft market

It's 8:30pm and I'm sitting here at the computer desperately trying to keep my eyes open. Jet lag is still hitting me rather hard...Shannon not so much...lucky her. Anyway, it seems weird that my first week of 6 is practically gone with tomorrow being Thursday and all. I have no idea how we got here already. I left Sunday afternoon at 4:40pm and arrived in London Monday morning at 11am. I was to meet Shannon in Heathrow because she landed at about the same time. I sat for an hour waiting to hear from her before I called my mom and made her get up and check the flight info. She never answered her phone and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. Finally Mom get a call from her that she's been waiting two hours for me and that her phone doesn't work internationally. We had to play international phone tag with mom in the middle until we finally figured out a place to meet up. I could have murdered her. In the end I just laughed because whenever we get to visit each other I will be SO excited to see her and then somehow she manages to leave me waiting at the airport or something else equally irritating and I end up just wanting to strangle her instead. I love my sister!
After that whole mess, we decided to head into London to go to Harrod's department store to pass a bunch of the 9 hour layover. We finally make it to Knightsbridge tube stop and end up directly in front of Harrod's. It had been 5 years since our last trip and we barely saw everything it had to offer the first time around. For anyone who doesn't know, Harrod's is a HUGE high-end department store where the royal families of many countries shop and so on. They have a food department too so Shannon and I decided to get lunch there and just eat outside. I tried to be adventurous with a Sausage and Mash pie that we shared. It was delicious. After a couple of hours of walking through the maze that is Harrod's we decided to head back to the airport to wait for our flight. I hadn't slept hardly at all on the previous 11 and half hour flight so I promptly found an open bench in the airport and passed out for an hour. Our flight to Johannesburg was another 11 hours and both of us finally slept on that one for a bit. I must also note that South African Airways has the most *LOL* hilarious safety video I have ever seen.
This brings us to Tuesday, where we found ourselves in South Africa waiting for our last hour long flight to Manzini, Swaziland. The teeny prop plane took us south to the landlocked country where our Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mark were waving at us as we landed. The Manzini airport is quite small and as we'd been forewarned might happen, our bags had not made the flight from Jo-burg. We headed to the house for food, naps, and showers. My ankles and legs were swollen as can only happen when sitting for 30+ hours.
I was taking a nap when my bag made it home. My Aunt had stopped back by the airport and it had made it on the 3pm flight, however, Shannon's bag was still missing. Oops. We had a lovely dinner of roast with potatoes and carrots and then immediately fell asleep. Well, at least I did, Shannon stayed up to fix some issues with her ticket.

This morning we woke up at 7am and shopping was on the agenda. Uncle Mark wisely decided to stay home. We started out at the casino so we could get cash out at the ATM in a safe place. Swaziland crime is decidedly better than in South Africa but we'd rather not take any chances. First stop was to the massive crafts market where it seemed like miles of hand-crafted everything. It's Africa so of course there is stuff with elephants on it everywhere. I bought a few things, I won't lie. After that we headed to the Guava Gallery so Aunt Deb could buy some giraffe hair jewelry and we could get lunch. We sat in the shadow of Execution Rock while we had our soup and sandwiches. Apparently they made witches and murderers jump off this mountain in the old days. The last one happened in 1967. We stopped by another craft market but A. D. wasn't feeling well so we headed home.
We then decided to attempt a curry dinner, me, Shannon, and Uncle Mark with A. D. on the couch directing everything. It was QUITE the extravaganza. There is so much fresh food here including rhubarb so we decided to dig out the old Alaska recipes and make some Rhubarb crumble. Everything was SO delicious, especially when eaten with homemade chai, out in the cool air of the patio, with the buzz of the bees in the beehives in the background. U. M. busted out his Indian accent and told some truly hilarious Bengali jokes. Shannon and I were practically crying over our crisp and ice cream. So now it is time for me to pack it in and head to bed at the granny hour of 9:30. We have to be up in the morning to head into South Africa for a visit with some of their friends. The big game park Kruger is up that direction and we're staying overnight so we can drive through on the hunt (figuratively of course) for big cats, elephants, rhinos, and so on. I can't wait.

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto

I officially entered my screenplay into the Nicholls Competition. I wasn't going to since I didn't have time to re-write it but my sister threatened my life and she scares me, so I did it. It was oddly scary uploading it and pushing 'send.' Now I'm going to forget about it and move on.

I've been insanely busy lately. My social life is going crazy and with school nearing an end I'm trying not to lose my mind. My friend Brady's wedding is coming up soon as well and needing to pack and finalize everything is pushing me to panic. Who thought another 6 week trip would be a good idea? Oh right, it was me. But Paris for 4 weeks is nothing to complain about and neither is hitting my 4th continent. I just can't wait until all the insanity is over and I'm flying blissfully along 35,000 feet in the air.

I took a Myers-Briggs personality test tonight because Shannon was curious. This is a very appropriate part from my ENFP/J scoring.

"ENFJ's are so externally focused that it's especially important for them to spend time alone. This can be difficult for some ENFJs, because they have the tendency to be hard on themselves and turn to dark thoughts when alone. " So on that note...

Its almost 2am and I am driving myself slowly insane. If you could look inside my head it would look like the initial tornado scene from The Wizard of Oz. Instead of cows and barn doors swirling around, its random thoughts whooshing by me so fast I can't grab ahold of even one long enough to examine it and put it away. The personality test was so accurate it was scary. If you'd like to know about me type in ENFP into google....ENFJ was a close second.

I always knew I would be punished for certain sins by the whole karmic system, so I have been on the lookout for how said punishment would be dealt to me. I think I've spotted what it is... slow death by torture. Meaning I am going to have to wait and wait and wait and wait and WAIT for what I really want. Which, we all do, that's not the worst of it. The punishment part is that life tied me to a chair and then promptly began dangling what I want right in front of me. So close, yet so far away, has never been more appropriate.

Random thought from an insomniac sci-fi nerd: The best thing about Battlestar Galactica besides the total deliciousness that is Lee Adama, is that they promptly knock-off all the desperately annoying characters in two episodes or less.

Also, it would be fantastic if people came with 'off' switches. Not really a switch but more like some sort of internal timer, maybe on your arm. You program in 'Wake up 7am' and BEEP...with one touch you're out like a light. Promptly at 7am the next morning, BING, you wake up completely rested and refreshed. No bleary, crusty eyes. No grogginess. No crusty remnants of drool in the corner of your mouth. No snooze button required. Just awake and ready to go, chipper and cheery. I should have a chat with God about his blueprints.