I am finally a part of "civilization" and can access internet, although very limitedly.

I am going to give you a short break down of my activities over the last three weeks,
but I will prep it with...I <3 Africa.

So the first place we started was called Ezemvelo nature reserve in Northern South
Africa. The first day there we saw 2 white rhino just walking around in the savanna.
There were also tons of zebras (pronounced zAbra), impala, kudu, gemsbok, ostriches, and
monkeys everywhere. They just walk around like 2 feet away from you. They even broke into
some peoples huts. They can open doors, windows, anything. They are nifty little guys. We
stayed in these really cool brick huts with thatched roofs. There were three beds on the
ground floor and a loft with two beds. I stayed with a really cool group of 4 girls who I
hang out the most with right now. We had a ton of lectures at Ezemvelo because they had
to introduce us to everything. I have been learning stats, biodiversity, history and
culture, all kinds of crazy stuff that I have never experienced before. It is actually
pretty strange because there are 23 kids and 5 professors. We sit in a room and have
discussions. It is not formal in any way, in fact our professors drink with us after
class is over. There were two experiences that really stand out in my mind about
Ezemvelo. The first is that we went out on a game drive where we rode in the back of pick
up trucks (buckeys) and we saw an ostrich mating dance. The male was bent down and just
flapping his wings incessantly. Then he would stop and move a little bit closer and
repeat the process all over again. We didn't actually see an mating because they female
eventually ran away but it was still a cool sight. The second experience that stands out
is we went horse back riding through the savanna. It was beautiful just to take in all
the environment with no touch of human civilization. We were at Ezemvelo for about ten
days and they we moved along on our trip to Hamakuya.

The ride was about 10 hours. We were all squished into these big astro van type vehicles
that fit 12. They have no shocks at all and are super uncomfortable. Looking through the
windows was an amazing site. There are huts on the side of the road and people selling
anything you can imagine. It was everything I ever pictured about rural SA and more.

We arrived in Hamakuya which is in the Limpopo province basically bordering Zimbabwe. In
fact we saw Zimbabwean refugees multiple times during our stay. We got there super late
at night and were assigned these huge tents to sleep in. We had 7 people per ten but
these were huge tents. They were built on rafters over a river with wood floors and a
bathroom installed. That night we were all exhausted and fell asleep right away and we
were rudely awakened by the most obnoxious wind I have ever heard. I felt like I was in
the wizard of Oz and my tent was blowing away. Then we got into the "meat" of Hamakuya.
It is a rural village that was allotted to the Venda tribe during apartheid. These people
live in mud huts with floors made of cow dung. The only electricity they have is through
solar power (and those are the richest of the rich). Their bathrooms are holes in the
ground surrounded by tin walls. We did home stays in groups of 4 students to one family
and a translator. It was the most amazing experience of my life. These people wake up at
4 am, carry wood, water, all with babies tied to their backs. They have no money at all
and nothing to their names except maybe a few chickens. Some of them had literally never
seen a white person before. The first time I interacted with children they were rubbing
my arms. One of the professors later told me that they were trying to see if the white
was going to rub off. They would jump on us, hold our hands, and basically try to get any
contact possible. We didn't shower for three days and I had never been so filthy in my
life. While were there we dressed up in traditional Venda minuendas (feel free to look it
up online). In the village I stayed in they had a big tribal ceremony for us. They
danced, sang, drummed, it was amazing. The experience was also a great lesson in
humility. They laughed at every word that came out of our mouths and most of our actions.
They thought I had midget feet and they especially laughed at the way we danced. They
would play music for us, point, say "dance", and they keel over laughing. I didn't care
at all though because it was so moving to see how these people live and take part in
their culture. You will all be very proud to know that I ate fine there. I actually ate
one of their traditional delicacies, Mopani worms. They were disgusting but I ate them!
After the home stays we went back to the research camp with tents. I was keen on meeting
with a Witch doctor so I asked one of the program directors if he could set up an
appointment. He gladly did and I went to go see him on Wednesday morning. It was nuts. I
was brought into his hut with all kinds of roots and leaves and incense. He would ask me
questions and then do these weird twitching things. He told me that he saw my problem and
had a solution. My problem was that my system was unclean So i drank a couple sips of
that stuff the next day and the results are soon to come...

On Thursday we moved on to the next site where I am now called Shingwedzi research camp.
We are now officially in the Kruger National Park. We drive everywhere in these huge game
vehicles which are soooooo cool. Basically since I have been taking the witch doctor
medicine I have gotten incredibly sick. It was supposed to "cleanse my system". It
cleansed way too much and I decided not to continue because I was getting too sick.It is
annoying to be sick but it hasn't been a huge problem. All the professors and students
have been super supportive. At Shingwedzi so far I have seen 4 elephants, tons of impala,
zazu from the lion king, buffalo, wildebeest, and crossing my fingers for some lions
soon. My group is some of the only people who will be able to get out of our game drive
vehicles and walk around. We will have a game guard with us at all times and we were told
we have to be prepared to run/climb a tree at any moment. Tomorrow will be our first true
day in the field and I am incredibly excited.

I have been taking tons of pictures but I can't upload them yet due to the limited
internet usage. I will try to sign on when I can. Shout me some emails I would love to
hear from you guys. Just some misc stuff. We have a decent amount of work, but nothing
that I am not going to be able to handle. The food has been delicious and I have been
eating a ton. The kids are super cool and I am creating a great bond with these new
people. Ok that is all I can think of at the moment. I feel like I left out so much but
my time is limited. I'll check back when I can!

...pictures to come in Skukuza!

Jamie