Swaziland and Kruger - June 2004

Sunday, June 20
I really like Swaziland. It's funny how different it feels from South Africa. You can definitely get the sense that you're in a different country. I really like the Swazi people as well. They seem very friendly and helpful. And they're all so attractive! Today we kicked off the day at a Baptist church in Mbabane, which wasn't too exciting since I may as well have been back in the States. The service was just like those I attended my whole life. The trip into town afterwards, though, was neat because we were able to see just what makes Swaziland different from South Africa. It was clear that the country is a little more prosperous overall; there were houses everywhere and not a shantytown in sight. It was certainly more integrated as well. I saw multiple interracial couples walking around and many white, black, and coloured children all playing together. Much safer too. Much much better than Shady D. Plus our hotel rocks! It's so nice! All in all, liking Swaziland quite a lot.



Monday, June 21
Final exam day! The class is already over! Which is amazing because it flew by. I think I did really well on the exam. I just had a good feeling about it. Before the exam, a few of us went to the market along the highway, and I bought a bunch of stuff. Swazis suck at bargaining though. As in they won't do it. They're stubborn even when the quoted price is exorbitant. For dinner, we had a traditional Swazi meal and Chase's friends explained the structure of the monarchy to us. That fascinated me. The whole idea of a monarchy fascinates me, but throw in 600 half-siblings and tales of various wives and it was so cool. Tomorrow is time to leave already. Didn't we just get here?

Tuesday, June 22
Today was the trek back into South Africa, but before we said goodbye to Swaziland for good, we visited a glassblowing factory and drove for a few hours through the gorgeous Swazi countryside. Swaziland is really an absolutely beautiful country. After crossing the border, we drove to Nelspruit to do our last interviews. Now that class is over and the interviews are finished, this here journal and a final reflection paper are all that's left to complete... I still can't get over how fast this month went. We arrived this afternoon at the single coolest hotel I have ever stayed at. We are right next to the Kruger Gate and there are monkeys running around everywhere, an electrical fence running around the compound, and an observation deck from where you can see into Kruger itself. Saw some cafe buffaloes in the distance when we got here. Can't wait for the safari. Before dinner, checked out Peter's mansion of a chalet and went on the funnest bus ride ever. [We played the South African hip hop song, "Living in the Ghetto," about 25 times in a row while driving to buy some booze from a sketchy sketchy sketchy bottle shop. Hahaha.] Enjoying the hotel, anxious for Thursday.

Wednesday, June 23
Well, the day certainly started off right. Slept in till 11:15. Woohoo! Had our exit interviews, which were nice because, let's face it, who doesn't like hearing nice things about themselves? In the evening, we visited the Shangana cultural village which was probably my favorite village of the three. It was just neat that the village was actually inhabited and wasn't simply a re-creation. Plus, the show about the history of the Shangaan was pretty cool and the food was excellent. Tonight was the first night it really hit me that I am in the Southern Hemisphere, not near home at all. For some reason, tonight I noticed the stars and realized the constellations were totally different. I found the Southern Cross before I even knew what it was and also this constellation that looked like a fish or a scorpion or something. Whatever it was, it had a tail. I need to look it up when I get home. Plus I could see the Milky Way! Pretty cool all around. Gotta get up at 5:00 tomorrow for Kruger, so off to bed.

Thursday, June 24
Yay for Kruger!!! Today was one of the coolest days ever. We saw so many amazing animals, and they were all wild! We managed to see three of the Big Five: the rhino, elephant, and buffalo. No lions or leopards unfortunately, in fact no cats or dogs of any kind which was kind of sad. But the stuff we did see was awesome. Siska was a great guide, full of cool information and whatnot. We saw the rhino, elephant, giraffes, and zebras all within the first hour and a half. Giraffes are the best animals ever! They are so weird but so beautiful. Seeing a giraffe run was a highlight of my day. There were impala everywhere in huge herds and at one point we saw a male try to mate with a female and she rejected him 3 times, the last time tossing him onto his back. It was hilarious! There were these really pretty blue birds with creepy yellow eyes called glossy starlings that hung around at breakfast, which of course freaked Ranti out [girl was terrified of birds]. Then there were warthogs, monkeys, baboons, the ground hornbill (of which there are only 1500 left in all of Africa and only 200 in Kruger), wildebeest, a puff adder (one of the most venomous snakes, that moved almost as if on feet), kudu, crocodiles, iguanas, hippos, and the leopard tortoise, which is one of the Little Five and which Siska said we were very lucky to see because they are supposed to be in hibernation at this time of year. Some highlights besides the giraffes: sitting only a few yards away from an old one-tusked elephant with an eye infection, watching a baby elephant run braying towards the other Jeep and hearing Mark and the girls scream, seeing any type of baby animal (elephants, monkeys, crocs, giraffes), the various attempts at mating by impala and monkeys, the discovery that zebras seem to be friends with every other species that don't want to eat them. I'm exhausted now but today was fantastic and went by so fast. Can't wait to come back someday and catch a glimpse of the final Big Two.

Friday, June 25
Well hey, it's the last journal entry! Not much to say since today was another one of those days in which we just spent a lot of time on the bus. I'm definitely getting excited to go home, though. And I just went broke buying my sweatshirt from Laura, so financially I'm ready to leave for sure. Not looking forward to the plane ride, but looking forward to the arrival!