My Extreme Adventures of Week Two!

As soon as our bus got back to our apartments from petting cheetahs, I found out that I had to be up Sunday morning for surfing lessons followed by our champagne sunset cruise.

I was hesitant a first for signing up for surfing lessons, but Sunday morning at 11:30, seven others and myself hit the beach west of Cape Town to ride the waves. It was my first time wearing a wet suit… not so flattering lol. The worse part is not the first steps getting into the water; it’s when you get so deep in the water that it rushes down the back of your wet suit because you finally got deep enough in for it to go down the top of your wet suit. Talk about a wake up call!

As some of you might knew me well enough to know that I am a klutz, I had no problem catching the waves or even trying to get up. My problem was staying up on the board longer than 3 seconds. But a few times I succeeded triumphantly! It was such a rush!

After peeling off the wet suit after the 2-hour session, we made our way back to Laguna Beach (the nickname of our Lagoon Beach Apartments). We only had 45 minutes to get ready for the champagne sunset cruise (aka booze cruise). Surprisingly, I was one of the first females downstairs and ready!

The sunset over the water was amazing!!! The view was just perfect! The waves a bit not… several people got seasick, but luckily, my sea legs stood strong!

With 90+ American college students, it wasn’t a surprise the champagne didn’t last, but the views and the memories for the Sea Princess will. The waterfront is such a sight!

FYI: We had a group dinner that night immediately following the booze cruise. Well, one of my roommates got a little bit too drunk on the cruise, and embarrassing enough, she threw up on herself at dinner! Poor sweetheart! But don’t worry; we took care of the darling. She’s feeling better now. I’m just glad it wasn’t me J

Monday following class, several other students and I headed to the local desert. FYI: It’s the second smallest desert in the world. It was my first time in a desert.

The group split up, and I started off “quading” (aka 4-wheeling) throughout the dunes for about an hour. The view was so wonderful! We could see so many dunes, not a cloud in the sky, and beautiful Table Mountain in the background. We switched with the other group and took on sand boarding the dunes. IT WAS AWESOME! Minus the trek back up the dune! For some reason, my large heiny loved finding the ground at the end of just about every run. But sand boarding was one of the coolest outdoor activities I have ever done.

So Cristo, our adventure guide/helper/whatever you’d call him, abandoned our 4-girl group for the second time on the top of a dune for some reason. We decided to chill because it was a pain in the butt re-waxing the board ever other run, when all of a sudden, we noticed huge, massive clouds rolling in our way really, really fast. So we sat on top the highest dune we could make it to and watched as the white clouds gently but quickly rolled in all around us. First the sun disappeared in the sky, and then we couldn’t even see the dune right next to us. The coolest thing about the desert is the beautiful silence and the serene view. So, 4 girls, alone, engulfed in clouds, we took the moment in silence. It was beautiful. I have no other way of describing that moment with the 3 other girls, but I will never forget it.

The rest of the group somehow reappeared and we sand boarded for about another hour. Then after deciding sand was thoroughly enough in every crease of our bodies, we were ready to head home. I must have had enough sand on me when I got back to fill a sandbag.

My body was sore, and I haven’t had as many bruises on me since high school basketball, but it was worth every minute of the experience.

However, the real physical challenge was yet to come.

In one of the classes I am taking, we have had two lectures: the power of living and the power of giving. The third class is the power of wow. So the instructor contemplating what’s the “wowest” thing to do, decided we should hike Table Mountain at sunrise and have our lecture at the top of the mountain.

So, Wednesday, 6:00am, 104 students line up in the lobby, backpacks and water ready for this mountain of a task.

We run into some logistical trouble and catch the sunrise as our busses finally roll up to the trail, but nonetheless, the site was breathtaking.

We begin at 8:12am. Within the first 2 minutes my legs are burning like crazy; the steps on the trail were extra large. I don’t know how else to describe this hike other than a death march; it was brutal. But every time I took a break, I snapped a beautiful photo of the landscape. The higher we got, the less city we could see and the more the outline of the land began to show. My friend Helen and I kept pushing each other to the next boulder, to the next zig, so close to the top.

(Yea, that's what the trail was like THE ENTIRE TIME!!)

Typically, it takes people on average 2-2.5 hours to climb the mountain. At 9:40am, I reached the top! As you can see, that is less than two hours.

Immediately reaching the top, the brutal hike was one of the most rewarding things I have done physically in a long time. The view was indescribable.

(Why yes, I do know that I look like a Bad A$$.)

Got everything settled, more water, sat down, etc. Turns out our class lasted about 2 minutes long and the objective of the day was to create a bucket list. So, I found my own boulder out looking over the city and decided what I wanted to do before I kicked the bucket. It was a beautiful moment. 

Please, be jealous.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by noon and took a nap when possible. 

But I survived. I worked hard, and I climbed a mountain!

Love always,

Melissa

A Beautiful Day for Vineyard Tours and Cheetah Petting

My first Saturday in Cape Town and boy was it eventful! Today was one of the most beautiful days in weather history (in my reconciliation lol).

First up, we left our apartments late this morning to head towards vineyard country: Franschhoek. We traveled a little over an hour to reach this quaint town with spanish style villas spread all over the vineyard countryside. It was just beautiful! Our vineyard, Haut Espoir (French for High Hopes), was at the very end of the road... and up a very steep hill. But the views were breathtaking. The owners showed us the land and gave us history on the names of the land, the soil, the troubles they are encountering and much more. After spending about 20 minutes in the land, we soon rushed to the store house! Our first bottle was a special white wine that was crisp and sweet. Then we headed into where they store the barrels of wine for years and drank red wine straight from the barrel! It was so delicious! They explained how to properly taste, how to tell if a wine is good, how to pull from the barrel... the ins and outs. It was so cool! They guy, Nikki, who is the owner and his signatures are on all the bottles, was a bit hard to understand, but he worked in California for a while so his whole life has revolved around wine making!

Well on our way out how could I pass up buying the cheap wine? So of course I bought 6 bottles of wine! But they are not for myself! It's for family and friends back home to have a taste of beautiful South Africa.

Here is a few pictures from the vineyard:

So, not unlike me, I had not eaten breakfast before drinking that wine (6 glasses to be exact) so we went into the cute little town to enjoy a quick lunch. Several of my friends and I ate at a small French bistro... yum! We hopped back on the bus a headed to Spier resort, which turned out to be awesome! 

At Spier, there was a cheetah conservation with 16 cheetahs total! They were amazingly gorgeous!!! And for R100 (about $13.00) you could pet one yourself!!! and all the money goes towards the conservation. So without hesitation, I jumped right in! My beautiful cheetah's name was Choebi. He is a young male (about 11 months old) and will be going to American next year to a zoo! How exciting! He purred so loudly when I rubbed his back! His fur was sooooo soft as well! 

Here are a few pictures of my cheesing it up with Choebi and the other beautiful cats:

All in all, my first Saturday was phenomenal! This whole trip keeps getting better! 

Tomorrow (Sunday), I will be taking surfing lessons and then take a champagne sunset cruise! 

Have a great weekend! 

Love and Miss you all! 

Melissa

First Week... Already Life Changing

My first 5 full days in Cape Town have already flown by and my life has already been shaken to the core. 

On Monday, we had orientation to the program and to Cape Town. 104 students in a crowded room, still jet-lagged was pretty interesting at like 9:00am. Following the 2 hour orientation, we had a whirlwind tour of the city. The weather wasn't the best for us, but the sites were still beautiful. My pictures will be uploaded to my photobucket, which I will put the link up when they are ready for your viewing pleasure. Believe me... they will be a pleasure! The sites are beautiful! 

On Tuesday, our class was titled "Power of Living."We watched a movie called "Darius Goes West" which is about a boy who has Muscular Dystrophy. He had never left his county before in his life, and him and 12 of his friends take a bus to Los Angeles to try to get MTV to pimp his wheelchair. It's awesome, very awe-inspiring and will change your life. Speaking of changing your life....

Not more than 10 minutes following that video, Garret, one of the creators of Global LEAD, stood up and told us to pack spare clothing and our toothbrush because we were going to spend the night in a South African township. A little fyi about townships: they are South African slums and most of the people that live in these townships live off less than $1 a day. So it was our turn to experience life off $1 a day. 

My first thought: hell yes. My second thought: holy crap. I was so nervous but more excited than anything. So we traveled 45 minutes away to land ourselves in Sir Lowery's Pass. My host mother, Ms. Hannie, greeted my group as soon as we hopped off the bus with a big hug. She is such a wonderful woman and I am so lucky as to ever have met her!

My host family consisted of 5 children (we only met 4 because the oldest lives with the grandmother) and two parents. Nicolas, 19, is studying civil engineering in college; Ree-Anne, 17, is in her 12th year at Gorden High School (she is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen in my life); Clayton, 14, is a soon to be rugby star in high school; and little Miss Nicole, 9, is one of the most amazing girls in the world. Nicole was shy, and at first, we thought she was a boy (oops). But when she opened herself up, she is so funny, so sweet, and so wonderful. 

We were shown their comfy house, then taken to Ms. Hannie's mother's house where we played in the street with about 60-70 children until nightfall. Returning to the house, Mr. Nikki (the father) returned home from work at the library. We had a special meal of spaghetti mixed with rice made by Ms. Hannie. The family then sat around and we laughed and learned some Afrikaans (their language) until we were so tired and all fell asleep. Our family offered their beds for us to sleep in, but we refused and the 5 of us (Allie, AK, Megan, Andrew, and myself) all slept in the living room. I slept very well and woke up with the kids the next morning as they got ready for school. 

On Thursday we returned, but it was our day of service. We set up shop at the library where Mr. Nikki works. I painted spiderman, flower, and butterfly faces for a while, then turned to helping children make bead bracelets. When the arts and crafts area closed up shop (the nailpolish station was the hit of the day) we moved outside where a little girls named Victoria showed me some African handclap games. Children played soccer and rugby around the block. I kid you not when there was well over 100 kids playing with our group. Truly a rewarding experience. 

And today (Friday) we returned after a morning of class with the assignment of us cooking an American meal for them. Well, on the first night, Mr. Nikki told us he wanted "juicy American burger." And that is exactly what he got! I never ate a burger so big! Andrew and I made them extra large! AK worked on fries and melting marshmallows for rice crispy treats, and Megan was all over the salad. BEST BURGERS OF MY LIFE. 

Eating with the family and seeing how grateful they were for burgers and fries brought so much joy to my life. We also bought them toilet paper, a can opener, toothpaste, notebooks, pencil cases, etc. and they were so thankful for what we gave them. All they said was, "You are spoiling us." And I knew in my heart, they deserved more, which made every penny we gave worthwhile. 

We have one more visit with the family in a week and I cannot wait to see them already. Leaving was so sad, we were having such a great time with one another. I will miss the family this next week. Though the other half of the group went on adventure week this week, I think it was a blessing that this week was my service week. 

A few things I learned while at Sir Lowery's township:

1. These people laugh more, love more, and live more than any one person I know in the US of A. It truly was life awaking seeing how these people live, how much they laugh, and most importantly, how much they love. Yes, they may be poor to you, but these are the richest people I know. They barely have things to call their own, but they have more than that, they have love in their hearts and friends and family by their sides. 
2. They do not want your pity, they want another friend. They did not want to tell us sob stories about all they could afford. They wanted a listener to hear their passions in life. When I took notice of Ms. Hannie's plants, she lit up and told me how to speak to the plants every day. Or how some of the children never have anyone to play with and being their to light up there day was one of the most rewarding experiences.
3. Life is not something to wait for tomorrow for. Today is the day to start living and to live in the moment. The right now! 
4. I learned what the word community truly means. It's not those fancy suburbs with the fancy houses. It's when a child wanders into a house and the mother makes sure that child is taken care of (even is she has no idea the child's name). There were soup kitchens everyday in the community. And my family fed about 15 people the night they had fed us. They took care of one another regardless of... anything. 
5. Women are the strongest human beings. Do not dare argue this with me. What I saw 15 miraculous women do in 3 days, you cannot convince me otherwise. These women gave EVERYTHING they have for everyone else. Do you do that? Do you give all your money, all your time, all your heart everyday to make others' lives better regardless of how small or large? The women in these communities are what is keeping them alive. 

Yes, I learned much much more, but for now, this is plenty I am sure. 

If you haven't heard, I was sick for a few days, but feel up to pace again. I will try to blog more frequently so that they are not as lengthy. I hope you enjoy my stories. I have so much more to add to these, but honestly, I hate blogging. So enjoy what you get! 

Oh! By the way, on Wednesday a large group of ladies went eat at Mama Afrikas, a famous african restaurant where I tried OSTRICH for the first time.... it was delicious! A must when making it to CT! We had a great night out and met alot of people. But this week was all about the service! 

(FYI that's me on the beach watching the sun set over Table Mountain.)

Love and miss you all! 

Melissa

NYC in a New York Minute, Standing on top the world in Dubai, and Reaching Cape Town, the End of Africa

First, I would like to do is thank Sarah Ashey and Ross Adams for being such wonderful tour guides! I couldn't have had a better time in NYC or Dubai without yall!

Second, to my family: I made it to Cape Town safely and with all my luggage in toe! 

So now to what went down on my crazy 4 days of travel.

New York City:

When I first landing in NYC, I saw the skyline for the first time from the air at night: breathtaking! The lights of NYC are something in their own! I made my way to Sarah's dorm after waiting in an extremely long line for a taxi. I was hungry for dinner and Sarah took me around the corner to a some 24 hour diner. Well the Chef's burger was one of the most delicious burgers I have ever had! Following dinner, we walked a few blocks to the Brooklyn Bridge! Being on it for the first time was such a cool experience and brought a few movies to life! 

Getting back to Sarah's dorm, we bought a few 40s and had a fun night in her friend Manny's awesome room with a beautiful view of the city! The kids of PACE are pretty cool! 

The next morning, we woke up early, ate a quick breakfast at a small dinner (with homemade orange juice! yum!). I seriously cannot believe everything we did IN ONE DAY! It is seriously ridiculous! We kept looking at our watches in disbelief! But here's the things we did in this order:

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (saw a film crew!) to my first steps on Manhattan! Walked to Ground Zero, saw the plans for the new Freedom Tower. Took a New York subway to Central Park. Spent a while adventuring thru there. Came out by Columbus Circle, walked through the Theater District to Time Square. As we were sitting on the TCKTs (I think) sitting area watching some model posing for a photographer right in front of us, Sarah made a comment on how man cops on horses there were. Turns out they found a cooler in Time Square that they thought had a bomb in it and kicked us out of the square. It was crazy. 

So after being evacuated from time square, we stopped to grab a bite to eat in a New York pizzeria. I even folded it like the locals do.. which added to its deliciousness! 

After lunch, we went to the Empire State Building. When I reached the top, I had no idea it would be so quiet! But it was, and I think it added to the serenity of the breathtaking views. Seeing the city from the top helped me really grasp how big it really is, but how small it is too (lots of people on a small island). 

After ESB, we made out way to another subway station and went down to see Lady Liberty. As we got there, we saw the sculpture that used to sit in one of the twin towers' lobby and were entertained by street performers and boats that shook at an alarming rate as people were getting off. We ate ice cream on benches and peered out to the Statue of Liberty. 

Our last stop of the day (because we were exhausted and had walked like 70 blocks.. no joke) was to Wall Street where I saw the NY Stock Exchange bldg, where President George Washington took his first oath of office, and then down to 'grab the bull by the horns'. Funniest thing was old ladies grabbing its balls!

We jumped back on a train to Brooklyn, ate some Chinese, grabbed my stuff, and headed to the airport. Can you believe we did this all in one day??? I can't either! 

So at the airport, the lines were long, and when I was able to finally sit down to wait for my flight, I couldn't call my mom or boyfriend to say my last goodbye to them and America. But after an hour of trying, I got in touch with them! I miss them so much already!

Now on to the flight:

The flight was a highlight of the trip... What?? YES the flight was awesome as well! The 15 hours to Dubai from NYC flew by! What made my flight so special was this boy and his father:

This man is from Bangladesh and lives in Michigan. His son has downs syndrome. But every time he looked out the window, he kept saying "Bangladesh??!!" in hopes he was at his father's home country for the first time. I helped him find a new love for Cars and Chicken Little on the in-flight movies because his father "wasn't understanding it" as he said! At the very end, I switched seats with him so he could see Dubai as we landed in, and seeing him enjoy the lights made the experience better than seeing it out the window myself a hundred times in first class! It was truly a rewarding experience!

Dubai:
I found a new love in life, and that is Dubai! The people were so wonderful, everyone spoke English, and were so interested in my travels! Everyone... EVERYONE from the airport to my hotel were just amazing and diverse! I did not meet two people from the same country! The workers are from all over! So back to story time, I was a bit nervous that my hotel would be sketch, but it was quite the opposite! The men at the front desk made sure to take care of me! They gave me what they called "my princess room," which it was! It was on the top floor FACING THE PERSIAN GULF!!!! with a king sized bed and a plasma tv WHAT WHAT?!?!?! It was truly awesome! Here are some views from my room at night and in the morning:

So after I threw my things down, I went to the bell hop and got a taxi to take me meet Ross at the Dubai Mall. A few things to note about Dubai: it has the world's largest mall next to the world's largest fountains on the side of the world's largest building. Let me say that as we ate dinner right where the fountain show was, it was surreal to be seeing such a spectacular show next to the Burj Khalifah (tallest building in the world). Dinner and the show was great! Ross and Brenton (I hope I spelt that right) were great host! We talked about the culture and the city and their experiences, then I gave them an update on the US. It was truly a good time! After dinner, I was zipped up 126 floors to the observation deck of the Burj Kalifah (which isn't event the top!) They do everything big in Dubai! Even the way to the top was extravagant! Here's my favorite photo from the deck and of the Burj: 

And we thought New York was big! After I came back down from the top of the world, Ross and Brenton brought me back to my hotel. I took a shower and crashed out watching arabic music videos. I woke up around 5 the next morning. When I went to check out, the guys at the front desk asked me if I enjoyed my mini-bar, which I had not, but it was funny because they constantly had reminded me I had it the night before! On my way to the airport, I only wished I had more time to spend in Dubai! So maybe my next worldly adventure will be there? Who knows, but I'd say it's a MUST visit place. Here's an aerial view from take off the next day:

It was a bit foggy, but you can still see how much the Burj Kalifah towers the rest of the city! Oh Dubai, I will be back for you one day! 

My flight to Cape Town:

It was not as awesome as from NYC to Dubai, it was 9 more hours on a plane, and something that should be noted occurred. So there were two young French backpacking boys sitting next to me. After several hours of sitting and drinking water to stay hydrated, I had to pee... really badly. Well the French boys didn't get up for me to get out so I had to straddle out over these tall, lanky boys. On my way back into the seat, I was doing the same routine when my rather large heiny caught and broke one of the French boy's USB drive that was inserted into the headrest of the seat in front of him. They began speaking furiously to one another in French for about 20 minutes, I apologized about 100 times, but that was it... they HATED me. Needless to say, the last 5 hours of the flight were quite awkward and I felt bad, but I don't anymore. French boys are rude so there. HA.

Arriving in Cape Town:

The weather was dreary and rainy. The airport was small (leaving me to question what will happen in a month for the World Cup with the influx of people). It took me about 30 minutes to go through passport control. Finally, I grabbed my luggage and found my driver. We discussed futbol and rugby on our way to my apartment. Turns out next weekend is the biggest rugby match in the country taking place in Cape Town! I can't wait. But what I will end here on is the drive to my apartment.

I could barely see the monumental Table Mountain so I paid attention to my surroundings. The first thing I saw was a slum that went as far as I could see. Then, I saw another, and another. The only things I saw for the first five minutes of my drive were slums. THAT'S when it hit me. This trip is real. The people are real. Their poverty is REAL.

And I knew immediately, that when I go back to the US, I will not be the same person ever again. 

So mom, dad, Dean, siblings, family, and friends... the old Melissa is already on her way out. A much wiser, understanding, and experienced woman will see you guys on the other end.

As it is late here and I have class in the morning and this blog is already long as hell, I will put your misery to an end. Look for my next blog on my first few days coming soon. I hope you enjoyed my experiences. 

I love and miss you all!

Melissa 

1 Week till my adventure to Cape Town begins!!!

Disclaimer: This is my first blog ever, so please forgive me if it is just terrible.

I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to be traveling, but it doesn't seem real. I've been planning for this trip all semester long, and next week, it's finally here.

Here's the details of my trip for those inquiring:
The program is called Global LEAD (leadership, education, adventure, and diplomacy)
Check out their website: globalleadprogram.org.

My adventure begins with a 24 hour stop in the Big Apple to visit my lovely Sarah Rose Ashey, a roomate from Washington, DC last summer. I can't believe it's been a year since I have seen anyone from DC! There are 3 reasons why I am staying for a day: 1- it was the cheapest flight. 2- I have never been to NYC. 3- I love Sarah Ashey! She will be taking me on a blitz tour of New York and showing me all the touristy things. If you have any suggestions, I will try to squeeze them in as well!

On Friday, May 7th, my 15 hour flight to Dubai begins. I arrive in Dubai May 8th at 8:30pm. I have a hotel in the Bur Dubai area, and have a whole night to see the town. Don't worry, I won't be alone. I have a friend who has a friend that is currently studying there. So no, Granny, I won't wander alone.

Sunday morning is the last of my traveling for a month hopefully. I arrive in Cape Town that afternoon. I am so excited for my first sight of the bay and Table Top mountain! It's going to be gorgeous!

A little information about everything I will do while there:

• Cage dive with great white sharks (I will pee my wetsuit, I just know that will happen).
• Ride an elephant at a sanctuary
• Go on an real African safari! 
• Bungy jump from the world's highest bungy jump! 
• Hike to the southernmost point on the African continent (Cape Point)
• Go on a vineyard tour
• Go to a rugby match!
• Climb to the top of Table Top mountain
• Maybe see a practice Fifa game (can't go to Fifa because of Chicago)
• Live in a condo on the beach for a month! 
• Zip line!
• Go on a 4-wheel adventure
• Explore the Congo caves
• Visit Monkeyland

Amongst other things. Who know's what else I will try to do while there!
I hope it lives up to the hype and more. This summer will be the most amazing summer of my life, the only downer is I cannot share this summer with family, Dean, and friends. I will miss yall so much! That's why I'm blogging!

But in all seriousness, I will try to blog as much as possible and upload pictures when I can.
You can email me with any suggestions for things to do or just to say hey. I will still go on facebook frequently, I hope; so you can keep in contact with me there. But my stories are here. So get ready for some excitement!

Love always,
Melissa

FYI: This is Cape Town!!!