another boring day in PE :)

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Today, I did my first 10k! I did the Urban Run. It had 17 different obstacles that ranged from jumping over traffic dividers to crossing a river in hip deep water. We crawled through tubes, up a wall, jumped over things, went under things, walked through rivers, ran up tons of stairs, ran up the ramp of a parking garage. It was intense!! However, I did it! This was my first run and I loved it, the atmosphere was so great! Everyone was so encouraging! I want to do another one when I get home. I read about a zombie run that looks great!!! Not much to report about it except that I did it!

Face Adrenaline

On Saturday, September 8th, I bungee jumped off the world's tallest commercial bungee jump in the world. 216 meters of pure, terrifying bliss. We left our place around 8:45 in the morning and started out journey. We had been driving maybe 5 minutes when a car next to us honked and told us that we had a flat tire. TIA(This is Africa) I have never had a flat tire in my life and since coming here, I have had 3! We stopped at the gas station, where the attendants filled up the tire and search for a reason that it would be flat. They did not find anything and assume it was just low. So, we started again! This time there were no hitches in our plan and we arrive. We had planned for arrive early and wait for my friends family, because were were jumping with her brother, but upon arrive, we found out there were already there and he was waiting on the bridge. This was becoming all to real for me!!! Seeing the bridge was scary enough, let alone jumping off it!

 After paying, there is no turning back. They weigh you to make sure you get the correct rope, which was not a fun experience for me. Then they take you over to get your harness.

I was already terrified, while getting the harness     put on!

Despite being scared, I was ready!

We then walked the walk of death to the bridge, I can say I was having to control my breathing at this point, because I was so scared!!!

The walk could be seen as scary, however I was preoccupied. The bottom was see through, so you could see the long fall to the bottom. 

We finally made it to the bridge, then we had to wait until our number was called to jump. After much waiting and pacing and whimpering it was my turn. 

This was what I had been looking at the whole time, being terrified. 

I actually chickened out the first time I went up there. I over thought and refused to jump, I was saying things like "I can't do it. You can have my money, I will give you more money to not make me do it! Please, I can't" But then all the workers and my friend kept telling me that I had to do it, that I would regret it if it didn't do it. I knew that I wanted to do it, but was so scared. Finally, the last person was up and the worker came and said "Ok, this is the last one, we can change the rope and you can go" So, I mustered all the courage I could find and said OK. I hopped up to the front, closed my eyes, and said "Ok...just push me!!!!" And....

It felt nothing like I expected. I thought it would feel like a roller coaster, where you stomach drops, but  you don't really feel anything. Also, your perception of how far the ground is, is completely different. You can't tell that your really getting closer when your on the cord. The inicial jerk of the cord doesn't hurt either, the elastic absorbs all the pressure so it is really all one fluid motion. The worse part was hanging upside down. My ankles hurt where I was being suspended. I guess better tight than loose and me fall to my death! Finally, the worker was coming to collect me. I was grabbing on to him saying, "ok pull me up, pull me up" and he was just calm and said "please dont grab me". Looking back that part was pretty comical. 

When I got to the top, everyone was cheering and my friend told me all the workers kept looking at me and saying "She's smiling! She's smiling!", because they knew how terrified I was. 

In the end, I am so glad that I did it! I can't say if I would do it again, but I can for sure say that I jumped off the tallest bungee jump!!!

and just a dash of stress

I haven't posted in a while so today I guess I will just ramble to keep myself up with blogging. I wrote my first test last week and got a B! I was surprised when I saw the score because I completely studied the wrong material, well not completely, but I didn't study the correct part of the chapter. Then on a low note, we had a test on Monday and I thought it was on Wednesday, so I missed it completely. I had to go talk to the professor and he is allowing me to take the "special test" that will happen in two weeks. I think it is odd to not have the test during the class period that you attend. They schedule the test for 6 pm in a different room. It is very confusing, especially when they send you 4 different emails about the change. It got to the point that I didn't know if Monday was the the original time for Wednesday. Ugh T.I.A.
Today, I got my first tutorial assignment back. It was just a short essay dealing with the approaches of ethics in journalism. I did well 47/50 with a remark of "excellent work!" I would say that I am pretty satisfied with that! Also today,  we had a test in conflict management that I have been studying all weekend for. It ended up being a choice between two questions and you just had to write your answer. I was the first one done. I always get nervous when I am first, did I miss something? is always the question running though my mind when that happens.
I will say that I am at a point of homesickness. I have been here 4...5? I think 4 weeks and I really do miss my family, friends, UNI, and just the States. This experience has shown me that I really should value what I do have, because some places just aren't like home. Everyone started classes and I wish I could see their faces on campus. Every day is better with getting over the homesick.
My daily work outs are definitely helping me cope, they just allow me to de-stress and calm down after a stressful day of "WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?!" and  "WHO DOES THINGS LIKE THIS?!". My southport family also keeps me sane, they are pretty much the stability to the whole situation.  I am fortunate to get to be living with such a good group of people. They have already exposed me to some things that I never even thought about. It really is nice being surrounded by people nothing like yourself. You learn a lot about yourself and your limits, which is probably a positive for me.
Another thing SA is teach me is patience, which I lack in most cases. It is very hard for me to just let go and let things happen. By the time I get back I will be so chill, it'll be ridiculous!

look out for flat tires and sharks

Well, I finally have something to write about! This weekend 4 others and myself traveled the 9 hour drive to Cape Town! I will give the break down of events for your reading pleasure.

Wednesday: I went to class in the morning until 1then came back to Southport to pack. We did not end up leaving PE until around 4. There was some waiting, but we finally headed out. As we were driving, the girl who booked everything was calling our backpackers (hostel to you probably) to double check on our reservation. They did not have our reservation even though she had been emailing the owner back and forth and booked everything. So, he was calling other backpackers to see if they had room and they did not. This was one of many speed bumps we encountered on our trip. We decided to stay in Mosselbaai (Mossel Bay). There, we got rooms at a back packers that was a train, converted into a hostel!

 It was so neat the way it was set up. It was literally just a stationary train. There were showers, toilets, and rooms. it was so cool.

 This is the bed. there were windows on one side, the sliding door on the other, and luggage racks on top!

Thursday: The hostel was located directly across from the beach, so we got to wake up to this...

After getting up, we ventured around and found a restaurant, which also had an amazing view!

 The restaurant we ate at is on the right in the photo below this one.

After eating we went SHARK DIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so neat!!! The water was pretty murky, because the waves were so big that day. In fact, the waves were so big we almost couldn't go! While riding the boat, it felt like a roller coaster, going down off the swells.

 This is the harbor our boat, "The Shark Warrior" took off from!

 This was just a big boat.

 Here she is, the cage of death!!! Seriously though, they redid the cage to have smaller openings. Also, you couldn't pur your hands on the outside bars, because the shark could "bump" into them and cause serious damage!

 Oh the open sea!

 Seal Island!!!

 Thar she blows!

 We encountered 6 different sharks that day!

 DA DA.....

 We were not in the cage for this one, which was unfortunate. The sharks were so close to the cage, but we couldn't see them because the swells were making the water extremely murky.

 DA DA....

 DA DA.....

 They were so big, it was insane!!

 We suit action!

 He is not throwing up in this picture, although it looks like he is...

The wetsuit was soooo hard to put on. It took another person to help me to get it all the way on all of my extremities!

After shark diving we started the last leg of the journey to Cape Town. This part was full of mountains and yellow fields. It was beautiful scenery.

 We finally arrived to Cape Town around 9:30-10ish. We checked into our backpackers, which had 4 people written down instead of 5, then set off in search of some food. We went to a restaurant called Momma Africa. They had a live band playing, the decor was awesome, and the food was good. I got the chance to try ostrich, which is soooo good!!!

Friday: We went and saw penguins, Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. The penguins were so cute and the capes were so beautiful!

 Looking out from Cape Point!

 Good to know that New York is only 12,541!

 There were wild ostrich just running around out here!

 peck, peck, pecking away!

 Just stunning!

 Yes, I am climbing this.

 Yes, I made it.

 Ah, sexy.

 I'm flying!!!

 Everyone in the background screaming "BE CAREFUL!!"

 Don't mind the finger in these pictures.

So, these people left their car door open and the baboons found out. They jumped in their car, took food, and refused to get out. Finally they were chased away, but I am sure those people will close their doors from now on.

Later Friday night, we went out and had a few drinks. We didn't do much that night, because of the long day we had had.

Saturday, we did the wine tasting. I was not a fan of wine before, but I must say, when you find the right one, it is quite delicious. We went to 4 vineyards. The first focused on champagne and the rest with red and white wines. Some we got to try locally made olive oil and another had cheese samples. It was great!!!

   After a long day of drinking, we went back to the backpackers and rested for a spell. Then we got up and went out to eat. We picked an Indian restaurant. The food was good, until we got the bill. We only had large bills and couldn't break them to pay. We asked the guy working there if he could break them, but he refused. Once we got the bill payed, he freaked out on us. We offended him by not giving him a better tip. Well, we didn't have the bills to give a "good tip". I tell ya, I'll give him some tips on how to treat customers. After dinner we went out on the town again. It was fun. We went to a chill bar, sat, played games and just enjoyed each others company.

Sunday: We got up around 9 am to leave, a few girls went to get the car and the found the car with a flat tire. We took the car to a gas station and they changed the tire to the spare. Everyone assured us that the spare would be alright to drive our 9 hour drive back to PE on. Everything was going great on the way home. We stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Wilderness, we were feeling nice and full and ready to get home. After leaving Wilderness, we hear this huge pop! Yes, the spare tired....had pretty much exploded. So, we were 5 girls in the middle of no where, on a highway, at night. We called the guy we rent the car from and he eventually sent someone to change our tire. Once all this happened we were on the road again about an hour later. I was sleeping the car after that. I was exhausted from all the 'excitement' of those two consecutive events. I had never experienced a flat tire until this day and here, we have two of them!!!

All-in-all it was a great trip. I got to bond with the other Southport people and see more of South Africa. I will say that I was missing our little flat in PE though.