I am happy to be back home in the U.S. because...

Olivia: I missed my car and driving on the right (and correct) side of the road. And I missed my family, I guess ;)
Tommy Collins: I missed my family.
Meaghan: I missed seeing green grass outside of my window, I suppose.
Connor: I missed central heating!
Katie: I missed carpet in my room.
Emily: I missed my family and my Honda Pilot named Howard!
Maddie: I missed my Jetta! and my family and my dog and Chipotle and STARBUCKS <3
Mr. Kline: I need to catch up on all of the shows on my DVR.
Nick: I missed my Jeep, my bed, my family and friends, and heating.
Nathan: I have work to do at home.
Ted: the nights are warmer and everyone speaks English and only English :)
Simon: there is no slang and everything is measured in pounds and feet.
Lauren: I missed my family and friends, plus I have work!
Miss Anderson: I missed my friends and family and the nice summer weather!
Tommy Cardaman: I get to see my doggies and lie in my own bed and listen to some quality 91.5 or 104.9 FM.

I love South Africa because...

Olivia: I met my long lost South African sister finally! Teran :)
Tommy Collins: of the friends that I made.
Meaghan: the people are chill, the landscape is beautiful, and I became trilingual (yay Afrikaans!)
Connor: of the massive amount of lions.
Katie: everyone is amazing and made the trip unforgettable.
Emily: the people are so nice and friendly.
Maddie: of all the people and friends I made. And their accents and slang :)
Mr. Kline: it is a beautiful country with beautiful people.
Nick: I got to embrace a new culture with new people and really got a feel for how different people view our world.
Nathan: I got to meet new friends and family and I experienced a different culture, but most of all because I learned more about myself.
Ted: I met so many awesome people whom I will never forget.
Simon: of all the new friends I have made here and the amazing experiences I have had.
Lauren: the friendly people here are so welcoming. The land is absolutely STUNNING! The culture is quite unique, yet similar to America.
Miss Anderson: so many different cultures collide, the landscape is incredible, and the people here are so warm and friendly.
Tommy Cardaman: I love the lake, sky, land & trees; A-F-R-I-C-A for me!

home sweet home!

after 31 hours in airports and on the plane, we are finally back in cleveland! thank you to all of the parents, families, and friends who followed us on our adventure! we are looking forward to seeing our new friends in just 6 weeks :)

27 hours later...

we are in atlanta! customs/immigration here are a little stressful. there were several flights coming in the same time as us, plus anyone on our flight that missed a connection had to rebook. we are now on the 4:20 pm flight (awaiting seat confirmation) and should be landing at 6:10 pm. we are all excited to get home and shower and sleep in our own beds!

Oliver Tambo Airport

Left for airport: flight on time
Arrive at airport: flight delayed 1 hour 40 minutes (9:40 instead of 8:00 departure)
Get checked in: flight delayed 3 hours 35 minutes (9:40 to 1:15 AM)
Get through security: flight delayed 25 minutes (1:15 to 1:40)

Gotta love international travel...

Day 12: Pilanesberg

For some of us, the day started at 5:30 to watch the sunrise! Others chose to sleep in as long as possible because it was COLD! It was much colder than it was in Irene. We had a delicious breakfast of omelets and porridge and started our adventure to Pilanesburg.

We left at 8 for our 1 hour drive (which turned into 2 hours) to Pilanesburg. Pilanesburg is located in the North West Province, just adjacent to Gauteng. It is actually in an extinct volcano and is one of the largest parks in South Africa. Most of the animals appear at sunrise, but there was no way that we could get up that early to drive out there. There are actually quite a few animals that can be seen in the afternoon as well, so we decided to take our chances. The girls were a fun group to ride with- they sang along with the radio the entire ride. I must, however, say that by the end of this trip, I will be sick of the Lazy Song (Bruno Mars), Party Rock Anthem (LMFAO), and On the Floor (J. Lo) because that's all that they play here!!!

Mrs. Klopper made OUTSTANDING guides for everyone with a wildlife checklist and gave us mammal guide books to help with our safari hunt. We turned it into girls vs. boys and we were very competitive! Little did we know that the boys weren't quite as intense as we were- we still take pride in the fact that we won :) We saw tons of impala and other antelope, blue wildebeests, giraffe (with some little ones!), warthog families, springbok, zebras, and several white rhinos. Unfortunately, no lions or elephants! Everyone enjoyed seeing all the animals in the wild and looking at all the pretty birds.

When we got back, it was very dark and very late. We quickly ate dinner and had an astronomer come visit. He gave us a presentation on the planets and the stars, then we got a chance to observe through a telescope. The sky is so clear in the country! We looked at Saturn, the "Jewel Box," Alpha Centuri stars, Southern Cross, Butterfly Nebula, and other points of interest. It was beautiful.

In the morning, we will wake up early to head back to CHC. We will have the afternoon to say goodbye to our host families, then be on our way back HOME to the States!!!

Day 11: Lesedi and Maropeng

Last night we had our farewell dinner at Moyo's. It's hard to believe that we are already winding down our 2 week stay in South Africa! We arrived for dinner at 7 and it looked so pretty all lit up. There were little firepits everyone and nice fireplaces inside. We had the entire upstairs area for 70 people- all 27 students, their parents and siblings, plus a few teachers from CHC. Mr. Simpson welcomed everyone, Ted gave a great thank you speech, and one of the teachers from CHC, Mr. Venter, said a prayer. Moyo's set up an outdoor grill area with a buffet and it had ALL the traditional South African food: grilled steak, lamb, and fish; pap with sauce, couscous, pumpkin with brown sugar, roasted vegetables; malva pudding, koeksisters, cheesecake, and chocolate mousse. We wrapped up around 9:30 to rest up for our next day- which would start early and be very busy.

We met at school at 7:30 and said our last goodbyes to the other CHC students. We loaded 2 buses- 1 for the girls, 1 for the guys- and packed up a trailer for all our stuff. By 9 we arrived at Lesedi Cultural Village. Lesedi means "place of light." The premise is like that of Burton Century Village- family run with actors for each village wearing the traditional dress. In each tribal village we were greeted in their respective language.

As we walked in, we were welcomed by the music of drums and marimbas made from wood keys and gourds. There were shops in front with all handmade beadwork- we watched them make everything from necklaces to keychains. Our guide brought us into a large hall to watch an introductory video on the history of the tribes in South Africa. Lesedi focuses on the Zulu, Basotho, Xhosa, and Pedi tribes. Fun fact: one of our bus drivers is Pedi, so he really enjoyed our morning! After the video, we watched them perform traditional Zulu songs and dances. It was SO COLD and they were all in costume- just animal skins for the most part! They tried to get Tommy Collins' host, Darryl, to dance... once you get to know Darryl, you'll know EXACTLY why that was the wrong person to pick :) They ended up getting Simon's host, Michael, up there and he did so well!

At each village, we learned about the meeting place, traditions of the tribe, what they wore, the typical food, where the cows were kept, how the kitchen/fire was set up, if the tribe was peaceful, etc. I could go on and on about each, but we'll leave it at that. What the kids, nevermind- the boys, found the most interesting was how "expensive" wives were- the Zulus only paid 11 cows for a wife, but the Pedis had to pay 13 cows! Unbelievable :/ Everyone listened intently and learned a lot. Several students even ate DRIED CATERPILLARS at the Pedi village! It really was a fun morning. We ended it with lunch and a chance to look at all the shops.

In the afternoon, we made our way to Maropeng. Maropeng is the location for the museum/exhibitions at the Cradle of Humankind. We had the opportunity to stay at the educational accomodations there- the Hominid House. When we checked in, we had about an hour and a half to relax and explore before our tour. The Hominid House has 2 cabins with bunk beds for boys, 2 cabins for the girls. They are joined together by a covered picnic area with a kitchen and a grassy space complete with a fire pit and volleyball net.

We walked up to the Maropeng visitor's center for food and the shops. They had amazing ice cream there and the kids loved this candy that I can only really compare to stale Froot Loops. Weird, but I guess it grew on them. Once we were all there, we started our tour. Our guide was awesome and had the same name as the museum- Maropeng means "coming home." He was energetic and knew how to relate to our students. Before going inside the museum, we learned about Little Foot and Mrs Ples, the two most famous human fossils in South Africa. We also saw replicas of the common dinosaur fossils found here.

The Maropeng center is an impressive building- 3 story lobby with a large fountain in the middle. We went downstairs for the first part of the visit, a "boat ride" (I use this loosely) through the elements of water(ice), wind, earth, and fire. After that, we walked through the Big Bang, a short, spiraling tunnel that some of us felt the need to go through more than once :) There was a short presentation on the origins of the Earth, from the gases to Pangaea to Laurasia and Gondwana, etc. From there we saw exhibits ranging from mitochondrial DNA to joint structure to teeth (why being an omnivore led to greater brain and muscle development) to extinctions. Then it left us with where we are going. There is a world population counter at the end and Nelson Mandela's handprints" "It is in your hands to make a difference." What are we doing for our future?

There was BEAUTIFUL landscape around us once we left the museum- we all took lots of pictures. Many of us got more ice cream, then walked back to hang out until dinner. There was a volleyball game, some rugby, reading, and several students made bracelets with a kit that Mrs. Klopper brought. I had an awesome talk with Tommy Cardaman and Nathan about anything and everything, including what we thought about the museum, our families, and our future plans. That's one of the things that I love most about these trips- really getting to know your students on a completely different level. I hope it makes me seem a little more human instead of just being their teacher! We watched the sun set over the savanna, some of us from large rocks or tree branches. It was gorgeous and it was incredible how we all just watched without even talking to one another.

We had dinner and made a fire. There were several games of "Mafia." Meaghan played her ukelele and we all sang songs, which was a lot of fun. The students had planned a rave, but it was cut short when the speakers they brought kept cutting in and out. Despite the abrupt end to the party, we all had a very enjoyable and educational day!