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!!!