Mark’s Last Post
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
By Mark HeunHi Friends:
I hope you’re having a good time back in America. What are you doing in school? I’ve done all my homework!
We’re coming home tonight. I’ll see you on Friday.
Love, Mark
January 22, 2007 and January 23, 2007
By Christi BylsmaWe spent our last morning at Kruger Park splitting up; half of us went on a sunrise bush walk and the other half took a sunrise drive. We tried tracking a leopard, elephants and a water buffalo. Like yesterday, we saw plenty of animals adding zebras to the list. We even caught a glimpse of Dumbo and his family crossing the road as we left the park. The rest of the day was spent driving back to Jo-berg. Arriving at Emerald Guesthouse felt like coming home after the weekend away.
Today is our last day in South Africa. Everyone is packing, journaling, relaxing, soaking in the sun by the pool, or still trying to locate lost luggage from our first flight to South Africa. We will arrive at the FAC at 5 pm Wednesday evening. Please keep our travels in your prayers. Thank you for taking the time to read our stories and share in our experiences.
January 21, 2007
By Jeremy SchutToday was our earliest morning yet and was the first day of the walk through Kruger National Park. Eight of us students had to wake up and be ready to meet with our guides at petrol station at 4:15 in the morning and eight others would do the same the next day. Our guides and protectors’ names were Africa and Duncan. We all jumped in the land rover and were on our way before the sun began to rise. On the way we saw a hyena run across the road and a herd of five giraffes cross as well. Once we reached our destination we hopped out and listened to Africa explain the rules of the walk: Walk single file, the two rangers had to lead with their guns, stay quiet while walking, and no running away no matter what. On the walk we only saw a few animals, like impala, kudu, a white rhino and a young rhino skull, but we learned some great tips of the bush. We learned that rhinos have a designated bathroom area and use it to mark their territory. Also we were shown which plants could be used as toilet paper (the weeping wattle) and which plants had edible berries and had a stem that could be used as a toothbrush (the magic quarri). The walk was a great way to experience the bush without being confined to the vans. While half of us were on the walk the other half had the opportunity to go on a morning drive to spot some animals and they were quite successful and saw hippos, elephants, kudu, buffalo, giraffe, impala, waterbuck, and a chameleon.
In the late morning we all went down to the pool to lie out, swim and catch up on some journaling. Then we all gathered back together for a meeting and for a little worship service that we had put together. In the afternoon part of the group wanted to go for a run around Pretoriaskop, where we were staying. Others who didn’t go running had another opportunity to go for a drive for some game spotting. Right out of the gate we ran across some elephants. After snapping a few photos the elephant decided he was sick of us and began to charge us so we in turn decided that would be a good time to leave. In addition we also saw kudu, impala, rhino, and some hippos.
That evening we also had another great game spotting opportunity by doing a night drive. The drive was given by our new friend Duncan and proved to be very successful. The drive started out a little on the slow side spotting animals, which had become somewhat common to us now like, elephants, warthogs, and kudu. Then Duncan received a message on his CB and started to turn the land rover around so I asked him why we were going back and he said, “We are going to see some lions Jeremy.” The excitement was really kicking in now. After driving the area they were last seen and not finding them we ran across another land rover that took us to them. There they were, four lions lying and play fighting next to the road less then 20 feet away. There were three females and one male. Duncan explained that in the morning the lions had killed one of the baboons young and that is why the baboons were yelping in the direction of the lions from a mountainous rock a few hundred yards away. After taking tons of pictures we headed back out to continue our search for animals. We concluded our night excursion by spotting a bushbaby, an owl, and a few buffalo. A little stargazing in a perfectly black clear night sky after our evening meeting rounded out the evening.
Kruger National Park has been very eventful so far and we have seen amazing and exciting animals. To summarize:
Kruger Park fee: a few hundred Rands.
Going on a night safari: a hundred Rands
Seeing a pride of lions up close and personal: Priceless
There are a few things money can’t buy, for everything else there are student loans.
Jeremy Schut
Januray 20, 2007
By Justin BoldtThis morning we said goodbye to the friends we made in Kgautswane. Before we left, the opportunity to visit the chief presented itself. However, once we arrived we learned that the chief was out so his delegate greeted us instead. Each Calvin student presented a gift, we sang two songs, and then said our goodbyes. It was interesting to see the chief’s house because he had leather couches, a relatively large tv that was showing MTV, and nice drapes. His wealth in the rest of the communities’ poverty was striking.
As we packed up the vans, Mama Clara Masinga and all the wonderful women who helped to make our stay comfortable sang two traditional farewell songs. They requested that the professors give speeches, which was then followed by our singing (the 2nd time in about 3 hours), and then hugs all around. It was a very special time because although we were only visitors for two days, the people at Kgautswane truly welcomed us as part of the community.
Once we piled into the vans our group of 22 people, who hadn’t showered in more than 48 hours, set out for Kruger National Park. Psalm 19 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This verse struck me on the ride to Kruger because we rode through some of the most majestic scenery in South Africa. Although the ride was quite long, we saw towering mountains, miles of tall tress, and colorful new flowers. We stopped for lunch and all had take away pancakes, which we ate on the side of the road. After filling our stomachs, we got back in the vans for our final leg of the journey.
We pulled in to Kruger around 3:30 and were welcomed by lots of monkeys! We checked in and all went into our rondavels, which include air conditioning. Most people then rushed to the pool or to the showers and cooled off. Feeling much cleaner, we all met for dinner at seven. We were going to go to a take away spot, but it closed early, so we went to the nicest restaurant at our campsite. I think that everyone felt much better after being fed and there was lots of laughter around all the tables. We met in the boys rondavel to go over details for the next day and then all headed to bed. It was a great day of traveling and we are very thankful for another day of safe travels.
January 19, 2007
By Carlie PostToday was our first morning in Kgautswane, and we woke up at 7am on time for breakfast at what was set for 7:30am. We learned, however, that people in Kgautswane have two types of now: “now,” which means “somewhere in the fairly near future,” and “now now,” which means “right now.” We ate breakfast about 8:30am, but the guys played catch and the girls braided hair while we waited. Our meal included porridge, fat cakes (sort of like rolled up elephant ears), eggs, and tea. We have found a new passion for tea during our trip, and since it is a hot beverage, we know it is safe to drink.
After the meal, we traveled to two secondary schools. We did a little impromptu motivational “speechifying;” thanks to Jeremy and Stephanie, hundreds of high school kids in Mpumalanga will hopefully be extremely studious and successful! The interaction with the students at the second school was a little awkward and very overwhelming. All around us, kids shouted, “Shoot me! Shoot me!” They wanted their pictures taken. Some of the bolder guys hit on Calvin girls, which became slightly interesting.
Following the schools, we made a stop at the farm of local farmer Aubrey Johnson. He explained that he primarily farms maize and tomatoes, and that maize borers and red spiders are his most common pests. He also told us about how he is trying to grow his own feed. Other people don’t understand why he does this, but he explained that maize sells at about R1.20 per kilo right now, but beef sells for R28 or R30, so he hopes growing his own feed will be much more lucrative. Mr. Johnson and his son Owen looked like Barack Obama, and they were very gracious to us.
After the farm, we traveled to Mfarara Mfarara, a cultural village project of Kgautswane. Its goal is to recreate customs of the local Sotho people for the purpose of tourism. We were welcomed by a group of traditional dancers, young girls all dressed in matching pink outfits, led by older women playing instruments and dancing. Amanda and Emily danced a couple of songs with them. From there, we went on to eat a cultural meal, which consisted of fried chicken, rice, beans, fat cakes, pap, another African grain we were unsure of, a tomato-based sauce, a 1,000 Island-style sauce with beans, and some field corn on the cob, which Kate and a few others were brave enough to conquer. Many of us were happy this meal was accompanied by ice-cold Coca Cola. Our hosts were very kind and hospitable. We are getting used to being offered a basin of water in which to wash our hands, and the towel that follows it.
We continued our tour of the cultural village, where we observed young men playing a traditional game, young boys repeating recitations, and high school-aged kids participating in initiation school, learning what will be expected of them in their adult life, according to gender. Then, we checked out the baobab tree, which is a gigantic tree that is native to South Africa. Ben, Britton, and Jeremy all climbed it, and the local people laughed because they just don’t climb trees. The dancers danced for us again, and then we sang our songs, and headed back to Kgautswane.
Before dinner, Mama Clara, the community leader led us around on a tour of the development centre’s facilities, which include a mail centre, a telecentre, Mama Clara’s office, and a community radio station. Kgautswane serves 550 orphans and 820 vulnerable children, in addition to the rest of the community.
For our last dinner there, we had fried chicken and similar accompanying side dishes. After dinner, the people roasted goat over the fire, so we had a village braai, which is like a barbecue. We all smelled like serious fire smoke after that, but getting to know the people of the community has been a great experience for us, and we will miss it.
