Saturday Adventure!

This Saturday I went with the Youth for Christ volunteers to Tala Reserve for a picnic lunch. I loved it! Anyone who has hung around me too long might know how much I love picnics-- not only does it involve food [a big plus to any situation], it is also so much fun, relaxing, and incredibly cute. We all [there were 8 of us representing USA, Australia, Germany, Holland, and Belgium] sat down and ate a big lunch in the park-- there was a group of guys playing great music and the weather was great... it was perfect.

After we finished eating we took a ride through the park. It is a game reserve, so we drove past zebras, ostriches, yak-like animals, deer-like animals [I don't know what these animals were], warthogs [like Pumba in The Lion King], giraffes, etc. Unfortunately I don't have too many awesome pictures because I spent much of the time in the back seat behind tinted windows that you couldn't roll down. Womp womp. But I did manage to get a few shots.

Look at the skyline!

Giraffe, zebras, and yak-things all in one shot.

[we had to coerce the zebra to get out of the road!]

We were driving up and down the hills and it was starting to get a little dark. We decided it was time to go back, especially because we were running out of petrol/gas. We could hear booming thunder in the distance and saw some lightning over the hills. After doing the best we could to read their map, we realized... we were lost. No idea how to get out and we couldn't wander around anymore because our gas tank would leave us stranded in the park. We called the front gate to ask how to get out, but that just left us more confused. We then went up a private drive to ask someone who may live there... Marita and Jaquomin [Jackie] went up to knock on the doors but there was no one there. It started to rain. The park was going to close soon. Marita and Klaske started freaking out [I was perfectly relaxed because I somehow was incredibly certain we would be okay]. When all hope was lost, a caravan pulled up with guys from a local Christian orphanage. They were very helpful and gave us a shortcut out of the park through the orphanage and we got to the gas station quickly. All was well.

On the way home the rain started to clear up a little bit and the sun was shining through the clouds. Rain + sun = perfect opportunity to go rainbow hunting. And what do you know-- I actually found a rainbow in the sky. When we got back to Pietermaritzburg the rain started pouring again. POURING. The thunder was shaking the entire building, the power was going in and out, the lightning was filling up the sky at less than 15-second intervals. The wind was tearing branches off the trees and blowing the heavy rain in under the doors. At one point when Klaske and I were walking back in the house from the movie rental place, there was a huge roar of thunder immediately followed by a bright burst of lightning and suddenly the tree 15 meters in front of us was cracked in half. Klaske thinks it was hit by lightning, but I have no idea because I jumped at the sound and ran into the house. The storms here are quite terrifying but incredibly awesome!

The sun peeping through the clouds after the rain.

I found a rainbow!

You should never blindly stick your camera outside the window of a moving car... but if you have the guts to do so, you might get a show like the one above.

That night I decided it was time for a little cultural exchange. I am usually at a loss as to what I can do to share my culture, seeing as MacDonalds and KFC are already all over South Africa and I don't find America to be too "culturally rich." But tonight I had a great idea! We popped in the movie Marley and Me [great movie, by the way], lit some candles, stuck some marshmallows on forks and put them over the fires. After roasting the marshmallows I showed everyone in the house that the proper next step was to put it on a biscuit and add a large piece of chocolate. That's right, I gave a s'mores tutorial. Everyone loved them!

That night I ended up having to sleep over at the YDC [something I was totally unprepared for] because someone had taken the car keys to bed with them and it was too dangerous/wet to walk back by myself. The next morning I introduced Mona to the wonders of french toast [my favorite breakfast meal] and later went to the outdoor market where I bought a 1973 Better Homes and Gardens "Cooking Encyclopedia" from an old woman for a little over $1. It was just the first volume of the encyclopedia so I only have recipes that start with the letter A, but I am excited for all the apple and asparagus [do they even have that here?] dishes I can make!