Well hello there readers!
I know what you're thinking...where in the heck have you been for the last few months???
The answer to that is lengthy, but the easy answer is
1) I moved from Hong Kong
2) I moved to DC and started a new job!
So there hasn't been too much time to post things.
Lots of exciting things have been happening, but right now the most exciting thing is that I write this blog post from South Africa.
Here's the truth: Moving back to America was (and still occasionally is) incredibly hard. I have missed being in another culture incredibly a lot and was looking for what my next Adventure would be. (That's the name of this blog after all!)
So that's how we get to South Africa. Long story short, my good friend Heather was going on a mission trip to take photos and videos (because she's awesome - side note, check out her website at www.media29-llc.com) and I got insanely jealous. I threw out a question one day that went something like this, "Hey, so could I join the South Africa trip?", half joking. She immediately mentioned how much fun it would be and how we'd get to adventure together and fired off an email to the trip leader.
Fast forward, faced with the daunting task of raising $1500 in addition to my part of the trip, I didn't know if it would be possible, but I committed anyway. I sent out fundraising emails to friends and family, set up a Go Fund Me, and incredibly, my funds were completely raised in under a month, days before I was scheduled to leave. I truly believe that doors were opened for me to attend this trip that were totally out of my control.
So started the trip. On Sunday, June 22, I took a late Brussels Airlines Flight from Washington, DC to Brussels. I can say one thing - Trans-Atlantic flights now look downright short compared to 16+ hours Trans-Pacific. I had a brief layover in Brussels and then connected to Frankfurt where I had a 6 hour layover. The very first thing I did in Frankfurt was take a SHOWER. I tell you, people, those who can travel for 30 hours without showering are better than me because I am an unhappy camper if I have to sit in my own grossness for too many hours (and on a plane with other people). No thank you. So I always make this a travel priority.
Fresh and ready to go, I still had a couple of hours to go and it was a struggle to stay awake. Which is actually a good thing, because from about the moment I sat down (on the extremely nice Lufthansa A380-800), I was OUT. I woke up briefly for dinner, and slept the rest of the flight - for at least 8 hours! Spectacular. I landed in Johannesburg and had to pick up my bags and re-check in for my domestic flight. I was slightly worried about the time between flights, but it worked out alright.
My last leg was the only flight I took this trip that was not completely sold out - I got a whole three seats to myself to stretch out for 45 minutes of glorious scenery out the window. The terrain changed from the city (and smog, unfortunately) of Johannesburg to brown fields (it's winter here) to rolling hills and mountains to the North of the plane. It was really, really gorgeous. I was scared for a minute when we landed in Nelspruit because I could not see the runway anywhere and we seemed to be about to crash into the side of a hill - but in reality, the runway is on top of the hill! Phew.
Let me mention something brief about the airport. I LOVED it. It was absolutely spectacular. The roof is thatched and is totally traditional African architecture - such a great way to be welcomed to this beautiful country. Heather and Heather (my friend Heather and the long-term missionary working here that we're partnering with) picked me up with smiles and it was GREAT to see them.
We grabbed a quick lunch (a chicken avocado wrap, if anyone's curious) and headed to Malelane, our final destination. The city was shrouded in a thick layer of smoke, which was curious to me. Apparently, during winter, the farmers burn the sugar cane crops to let the fields fallow before replanting the next year. A good idea, but not so great for the breathing.
We pulled up to the house where the team was already staying - it's modern and in the middle of a neighborhood of very, very large houses. There are a couple rooms of bunk beds and Heather had already staked me out some room. I had the opportunity to relax for a bit before we took a short walk around the neighborhood. The house almost directly backs up to Kruger National Park, the largest national park in South Africa. This park is HUGE. It stretches up a huge swath of Northeast South Africa and into Mozambique. We were able to look out over the Crocodile River where they frequently see Elephants, Rhinos and Hippos. It's insane that this is literally in the backyard! One of the staff members said that she encountered a male elephant one morning on her run who almost charged her from about 5 feet away! Crazy!
After our walk, we loaded in the car to see the Malelane Kruger gate at sunset which was absolutely spectacular. The sun was setting right over the river as we pulled up and after looking for a moment, we saw a hippo frolicking in the water. That's an image that will be with me for a long time. After that, we headed over to one of the high schools that the ministry here works with and I met some of the kids. We kicked around a soccer ball and did some introductions (in SA, anyone who is older than you is Auntie - so I'm once again Auntie Whitney - makes me feel like I'm back in Hong Kong).
Now, the team has returned from leading VBS in one of the local villages and some of the girls are cooking a delicious dinner. I'm not too tired yet, which is great, though I'm sure I will be soon enough!
Thanks for reading, and check back for updates!
-The Adventurer
I know what you're thinking...where in the heck have you been for the last few months???
The answer to that is lengthy, but the easy answer is
1) I moved from Hong Kong
2) I moved to DC and started a new job!
So there hasn't been too much time to post things.
Lots of exciting things have been happening, but right now the most exciting thing is that I write this blog post from South Africa.
Here's the truth: Moving back to America was (and still occasionally is) incredibly hard. I have missed being in another culture incredibly a lot and was looking for what my next Adventure would be. (That's the name of this blog after all!)
So that's how we get to South Africa. Long story short, my good friend Heather was going on a mission trip to take photos and videos (because she's awesome - side note, check out her website at www.media29-llc.com) and I got insanely jealous. I threw out a question one day that went something like this, "Hey, so could I join the South Africa trip?", half joking. She immediately mentioned how much fun it would be and how we'd get to adventure together and fired off an email to the trip leader.
Fast forward, faced with the daunting task of raising $1500 in addition to my part of the trip, I didn't know if it would be possible, but I committed anyway. I sent out fundraising emails to friends and family, set up a Go Fund Me, and incredibly, my funds were completely raised in under a month, days before I was scheduled to leave. I truly believe that doors were opened for me to attend this trip that were totally out of my control.
So started the trip. On Sunday, June 22, I took a late Brussels Airlines Flight from Washington, DC to Brussels. I can say one thing - Trans-Atlantic flights now look downright short compared to 16+ hours Trans-Pacific. I had a brief layover in Brussels and then connected to Frankfurt where I had a 6 hour layover. The very first thing I did in Frankfurt was take a SHOWER. I tell you, people, those who can travel for 30 hours without showering are better than me because I am an unhappy camper if I have to sit in my own grossness for too many hours (and on a plane with other people). No thank you. So I always make this a travel priority.
Fresh and ready to go, I still had a couple of hours to go and it was a struggle to stay awake. Which is actually a good thing, because from about the moment I sat down (on the extremely nice Lufthansa A380-800), I was OUT. I woke up briefly for dinner, and slept the rest of the flight - for at least 8 hours! Spectacular. I landed in Johannesburg and had to pick up my bags and re-check in for my domestic flight. I was slightly worried about the time between flights, but it worked out alright.
My last leg was the only flight I took this trip that was not completely sold out - I got a whole three seats to myself to stretch out for 45 minutes of glorious scenery out the window. The terrain changed from the city (and smog, unfortunately) of Johannesburg to brown fields (it's winter here) to rolling hills and mountains to the North of the plane. It was really, really gorgeous. I was scared for a minute when we landed in Nelspruit because I could not see the runway anywhere and we seemed to be about to crash into the side of a hill - but in reality, the runway is on top of the hill! Phew.
Let me mention something brief about the airport. I LOVED it. It was absolutely spectacular. The roof is thatched and is totally traditional African architecture - such a great way to be welcomed to this beautiful country. Heather and Heather (my friend Heather and the long-term missionary working here that we're partnering with) picked me up with smiles and it was GREAT to see them.
We grabbed a quick lunch (a chicken avocado wrap, if anyone's curious) and headed to Malelane, our final destination. The city was shrouded in a thick layer of smoke, which was curious to me. Apparently, during winter, the farmers burn the sugar cane crops to let the fields fallow before replanting the next year. A good idea, but not so great for the breathing.
We pulled up to the house where the team was already staying - it's modern and in the middle of a neighborhood of very, very large houses. There are a couple rooms of bunk beds and Heather had already staked me out some room. I had the opportunity to relax for a bit before we took a short walk around the neighborhood. The house almost directly backs up to Kruger National Park, the largest national park in South Africa. This park is HUGE. It stretches up a huge swath of Northeast South Africa and into Mozambique. We were able to look out over the Crocodile River where they frequently see Elephants, Rhinos and Hippos. It's insane that this is literally in the backyard! One of the staff members said that she encountered a male elephant one morning on her run who almost charged her from about 5 feet away! Crazy!
After our walk, we loaded in the car to see the Malelane Kruger gate at sunset which was absolutely spectacular. The sun was setting right over the river as we pulled up and after looking for a moment, we saw a hippo frolicking in the water. That's an image that will be with me for a long time. After that, we headed over to one of the high schools that the ministry here works with and I met some of the kids. We kicked around a soccer ball and did some introductions (in SA, anyone who is older than you is Auntie - so I'm once again Auntie Whitney - makes me feel like I'm back in Hong Kong).
Now, the team has returned from leading VBS in one of the local villages and some of the girls are cooking a delicious dinner. I'm not too tired yet, which is great, though I'm sure I will be soon enough!
Thanks for reading, and check back for updates!
-The Adventurer
No comments:
Post a Comment