Kelsey's excursion exceeded expectations

I am officially back and settled in my homely flat and it feels good. Don’t get me wrong I mean the spring break was beyond my expectations in every way but a lot of travel sure does make you appreciate home, whether that is on Highstead Road or a back road of Connecticut. Now that I am all unpacked, room is clean, groceries restocked, and photos uploaded, I want to take the time to describe and reflect on some of the things I’ve been given the opportunity to experience this past week. However, since an entire week is impossible to cover in one entry, I think I’m just going to stick with a few main experiences that I’ve especially taken to heart.

Hector Pieterson Memorial

 Johannesburg. It took me awhile to finally accept the fact that the backdrop of Table Mountain that I was used to seeing every day really wasn’t there. After getting so used to seeing such a beautiful natural wonder every day, it sure made any scenery without mountains seem boring and unattractive in a way (and it doesn’t help that Connecticut doesn’t have anything remotely resembling mountains either).  Jo’burg was extremely flat. Aside from the few small hills, the horizon was almost always visible when driving around. Anyways, back to experiences. On Sunday, we all visited the Hector Pietersen Museum in the township of Soweto. Hector was the first recorded person killed by the Apartheid police in the June 16, 1976 march that protested against Afrikaans being the only medium of education – he was thirteen years old. The museum was captivating. The events of that day literally made my jaw drop. Sure I learned that Hector was the first killed in our history class here but to actually see all the stories around the event (not just Hector’s), the people affected, and all the other information surrounding this event was eye opening to say the least. The protest was purposely a non-violent one led by student leaders but turned deadly when the police panicked and started aimlessly shooting into the crowd of hundreds of students. Ironically, the police say the protesters attacked them, leaving them without any choice but to fire back in self-defense - funny how stories can get “mixed up” like that… convenient too. The museum was really sad in the sense that I felt so much empathy for all the families that have suffered loss in any form. Because of that, walking through the museum was getting harder and harder but I’m so happy that I was able to learn all that I did from it.

Kelsey with Jabu at Nom's Kitchen in Sharpeville

A couple days later, the group of us went to volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club South Africa. It is a place where children of all ages go to after school for extra help on homework or any work or to just hang out with other kids without the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is a place where children can hang out free from any outside pressure and, best of all, they get a meal while there too. For some kids, that may be one of their only meals that day, if not the only one. The twenty-one plus of us all helped and played with the kids. They were so sad to see us leave that they were clinging to us and not letting us go. It was unbelievably heartwarming and I wish so much that I could go back there again. Being there was so much fun and I felt appreciated, which is such an amazing feeling. While all of the other museums and historical sites were meaningful and worthwhile as well, it was those two experiences that impacted me the most.

Kelsey helping with homework at the Boys and Girls Club in Soweto

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Kelsey on game ride at Kruger National Park

On Thursday, we embarked on the seven hour drive to Kruger National Park. While there we saw SO many animals including, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, impala, kudu, a lion, warthogs, zebra, water buffalo, etc. It was so freaking cool to be so close to all those animals. Luckily my camera decided to start working again (since I had broken it after dropping it the day before) so I was able to capture a lot of my animal experiences. On Friday, those of us who signed up for it got to go on a game walk. It was eight of us and two guides with rather large rifles (for when those “just in case” scenarios become real). We didn’t get up close to any large animals except impala. But we did see giraffes from far away and hordes of impala. Our guide taught us about some trees; one of which can permanently blind you with the juices of the leaf. I thought that was pretty interesting. We tracked elephants’ tracks but that only got us to a lot of poop and a mud pool. Walking through grass waist high or higher while dodging branches and prickly bushes was so much fun though. I felt like I was on all those animal planet or national geographic shows I’ve watched. What they don’t tell you on those shows, however, is just how many spiders and spider webs there are on African safaris. They are literally everywhere! And these aren’t just some small house spiders.  No, they are these huge inches long ones whose intricate webs stretch for six plus feet. Our guide told us it wasn’t poisonous to humans but they were still very eerie to me. I’m not a spider fan as it is but seeing them up close was fascinating. The males are at least three times smaller than the females which made me find them that much more interesting. Not to mention, I was kind of proud of myself for getting as close to them as I did. Kruger was definitely the main highlight of our spring break because it has been on my to-do list since as long as I can remember. I can’t wait to go back!! (... eventually that is.)