Meika's teambuilding with co-educators

Well, I’ve decided to write another blog post about my co-educators.  We just returned from a long weekend together on the Garden Route, and I am filled with appreciation and love for them all.  This trip ended up being a real bonding session.  I think this is largely due to the support we gave each other while jumping off of various things, such as cliffs and bridges. 

On Friday, a large group of us went kloofing on the Kaaimans River.  Kloofing is basically an outdoor activity that involves hiking, swimming, scrambling, and cliff jumping.  (I recently learned that kloofing comes from the Afrikaans word, “kloof,” which means ravine.)  Our guide, Steve, took us on a trail to the river where we started to swim together.  The river went through a canyon, and the sight of it was awe-inspiring.  The rock went high above our heads and had deep, cutting ridges.  It was covered in hanging vines and vegetation.  As we travelled down the river, Steve would point out good spots to jump from.  The jumps ranged from 3 to 11 meters.  We cheered and counted each other down.  When someone was afraid, we’d all encourage them to try.  I felt so proud of Becky when she jumped off of a high cliff after some hesitation.  And Kimmi was the first to jump off the 11 meter cliff (where there was also a shelf jutting out a bit below), and I was inspired by how badass it was.  We stopped halfway through, sat in the sun, and enjoyed hot coffee and cookies together.  In the end, everyone was exhausted and in mild pain but the mood was elation.  

Then on Saturday, we all went to the Bloukrans Bridge just over the Eastern Cape border to bungee jump.  I always knew I was going to do it but that didn’t stop me from constant worrying and anxiety.  The night before I had practiced jumping off a bench several times with Theresa, Dan, and Nellie watching.  This jump is the highest bungee jump in the world, and the bridge is the largest in Africa.  The actual sight of this bridge was terrifying.  It is an enormous cement structure over a deep, deep gorge.  I know a few of us had serious doubts but we all ended up going which was so cool.  While we waited to jump they played music and we danced.  It was comforting to watch my friends go before me and come back saying how incredible it was.  After I went, all I wanted to do was encourage everyone who was waiting.  It was the craziest experience, and I’m so glad we all did it together.  This weekend was some serious teambuilding.

(Clockwise from bottom left) Amariliz, Dan, Meika, Maria, Rebecca, Alex,
Brandi, Sam, Rina, Kimmi, Nellie, Nicole, Ryan