I've wanted to do it for a long time and I'm really glad I finally did it! The first week with it was difficult but now I'm used to it and all is well! It was also done in a really safe and sanitary way at a pharmacy in Grahamstown.Ok, so... school has become actual school now. This has felt like a vacation for so long and I'm sad that I actually have to do work now. I've had my first test and I've turned in a few assignments, so I'm slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things. The next two weeks before the April Vacation are going to be a git rough though. I have 4 essays, a research proposal, a test, and various homework assignments due before my 2 week break. I'm not going to lie to you.. that scares me a little. Tomorrow is going to be a paper writing fest in my room, let me tell you.
About two weeks ago, the day after I got my nose pierced actually.. A group of us hiked up the hill behind campus to the Settlers Monument, for the original settlers of Gtown and all of that. Anyway, it sits up on one of the ridges of the vallely that Grahamstown sits in and you can see the entire town. We had a dinner picnic and watched the sun go down. It was so lovely and so fun! It also gave me some cool pictures to show you guys!
Last weekend, I went on a trip to a beautiful p
lace on the Garden Route, the road that goes to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth, called Knysna. My friend and I took a bus to a town called Plettenberg Bay, 30-45 minutes east of Knysna, where we got to go to an Elephant Sanctuary and a place called Monkey Land. It was a very touristy and exciting experience! At the Elephant Sanctuary, we got to learn about elepants, touch them, walk 'trunk in hand', and ride them! It was so exciting!!! I was really giddy and I took a TON of pictures, of course! Then we walked over to Monkey Land where we got to walk through a forest loaded full of monkeys! There are 8 different types of monkeys that live in the forest and over 350 in all. The really cool thing is that most of these monkeys come from weird situations, aka not the wild, and are used to humans, so they have no problem walking up to you or getting close to you. Our guide told us many stories of the monkeys stealing things from people; like one time, a monkey stole a woman's car keys and they had to chase the monkey all through the forest, which is quite large. They don't normally chase the monkeys down when they take things though. 
Then we kind of hitched a ride to Knysna with some people that went on the tour through the forest with us, they offered and we didn't have to pay for a cab! When we got to Knysna, we met up with a familly that my friend knows from the states. They have family in South Africa and were visiting for a few weeks so they offered to let us stay with them! This house is so amazing. 
It was like a 12 star hotel. Absolutely beautiful and in the perfect location. *sigh* I didn't want to leave....... We had a great time there hanging out by the pool, going out on the boat, and experiencing the night life. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend.
We hope to have a fabulous spring break as well! A group of friends and I are planning on driving the Garden Route all the way to Cape Town, visiting various points of interest along the way, and staying in Cape Town for about a week before riding the Greyhound bus back to Gtown. We haven't finalized all of our plans yet but I'm getting excited!
I've gotten to the point where I'm feeling much more comfortable. I've found some favorite restaurants and an AMAZING coffee shop. It's called Home Ground and they roast their own coffee beans and make homemade baked goods.. *sigh* it's perfect! It's actually become quite an addiction and I've been going almost everyday. I've really been enjoying hanging out with all kinds of different people. At home it is really easy to just stick with the people that you know and are close to, but I'm not really close to anyone here so it's really easy for me to branch out and get to know a lot of people. For example, I've really been enjoying a Christian group that I've joined called 26:8. They have a Bible Study on Wednesday nights and a contemporary worship service at the Baptist Church in town on Sunday nights. I don't think that I would have joined a group like this at home, especially if I didn't know a couple of people pretty well. But, I feel really blessed to have the spiritual support and the friendships that I've made in 26:8, and I'm glad that I decided to join it.
I really like Grahamstown and I'm really falling in love with South Africa. It's such a beautiful place that has so much history and such wonderful potential. I'm already thinking of when I'll be able to come back!
