Hogsback and Life in General

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A couple weekends ago I went camping with the Rhodes Mountain Club. We went to Hogsback - a beautiful area of mountains and forest, which supposedly inspired Tolkien to write Lord of the Rings. The name comes from the shape of the mountains: they look like the backs of hogs (apparently lol). We hiked up Hog 1 and camped at the top. I was excited that we were right next to a couple streams where we could refill our water bottles with African mountain water (don’t worry Mom, it was safe!) The trail we hiked was covered in these beautiful orange flowers. When I asked what they were called everyone answered: “weeds” haha. I eventually found them on Google - they’re called wild dagga.

We were pretty lucky weather wise. It was cloudy and cool, and the rain held off. At night we were able to see a storm off in the distance, which was incredible. Lightning every 30 seconds or so, and I took a million pictures of it haha. On our way back down we stopped at a cool waterfall called Madonna and Child. It reminded me so much of Fallbrook! Before we left, I snuck into the Hogsback Bowling Club with Maryke and Karabo to take some pictures. South Africans take their bocce very seriously haha.

Life here has been excellent. I’m still volunteering every week, and am really enjoying it. I set up a little pen pal thing for my high school kids to write letters to an English class from IHS. We just started it this week, and I’m really excited for them. It’ll be a fun way for them to practice their English writing, and it’ll be good for the American kids too because they’re actually learning about South Africa in their class. And the kids at the HIV clinic are as adorable as always. My mom sent me a Frisbee and some chalk in a care package, and the kids loved them. All they have to play with are beanbags, a jump rope, and two soccer balls, so it was really great to give them some new toys.

We’re starting to get fall weather. I still think it’s really nice out, but most South Africans consider weather in the 60s to be freezing haha. I can’t help but laugh at them as they’re wearing hats and scarves when I’m still in shorts and a t-shirt. My classes are going well. Xhosa is giving me a bit of trouble, but I got an 88 on my first test which is an A here. My geography class is really interesting, and I got a 75 (A-) on my first paper. The grading system here is amazing haha.

I’ve been taking poi lessons with the African Drum Society. Poi is a Maori tradition, so it comes from New Zealand. It’s kind of like juggling, and is done with balls on ropes. We’ve been practicing with socks haha, but it looks a lot cooler when done with ribbon or balls of fire. I’m actually starting to get the hang of it, so by the end of the semester you should be seeing some pictures of me juggling fire.

Soccer is going well. Our only win so far has been by forfeit haha, but we’re still having a good time. We get to travel to other universities in the area, which is pretty cool. There’s practice Monday-Thursday, and then games on Saturdays and Sundays. I’m loving the fact that I get to play everyday, but unfortunately I’ve been pretty sick this week so have been missing practices. I’m hoping I’ll feel better by tomorrow or Saturday because we’ve got our first home game this weekend.

Sunday I leave for another trip. We have Monday, Thursday, and Friday off of classes, so I’m skipping Tuesday and Wednesday. I’ll be heading up to the Drakensberg Mountains, checking out Lesotho, and hitting up the beach in Coffee Bay. I’ll be spending a good portion of the week by myself, which is a little scary but I’m looking forward to it.


Hogsback Pictures

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Comments

[mel]

awesome lightening pic! I'm getting more and more jealous of your camera.

[Luke Perkins]

Wild Dagga
Thanks for your Hogsback blog! Very interesting. Just been there myself. Those wild dagga flowers are also called "Autumn Flowers" as that's when they flower. Glad you enjoyed it!!