Hannah Mackenzie Scott

Hannah1234

Hannah Mackenzie Scott

Hello! My name is Hannah Scott and I am 18 years old and from Wisconsin, USA. During my senior year of high school, I decided that rather than dive right into higher education the following year, I would take a gap year to explore this beautiful world that we live in. I felt that I could not go into the next phase of my life without some "real world" experience under my belt. So the planning began. My friend, Katie McDowell, and I decided on a Human Rights Internship in Cape Town, South Africa. After making that decision, we built on it to create a whirlwind of a year. Our plans differ somewhat, but for the most part, we will be experiencing these fantastic opportunities together! In order to keep family and friends updated on our adventures, I've created this blog which will help to document my future travels! I hope you enjoy!

My EXTREMELY late post about the Magical Land of Botswana

Africa » Botswana » Southern » Kanye April 7th 2013

Hannah1234

I've put off writing this entry as I've had a hard time finding the perfect way to describe my time spent in the African bush of Southern Botswana. Where do I even begin? Do I start with the ever-present sounds of monkeys and birds, the smell of dead elephants, or the sunsets that truly took my breath away? Some of the aspects are amazing, some are less than desirable, but they mixed together to form a priceless week. I left Botswana feeling accomplished, proud, at peace, and completely unready for my time to be over. But I suppose the best place to start is, in fact, the beginning. We arrived at the teeny airport of Polokwane in the afternoon of November 30th. In typical African style, our driver was MIA upon our arrival, but we targeted ... read more

My Farewell to the Mother City

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Cape Town November 28th 2012

Hannah1234

As I sit here and write my last blog entry from Cape Town, South Africa, I'm dumbfounded as to how these past couple months have blown by. I'm happy to say that I seized every moment and opportunity that came to me, even if it meant serious sleep deprivation, but somehow I feel as if the time got away from me. I believe that all my fellow volunteers/interns in Cape Town would agree when I say that this place truly engulfs you. You become swallowed up by the eclectic lifestyle of South Africa, the work that you do, the friends that you make, the families that you connect with, and by pretty much all aspects of life. I feel as if it were yesterday that I walked through the front door to meet my host mom, ... read more

San Culture Experience and Other Activities of the Western Coast

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Lamberts Bay November 16th 2012

Hannah1234

Before I begin telling about my weekend trip north of Cape Town, I want to clarify that I was not specifically in Lamberts Bay. I spent the weekend visiting that area, but more specifically Elands Bay or Elandsbaai, which is a very tiny surfing town on the coast north of Cape Town. My Location Selections of my blog has overlooked the quaint town, so I'm setting the record straight. For now, I will back-track to last week as to stay in chronological order and be less confusing! Last weekend we had decided to have a nice relaxing weekend, just a few plans, but mostly time at the beach. Well, on Saturday morning we attended a very nice charity brunch for a women's shelter that we volunteer at, St. Anne's. We sat outside, though it was a ... read more

Baboons, an Ex-Prisoner and a Terrifying Hike

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Cape of Good Hope October 22nd 2012

Hannah1234

This Saturday Katie and I signed up to do a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula. It is probably the most popular tour to do when visiting Cape Town, for it is marked as a "can't miss" activity. It was a day filled with gorgeous views of the ocean and the more scenic points of Cape Town. In full honesty, I did get a tad bored of looking at rocks and the ocean, but I was able to cross a lot of points of interest off of my to-do list. We started the day with a quick stop to the neighborhood of BoKaap, which is a small area that is completely made up of extremely colorful houses. I'm talking vibrant versions of all colors! It looked very much like something I would expect from a ... read more

Work and Play, No Time to Write!

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Simon's Town October 16th 2012

Hannah1234

Well hello there! I have been so busy. Oh my goodness, there is barely a moment where I'm standing still, so pardon my large gap between entries! But I suppose the busier I am, the more I'm having fun, which has proven itself to be very true. To start off, I'm pretty settled into my life here in South Africa. I've officially gotten the lay of the land, I can navigate the train systems, and I feel at home in my host house. First I'll cover the work portion of my life currently. I'm doing well in my internship (or at least I hope I am) and I get along well with my "colleagues". I'll be perfectly honest...I do not want to work in an office environment when I have a career. I simply cannot keep ... read more

Southern African Travels

Africa » South Africa » Western Cape » Rondebosch October 2nd 2012

Hannah1234

Hello my readers! I'm now typing to you from the Heathfield area of Cape Town, South Africa! An exciting new portions of the span of adventures. Well I have been so extremely busy since we arrived on Saturday morning. Honestly, when I've been awake, I haven't had a moment to sit still. Let me back track a bit though. Many people know I have a horrible tendency of getting sick nearly every time I travel, so of course, the worst possible times. Well, I suppose I had to stay true to fashion and get sick the night before we were going to travel. I had felt a bit out of sorts that day, funny tummy, but by dinner time, when we were going to meet Claire and others for dinner, I was dizzy and sweating and ... read more

Update from the Oyibos

Africa » Nigeria » Abuja September 25th 2012

Hannah1234

"Oyibo" is a word that I am starting to get extremely familiar with. It means "white person" or "foreigner" and Katie and I have definitely heard it enough times that we are beginning to respond to it on impulse. We are very aware of just how "oyibo" we happen to be, for everyone is completely shocked to see us here. We've even gotten bursts of laughter, which I also have to join in on. It's gotten to the point where I myself, am shocked to see white people and find myself wondering what reason they have to be here. Hmm, I suppose my mindset is slipping into the culture without me realizing it. I'm going to start where I left off a few days ago, Sunday morning we rose bright and early to accompany Claire, Ngozi, ... read more

Nigeria: An Indescribable Place

Africa » Nigeria » Abuja September 22nd 2012

Hannah1234

Wow. Honestly "wow" is probably my first thought at almost everything since we've arrived in Nigeria. "Wow, I have never seen such a beautiful mosque", "Wow, some of these people are living INCREDIBLY difficult lives", "Wow, I have entered a whole new world". This has to be the most interesting place I have ever been. And I'm completely infatuated with it. Our flight to Paris was fairly easy-going; a walk in the park compared to our later flight to Abuja. As soon as we boarded the plane to Nigeria we realized how different of an environment we were about to be in. There were so many children on our flight and they seemed to enjoy walking about just as the plane was getting ready to take off. It was very chaotic on that flight. A lot ... read more

The Start of Three Months

North America » United States » Wisconsin » Madison September 20th 2012

Hannah1234

I'm sitting in my room, surrounded by the luggage that I will essentially be living out of for the next few months, I'm becoming flooded with almost every emotion possible. I could not be more excited to be embarking on an experience of a lifetime, to the world that is very much unknown to me. This isn't an opportunity that comes around often. But between Katie and myself, and our wonderful families, we've made this happen. A year worth of planning is about to come down to today as we head to Chicago to catch an evening flight to Paris (our layover before Abuja). I could not be more scared to leave my room, my cat Roo, and my father, who is very much my support system. It'll be quite the wake up call when I ... read more

Wrapping Up The Great Britain Adventure - A Tad Late

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Dumfriesshire September 20th 2012

Hannah1234

During the last part of my trip, it was so incredibly hectic and jam-packed that I had no time (or internet access) to write. While being denied the internet actually allowed me to enjoy my time even more, I failed to remember to finish up telling the stories of this adventure, so now I must do so! After having spent the first week bopping around Northern England with the Kirby's and friends, we departed for a week in Scotland. Ann booked a wonderful cottage in Crossmichael, Scotland for the entire week and we were extremely happy with it. It was beautifully decorated and had the most spectacular view of Scottish countryside. We had an excellent week touring Loch Ness (which was the first thing that I was able to cross off of my bucket list!), roaming ... read more

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