So the conversation went something like this: Me: "I think I'm going to go travelling somewhere at the end of this year for two months" Friend: ""That sounds good - Any idea where?" Me: "Not really, I just want to go do something different" Friend: "I've been wanting to go to South America, would you be keen?" Me: "Awesome, I'm in" And so the planning began. Four months later, there were six of us (BLACKG) on a plane to Sao Paulo, Brazil: (B)ruce, (L)ouis, (A)shleigh, (C)laire, (K)ate, (G)areth = BLACKG (this was me being lame) We flew into Sao Paulo, and wasted no time getting to the bus station and booking tickets to Rio. Being the smart people we are we booked a 2am bus so that we wouldn't have to pay for accommodation. This meant ... read more

Day 1: Colesberg Five of us set off on the 30th of November and headed for Colesberg - Myself, Kelly, Jules, Katie and Johno. We got comfortable at the Colesberg Backpackers before heading to the nearest pub. We met a young couple from Durban and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Day 2: Beaufort West Most of the morning was spent driving to the tiny town of Beaufort West which is situated along the main route from JHB to Cape Town. We stayed at a Guest Cottage (Birds Nest Guest Cottages) which was a beautiful cottage all to ourselves. The weather made it a necessity to go find the local pool. Much to the surprise of the locals I might add - breaking South African stereotypes - I love it. The rest of the afternoon was ... read more

I was lucky enough to be at Saints when they selected the First Hockey Teams (boys and girls) to go to Malaysia and Australia on a hockey tour. We spent three weeks touring and playing against some of the local teams. Our trip started in Kuala Lumpur visiting the Saltin's Palace, Melaka, quite a few shopping centres and of course playing hockey games in between. We even played in the Malaysian National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil. We then spent 3 days on the island of Langkawi - soaking in the sun, burying friends in the sand, touring the island, and spending our evenings at a restaurant on the beach. The dumbest story so far was when we decided to try swim (race) to a small island about 300m off shore. The race had to be ... read more

During the last two weeks of my exchange I decided to go to Canada to visit family friends. I caught a flight to Buffalo and then Bobby pick me and drove me across the border into Canada. Gill and Bobby saw to it that I got to see as much as possible during my stay there and also that I tried as much food as possible (I wasn't complaining). The Niagara Falls were incredible - I couldn't believe the mass of water flowing over the top. We walked around for about half a day going under the falls (through a tunnel) and trying to see as many view points as possible. Next I went to the CN Tower. Right at the top is a viewing deck (enclosed) and a thick glass floor which people can use ... read more

After 3 airports and 3 different flights, I finally arrived in Chattanooga just before 10pm to find... no one. The people that were suppose to be fetching me were no where in sight. I managed to arrange for someone to announce over the PA system who I was and was there anyone here to pick me up - always fun. Thank goodness there weren't very many people left in this small airport at that time of night. I was found and profusely apologised to and then we were off to the school I would attending for the next 9 weeks: Baylor High School, Chattanooga, TN.... read more