extreme sports.

hectic but awesomely fun few days.

sandboarding - very awesome when u are whizzing down a steep sand dune at full speed, a bit less awesome when u have to trudge back up again at a speed of take-2-steps-up-slide-1-step-down. i regret not continuing with my twice-weekly runs. really fun stuff and i ended up with sand everywhere! nose, ears, mouth... did a few tumbles & absolute wipeouts too, not on purpose. 

kitesurfing the next day, for four hours. it was indescribable. and also very humbling. it highlighted just how powerless humans are in comparison to God's creation and physical laws of nature. being harnessed to a 7m-sq kite (a small one) and learning how to control it is very enlightening - physically and spiritually. when a gust of wind picks up the kite, it invariably picks me up (on land) as well & distance becomes somewhat inconsequential.

and on water, well, i've flown over the water a few times (i was a little too aggressive with the maneuvers and it doesnt go well with poor kite control), and i did a full somersault+twists in the water when i got dragged out of control. it was pretty scary at that point in time & i understand better how slow-motion works now. heh. basically, i flew out of the water, somehow landed face-first head-down, my head hit the sandy bottom underneath my legs (in the air), got my legs entangled with the kite lines before i got my head up, and my bearings straightened out! the few words that went through my mind: crap! ok, thats sand, where are my legs, which way is up? and before i knew it, i'd done a full somersault in the water. 

somersault in sand, check. somersault in water, check. i would very much like to leave out the somersault in air component. it would hurt less during the flip, but a lot more when landing. 

today, as a reward for managing to stand up on my board after 4 hours of kite-handling & body-dragging (its a legit term & pretty fun!), and of course, the somersaulting, i have 2 huge bruises on my ribs and terribly aching arms. (even changing gear was hard!) heh. it probably signals a lack of fitness and/or a loose screw somewhere in my brain. (: 

although i intend to fix that screw tomorrow, when i attempt to ride an ostrich and crawl through tiny holes in a network of caves. this is such a different SA from what i've experienced for the last 6 months! 

on a sidenote, my dad is driving me nuts, although my tolerance level has increased considerably. 2 more weeks to home. i heard this song at the restaurant after a particularly tiring conversation/argument, and i missed home. as in, tuksdorp-pretoria-SA home and macpherson-hector home. enjoy (:
MichaelBuble-Home (because i dont know how to insert vids) 

i am having fun.

so, despite the bummed past few days, i was determined to enjoy my time in Africa.

glad to say, i did. (: 

took a little morning walk along the Wild Coast myself. it was just the wet rocks, steep cliffs, azure blue sea and me. (with my camera of course). it was awesome. wish we had stayed longer there. but the area was quite unsettling, i.e. traditional ancestral worship & witchdoctors (sangoma). 

anyhow, we left the backpackers for a nearby attraction: the hole-in-the-wall. it was literally, a hole in a small island-cliff just off the beach. took a short trek to reach it but the amazing beaches & surrounding bush were so beautiful that the journey was an attraction in itself!

and then, made our way to East London to meet up with dear old Jonothan from my outreach for dinner. i miss my Team Jaah-pahn! we had take out & sat by the beachfront talking. almost totally ignored my dad and brother for the entire 2hours, even though they were next to me. but i needed it, extended time with my dad in particular gets my nerves rather frayed. 

so, even with the night driving (or should i say, crawling) with constant comments from my dad that i'm "speeding" at 100km/h on a 120km/h road..... yes, it was a good day. & i hope tomorrow's great too. maybe sand-boarding or surfing? i'm done with trying to get either one excited/interested, and if they arent going/dont want to plan exciting stuff to do together, i cant help it. & even if the boundaries of this leg of my SA experience is very much limited, SA is still a huge adventure for me. so there. 

an overdue update.

it is what it is.
a. long. overdue. (and more organised) update of all the nonsense that i got up to over a very happening spring break. (: it was a trip of many firsts. and of course, manymany exciting (more like DUMB, when i finally see this trip from in hindsight). i've got quite a few short interrupted spurts of stories here and there thus far and its going to be impossible to list them all down (plus the stupid comments i've heard!). so this is a short overview of the awesomest (and some of the dumbest) things i have seen, heard and did. (:

so, 4 guys and me jump into a tiny car 2 days before spring break officially starts, and we head off into the unknown territory of Southern Africa, Botswana & Zimbabwe with no plan except a map, a return date, and 3 destinations. that very long sentence i just typed contains so much more experience than i can ever express. amazing huh.

to be honest, it wasnt the best trip i've taken. i've been to more and less exciting places, travelled with more and less planning, but this was, i would say, special. partly because i guess i'm a teeny bit more mature, somewhat more observant and accepting of people, and a whole lot more flexi-time/schedule. these were probably why the trip came out well overall. but the experiences were so.ultra.freaking.cool! before i get into details, these are some of the highlights/eggciting/cool stuff that happened.

the victoria falls. one of the seven wonders of the world. it. was. breath. take. ing. seriously. Great barrier reef is awesome and yes, i've never seen the other 7 natural wonders, but this was.... (i wont ruin it with my description). we spent a day on the Zimbabwean side. and i'm veryvery set on getting back there and into the Zambian side to swim in the (very aptly named) Devil's Pool. [parenthesis: seeing that made me think of how Satan tried to tempt Jesus to throw Himself off the cliff and how he misquoted scripture]. that was just incredible.
Zimbabwe - Gwanga:  accommodation "crisis" (according to the dutchboys)
Zimbabwe - Vic Falls: typical msian-style bribery on the roads, encountering the terms "forgetment fee" for certain "grass products", x2 wedding proposals in 1 night (heeelarious!),
Botswana - Maun: teaching the boys how to be a little smarter and ask for directions, campfire: getting initiated to the rites of outdoor fires & getting burnt.
Okavango delta: mokoro trail (its a traditional canoe), elephants up closee, REAL camping, hippo which was a bit tooo close for comfort (!!), trekking through the bush at 5.30am in the morning.
Francistown: wandering around town alone taking photos and getting threatened, talking & drinking with some smart and not-so-smart people.
Gaborone: william (awesome kid whose dad gave me & shane free accommodation), climbing huge rocks. oh, and achievement of the trip: seeing one little dutch boy learn how to ask for directions! hehh.

the trip wasnt ultrasuperduper fun. but it was amusing. the dutch boys unknowingly provided me with a lot of amusement. another conversation i cannot forget:
L: "oh, nooo, i travel a lot..at least 2 to 3 months every year i'm travelling.."
me: "i see, where to?" (at this point, i am truly interested in what he's saying. its still early in the trip)
L: "spain, italy, names about x number of countries in europe."
me: "wow, thats a lot of europe.. but outside europe?"
L: "nah, this is my first time in another continent"
me: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
L: "yeah.. *looks surprised* why? europe is very different!"
....
conversation goes on while he tries to explain how different europe is, (i believe him on that point and i know i need to go to europe soon), but eventually, my brain shuts down with the thought, oh my goodness! and conversation dies off because L has "won" the point/argument/conversation (whatever that exchange of words was.) ok, honestly, first few days, that was just plain annoying. especially when he tried to argue with me about photo pixels & the rule of thirds. but then, once i realised (it did take a while) his style, it started to become really really amusing. shane told me he played games with them, arguing from yes, and to a no, and they'd oppose him just as vehemently. see what i mean by amusing??

photoblog update HERE. (:

anyway, just to explain this long post: i am procrastinating yet again. leopards dont change their spots...

monkey see, monkey (try to) do.

monkeys are smart creatures.

and sometimes, i underestimate them a little too much.

this monkey was drinking from the water cooler!! & he refused to budge! i came to within an arm's length of him!

and, here is a short little picture story of my encounter with the monkeys at the victoria falls (this will be entertaining for those of you who're reading this! but i'm just really glad it wasnt a re-enactment of regina's encounter in cape town!)



This is what i was so intensely looking at (and anticipating their movements)

and this was what was happening!


monkey: HMM. WHAT IS THIS??

Monkey: she looks oblivious, i think its safe to touch!

STILL oblivious. dont ask me how... i still dont know!



thought leon was taking a picture. well, he WAS... but for reasons that i only realised AFTER!

talk about being pre-occupied eh...

S.B. 1: the border nightmare

i dont want to enforce stereotypes here, but this definitely deserves a mention! crossing from the South African border into Zimbabwe took us the better part of 5 hours, and involved lots and lots and lots of waiting, corrupted officials, redtape and queue-cutters.

this is the immigrations tent where we went to get our passports stamped. its super easy to slip past the border! when we needed the car registration paper to be faxed over to us (long story), we already had SA departure stamps in our passports, but we were still waiting and having lunch in a small town about 4km away from the border.

the STOP sign really characterised our entry to Zimb. we were at this sign on 3 separate occasions. this was taken when we FINALLY had everything we needed (after 5 hours).

the car inspection office. and its not a temporary office, contrary to what i believed when i first saw it.

the sign at this building is just for show. this building wasnt for customs nor anything! i dont know what it was for because there were counters, and empty seats. we were directed to the tents which was fully staffed. i.e. 3 border control officers and 3 computers with passport scanning devices.

amazing start to my journey!
more pictures to come.

on my way to Zimbabwe!

the worry-er in me is showing through again. but i think africa's a great place to tone down this particular trait of mine.... OHWELLZ. I IS EXCITED. (:

my 13-day adventure starts tomorrow!! small subset of my 7-month adventure here, but still major awesomeness. i dont know if i'll get lost somewhere, but like i was telling cheryl today, getting lost is in my genes. getting found, on the other hand, is a totally different question.. one thing though, my work is travelling with me. tonzzz of readings to do! and assignments due on the day i get back! achhh....

on a lighter note, i have a mascot now. hehe. because i dont always have the opportunity to make nice photos with me in them, i bought a little anteater (i'm actually not sure if africa has anteaters, but there wasnt much of a choice) to put in my photos! (: a lion would have been so much more apt, but i dont know where mr lion is!! i havent seen him since pre-UGC days.

goodbye to everyone who reads this! (: i'll update a sentence or two if i get the chance, but if not, hello again on the 4th (or later) of October! hoorraaaayy! (:

blessed be Your name,
in the land that is plentiful,
where the streams of abundance flow,
blessed be Your name!

too often i've put the lyrics of this song in a negative tone, but this season is a season of refreshing and of learning to walk ever closely with God in the lush meadows. (not that africa is lush, but...)

hello holiday!

the weekend is here!

i've never felt so excited about every tiny thing that happens routinely in my life! realise that here, i'm going, YAY i see green leaves! great sunny day! nice breeze! love the shade! its time for class! dinner! blue skies! trip to the mall! weekend! ohh, bird! everything! like! this! tiring. but so amazing. haha. & its the weekend! (! again).

had myself a really nice friday.. albeit very unproductive. but i splurged at a christian bookstore. crapz. got myself 3 new (and cheaP!) books... need.to.stop.doing.that. & today, going to watch a rugby game (how can i be in south africa and not watch rugby right)... so yes, even though i've only had like 4hours of sleep, i still need to finish my assignments (ARGGGGH) with a dying battery (ARRRGGH) and go watch rugby & etcetcetc..and then! on wednesday, i leave for zimbabwe! (will be contactable with my singapore number because south african sim cards dont have such thing as auto-roaming & coverage is only within south africa)

but. first, ass.sign.ment!!

ugh. its interesting but all the numbers are driving me nutsss... 

as of today, i'm left with exactly 3 months here. it'll pass too quickly & i'll enjoy it while it lasts. but i feel ready to go home to my normal weekend schedule... 

HOORAY FOR SPRING!

today was quite an awesome day. cant remember all of it now, but it was great! and tomorrow is spring day! (a majorrr university holiday here to celebrate spring) i will elaborate tomorrow, its quite a huge celebration here.i've got a really nice to-do list that i'm really looking forward to.

Things to do tomorrow:
1. internet cafe - get ladder :D (will update more on what i used it for IF IT HAPPENS!)
2. cycle to sunnyside - get cheap groceries
3. run at univ. lake
4. chill next to lake: reading & QT
5. church/worship service - i havent decided mid-week church or huge worship event (for christians who dont party & drink on Spring day)
6. watch beer pong - there's a 'team' competing & its going to be fun!
7. hatfield square - (will update more as well)

ahhhh. ok. highlights today:
- self-declared break after working so "hard" over the weekend for that international economics test (which i still messed up & will probably fail but, nevermind, i will just study harder for the other test)
- nice day of classes for socialwork and i got full marks for the class test (yay!)
- arranged with mary-lou to go to the apartheid museum in joburg this saturday (and then to her dad's restaurant again! its got awesome food, plus its free for us!)
- attended a chillaxed reception at the university's oldest building (>150yrs old!),
Also, i was told by Ms Moloi (one of the heads at the Int'l Stdts Division who's super pro-Singapore) that the Singapore High Commissioner was talking to her recently, and it turns out that his kids (around my age) are coming soon and he thinks it would be great if i could meet up with them (?? ok i really dont know what to think of this, but it would be cool maybe!) haha. so i have to call the embassy sometime soon or something. i have no idea how/what/where etc. (that was an interesting chat)
- packed my room!!! (IT IS NICE AND NEAT AND CLEAN NOW!)
- caught a movie with some others
- chilled in our tiny kitchen with the housemates for >2 hours just talking (: loved it!
- ANDANDAND!!! SPRING BREAK PLANS WERE SETTLED IN LESS THAN FIVE MINTUES! THANK YOU GOD! :D
 ok this one needs details. hehe. so xinyu and i go to the guys house after the movie & we ask shane & thomas if they've made any plans for spring break. as it turns out, no they have not. i ask if they'd like to join us to slowly make our way up along the eastern coast, with no solid plans or anything. thomas says, ok! sounds interesting, do we drive? i nod, and he thinks a bit more & then he says what about doing that in zimbabwe? *BRIGHT LIGHT GOES OFF IN MY HEAD & BELLS START RINGING* YES!!!!!! haha. shane & leon suddenly get excited too, and xinyu nods really fast, BINGO! WE HAVE A PLAN! :D the cancelled Zimbabwe-Botswana weekend getaway just got extended to a 12-day Zimbabwe, Botswana & Zambia tour! 
AWESOME OR AWESOME!? 

we dont even take much time to decide car or bus because, as it turns out, thomas has an idea in mind of trying to buy a TRUCK (!!) that was advertised in a parking lot in hatfield! i will find out about that tomorrow because they will call & find out. but either way, THIS. IS. SO. SO. GREAT.  Victoria falls, Kalahari desert, Okavango delta (only inland delta in the world) and etc.. ! for 12 days!

my goodness. i'm quite amazed at God's hand in this. the Zimb-Botsw 5-day trip got cancelled due to really weird reasons like someone's cash not being disbursed in time & another person's test being rescheduled, just too much of a coincidence!and i was feeling quite bummed about it even though it helped to know that God had a better plan somewhere.... i didnt know what, and i CERTAINLY DID NOT EXPECT THIS!! SERIOUSLY. the Zimbabwe weekend (ok, 5days) plan was a concession on my part because i wanted to take my time & not rush through the countries,  now IT REALLY IS GOING TO BE OWN-TIME-OWN-TARGET travel! and i really wanted to do this over spring break, but settled for southafrica's coastal travel cuz no one seemed that interested in going far away,
and AND NOW IT IS ALL HAPPENING!! its just AMAZINGGGGG. :D hehe. i'm excited. plus, the company's gonna be fun too! & no tiptoeing around touchy egos that some of the girls here have.
ahhhhh. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH LORD!!! haha. when God blesses, wow, he really doesnt hold back.. i dont know how the trip will actually turn out & what will happen, because today was just talking, but today is enough of a reminder to me that God DOES have EVERYTHING planned. i'm excited to see what it is. and for some reason, this excitement isnt limited to my africa travels, but i feel really expectantly of what God will do at home, when i get home.
hahah, its so weird that i'm thinking about this, but i'm so excited about spring break! :D

but first, tomorrow.
and then saturday.