Goodbye 2015

            When a year nears its end I, like a lot of people, find myself thinking back over it- was it a good year? What did I accomplish? What were my favorite and least favorite moments? I remember at this time last year, I considered 2014 the best year of my life. While I still consider 2014 to be a great year in my life, I can honestly say that 2015 has stolen the title of the best year of my life so far. Some of the reasons for that include: I made my lifelong dream of working with wildlife in Africa a reality. I traveled internationally for the first time, and made friends from all over the world. I went cage diving for the first time, and came face to face with huge great white sharks. I explored many different areas of South Africa, from Gansbaai to Cape Agulhas (the southernmost tip of Africa) to the gorgeous Cape Town to Phalaborwa. I caught a brown shyshark with my bare hands while snorkeling off the cliffs in Hermanus. I worked in a sanctuary for orphaned baby baboons, and played a role in taking care of them daily. I saw my first wild elephant, lion, black rhino, giraffe, monkeys, hyena, and many more. These are just a few of the amazing experiences that have made 2015 such a special year for me, but there are plenty of others.

            Africa had been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. The idea of going there was almost magic to me as a kid. I seemed to think, from very early on, that going there would change me, and I was right. Coming home when my African adventure was over had felt strange because I didn’t feel like the same person that I’d been when I left. Traveling, I’ve learned, changes you in a lot of brilliant ways, especially traveling solo like I did. By traveling around South Africa and working with people from England, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Australia, and more, I gained new insight and perspective about life. I came home feeling much more experienced and cultured than ever before. Summer 2015 made me realize what a few people had already told me- once you get the travel bug, you’ll never want to stop.

            South Africa, you’ll forever own a piece of my heart. You played a big part in 2015 being the best year of my life, and I miss you dearly. I’m not sure when, but eventually I will return to your gorgeous coastline to experience everything you have to offer again. As for 2016, I can’t wait to see what crazy adventures you have to throw at me! 

Summer 2016 Plans!

            Let me start off this blog post by saying that about two years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would live the next decade for me. Meaning- I wouldn’t worry about finding the love of my life, really settling down, or starting a family on my own. Instead, I would focus on doing the things I love, especially the ones that I might not be able to do later in life. One thing I included in that promise to myself was a travel goal. I said that by the time I’m thirty, I want to have been to this many continents, countries, and states (I won’t say exactly what that goal is, but it’s rather ambitious).

            Now, all of that being said, when I left South Africa in July, I knew I would return. At first I said that I would return in summer of 2016, but in the time I’ve been back home I’ve been thinking about that promise I made myself two years ago. Would going back to South Africa further me towards that goal? The honest answer was no, it wouldn’t. Part of me really misses South Africa and wants to return, and I definitely will return to that beautiful country, eventually. But, after a lot of thinking and battling with myself, I’ve decided that next summer I want to try something different. So, without further ado, it’s time to officially announce that I’ll be spending summer of 2016 working and living in a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia! I’ve already booked my stay with this sanctuary for June first through August sixth, and am already practically counting down the days! This sanctuary is home to a variety of South American wildlife, including several species of wild cats, monkeys, birds, spectacled bears and more, most of which have been rescued from illegal animal trafficking. I imagine my experience with the baboons at CARE this past summer will help out when it comes to working with the spider monkeys and capuchins at this sanctuary- there will probably be some similarities. However, I know each species of primate is unique, so working with these new species will be a great learning experience! I’m also really excited to work with the wild cats and spectacled bears that live at this sanctuary, as those are animals that I’ve always loved but don’t really have any direct experience with. I’ll definitely miss the sharks and baboons that I worked with this past summer, but I’m super excited to get more wildlife experience in the gorgeous country of Bolivia! Oh, and getting more travel experience in general under my belt is going to be an extra plus.

            This post’s food for thought: “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”- Eleanor Roosevelt 

Chuma the Okapi: In Memory

            One year ago today, I received a text from one of my good friends, a keeper at the zoo, revealing the bad news. As I read that text, I remembered the first time I met you. Walking up to you, at first feeling a bit intimidated by your large size, but quickly falling in love with that gentle beauty that you had. I remembered the feeling of awe as I ran my hand over your fine, oily hair, as your rough tongue began to lick me, as I looked into those big, gorgeous eyes for the first time. A year ago today, I remembered that wonderful moment, and I cried. I cried because I would never again walk past your exhibit and see you, never again get licked by your long, rough tongue, never again look into your amazing eyes.

            I’m not sure you really understood how important you were to me, but trust me, Chuma, you were. Getting to know you was one of the greatest privileges of my life, and certainly one I’ll never forget. You were so loved by so many people at the San Antonio Zoo, and I hope we gave you the best life possible (I think we did). At 29 years old, you were believed to be the oldest okapi in the world. When thinking about you (which I do every day), I always try to be happy that I was lucky enough to get to know you, instead of being sad that you’re now gone. You touched the lives of everyone that met you, were very beloved by the zoo guests that saw you, and you were truly a great ambassador for your species. I will never forget you, Chuma. I love you. Run free, you wonderful, beautiful animal…

            This post’s food for thought: “An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ― Martin Buber

Eight Years At The Zoo

            On September 29, 2007, eight years ago today, I had my very first shift as a member of “zoo team”, the teen volunteer program of the San Antonio Zoo. If someone had come to my fourteen-year-old self on that day and told me all the experiences I would have through that zoo in the years to come, I never would’ve believed them. Now, though, in hindsight, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve met my best friends through that zoo, had countless up close experiences with all kinds of wildlife, and learned things that I never could’ve learned in a classroom or from a textbook. I’ve had so many unforgettable experiences that never would’ve been possible if I hadn’t gotten involved with the zoo. I’ll certainly never forget the first time I watched the emergence of twenty million bats from Bracken Bat Cave when I went there with the zoo to help out. Nor will I forget my first up close encounter with our Komodo dragon, okapi, hippo, rhino, and so many more. The feeling I got when I was invited to go through the docent training when I was only 16 was amazing, as was visiting Sea Turtle Inc. in South Padre Island with other zoo volunteers. I’ll always cherish the memory of feeding my first animal at the zoo, a tawny frogmouth in the Hixon bird house, and the day I got to see the newly hatched Komodo dragon babies was one of the best of my life.

            Listing just a few of my favorite zoo memories, you can probably tell why I’ve stuck around for as long as I have. The past eight years at the zoo have been incredibly special, and I wouldn’t change anything at all about them. If I’d never submitted my zoo team application eight years ago, I certainly wouldn’t be the person I am today. I probably wouldn’t have gone on my Africa trip this past summer, wouldn’t know half as much about wildlife as I do, and wouldn’t have met some of the most important people in my life. San Antonio Zoo, you’re my happy place, and no matter where my future endeavors take me, I’ll always call you home. Thanks for eight years of crazy adventures- I can’t wait to see what the next eight years bring! This post’s food for thought: “Whatever you want to do in this world, it is achievable. The most important thing that I’ve found, that perhaps you could use, is be passionate and enthusiastic in the direction that you choose in life, and you’ll be a winner.”- Steve Irwin 

Hold On, We're Going Home

            My blog has been pretty dormant since I returned to the states, so today, since I have some free time, I figured I’d make a new post. As of today, September 22, I’ve been home from South Africa for exactly two months. Hardly an hour goes by that I don’t think about my nine weeks in that beautiful country; not a day has gone by that I don’t pine to return to the little, loving baboons of CARE, or the strong waters of the Atlantic Ocean around Gansbaai. Everyday I miss waking up before sunrise to pack up the boat for a day out at sea with the great white sharks. Everyday I miss the wild troop of baboons playing on the tin roof of the Mountain Lodge that served as my alarm clock. Not a day goes by that I don’t yearn to be back in South Africa. I already know that I’ll be back there next summer, and it can’t come fast enough. South Africa is the most beautiful, diverse, colorful, wonderful place I’ve ever been, and it’s a place I’d recommend to just about anyone. From my first time in the cage with the sharks to hanging out in the gorgeous city of Cape Town to meeting little Yolo and Darcy down by the river at CARE, I had so many unforgettable experiences in the nine weeks that I was lucky enough to have there.

            Coming back home to Texas, I definitely didn’t feel like that same person that I’d been before I left. Travelling internationally, especially alone like I was, is definitely an incredible learning experience. This summer I got to see how the people of South Africa live, and while there are some similarities, there’s quite a bit that’s different. From the food to the language to just the way people interact, spending time in South Africa helped me learn that not everyone does things the way we do here at home. Travelling to other countries can teach some life lessons that just can’t be learned any other way.

            Though I’ve fallen back into the “normal” mode of being home, I feel like something about me is different than before I left. For one, I’ve definitely become more independent and feel more comfortable being on my own. I mean, if I successfully maneuvered my way through a country I’d never been to, 9,000 miles from home, completely on my own, without having any trouble, I feel pretty good doing stuff around here solo. Maybe the experience of being my own boss made me mature more over the summer- I definitely feel a lot more comfortable getting around airports now! People warned me about going alone, but, knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Being on my own was part of what made it so much fun.

            I know for sure that I’m going back next summer, hopefully for a little bit longer- eleven weeks is the longest that I can be in the country with just my passport (I’d need to get a visa to stay longer), so I think that’s going to be my goal. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to go back to both of the same projects, or just focus on one. One thing I do know is I’m definitely returning to White Shark Projects- that may have been the best month of my life, and I can’t wait to be out on the boat with those beautiful sharks again! See you next summer, South Africa. This post’s food for thought: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”- Terry Pratchett

Release Site News

            Tomorrow is my last full day here at CARE baboon sanctuary in South Africa. This morning, watching Yolo, Darcy, Mika, and Yana playing together down by the river, I thought about how much this place has come to feel like a second home to me, and how much I’ve come to know and love these little guys. Yesterday in the nursery, when little Mika curled up under my shirt and went to sleep, I thought about how protective I’ve come to feel of these adorable little baboons. I first realized that feeling about two weeks ago, at the end of the Fourth of July weekend, when we got some news here at CARE. I haven’t written anything about this in my blog yet, since it hadn’t been made public. Now, though, two weeks later and with my time here almost up, I think it’s safe to tell this story.

            As I’ve mentioned a little on previous blog posts, CARE has an overall goal of releasing troops of baboons into the wild. They’ve found good release sites and done it with two troops so far, and also have semi-wild troops here at the sanctuary that hopefully will also be released back into the wild where they really belong. Early on the morning of July fifth Stephen, the director of CARE, got a call from Phil, the employee that’s currently staying at and monitoring the release site for the first troop, which was released back in September. Phil told Stephen that he’d heard the sound of gunshots and baboons screaming, and now could only find three of the troop’s members, of which there were about twenty total. Stephen immediately headed out to the release site to see what was going on. I remember the anxious feeling that loomed over CARE all day as we waited for him to return, hoping he’d bring good news. Stephen finally got back that evening and, long story short, the news wasn’t good. Five of the baboons in the troop had been shot and killed, their bodies just left out to rot. Baboons have had a bad reputation in South Africa for decades, being seen as vermin. Apparently some very sick poachers found their way to the release site and used them for target practice. Needless to say, it was an emotional night at CARE. Stephen and some of the other staff members that knew that first troop were saying the names of the ones that died, remembering them, trying to be happy that they at least had a few months of freedom, and thinking about how crazy it was that the poachers didn’t even take the bodies with them. There was no point to it other than pure cruelty. In the weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve come to really love the baboons here at the sanctuary, and that news made me absolutely sick. Never in my life will I forget the way I felt, laying in my bed at the mountain lodge on the night of July fifth. That night served as a reminder that working with wildlife could be downright heartbreaking. That was one of my first times to really experience that lesson firsthand; I’d heard stories like this before, sure, but that night it was different. I wasn’t watching a documentary or hearing a story from someone. I was right there, at the sanctuary, in the thick of it. These were animals that I was working with, cuddling in the nursery in the morning, carrying down to the river to play, making buckets of food and bottles of warm milk for, animals I was loving. That made it so much more real and powerful than any stories I’d heard or documentaries I’d watched before.

            The night Stephen returned from the release site with the bad news was a night I’ll never forget, and it was another way that this summer in Africa has been life-changing. It was by far the worst day I’ve had here in South Africa, but the last thing I remember thinking before going to sleep that night was this: tomorrow is another day, and there are still nearly 500 baboons living here at CARE that depend on the staff and volunteers to stay clean, fed, and safe.

            The next morning in the nursery I remember cuddling Yolo and the others just a little bit closer, and realized for the first time how protective I’ve come to feel of these little guys. The idea of releasing troops back into the wild has a trade-off: on one side, the wild is where these guys truly belong, and Yolo, Darcy, Mika, Yana, Princess, and the many other baboons here really deserve to have that freedom. At, the same time, though, once they’re released they can’t be protected 24/7 the way they are here, and I’d hate to think about one of the baboons I love here meeting the same fate that those five from the first released troop did.

            This news is about two weeks late here on the blog, but I thought it was important to write this while I’m still here at CARE, listening to the baboons calling outside my window. I’m going to miss this place very much when I have to leave on Tuesday; it’s given me five of the most amazing weeks of my life. This post’s food for thought: “Must we wait until a species is on the brink of extinction before we wake up?”- Rita Miljo, Founder of CARE Baboon Sanctuary. 

Piece of my Heart

            For this entire trip, I’ve quite regularly had to just pause whatever I’m doing, look around for a moment, and say to myself, “I’m in Africa.” Africa has been kind of the ultimate dream of mine for pretty much my entire life, so actually being here… it’s blown my mind just about every day. In a way, that makes me wonder what life will be like, what I’ll be like, when I get back home to Texas next week. Going to see and work with wildlife in Africa, my life’s biggest dream, now accomplished at twenty-two years old. Of course, there are many, many other places I’d like to go, and many other animals that I’d like to work with, but I have doubts that any other experience in life will be quite like these past two months in South Africa have been. Having never been outside of the US before this trip, I guess I didn’t know exactly what to expect of South Africa until I arrived here. Now, having lived here for a while, I can certainly say that South Africa has surpassed any and all expectations I might’ve had about it. From the big, busy cities like Johannesburg and the gorgeous Cape Town to the smaller, coastal towns like Gansbaai and Hermanus, not to mention the beautiful in-between areas, like the vineyards outside of Cape Town or the mountain views we saw while driving from CARE to Johannesburg, South Africa is definitely the most diverse place I’ve ever been. And that’s not just true of the landscape itself, but the people as well- I’ve lost count of the number of languages I’ve heard here, and I’ve seen everything from the barefoot little children wearing mismatched clothes that I helped out in Swap Shop with White Shark Projects, to the managers at some of the big resorts in Jo’burg and Cape Town. This summer here in South Africa has definitely given me a new perspective on my life in the US, and I think that’s something that one can really only get by spending time in another country. I knew that this summer would be a great learning experience, but I guess I just didn’t expect that I would learn a huge amount about not only sharks and baboons, but also life in general. When I was planning this trip, there were people that told me that I was taking more of a risk by going on this adventure alone, but now, knowing what I know, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Traveling on this trip, whether it’s been maneuvering the airports, finding my way around Cape Town, getting to and around my hostel, or anything else that this trip has involved, doing it all on my own has been incredibly empowering and honestly, also a lot of fun. I think that some people might not think that they can do things like this on their own, but when people are actually thrown into a situation, they can really surprise themselves. As the beginning of this trip got closer and closer, I remember some questions popping up in my head, like if I would be able to find my way through the many airports I’d go through without feeling rushed or nervous, or if I’d ever begin to feel lost in a place as foreign as South Africa. But I’ve really surprised myself on this trip, because I’ve been able to stay calm, relaxed, and in control throughout the entire process. Traveling solo can definitely be a confidence booster, and I’ve learned a lot about myself these past two months. This summer has been an experience that I couldn’t get any other way, and certainly one I’ll never forget.

            All of that being said, in five days I’ll again be maneuvering the huge Johannesburg airport to board my fifteen-hour flight back to Atlanta, then going through customs for the first time in my life, and finally back home to my favorite city in the world, San Antonio. I think I can definitely now call Cape Town my second favorite city in the world, but it seems impossible to me that anywhere will be able to trump home. Part of me is incredibly sad to soon have to say goodbye to the lovable little baboons that I’ve gotten to know in my time here at CARE. At the same time, though, as wonderful as this place is, deep down I’ll always be a Texas girl. I also have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I’ll return to this incredible country to work with its wonderful wildlife again, hopefully in not too long. This won’t be goodbye, South Africa. It’ll just be see you later.

            This post’s food for thought is actually a quote that I’ve used before, but it’s so appropriate that I just have to use it again: “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”- Mary Anne Radmacher

Life At CARE

            I feel like I was just packing up my bags back in Texas, just boarding my plane out of Atlanta to Johannesburg, just getting settled at the White Shark Projects volunteer house, just arriving here at CARE Baboon Sanctuary. In less than two weeks, I’ll be saying goodbye to the amazing sharks, baboons, and people that I’ve come to love here in South Africa. I keep wondering where the time went. Ever since summer of 2014 ended, I’ve said that it was the best summer of my life. Spending my free days camping, hiking, kayaking, cliff jumping and more in the gorgeous Grand Teton National Park made 2014 a summer I’ll never forget, and gave me the experience of a lifetime. However, I can no longer call that the best summer of my life. This incredible summer here in South Africa has now earned that title. Cage diving with white sharks, catching the brown shyshark with my bare hands while snorkeling in Hermanus, serenading the white sharks from the cage with the other volunteers on the vol exclusive trip, nearly getting swept out of Devil’s Cave at high tide, meeting Yolo and Darcy by the river, and falling asleep to the sounds of hyenas whooping and lions roaring have been just a few of the experiences that I’ll never forget and that have made this my favorite summer yet.

            The past few days at CARE have been busy and fun, as usual. It seems like we’re getting new people in all the time! As new people arrive, though, it means other people leave. Holly left to return to Missouri on Wednesday, and Sarah and Brittany both head back to the states on Monday. So many wonderful people have come in and out of my life here in South Africa, and I hope that I’ll see at least some of them again sometime. Since a lot of new people have been arriving and some of the more experienced people are leaving, I’ve been training a few of the new volunteers. Two hours of my day today were dedicated to introducing new volunteers to Patats. I think that if I were to focus my time here at CARE on studying one animal, it would be her. I love all the little ones, but the fact that she was so mistreated for years, but can still be so sweet to people is absolutely fascinating to me. She’s definitely a very special animal, and I stop by to see her for at least a little while just about every day.

            This morning I was in the nursery from eight to nine with all five of the little ones. Out of the four volunteers in there, I’d been at CARE the longest, so Princess spent most of the hour cuddling with and grooming me. If I’m in the nursery with Chelsea, Stephanie, or someone else that’s been here longer than me, Princess pays hardly any attention to me. She always chooses the most experienced volunteer to cuddle with and groom while in the nursery. 

            I just looked at my schedule for tomorrow, and it looks like another easy day. I might spend my time off going around with my camera and taking some more pictures of the sanctuary. I’ve already taken hundreds of pictures of my time here at CARE, and when I get home I’ll have quite a job of going through all of them.

            A few days ago, I got some interesting news. During my time with White Shark Projects, I got a request to write a blog post on shark cage diving and the controversies that surround it. After I wrote that post, I sent it to White Shark Projects, and they liked it so much that they’re including it on their website. I’ve been told that I have a gift for writing since I was about ten years old, maybe younger, and I love being able to use that gift to speak out about things I love. Hopefully that article will be able to help clear up some of the many misconceptions that people have about shark cage diving.

            That’s enough for tonight I guess. Listening to the baboons calling outside my window, I just can’t believe that soon I’ll have to say goodbye to this amazing place. South Africa is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, and I big chunk of my heart will always be here. This post’s food for thought: “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”- Anita Desai

Living Among Lions

            The past few days have been very special when it comes to life here at CARE! On Friday I was looking through some old pictures and remembered that exactly a year before I was jumping off a cliff in Grand Teton National Park with friends. I definitely still remember the thrill of taking that leap, falling for what seemed like a long time, and landing in the frigid water of the Gros Ventre River. Going from that one summer to serving as a play structure for rambunctious little baboons in South Africa the next… One of my friends told me that my life is other people’s bucket list of dreams.

            I felt pretty un-American being here in South Africa for the Fourth of July on Saturday. I may not have eaten any barbecue, drank any beer, or seen any fireworks, but being here around the baboons made it worth it. On top of that, in the early afternoon I heard some other volunteers say that they’d just seen an elephant down by the river. Soon after, someone came into the Mountain Lodge saying that the elephant was walking right through the sanctuary. We grabbed our cameras and headed outside. Sure enough, an adult elephant was slowly making its way along the path, picking at some of the trees as it went. I got some pictures and several little videos of it as it went- I wish the wifi here was better so I could post them. Either way, though, that certainly was more beautiful than any fireworks display I ever have or ever will see. After hanging around the enclosures for a while, the elephant turned and headed back down toward the river.

            Later that afternoon I was scheduled for an hour down by the river with the newest little baby baboon (whose name is now Quinn) and several other volunteers. He’s been here at CARE for almost two weeks now, and already seems to have grown so much. He’s definitely becoming more adventurous, wandering just a little bit more from Becky, the volunteer that’s being his surrogate mother, as he plays. Due to the elephant, we decided to walk down to the rebuild area of CARE to let him play, instead of the river. As we were sitting on the ground there by the rebuild, we saw a little group of vervet monkeys playing not far away. I’ve seen them before, playing around near the baboon enclosures, but hadn’t really gotten the chance to just sit and watch them until then. It was a really nice way to end my South African Fourth of July.

            The next morning I had the job of making bottles at six in the morning. That’s the earliest shift there is, and only two volunteers are scheduled for it. It was only the second time in three weeks that I’ve gotten it, though, so it wasn’t too bad. Back at White Shark Projects I was getting up before that almost every day, and it was colder there than it is here, so that six o’clock start for bottles really didn’t feel so hard. After that, I had another hour down by the river with little Quinn and a few other people. Almost as soon as we sat down by the river, I heard the sound of a lion roaring. It was pretty far off, but it clearly was a lion. The beautiful roar echoed through the air around us, and we all just sat in silence for a few moments, taking it in.

            That afternoon I had some free time, so, after going to spend some time with the lovely sanctuary baboon Patats, I decided to head back down to the river on my own to just hang out down there for a bit. I sat down on the sand and surveyed the other side of the river. It was pretty common to see hippos, crocodiles, impala, and occasionally wild baboons hanging out around the opposite bank. While I did see a crocodile out basking, there was no sign of impala or baboons. Taking a better look at a sunny patch, I realized why- a group of lions was sitting out in the grass, enjoying the afternoon sun. Lions were the first animal that I remember being able to call my favorite animal when I was little, and seeing a pride of wild ones sitting right across the river was breathtaking. The fact that I was by myself I think made it even more special. I’ve now seen three members of Africa’s Big Five in the wild, and seeing the lions was definitely a very special moment. I stayed down by the river almost that entire hour, until my next shift was due to start.

            This morning I got another hour to socialize with Patats- she truly seems to enjoy having some company, so volunteers actually get scheduled to go and just sit with her. After that, I had an hour at the nursery hanging out with Yolo and Darcy. They both seemed to be especially cuddly this morning, and almost the entire hour I had at least one little baboon resting on top of me.

            It’s a little after five in the evening here at CARE, and I just got back to the Mountain Lodge from hanging at the rebuild with Quinn, Becky, and two other volunteers, Emma and Nicole. We got two new volunteers in yesterday, and two more came in today- the lodge is very full now! This house has over twenty people who spend their days working with baboons, and there are only two showers- I’m amazed no one has been murdered yet. Statistically, it should have happened by now. I guess that’s enough for today. This post’s food for thought: “You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.”- Karen Blixen

The Cradle of Humankind

            Well, after a very fun little trip out with some of the other volunteers, we finally arrived back at CARE at about one o’clock this morning! Stephanie, Holly, Sarah and I took a couple of days off to drive down to Johannesburg to visit the Cradle of Humankind, a museum and digsite where some of the first hominid fossils in the world were found. When first explained like that it sounds a bit boring, but it really wasn’t, especially since it included a tour going into the actual caves where the fossils were found. The museum also had a lot of interesting and fun exhibits, and it turned out to be a really nice little break.

            After picking up the rental car in Phalaborwa two days ago, the four of us hit the road. The trip was originally Stephanie and Holly’s idea, and after they told us about it, Sarah and I said we’d like to come along. All four of us are from the states- three of us are actually from Texas! Sarah’s from Austin, Stephanie’s from Dallas, and Holly’s from Missouri. It was about a five-hour drive that day from CARE to the hostel in Pretoria that we’d booked. It didn’t feel bad though because of the absolutely beautiful scenery that we were driving around. Apparently South Africa is a great place for growing fruit- down in the area near Cape Town there are quite a few vineyards, and on the way to Johannesburg we passed lots of fields full of orange and banana trees, which were full of fruit. The scenery we passed was definitely not what most people would expect Africa to look like- the big, tall trees, fog around the mountains, and so much greenery made it look more like the Pacific Northwest! We couldn’t help but pull over at a rest stop as we were on the road to take some pictures.

            When we eventually made it to the adorable little hostel, we got the little tour of the place and set our stuff down in the bedroom that the four of us were sharing with two other people. While sitting in the main living room we talked to one of the other hostel guests who was in South Africa volunteering with the Peace Corps. We were trying to find a nearby spot to have dinner, and she suggested a nice little restaurant that was only a few blocks away. The four of us walked over and after a simple but very tasty dinner, we returned to the hostel and went to sleep.

            The next morning we left the hostel at about 8:30. After stopping for breakfast, we headed over to the Cradle of Humankind. We decided that we should buy the combined tickets, which included the museum entry with the cave tour. The cave tour came first, which consisted of a guide taking us, along with about ten other people, down into the cave where some of the very first hominid fossils were discovered. We spent about an hour down in the deep, beautiful cave. There was an underwater lake in the cave that we saw- the water was so clear! Our guide told us that people had once come in to try to find out how deep the water was. After scuba diving down to forty meters, they still hadn’t reached the bottom but had to turn around to come back up. On the way up, though, one of them somehow took a wrong turn, tore the rope that attached them to the top, and six weeks later his body was discovered. Since then, no one has tried again, so we don’t really know how deep it is.

            After getting back up to the top of the cave, the four of us headed over to the museum. It included a bunch of exhibits related to the fossils that were found in the cave, as well as on human evolution in general. Overall we spent most of the afternoon hanging out around the museum. At about five, we headed out of the museum and, after stopping to grab some dinner, we began the drive back home.

            It was after midnight by the time we finally arrived back at CARE. When we entered the gate of the nature reserve that CARE is located in, I kept my eyes open for wildlife, since a lot of them are fairly active at night. We pretty quickly saw some bushbuck, impala, kudu, and a jackal. At one point, after seeing evidence of an elephant, I said, “keep an eye out for elephants”, in kind of a joking way. Almost as soon as those words crossed my lips, however, we saw an elephant standing right beside the road watching us. It was a pretty great moment. We were all exhausted when we finally got into the mountain lodge, so we just quickly looked at our schedule for the next day (thankfully Sam had let us sleep in a bit) and went to bed. I absolutely love it here at the sanctuary, but at the same time it was nice to get out for a couple of days and do some sightseeing- South Africa is such a beautiful country!

            Today was back to work as usual at CARE. I got two hours at the river with the babies, so it was a good day. As we went to pick them up at the nursery this morning to carry them to the river, I realized how quickly I started to miss those little baboons. When I walked into the nursery, Yolo ran over to me and grabbed my hand, telling me to pick him up. When I did, he looked me right in the eye for a couple of seconds, then gave me one of his little baboon kisses. I’m going to miss that little guy so much when I leave.

            I guess this post is long enough. Tonight’s food for thought: “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.”- Anatole France

Shark Cage Diving

            This post is going to be a bit different than most of the ones I’ve been making recently. Instead of just being an update on how my time in Africa is going, this one is going to be focused on a specific topic. While working with White Shark Projects I got a request to make a post on the controversial topic of cage diving with white sharks. So, without further ado, here goes.

            The concept of cage diving with white sharks brings about different thoughts and emotions for different people- thrill, fear, exhilaration, excitement. Some say it should be left strictly for biologists and adrenaline junkies. Others believe that coming face to face with one of the world’s top predators is tempting fate and asking for trouble. Still others say that the practice is dangerous for everyone in the ocean because it gets the white sharks to associate people with food, and that’s where the real debate comes in. Does spending time around cage diving boats make white sharks more dangerous to other people in the ocean? When people think about cage diving in its simplest terms, it would seem like the answer to that question would be yes. Because, of course, in order to get the sharks to come and stay by the boat, there needs to be something to entice them. That thought is just what prompts the misconception that cage diving boats feed sharks. Yes, that is a misconception- the crew of cage diving boats do their best to make sure the sharks do not get any food while around the boat. Many people that have been on one of these ecotourism boats, however, will remember the strong smell of chum permeating the air around the boat. Doesn’t that chopped up fish mixed with oil and salt water mean food for the white sharks? Actually, no. Chum serves as a food source for only the small baitfish and sea birds. When it comes to the white sharks, chum is only a smell. Out of their six senses, sharks rely heavily on their very acute sense of smell to find food. When they swim past the chum line that the current takes out, that smell is what draws them to the boat. In fact, chum is part of the reason that white sharks do not become habituated to hanging around cage diving boats. When they follow the smelly chum line, sharks expect to find food at the end of it. When they come to the boat and don’t get any food out of it, their motivation to stick around cage diving boats essentially disappears. Yes, many of the white sharks will chase the bait, which the boat crew uses to bring the sharks closer to the cage for a better look, but the large majority of sharks that visit the boats get absolutely no food out of it. Due to that, researchers have found that most white sharks spend a very small portion- less than one percent- of their lives around cage diving boats. It’s really a pretty simple concept- they smell the chum, follow it expecting food, then are disappointed when they come to the boat and don’t get any food, so obviously they wouldn’t want to return. White sharks, in fact, are not the mindless killers that people once thought they were. Four hundred million years of evolution have essentially perfected this apex predator, and it is one of the smartest fish in the sea. Not only do these animals have strong individual personalities, they have problem solving ability and long memories. Therefore, when they visit cage diving boats and remember that they didn’t get the food that they were hoping for, they are seriously discouraged from returning to the boat. So, returning to the main question that sparks controversy around this practice: does spending time around cage diving boats make white sharks associate people with food, and therefore more dangerous? No. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. 

To Travel is to Live

            The past few days have been very busy but also a lot of fun here at CARE! Tuesday was an especially exciting day because I saw my very first wild elephant! That afternoon I was heading down to the river with Yolo and Darcy for their second hour of playing down there. As we got down the hill that leaves to the riverbank, Stephanie, the volunteer that was carrying Darcy, heard him give his little warning call. At first we only saw warthogs, which we see all the time down by the river, but looking to the other side, we noticed what had triggered Darcy’s warning call- a gorgeous bull elephant was walking along the opposite bank! We walked over to our usual play spot on the bank, and watched the elephant as he slowly walked closer to the river’s edge, dipped his trunk down into the water, then brought it back up to his mouth to drink. As we looked across the river, I noticed that there was also a beautiful Nile crocodile out basking on the bank near the water’s edge. In that hour, we also ended up seeing a group of impala, some kudu, and several giraffes all hanging out around the water. The area by the river is definitely the best spot for viewing wildlife, and that afternoon was a great example. After drinking for a few minutes, we saw the elephant crossing over to our side of the river. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed us, but he was so close that we could hear the water splashing around him as he crossed the river! We decided that if he started to head in our direction after making it to the other side we would leave, but thankfully he walked off in the other direction instead. That was the second animal of Africa’s Big Five (rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and water buffalo) that I’ve seen here so far. I’m hoping to visit Kruger National Park soon and see at least two more. The leopard is the most secretive and hardest to spot out of the five, so I have doubts about seeing one of them, but we’ll see.

            Every day this week has included at least an hour or two with the adorable baboon babies living here at CARE. We actually got a new baby boy that arrived a few nights ago. He’s considerably smaller than the others- we think he’s somewhere between two and three months old. The evening after he came in his condition got pretty bad; he was having seizures and for a while that night we all doubted he’d survive. The next morning, though, we heard that he’d made it through the night and was actually doing better. Today he’s back hanging out in the Mountain Lodge with Becky, the volunteer that was picked as his surrogate mother. I just got a break in my schedule, so I spent some time hanging out with him. He definitely seems to be doing much better- when I was sitting with the little guy just now, he was jumping all over me!

            A few of the other volunteers and I are planning to take a break from the baboons for a couple of days, renting a car, and driving to Johannesburg to spend a bit of time there. A few people want to go to the Cradle of Humankind, which is a museum and dig site of some of the oldest human ancestor fossils. There’s also an area near it that offers ziplining and similar activities that a few more of us want to visit, so we figured we’d all go together, book a hostel near there for one night, then leave CARE early one morning to drive down to Jo’burg to have some fun. I absolutely love it here at this sanctuary, but after a while of being here constantly, it would be nice to take a little break and just get out for a while with some of the other volunteers. Since CARE is in a much more secluded area than the volunteer house at White Shark Projects, it often feels like we’re in our own little world here! I often lose track of the days here, and news from home seems pretty alien. On Monday it will be two weeks since I arrived here at CARE. Those weeks seem to have flown by! They’ve been very busy, but a lot of fun!

            Guess that’s all the news for now. Again, sorry for the lack of pictures in these past few blogs. I promise I’m taking plenty, but the terrible wifi here makes it next to impossible to upload them here. If the connection improves while I’m still here I’ll add some. If not, I’ll add plenty of pictures to blog posts that I make when I return home! This post’s food for thought is a quote that I’ve come to love while on this adventure: “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.”- Hans Christian Andersen 

The Boys (and Girls) of Summer

            Yet again guys, yes, I’m alive and well. Those that read my blog last year know that my blog posts were much more regular then than they are this summer. The reason certainly hasn’t been lack of material! I’ve been very busy here at CARE pretty much since I first arrived here. Today actually makes exactly one week that I’ve been here at the sanctuary, and what a week it has been! My last blog post was written and posted on Thursday, so I guess I’ll start this one with Friday. Friday was an easy day for me in terms of work since I wasn’t really feeling too good. I think I must’ve gotten a small cold after arriving here, and the worst of it came on Friday. I felt mostly fine Thursday night, but when I woke up Friday I let Sam, the volunteer manager, know how I was feeling, and she gave me a few easy jobs on the schedule, giving me some free time during the day to relax. Friday evening there was a “braai”, or South African barbecue, out by the clinic area, so the volunteers all walked over there and sat under the beautiful night sky, eating the delicious barbecue and talking. Last summer, the night sky in Grand Teton National Park was the most beautiful sky I’d ever seen. That has now been bumped to second place. I’ve never seen the Milky Way so clearly before in my life. It’s an absolutely breathtaking sight.

            Saturday Sam was nice enough to give me a pretty easy day again, which gave me a full three hours with the little baboons. My first shift was the babies down to the river to play around. In the morning four of the babies go- Mr. Darcy, Yolo, Yana, and Mika. After an hour of playing down there, Mika and Yana get dropped off into their troop while Darcy and Yolo go back to the nursery, where I then had another hour with them. As usual, Yolo picked me to carry him to and from the river, which I absolutely love doing. Saturday afternoon we picked them back up at the nursery to go down to the river again for another hour of playtime, then we return them to the same troop as Yana and Mika for the rest of the day.

            Saturday was an interesting evening in that I had the bedroom to myself. My three roommates went to the release sight Saturday morning to camp out there. I think I’ll definitely do that at some point here too, but since one of my roommates is only here for one more week and I still wasn’t feeling 100 percent, I let her take the last spot for this trip. May 12^th was my last night of having a room to myself, and I’d almost forgotten the luxury of it. Being able to play my music without headphones, not having to ask anyone else when to turn off the light, and other nice little things that I hadn’t gotten to do in about five weeks, so it was nice to have that back for one night.

            Sunday’s schedule was actually even better than Saturday’s because I got four total hours of baboon time- two shifts with the babies by the river, one shift in the nursery with Yolo and Darcy, and a one hour social with the lovely Patats, who is the absolute sweetest baboon around. The way she just comes up to me when I’m sitting in her enclosure, looks me right in the eyes, hugs one of my legs, then starts to groom it is just so adorable. It’s amazing to me, as I’m in there with her, to think that she was so mistreated by people for years, but can still be so calm and gentle around me, even though she’s strong enough to do some real damage if she wanted to. Those four hours with the baboons, followed by a shower, great dinner, and hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity with the other volunteers made for an absolutely wonderful Sunday.

            This morning I had the job of making bottles for the babies at six, which is a job that only two people get a day, and they try to rotate it so no one has to do it too often. Getting up that early made me feel kind of like I was back at White Shark Projects, but since it’s not as cold here as it was there, it wasn’t so hard to get up this morning. After making the bottles, I had an hour hanging out in the nursery with the babies. It was my first shift being in the nursery with all the babies. We have five that are in there in the morning, before going to the river- three girls and two boys. They certainly all have very individual personalities that make them easy to tell apart. Princess is a bit of a brat in the nursery; she loves to scream and just overall be kind of annoying. She’s also the only one that doesn’t go down to the river at all since she likes to run away. Yana is almost always eating in the nursery, so we can tell her by her full cheek pouches. She’s also a bit of a bully, especially towards Yolo. Mika is the lowest ranked in the baby troop, so she’s the smallest of them, which is weird because we think she’s the oldest. She’s also the cheeky one of the group; she loves to try to steal my cap and sunglasses at the river. Mr. Darcy seems to be the leader, so he likes to chase and fight with the others. He also has a very adorable way of sleeping in the nursery by sitting on someone’s lap and propping his head up with a bottle. Last is Yolo, who’s pretty low ranked, though he has to be my favorite. He’s a total klutz, which makes him really funny to watch. We think he may have even had some kind of ear injury before coming to CARE since his balance is so off; it’s not rare for him to sit up on my knees to drink his bottle, then just randomly fall off! This morning in the nursery he burrowed up under my shirt and fell asleep in there to keep warm.

            After my time in the nursery, followed by cleaning one of the enclosures, then lunch, I returned to the nursery to collect Yolo and Darcy to go back to the river for their afternoon playtime. As usual, Yolo picked me to carry him to and from the river, even though there were five volunteers going down there. My time with Yolo is always my favorite part of the day here at CARE. After dropping them off with their troop for the rest of the day I had another bottle making shift, then ended the day walking the dogs around the sanctuary. The enclosure that was cleaned today was one that was especially hard to clean, and all the volunteers had at least an hour and a half working on it, so Sam said that, as a reward, we were ordering pizza for dinner tonight. It’ll be another fun evening here at the Mountain Lodge! This post’s food for thought: “You can judge a man’s true character by how he treats his fellow animals.”- Paul McCartney

YOLO

            It’s been a very eventful few days here at CARE! Today was my third full day of officially working here at the center. I guess I’ll start with yesterday’s events and go from there. Yesterday was a pretty exciting day, since it was my first day with the baby baboons! I spent the morning walking a few of the dogs around the center (followed by Stella, the very friendly warthog that also lives here), then making some enrichment for a few of the troops, and making bottles for the babies. My first afternoon shift was meeting Patats, who’s the only adult baboon that the volunteers are able to go in with, since she’s so gentle and calm. She’s living proof that these animals can endure a lot, and that they have individual personalities. She was captured from the wild when she was very young by a witchdoctor, who kept her welded in a steel drum, with hardly any space for movement, to help make his “medicines”. I’m not sure how long she was kept there, but it was years. Considering that, it would seem like she has every right to be vicious and mean, especially towards people, but when I went into her enclosure yesterday she was very gentle throughout the entire hour that we were together. It was just the two of us in there, and as I sat down around the hay that lines the bottom of the enclosure, she slowly came up and began to explore this new person. The first thing she did was pull at the Velcro on my sandals, so I removed them and rolled up the legs of my jeans to the knee. She then did some lip smacking at me, which is one of baboons’ main ways to communicate, and I reciprocated. Then, slowly, she began to “groom” my legs. We spent the next hour grooming and just being around each other. I originally was wearing my hair pulled back, but about halfway through the hour I let it down, and she loved grooming and gently pulling at my long hair. It really was crazy to see that this creature, which had been so mistreated by people for years, could still be this calm and gentle towards me.

            It seemed like that hour would be hard to top, but two hours later I got to meet the baby baboons for the first time, and join a few of the more experienced volunteers in taking them down to the river to play. The two babies we took were two little boys named Darcy and Yolo. All the volunteers sat down in the sand by the river and let the little ones play around us. Yolo approached me first, and decided to say hello by jumping into my lap and planting a big fat kiss right on my lips, which was pretty hilarious. They spent most of the hour playing with each other instead of the volunteers, which was fine since watching them was great entertainment. At one point, one of the other volunteers, Abby, pointed across the river and said, “Hey look. Is that a warthog?” I looked across and immediately saw that it was way too big to be a warthog- it was a rhino. It was too far to see too many of the details, so I assumed it was a white rhino, which is more common around this area. One of the other volunteers mentioned that there are probably only one or two black rhinos living in this entire reserve. Thankfully, one volunteer had his camera, so we took a picture of the animal, and when I zoomed in I saw that, in fact, it was a black rhino! Being that they’re so endangered, I could hardly believe that I was actually looking at a black rhino, but when I zoomed in on the picture I was sure that I was. Getting to meet the babies was great enough, but seeing that just made that afternoon even better. We all said it was kind of sad that our first sighting of a wild black rhino might also be our last, but either way it was a great experience.

            I figured that yesterday would be hard to beat, but today might have been even better. My first shift was another round of walking the dogs around the area. I kind of like having that as a first job, since it’s pretty easy and is a nice way to just get the day going. After that was an hour of cleaning, then the shift I was really looking forward to- my hour in the nursery with Darcy and Yolo. It was me, Cindy, who’s a volunteer from Australia who arrived with me, and Holly, a volunteer from Missouri, who spent that hour in the nursery. Darcy mainly hung around Holly and Cindy, while Yolo curled up in my lap almost as soon as I sat down and spent that hour playing and napping all over me. I could tell that he was quickly becoming my favorite baboon at CARE. I didn’t want that hour to end, but it wasn’t quite so hard to leave the nursery since I knew I’d be back that afternoon to take them to the river again. After having a shift of making and cleaning bottles, then having lunch, a few other volunteers and I headed back to the nursery to collect Darcy and Yolo for playtime at the river. The babies always choose which volunteer they want to carry them from the nursery to the river by climbing onto that person when the volunteers enter the nursery. I heard that usually it takes close to a week before they trust a person enough to let them carry them. When we walked into the nursery, Yolo looked around at all the volunteers (I think there were five of us), and then began tugging on my hand to pick him up. Yeah, at that moment I was sure of it- that little baboon has absolutely stolen my heart. Yolo let me carry him to the river, then carry him back to his troop when the hour was over. We also saw some more greater kudu by the bank on the other side of the river. That spot by the river is definitely one of the best wildlife viewing spots around!

            That’s all for this post. Sorry for the lack of pictures in these last couple of blog posts- the wifi here is really slow, so adding pictures to blogs has been really hard. Hopefully I’ll be able to include some soon. This post’s food for thought: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”- Anatole France

Greetings, CARE!

            Well, after two nights in the hostel, one very early morning airport transfer, and two plane rides, I’m here at CARE baboon sanctuary! This trip is definitely giving me a lot of experience traveling solo, and I feel like I’m much better at maneuvering around airports now. The plane that I took from Atlanta to Johannesburg at the beginning of this adventure was, by far, the largest plane I’ve ever been on. This most recent flight, from Johannesburg to Phalaborwa, was by far the smallest. There were only nine rows, each with three seats. There weren’t even overhead bins; we all put our carry on bags in a box at the front of the plane. Thankfully that flight only took about an hour. Upon arriving at the tiny Phalaborwa airport, I met with Hannah, one of CARE’s employees. Turns out there were two other volunteers arriving on the exact same plane as me. When we got picked up, after making a quick stop at a nearby grocery store, we headed into the nature reserve that CARE is located in. Only a few minutes after passing through the gates, we saw a small group of greater kudu beside the road. Being that they’re one of my favorite ungulates (nerdy statement, I know), I thought that was pretty cool. We also saw several impala and a jackal on the drive into the sanctuary. When we arrived at the Mountain Lodge, the house where the volunteers live, we were told to leave our bags in the car and some of the men would come and get them and bring them in. There’s a troop of wild baboons, very affectionately dubbed the “longtits”, that lives around CARE, and turns out baboons are very sexist animals. They can clearly tell the difference between men and women, and treat them differently! They’re very respectful towards men and steer clear of them, but if women walk around carrying something that they think might be interesting, they’ll come try to steal it. Hence us letting the men carry our bags from the car to the Mountain Lodge.

            There are a lot more volunteers here than at my last project; I think there are about nineteen living here right now. It’s funny, at the white shark project I was the only American volunteer, but here there are two others from Texas alone, plus a few more from other states. We also have at least one from Canada, one from Scotland, a few from England, a couple from Australia, and more.

            After getting settled in, we got a quick tour of the Mountain Lodge, and by then it was time for dinner. We were all pretty tired from a day of traveling, and went to bed pretty early, ready for our official day of work. I knew that breakfast would be at eight the next morning, so I set an alarm, but as it turns out I didn’t need it. The wild troop plays on the tin roof of the lodge starting at about six in the morning, which serves as our alarm clock.

            After finishing breakfast, the next hour of my day consisted of getting a tour around the entire center, mainly the front part of it, that’s currently in the process of being turned into a better veterinary clinic and education building. Samantha, one of CARE’s employees, showed me and the two other new volunteers around, followed as well by the three dogs that live at the center.

            There’s a schedule written in the lodge that has the names of all the volunteers and our day’s events, broken down by hour. It’s nice that they have us switch assignments every hour, so we don’t get bored. Basically, my day consisted of cleaning one of the enclosures, making enrichment, making bottles for the youngest baboons, another little tour of the veterinary clinic, where we met a few of the baboons living in there, and more. I worked with several different volunteers throughout the day, which was nice since I got to get to know them a little better. I mainly talked to Brittany, who’s from New York, and Becky, who’s the one from Scotland. I also got to add giraffe and bushbuck to my list of wildlife that I’ve seen here, both of which I saw down by the river this afternoon. That spot by the river is absolutely beautiful, and feels very peaceful.

            By about 4:30 I was done for the day, and ran back to the Mountain Lodge to get showered. With nearly twenty volunteers and only two showers, there’s often quite a line at the end of the work day! After cleaning up, I relaxed in my bedroom until dinnertime. I definitely feel like I’ve put in a day’s worth of work, and am excited for what tomorrow brings. This post’s food for thought: “For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”- Leonardo da Vinci

Until Next Time, White Shark Projects!

One last picture with the group. I'm already missing these people! 

            I’m writing this post from Atlantic Point in Cape Town, the delightful little hostel that I stayed in my first night in Africa, and will be staying at again the next two nights. This morning I had my very last trip out on the White Shark Projects boat with the sharks. The conditions were pretty rough and quite a few people on the boat were getting seasick so it turned out to be a shorter trip than normal, but we still got some great shark action while we were out there. I brought my camera but decided that I’d just live in the moment and enjoy the sharks with my own eyes instead, especially since the rough conditions made it hard to get a good shot.

            When we pulled back into the harbor I jumped off the boat, ran back to the volunteer house to quickly change and bring out my suitcase for the bus to pick up, then returned to the boat to get a couple of final pictures with the people that have come to feel like family in the past month. After we got a few pictures by the boat, we all went back up to the volunteer house.  The “Old Bean” and I each “skulled” one last beer in honor of my final day, then it was time to say goodbye. There were tears in my eyes as I hugged my fellow volunteers and crew members goodbye, and as I got in the bus I promised myself that I will return to work with this project again. This has been a truly unforgettable and life changing month. From serenading the great white sharks with Backstreet Boys songs in the cage on the volunteer exclusive trip to catching the brown shyshark with my bare hands while snorkeling in Hermanus to nearly getting swept off the rocks of Devil’s Cave at high tide, I’ve made so many memories here that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. Perhaps most of all, I’ll treasure the friendships I made here in this short month. That being said, I’m going to dedicate this next section to the people I got to know here while working with White Shark Projects.

            Cake (Ryan)- Thanks for going full exorcist on our first morning out on the boat, so I wouldn’t feel like a wimp being the only volunteer to do so. I think you still hold the record for loudest puking. I absolutely love your crazy Cake-isms, like “don’t worry, I work in IT” and “how romantic. This is like I have six wives”. You will always be the king of falafel in my mind, as well as the king of really bad pun jokes. And yes, we somehow managed to fix the television after you left. You just turn it off and on again, right?

            Oreo (Aurelie)- Your amazing homemade mayonnaise has forever ruined my taste for the type of mayo that I get back home. I think I’m going to have to start making my own. Hanging out in town the night of your birthday was absolutely insane, though the tradition of it being the birthday person’s job to pay still seems backwards to me. Thankfully, it was not a sea day the next day. Oh, and if I ever visit Belgium, I call dibs on some of that bacon chocolate you sell.

            Lizzy and Beth- that night that we were sitting in the living area in the dark during load shedding singing along to Green Day was a really great night. I’ll always think of you when I listen to American Idiot, though you made me realize how ironic it is for an American to like that album. Lizzy, I thought it was pretty hilarious when you asked about guns in America, and how it really blew your mind to learn that so many people have them. It was definitely a lot of fun going out in town for both of your last night here (though the details of that night need not be posted here- you’re welcome).

            Alina Schmidt- thanks for teaching us that crazy German drinking game that the volunteers played so much. I didn’t originally realize how serious everyone takes it though- that game would always start as just us having fun and end with all the volunteers hating each other. We’d get over it after another game though. Oh, and thanks to you I know how to swear in German! That’s going to be very useful back home. Of course, pretty much anything in German sounds like an insult.

            Alina Finch- I’ll probably think of you whenever I hear Everybody by The Backstreet Boys, and remember when we were singing it to the sharks in the cage. Thanks for allowing me to cross “have a cup of tea that was actually made by a British person” off my bucket list- your tea is delicious! Your nickname of mother bird is definitely deserved; even though you were the youngest, you always were the one that was watching out for everyone else. I won’t soon forget some of the great things you said, like “you know you’re a scientist when you can make fire out of water”, “I drink wine to appear more civilized than I am”, and “I’ll trust you with my life, but not my eyebrows.” When you get back home to the lab, please take some pictures like the ones I posted in that link on Facebook!

            Amber- I’ll never understand your serious dislike of snakes, spiders, roaches, moths, and ants, yet love of sharks. You made me realize that I guess I’m not a typical Texan when you were constantly saying you were cold, though I always felt fine. Spending time with you has made at least one type of British accent recognizable to me- hard not to recognize it actually!

            Now for the staff members. Jerome- I never understood how you were able to be so bright and perky in the garage at six in the morning when the rest of us were still mostly asleep. Thanks for taking care of the volunteers on multiple occasions, from giving us rides to making sure you were the last guest to leave the volunteer house that one crazy night. Sorry I didn’t get to actually say goodbye to you today, but hopefully I’ll see you next year. P.S.- your son still owes the volunteers a dishwashing session for always using our wifi.

            Karla- Thanks for taking the volunteers to explore the caves on the shore by Hermanus that day, though you weren’t crazy enough to go all the way to Devil’s Cave. Oh, and thanks for coming to save the volunteers when the power went out at our house that night. Hopefully I’ll see you next year. And, as I said when I was leaving, email me if you want me to write more for the White Shark Projects blog!

            “Old Bean”- I saved your section for last because I knew it would be hardest to write. I think I’ll miss you the most out of everyone I’ve met in the past month. Thanks for being the only other person that actually speaks normally around here (what the hell are crisps? They’re called chips!). I’ll miss your love of taking pictures yet hatred of being in them. I’ll always love the crazy things you say, like “I plan my spontaneity well in advance!” and “people need their buttons pushed. Otherwise they’re too comfortable.” You showed me that not everything needs to be planned out, and it’s okay to just live in the moment instead of constantly think about the future. As you said to me in the volunteer house one night, “saving is for people that think they have an unlimited life span. We could die tonight, so let’s drink.” Thank you so much for talking to me at the house on Lizzy and Beth’s last night, after most of the other volunteers were out, and convincing me to go out even though I originally wasn’t going to. I’m glad I went out. I’ll see you next summer. Take care of Mitzy for me.

            Well, having just read over this post, I’ve noticed that it’s probably the longest blog post I’ve ever made, and it kind of makes it sound like the White Shark Projects volunteers and staff are all raging alcoholics, which, at least most of the time, really isn’t the case. This post’s food for thought: “May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.”- Trenton Lee Stewart

Every New Beginning...

Some action on Shark Lady's boat yesterday

            Well, it’s been another very busy few days with White Shark Projects! Today was the eighth day straight that the volunteers have been out on the water, which has been absolutely wonderful! That one week straight of no sea days was nice because we were able to go out and do other things, but now it’s also been great to go out and see the great white sharks that all the volunteers love so much. Yesterday there actually weren’t any clients scheduled on our boat, but Karla managed to get us all spots on the boats of other companies in the area. The two Alina’s went with Shark Diving Unlimited, and Amber and I went on Shark Lady. It was nice to see how another boat does things differently from ours, and was also nice to not have any jobs on the boat, but rather to just go up on the fly deck with my camera and enjoy the great view.

            This afternoon, after getting off the boat and returning to the house I learned that, since the weather is due to turn bad again in the next couple of days, there won’t be a trip out to sea on Sunday, the day I’m scheduled to leave. The bus only goes to and from Cape Town on days with trips to sea, to pick up and drop off the clients. That means that, unfortunately, they have no choice but to drop me off back at Atlantic Point a day early. Jan came and told me the news, saying that they’d pay for my extra night’s stay in the hostel, but that’s just the only option available. So it turns out tonight will be my last night here at the White Shark Projects volunteer house.

            I just got back from a long walk around the harbor and along the beautiful coastline of South Africa. I’m very sad to say that my time with White Shark Projects is almost over. I’ve been in this beautiful place for almost exactly a month, and it had been one of the best months of my life. I’ll never forget the first time I went in the cage with the sharks, the volunteer exclusive trip when I went in the frigid water without a wetsuit, the time I caught the brown shyshark with my bare hands while snorkeling in Hermanus, visiting the coastline of the Southernmost tip of Africa, or any of the other incredible experiences that I’ve had here with this project. I’ve always loved the ocean, and I’m going to miss living five minutes from it, as I’ve been lucky enough to do the past month. My fellow volunteers have come to feel like family, and it’ll be very hard to no longer see them every day. A lot of volunteers get involved here multiple times, and I’m confident that I’ll return to this project sometime and work with it again, hopefully for longer than four weeks. Either way, though, this month has been so incredibly special. Not only have I learned a lot more about white sharks and come to love them even more than I did before working here, I’ve gotten the most wonderful adventures around this place and made some friendships that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. Staring at my suitcase sitting in the corner of the room, I’m really dreading getting it out and packing up all my stuff. However, I’m trying to stay positive, and as a song I know says, “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”. I’m glad that I have CARE baboon sanctuary and the second stage of my African adventure to look forward to, and I’m very excited to get involved in that great project! Tonight, hanging with the other volunteers and our wonderful “Old Bean”, will be a night of celebration, not sorrow. This post’s food for thought is a quote that I know is so very true, especially in my life: “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.”- Pascal Mercier

Swop Shop and Other News

                        Today was the fifth day in a row that the White Shark Projects boat has been out on the water. I think this is the first time in my history with this project that I can say that. Thankfully, the dreary weather that kept us inland last week has completely passed us now, and the last few days have been absolutely beautiful. Yesterday morning was particularly cold out on the boat; it was in the 40’s, and the wind made it feel even colder.  Since there are now only four volunteers, we’ve all been able to go out on the water every day, which has been really nice. The volunteer house feels really quiet now with just me, Alina and Amber here. Thankfully our lovely “Old Bean” (Maarten- and that’s what I’m going to call him from now on) is hanging out here all the time, and brings along that extra energy. We just heard from Karla that tomorrow we’ll be going out again, but the start will be at eight instead of 7:30, so we’ll have another precious half hour of sleep in the morning. Hearing my alarm go off every morning at 5:30 has been the least enjoyable part of the past week, but I’ve gotten used to it since being with this project.

            Every morning out on the boat has had some great shark sightings, and every day is a little bit different. While I was up on the fly deck taking pictures yesterday, a guest asked me if that trip was about average in terms of sharks. I said that it’s hard to say exactly what “average” is for these trips. The sharks are completely wild, we don’t feed them, we never know for sure what’s going to happen, and we can’t promise anything. Every trip is a bit different. The past two mornings I’ve actually seen the smallest white shark that I’ve seen in my time here. I can’t be sure that I was seeing the same shark both days, but I think I was. At about one and a half meters, it’s clearly a very young shark, since that’s about the size they are when they’re born. So I’ve seen sharks in these waters that are anywhere from one and a half meters up to four and a half- pretty big difference.

            This afternoon, Amber and I helped out at the White Shark Projects Swop Shop for the first time. Swop Shop is a program where kids that live in the area bring plastic, glass, and other recyclables to the shop, and in return they earn a certain number of points that they can then “spend” in the little shop. The shop has little toys, school supplies, clothes, and other things, and this afternoon we had close to 200 local kids come through it. When we were finished we learned that they’d brought in over one thousand pounds worth of recyclables that they’d picked up from around their neighborhood. Seeing and helping the kids around the little shop was really interesting- there’s definitely some big differences between here and the US! Some of the kids were very small- as young as maybe four or five years old- and they’d all walked over to the shop by themselves. The lucky ones had shoes on, but most of them were barefoot. Almost all of the kids had very short hair, and the way they dressed sometimes made it hard to distinguish the boys from the girls. Probably the biggest difference I noticed about the behavior of the kids was that none of them ever cried. As I said, they each had a certain number of points that they could use at the shop, and some of them didn’t have enough to buy their favorite thing. Back home, if a kid in a toy store wanted something but was told they couldn’t have it, they’d burst into tears. But in the Swop Shop if I was helping a kid that wanted a toy they didn’t have the points for, I’d shake my head and they’d just put it back on the shelf and keep looking. Not even the really little ones ever made a fuss! Most of them were very quiet as they looked around, and it was pretty strange to see. A lot of the kids clearly weren’t used to seeing long blonde hair like mine, and they touched and stared at it in a pretty puzzled way, which I thought was pretty funny.

            As I said, tomorrow we go back out to sea at eight, and there’s room for all the volunteers again. Karla also mentioned that she’s going to try to plan another volunteer exclusive trip soon- hopefully Thursday or Friday-which should be great! Having the boat reserved for just the volunteers and crew members is a lot of fun since we don’t have to be very “professional”, but instead can just laugh and have fun. This post’s food for thought is something I thought about while watching the kids in the Swop Shop today: “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.”- Robert Louis Stevenson