Trip of A Life Time

“Howzit! Welcome to Sud Africa!” That was the first thing I heard stepping off the 18 hour  flight from Washington D.C. It was all so new and exciting, different smells, a new language, a completely new atmosphere, pretty much a new everything. This was only my second time in South Africa in my life, the first being when I was about a year old or so. I was so excited to see my family and to try everything!

                We first started our trip in Johannesburg where my father’s parents live along with one of my aunts and a few cousins. My grandparents, who I like to call “Nanna and Poppa” haven’t seen me in about 6 years or so. My Nanna and Poppa had prepared a huge dinner for everyone and I had to meet everyone for pretty much the first time in my life, they had all been receiving pictures of me throughout the years so they had an idea of what I would look like, as for me I had no idea who half the people in my family were or how they were related to me. I had a lot of catching up to do.

                In between Joe-Burg and Cape town we stopped at a local HIV/AIDS clinic called Cotlands to check out the facilities and to lend a helping hand. My mother is a nurse here in the states and wanted to volunteer for a day. So while she did medical care for the children I was able to help clean and play with the kids. One thing I will always remember about Africa is that no matter what these people go through they have the most beautiful smiles, a hope like life in them that never seems to end. They are always looking for the positive in life and one glimpse of that smile will melt your heart.

                But moving on, we stayed in Joe-Burg for about 3-4 days and spent time with the family then decided to drive down to Cape town! This is where the other half of my father’s family is located. We had lunch with them and then headed to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a mountain located in Cape town that really the name speaks for itself, it is a completely flat mountain top that when the clouds get thick they fall rest on top of the mountain acting and looking like a “table cloth”. We decided to hike up the mountain, but we all forgot I have asthma so we had to frequently stop to break, but with all the frequent breaks you really got to take in the beauty of the country. It is simply stunning, such diverse terrain and the weather is always changing.

                We then proceeded from Cape town to the Kruger National Park. We stayed here for about 4-5 nights and each night moved to a different “bush camp”. We went on morning and night safaris and got to experience the wildlife up close and personal. The last day of our stay at the Kruger Park we got o actually ride elephants! That was the most memorable part of my trip. Being able to see the beauty of the animal up close and being able to feel such power under you.

                Africa is my heart and I cannot be more proud to have it as my heritage.“Howzit! Welcome to Sud Africa!” That was the first thing I heard stepping off the 18 hour  flight from Washington D.C. It was all so new and exciting, different smells, a new language, a completely new atmosphere, pretty much a new everything. This was only my second time in South Africa in my life, the first being when I was about a year old or so. I was so excited to see my family and to try everything!

                We first started our trip in Johannesburg where my father’s parents live along with one of my aunts and a few cousins. My grandparents, who I like to call “Nanna and Poppa” haven’t seen me in about 6 years or so. My Nanna and Poppa had prepared a huge dinner for everyone and I had to meet everyone for pretty much the first time in my life, they had all been receiving pictures of me throughout the years so they had an idea of what I would look like, as for me I had no idea who half the people in my family were or how they were related to me. I had a lot of catching up to do.

                In between Joe-Burg and Cape town we stopped at a local HIV/AIDS clinic called Cotlands to check out the facilities and to lend a helping hand. My mother is a nurse here in the states and wanted to volunteer for a day. So while she did medical care for the children I was able to help clean and play with the kids. One thing I will always remember about Africa is that no matter what these people go through they have the most beautiful smiles, a hope like life in them that never seems to end. They are always looking for the positive in life and one glimpse of that smile will melt your heart.

                But moving on, we stayed in Joe-Burg for about 3-4 days and spent time with the family then decided to drive down to Cape town! This is where the other half of my father’s family is located. We had lunch with them and then headed to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a mountain located in Cape town that really the name speaks for itself, it is a completely flat mountain top that when the clouds get thick they fall rest on top of the mountain acting and looking like a “table cloth”. We decided to hike up the mountain, but we all forgot I have asthma so we had to frequently stop to break, but with all the frequent breaks you really got to take in the beauty of the country. It is simply stunning, such diverse terrain and the weather is always changing.

                We then proceeded from Cape town to the Kruger National Park. We stayed here for about 4-5 nights and each night moved to a different “bush camp”. We went on morning and night safaris and got to experience the wildlife up close and personal. The last day of our stay at the Kruger Park we got o actually ride elephants! That was the most memorable part of my trip. Being able to see the beauty of the animal up close and being able to feel such power under you.

                Africa is my heart and I cannot be more proud to have it as my heritage.