Hi Everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update my blog in a while. School is almost over, so I've had tons of work to do and have been on so many adventures! Below are some places and things I've done this past month! Shark Cage DivingShark Cage diving is one of the best things I think I have done in Cage Diving. To go Shark Cage diving, we had to wake up at around 4 in the morning to drive 2 hours away to Gransbaai. We ate some bread and cereal (not too much in case we got sea sick) and listen to some instructions and got on the boat! We drove about 15 minutes out while they started to put chum in the water to attract the sharks. They also threw fish heads into the water, and before anyone went into the cage a gigantic shark came out of the water and took the fish head. It was amazing! Seeing them from out of the cage was just as exciting as in it. I wasn't the first group to go, so I had to watch 5 people be put into the cage while Great White Sharks came right up onto their cage... at this point I was starting to get a bit terrified. As the first group finished up, we put our wet suits on. After they got the first group out, they slowly started to put us in the cage one by one... I of course had to be on the end. I really didn't like being on the end because not only could I not extend my arms in front or behind me but I couldn't extend them to the right either because then they would also go out of the cage. The first minute of shark cage diving is the scariest. The reason why--> it is so flippin cold. Not only are you scared because Sharks are swimming near you, but your body is freezing and the water takes a good couple minutes to get used to. It is also the scariest minute because you're still trying to find the best position to put your body, while your cold, while there is sharks swimming around you. I could reach the yellow bar that you were supposed to put your toes on because I was so short, so I had them tucked into a little ball the entire time. It is also scary, because while you are cold, trying to get positioned, and have sharks swimming around you... you are also trying to see how the hell you're going to be able to hold your breath while one comes up to the cage.... to be honest, I didn't really. When they came up I pretty much just stayed above water... whoops. Theres just a lot going on at one time, so I didn't really get used to being in the cage for 5-10 minutes. When one came up to the cage, it swam directly to my side and tried to get the fish head that was up against the cage... they told me to go down.. but I just screamed "how am I supposed to hold my breath under water at a time like this!!!!" It jaws were soo close to me! After we got out of the cage (which by the way took me 5 minutes), we let the next group go and then headed back to shore. After we ate lunch we headed back to Mowbray, but first we stopped at a place where people go whale watching. We didn't see any because it wasn't whale season, but it was still super pretty. Surfing at MuizenbergOne Monday we were off school for a public holiday, so my friends and I decided to go surfing at Muizenberg. We only had to take a 20 rand (or about 2 dollars) train ride there and pay 80 rand (or about 8 dollars) for a board and wetsuit. I only got up a couple of times, but it was still fun trying. We even got some fried hake and calamari after, it was soo good. Oh, and I got 3 stickers. Parkview concertA couple Saturdays ago, my roommate Brenna and my friend Delia went to a concert at Green point. The concert was right next to the stadium where the fifa world cup was at so thats pretty cool! We only had to pay about 40 dollars to watch some amazing musicians. We saw American Authors, Jeremy Loops, Modest Mouse, and Klingande. I liked all the performers, but my favorite was definitely Jeremy Loops. He reminds me of another musician I really like, John Butler Trio. He's a South African musician, but he's coming to America when I get home! My roommate and I are planning on seeing him ago late June in Philadelphia. Kalk BayOne Friday after we decided to take a train (which only costs 20 rand) to Kalk Bay. We just looked around, went into some shops, and took some pictures. It's stunning! We then went to this restaurant that is on the water. I had fried Hake and Calamari again; my favorite food here. SandboardingMy friends Odon, Brenna, Will, Aaron, Jenny decided to go Sandboarding at the Alantis Dunes the other day. I really am not good at snowboarding, but for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to go sandboarding (which is literally like the same thing on sand).It was only 16 dollars to do this, but we got lost going there so it ended up costing us a lot more for the uber driver. We looked up a random address at first and it brought us to a house in the middle of a neighborhood, so it was clear we were not at the right place to go sand boarding. Oh well, you live and you learn! This isn't really an adventure, but I thought I'd share pictures of some of the amazing people I've met while I've been here. They are soo helpful and really have made my experience in South Africa 100 times better (even though its already so amazing). I'm pretty sure I would fail my Xhosa Language class if Brittany wasn't there to help me! One random night, my friends Jacob and Luke and I decided to go to Signal Hill where you can see Cape Town at night. We just sat here drinking Steri Stumpies (this weird South African milk) while listening to music. It was definitely a memory I'll keep forever.
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