The jumpers were...

(Okay, so I wanted to create a really cool post with pictures of the bungy-ers, but this computer is super slow and the bartender at this lodge in the Drakensbergs wouldn't let me load any discs or flash drives... So you'll have to settle for written results. The first jumper was one who had decided he would jump all along. The other two decided to after doing the zipwire. They were a girl who has previously skydived and who is quite adventurous. The other jumper was one whose wife, upon him returning back alive, said, "That [watching her husband jump off a 216-meter platform] was the hardest thing I have ever done!" I hope you have it figured out. Hint: I did not jump but did zip.

We are staying our second night right outside the Royal Natal National Park in the Drakensberg region of South Africa. Yesterday, after an overnight in the Valley of the 1000 Hills, we got to watch a Zulu dancing show and learn more about what was a very dominant nation. We also stopped by the place where Mandela got arrested while driving back in 1962. Today, we got to add another country to our list by visiting the mountain kingdom of Lesotho (called the "Switzerland of Africa") on a bus tour. We visited a local school, hiked a bit and saw rock paintings, visited a "sangoma" or traditional healer, sampled some local wine and cuisine, and saw some breathtaking scenery. Besides having some car issues, fearing we would be overnighting in some country huts in the mountains, we did fine and did make it out in one piece!

Tomorrow, we head to another country, Swaziland, to stay in the Hlane Game Park, and maybe visit Mozambique. Then it is onto our safari and Kruger National Park. We will be returning stateside on May 5th. Thank you so much for thinking of us! I hope I can post some pictures soon-- but it may have to wait till we get home. See you soon! )

Highlights

We are currently in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape area. So many highlights, which include:

• Spending a day at the Vergelegen Winery, touring, tasting, having a sylvan picnic lunch, and wandering the rose gardens before overnighting in Stellenbosch
  
• Visiting the southernmost point of the African continent, at the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (Cape Agulhas)-- Wendi got a pic in with her Western Kentucky towel!
  
• Overnighting in a seaside B & B in Mossel Bay, playing dominoes while watching the waves crash and drinking wine, then dining in a fantastic seafood restaurant (and getting to try ostrich, of which we've seen many!)
• Going to the World's highest bungee jump at Bloukrans Bridge (216m) near Tsitsikamma National Park. Four of us zip-wired. Three jumped. All are alive, and all with "intact retinas" (what med students worry about with jumping-- forget death!). Stay tuned for specifics :)
  
• Staying overnight outside Addo Elephant Park, doing a sunset drive where we saw a black-backed jackal, cape buffalo, leopard tortoise, scrub hare, kudu, elands, and hartebeest (but, alas, no elephants!). Then eating kudu (mmm) in our hut-dining room (the lodge is on a citrus farm).
• Fun times of talking, laughing, and driving. I could not imagine a more fun group to travel with. We are having an AMAZING time!!!!

Day on the Cape.. (and... two posts in one day!)

We had an amazing time today touring the Cape! We took our soccer-mom van and went south along the eastern part of the cape peninsula. We passed cute towns like Kalk Bay (fisherman's town), Simon's Town, and beautiful scenery on our way to the southern/westernmost parts of Africa at Cape Point (lighthouse) and Cape of Good Hope, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

The KitsLovely scenery (and girls, right?)JB's caption for this: "the species with the biggest backbone (this is a whale vertebrae) and the smallest (Wendi)" :) You can tell from her expression that she is not that amused.Kelsey, looking yonder at Cape PointOstrich we saw roadside on our way to the Cape of Good Hope!

Poseidon Man at the Cape (weird, I know) and Kels in her trademark pose

We had a lovely seaside lunch at Sea Forth and got to see the African penguin colony up close at Boulder Beach. Many were nesting! Then we crossed over to the other side of the peninsula to return to CT via Chapman Peak Drive, a breathtaking mountainous coastal route which left us either speechless or giddy (between Wendi's entreaties for JB to watch the edge!) :) We got to grant Wendi's request to "stick her feet in the water" at Hout Bay, where it was ridiculously cold!

Overlooking Hout Bay

After a trip to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens (the Kits had gone yesterday, but wanted to take Kels and me there too-- and JB could spent HOURS there [he brought his 'good' camera today]), where we wandered against a beautiful backdrop and saw the "useful plants" garden and fragrance garden (for some reason, my pics won't load!), we headed to Table Mountain.


By great luck, we were given spots on the very last cable car of the day going up. It was great fun seeing the cape from the gondola, and we enjoyed our time up at the top with beautiful views of the stunning waters.

Here is our photo with a "spot" reserved for Nicole, who we would have loved to have on the trip but who apparently has to "work" to be able to graduate...Wow- doesn't Wen look like a model here?!I love this one :)

Tomorrow we head to the winelands. South Africa is absolutely AMAZING so far!

Safe in South Africa!

Another country to the list!

On Thursday, the Fischers and us ("Team Nigeria" as Lesley started calling us) left Jos for the Abuja airport to commence the second leg of our Africa adventure-- this time to South Africa. It was bittersweet. I was getting a bit bummed our last few days in Nigeria with the thought we'd have to leave-- it was such an incredible experience. Never have I felt the love and hospitality that we were blessed with while there. I think we all left truly changed, as trite as that may sound. As we drove away from the guest house, with Papa and Ayo waving goodbye, we all promised we would do our best to come back soon.

Finding out that our flight to Johannesburg (Jo'burg as it is called here) was running late (and that we had an international connection), we were able to get on the same flight as the Fischers leaving Abuja for Lagos. Although not a very long distance, we spent a long time circling because, as the pilot informed us, (for some reason), the airport was "closed" for a period of time. Never have I been so uncomfortably hot on an airplane.... until the second leg of our trip, a overnight to Johannesburg. Luckily once we left the tarmac, things got to a reasonable temperature and we were all able to sleep, but we were roasting for a while! A common debate on this trip is whether it's better to be hot or cold. Then... it was definitely cold!

We missed our connection to Capetown due to some convoluted scheme where we had to claim our luggage, take it through customs, then make our way to the domestic terminal and RECHECK in. But, thank the Lord, we were able to make the standby on the next flight to Cape Town, which left just an hour later. AND WE HAVE LUGGAGE. HOORAY!!! :)

We picked up our rental van and encouraged JB as he maneuvered the right (wrong) side of the road with Kelsey as the copilot, driving a stick shift with his left hand! Unfortunately, we had a little curb incident which flattened a tire, but it's all fixed again! We are staying at the Big Blue Backpackers hostel near the downtown area-- one of the nicest (and best value!) hostels I have ever stayed in.

Kels and I ventured out on a ferry to Robben Island, which houses the prison when thousands of prisoners (mostly political) were housed during the dark decades of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Nelson Mandela spend 18 years there (before being transferred to other mainland prisons-- he spent a total of 27 years incarcerated). It was so, so interesting, and I was blessed to have with me Kelsey, the African studies major, to fill in the historical details. We were taken on a tour of the island-- complete with viewing of penguins and bantu boks, as well as a church (which, morbidly, is a common place for weddings), school, and residences-- by one former prisoner, now working as a field biologist there. Then we got another tour by a man imprisoned as a bantu (a black, held in lower esteem, getting fewer rations and harsher treatment than the other prisoners, "coloureds" and "Asians") for his role in resisting the apartheid policies of segregation in higher education. It was truly amazing to be there-- horrifying that this terror was still happening in my lifetime but very educational. We saw Nelson Mandela's 3x3 cell, the housing quarters for others, and the courtyards. Besides getting a bit seasick on our ferry way back, it was a fantastic time. The Kits and Ajit enjoyed the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens before we reconvened.

We all went out to have a nice dinner, complete with red wine and mussels. Mmm. The prices seem quite reasonable here (although very pricey by Nigerian standards!). We have running water and power for once, which makes us feel a bit guilty. It really feels heavenly here. We have beautiful weather, and I couldn't imagine a more fun group to travel with! I had a wonderful night's sleep and was able to go for a morning run up to Signal Hill for some lovely views of the harbor. I didn't make it to Lion's Head (the rock configuration which really looks like a lion's figure lying prone!), but did run around Lion's rump :)

Ajit is spending some time on his own today on a tour. The Kits and I are headed down the coast, to hopefully see some penguins, the Cape of Good Hope, and other pretty scenery! More updates later :)

Get your fill!

Not sure when we'll get a chance to write again. Thought I would, again, be lazy and just post some pics. Wen is the writer :)

It was nice to get outside on Sunday after laying low for the elections on Saturday. Apparently, they went well (Kels and Wendi, today, got a briefing from our Nigerian godfather but I didn't get the whole story). We "Mayo five" led the Faith Alive (HIV) Support group meeting and got a chance to take some pics of us in nice dress. Here they are.

Kelsey is really into "hands and feet" :)

Goofy Kels's idea-- she held the camera Our apartment balcony

Getting water from the well, which Kelsey and I have to do with less frequency than the others (you may not want to know why...) :)

Today, John, Ajit, and I went to JUTH (Jos University Teaching Hospital) and spent some time with Dr. Thacher, a doctor who has been here for 19 years but who will be coming on staff at Mayo come May. He specializes in treating kids with rickets, which I had never seen with such severity.

Here is a 7-year old child, Blessing

Another child, with a "windswept" deformity (legs curving in same direction).

Tomorrow, Dr. Fischer and Dr. Chris arrive back here from Abuja. I'm sure the next few days will go by in a blur. Pray that we wrap up safely and make it to South Africa without problem!

Sweet Sites

Thanks for keeping up! I've not been so good at commenting-to-the-comments because internet is soooo slow, but we love hearing from you! Here are some more photos. The first is the best one of the five of us at Yankari park, where we were Thursday-Friday. Below are more from this park. It was gorgeous.Kelsey with her non-beef-stew meal at AfriOne, a restaurant in town which really fees like an "escape" from the hustle and bustle of Nigerian life. The bathroom seemed palatial!!! I tried a bean salad (thank goodness I didn't get sick!), and we also enjoyed some pizza, kofta, and burgers.

Last week, we visited Gidan Bege, an orphanage in town. Ajit especially enjoyed his time (including soccer) with the boys. A woman who was cooking for 60 boys!
Lsat week, we also visited the headquarters of ProHealthInternational, another Christian organization which organizes large teams of doctors and staff to provide health care to underserved areas around Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Osondu, a Nigerian doctor planning to do an MPH at Hopkins, showed us around and gave us more information on this very sustainable, admirable company. There was amazing artwork. Kelsey and I both agreed that our guide, too, was very "easy on the eyes," if you know what I mean :)

Kels and me singing hymns with Loretta, one of our favorite Faith Alive employees

Girls hanging out. By the way, I don't wear this shirt every day. It has been washed :) Ajit in action- Faith Alive clinic
Yankari National Park. This was a wonderful place, a few hours' drive NE of here (in Bauchi state) to get away to for a night. We swam--both in day and by night-- in the 31 degree C Wikki Hot Spring waters. I have never seen anything like this. It was heavenly, much like a mini-lagoon. At night, we watched bats swoop down to the watertop. By day, we watched JB get frustrated by not being able to dive down into the underwater cave we were told about. We also went on a safari ride and familiarized ourself with the hartebeest, monitor lizard, bush bucks, water bucks, and tse-tse flies (whose bites HURT!!!!).

Kels with Emily, the Isicheis' oldest child JB and Ajit, pre-safari

Comfort, me, Kelsey, and Emi by night

Sorry for the lack-of-zoom.

Today is the gubernatorial election in Jos, so we all are just laying low in the house, making use of power while we have it. We are here until Thursday, at which time we leave for South Africa. The time really has flown.

Notes from Nigeria

So I'm becoming much lazier. I'm going to resort to posting pictures and explaining the rest in bullets :)

• Last week, we took an expedition to the market to buy more fabric for clothing. Blessing took us, which was a good thing! Never have we felt, while walking around, weird or threatened. But we did in the market-- JB definitely got harassed for being a "white man" wanting to take photos of what seems to have been shady stuff. Hmm. It was difficult to maneuver around all the people and cars, but we seemed to have done it. Here are some "snaps."

Me with Wendi and Blessing

Blessing in her Sewing Shop. We love this woman! She, with her students, is making us all kinds of stuff-- clothes, purses, quilts, you name it! Today, she quickly took in my linen pants so that they are actually wearable instead of falling off all the time (yes, I bought them because they were cheap!).

• We have discovered that, despite the heat, it is possible to exercise here. There is a stadium near where we're staying and I've been able to go running a couple of times around a courtyard where people are madly playing soccer. Kelsey and I have gone together once, but I feel I might be deserted from now on because Kelsey and Ajit have also discovered pick-up basketball games nearby and are having fun teaching the Nigerians a thing or two :). JB says, "run outside?! I don't think so." Wendi just mentions that she's lost 10 pounds not even attempting to exercise.
• On Saturday, we attended the graduation of students from the Faith Alive sewing, knitting, and computer schools. They were so excited for our presence and kept wanting to be in pictures with us! Here are a few-- first, Ajit and the ladies!

  The Group

  

  "Big K" (Kelsey) and "Little T," as Kels has started calling me. I seriously feel like a midget in this group of travelers. Wendi has to keep telling people that no one looks like her and Kelsey (over 6-foot blondes!)
  

Charlie's Angels posing with Blessing :)

• We went to an impressive Easter service on Sunday. We headed out after about 3 hours in there (Kelsey before the rest of us, as she'd gone to early morning mass too!)! People worship forever here! It was fun to get dressed up again in Nigerian garb and we had a beautiful, restful day.

Some boys who hang out outside our apartment

• Goats: We pass goats (tons of them) every day to and from the clinic (see pic below). The other night, some doctor gave Ajit a dish of some meat for our dinner. JB and I tried it-- we were told it was goat. It was BAD. It didn't even taste like meat. But Rebekah, a lawyer visiting town (her husband Toyin is on the board of trustees for Faith Alive) said it was a delicacy. I tried some more. It was still bad. Then we learned it was goat head. Ick! I think we might have eaten some eyes, brain, and ears. Although we have, for the most part, been adventurous (except for our retreat to AfriOne, a more western-type restaurant, the other day), I am not sure how much experimentation I will do here. I'm certainly going to stay away from goat head.

Goat on the plate
Wendi reacting to the smell of the goat head

• Ultrasound Excitement: When our luggage arrived, we got the expensive hand-held ultrasound sent by Dr. Dunn at Mayo! It came in really handy today, when I spent the morning in antenatal clinic. We busted it out when one woman came in complaining of decreased fetal movement. When I ultrasounded her, we couldn't detect any fetal heart activity and it looked like an intrauterine fetal demise at around 34 weeks. Tough stuff. We had to refer her to JUTH. But what is striking is that, even though many pregnancies go as planned, there are many childhood deaths, so that the patients' prior pregnancy histories mention "pregnancy 2004; child deceased." It's kind of shocking. In any case, after we used the ultrasound once, everyone wanted us to ultrasound them (and asked me to determine the sex of their baby!). I'm not that good with ultrasound, but it was really neat to try and try to do measurements to predict gestational age.
  

Here is JB showing off the Ultrasound on Dr. Chris

OB Ultrasound

Other novelties worth mentioning:

• Wendi and John have taught us spades. A fun, although stressful, game!
• I gave a devotional talk the other morning-- the first time I have ever really spoken in front of a group of people on faith. Although scary, it was a good experience. I even sang some hymns for the group-- my favorites, Be Thou My Vision and Great is Thy Faithfulness.
• We currently have power! This is a rare thing! I better run up and enjoy it! :)