Elephants & Grahamstown

Today, I decided I should take a couple minutes and add another blog post. The last one I wrote was about bungee jumping...3 weeks ago! As of right now, I have 16 days left in South Africa. It's amazing how time works. Sometimes I feel like I've been here forever, and other times I feel like I'm still a stranger and need more time. Overall, though, I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing the people I love and miss in just over 2 weeks!

The first weekend I was back from traveling, Dr. Baxen took Anna, Wellyna and I to Addo Elephant Park. Elephants are such amazing creatures; I could watch them for hours and be content. It was raining on the day we went to Addo, but the animals were still out and we had some very interesting encounters. Check out the pictures and video below. I wish all my friends could be here to experience this as well. 

Since I've been back from my travels, I have been teaching/planning/marking and looking for jobs back in the US. Wellyna left about a week and a half ago and walked in her graduation ceremony on Saturday! Crazy! We had a going away party for her  at

 the Rat & Parrot which is a local restaurant/bar. The weekend before she left, the three of us met up with a friend and walked around the Botanical Gardens in Grahamstown and went to the coolest coffee shop. The building used to be an old jail (built in 1838) and was made circular so the guard could watch all the inmates at once. The coffee shop is in the guard house and the guest sit in the common area surrounded by cells. The cells have been converted into study rooms (complete with outlets) for the university students! Awesome concept! 

After Wellyna left, I moved from the big house to the cottage out back with Anna. Below are some pictures of the cottage where I'll be living for the next two weeks.