So i'm sitting back in Cape Town listening to Avril Lavigne's "sk8tr boi" on the radio. Life is surreal sometimes.

So yes, we are back to where we began our trip, at the Backpack hostel in Cape Town. And we are once again writing a paper. It's even the same paper because it's a rewrite of the first one we wrote. Who said time is linear? it's so not.

We left Grahamstown on Saturday and drove to our hostel near the safari park. We slept in the most wonderful mud huts with grass roofs I could ever imagine (with indoor plumbing and a heater and everything)! And in an orange tree grove nonetheless. It was a beautiful two days. We spent the first day on safari. First we drove in cars/vans through the elephant park and saw SO many elephants. The baby ones were my favorite. Then we got into open safari jeeps and drove out into the wild. We stopped, literally 10 feet away from a lion and lioness. I had a very false sense of security inside the vehicle until the female feline got up and started walking towards my side of the jeep and our driver goes *in a hushed and eerily calm voice* "keep all your limbs inside the vehicle." My limbs weren't going anywhere.

She didn't eat me, don't worry.
We also were close to giraffes and saw hippos and kudu and crocodiles and bunch of other animals i don't remember...
and then we ate kudu and springbok for dinner! mmm..

The next day we went to the lion and croc park, which is set up more like a zoo. We saw huge crocidiles that looked kin to godzilla. and then, the highlight of the week,
we played with lion cubs.
not baby simbas, but teenage simba sized cubs.
It was a bit intimidating at first, but they were kinda just like puppies with claws and sharp teeth.
there's a hole in my sweatshirt, it's from a lion. how many people can say that? *don't worry mom, it's just a tiny hole. Scout has ripped much bigger ones).

So, Ben Troop, if you ever read this, I wrestled lions - If that's not flirting with death, I don't know what more you want from me.

Oh, a few of us also went and got massages. soo nice. Dr. Segall and I got ours together, it was precious bonding time, really. We entered the room and our massage persons ( i can't spell what they are called for the life of me) go "Ok, so just take off your clothes and get under these towels and we'll be right back!" How many people experience that with one of their favorite professors?

So now we're back, after a day of driving. The next group of Irish students arrived, there's a few of our friends from the last group, but it's kind of weird to have all the new ones around.
And we're just working on our final paper (it never seems to end) and then we're headed home on Friday.

Tomorrow we're visiting a TB clinic. So that should be interesting. And then doing some shopping.

I'm so ready to go home and see everyone! I miss you all. And you people at school, I'm so excited to be able to call you all and regularly correspond again!