Vivimos en Cuba por cuatro meses!

It’s true.

The rest of the study abroad group (Rose, Allison, Casey, Nick, Drew, Alec, Alex, Louisa, Alyssa, Adam, John, Sarah and Brittany) and myself have been living in Vedado (in Havana) since this past Sunday. I think the fact that we’re in Cuba took a few days to sink in.

It’s been an adventure thus far, exploring Havana Vieja (the historic district), la Universidad de la Habana (where we will be taking classes) and preparing to celebrate the birth of Jose Marti with torches in a march.

The adventure wasn’t too fun for me the first few days, having a nasty ear/sinus infection and an ever-present fever. I’m just now beginning to feel better and I can’t wait to experience the nightlife that Havana has to offer!

We have some in the group who love to salsa, others who want to learn to box and…me? I’m still trying to figure out what it is that is authentically “Cuban” that I want to take away from this. Plenty of time to figure that out though. This is simply the introduction to an eye-opening four months.

"Bahamas for Obama!"

I got to Nassau, Bahamas yesterday around 2pm and as I walked around the streets near the hotel, signs on storefronts read "Bahamas for Obama!"

Clearly, everyone is excited about the inauguration.

I'm excited as well, but by the time Tuesday comes around, the rest of the study abroad group and myself will have been in Cuba for a few days. Our flight leaves for Havana this afternoon and I don't think any of us can really believe it's happening.

But while Cuba is just on the horizon, this is my first time in the Bahamas as well and it is BEAUTIFUL! I cannot believe how crystal-clear the water is and the tropical atmosphere is intoxicating. It reminds me a lot of Key West.

I think we're all going to walk around, explore and maybe visit a beach or two before leaving. And then it's off to Cuba...

I Swam with Sharks on My 21st Birthday!

I did, I really did.

It was a surprise though. Morgan has done a few different stories with a particular shark-diving company and, without me knowing, arranged for the two of us to dive with them on my birthday this past Monday. It was FANTASTIC! We were out in the Indian Ocean for the better part of the day when we first dove in to swim with about 30 or 40 dolphins and later, about that many blacktip sharks. Two tiger sharks also showed up a bit later, but by that time I was passed out on the boat with the color completely drained from my face.

...I get seasick.

Despite feeling terrible, I found my nausea almost funny. That WOULD happen to me when Morgan planned a great surprise and that WOULD happen to me on my birthday, with my head hung over the side of the boat while everyone else threw on their gear to jump in the water. Still, it was an amazing experience. No cages, no harnesses, nothing. Just swimming alongside tens of curious sharks.

One of the women working our particular dive was an American who is doing field work in South Africa as a shark conservationist. We learned quite a bit of valuable information not only about sharks, but about the particular organization which she started up: Shark Savers. For more information, I believe her website is: www.sharksavers.org.

Also, as predicted in my last post, I did have a South African braii for my 21st birthday. Friends from eTV (where I interned last summer) came, some of Morgan's good friends that I've since met and various members of Morgan's family. I have to say that for a 21st birthday far away from home and old friends, it was was wonderful. Morgan and his family prepared everything, down to decorating a little chair for me to sit in. I really couldn't thank them enough.

And now, after having spent an amazing month back in South Africa, I am little more than a week away from leaving for Havana, Cuba where I will live for the next four months. I leave for the the States on Monday, get back on Tuesday and that Saturday I fly out. When this realization hit me last night, it made me somewhat sad. I love South Africa and I think it's a beautiful country. I also won't see Morgan until I run my Ironman in Cozumel this November. However, I think that the best situation to feel sad in is when you're going from one exciting adventure to another.

A South African New Year

First things first: I suck at blogs. My entries are always weeks, if not months, apart. Still, I'm going to keep at it.

So: A lot has happened since my last entry. I made it to South Africa just fine, after two days of grueling flights. It occurred to me as I was walking down the passageway from the airplane, having had my passport stamped and wondering which line to stand in (there were only two: one said "RSA citizens" and the sign for the other line read "all other African citizens") that it had been quite a while since I had seen my boyfriend, Morgan. As I continued to walk, all of the weight of our cross-continental relatiionship seemed to overwhelm me and I was just about to turn when I saw a huge smiling face, clad in a faded UNC shirt, pushing through the crowd. While I was still pretty nervous about seeing him, the weight seemed to lift and right then I figured out what I had worked so hard for throughout the semester.

Since then, I've been living quite a fun (and MUCH more relaxing) life. For the first time in months, I'm sleeping in past 7am and enjoying the morning - and not lacing up my running shoes as frequently as I probably should. We've been keeping busy, though.

Morgan arranged a great surprise for me last week. He is a TV reporter for eTV, one of the national TV stations here, so he made use of some connections and I got to go to the Sea World in Durban and see the world's largest dolphin (he looked more like a miniature whale!) and it's 3-week-old baby. Very cool. We also went snorkeling with some fish native to the region and opted to later drop down into a pool of sharks. It was a FANTASTIC day!

I've also been meeting a lot of people. I visited the Zulu family in Cato Manor that I lived with this summer and dropped off some Christmas presents with them that I'm hoping they enjoy. I've been meeting a lot of Morgan's friends as well. I went to my first official braii (*South African version of a BBQ, very popular) and also went to a friend's 21st birthday celebration. It's funny how the legal drinking age here in RSA is 18, but the 21st birthday is still quite the big deal. My 21st is on January 5th (4 days!!!) and I'm pretty excited myself. I think we're going to have a braii...

As far as New Year's celebration, it was great. We scored complimentary tickets to a rooftop party at a hotel followed by dancing at a bar nearby. I must admit though, I did truly miss seeing the ball drop. BUT I don't think I'll have another South African New Year's anytime soon, (or at least not next year) so I soaked up every minute.