Becca enjoying, exploring, connecting, & relaxing on one of the best weekends ever

After a long week of work tying up the loose ends of AMI2016, I took a three-day weekend on the Garden Route. I hate saying that anything is the “best moment of my life”, because it is my hope that my life will continue to amaze me in different ways, but this was without a doubt one of the best things I have ever done.

We left on Friday where we drove for six hours to the mountains. Here, we toured a cave. While it was definitely cool to see, I realized that I am not a person who likes to be in caves. At all. We returned to the hostel where we enjoyed a delicious braai of ostrich and salad. The next morning, we woke up to go to an elephant sanctuary. This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Elephants are my favorite animals. They are unique in that they demonstrate compassion and empathy for both fellow elephants and other animals. Walking with them against the beautiful backdrop of the South African mountainside provided me with a moment to truly reflect on how appreciative I am of all the people who have supported through my experience thus far and how much I have experienced and learned in the few weeks since I arrived.

After we fed and hugged the elephants we headed out to Wilderneiss where we kayaked down a river and swam around. After we returned, we stopped for a quick lunch and then drove into the mountains. While a lot of people decided to bungee jump off the world’s highest jump, I opted for something less likely to result the public shaming one generally receives after having pooped themselves. Isabelle, Lily, Meg, Trista, Mariko, and I headed to a nearby canyon where we zip lined and enjoyed some scenery. Finally, we headed to a hostel right on the beach in Simonsberg. That night, after another braai, we went out to the beach and just talked and enjoyed each other’s company.

Most of the time, I’m waking up before 6am, and coming home after 6pm and I don’t always have time or energy to talk to students from the other house. It was so nice to better get to know my fellow peer-educators on a more personal level.

The next morning after breakfast, I headed to the beach where I wrote in my journal and enjoyed the view. We then drove out to a game reserve where we enjoyed a three hour tour and got to see giraffes, rhinos, spring boks, elephants, antelopes, and lions among others. After lunch we headed home.

It was surreal pulling into our driveway because it felt like we had been gone for a really long time—probably because we packed so much into three days. I feel refreshed, relaxed, and excited and ready for the upcoming week.

On another note, I also figured out what I will be doing for my activist project! I come from a family of runners and have enjoyed running my entire life. I have been running my entire life. Not only has it taught me discipline, it has empowered me to love and care for my body and all that it can do for me.

During the Human Rights Weekend, Elizabeth met a woman named Yonela and gave me her contact information. Yonela is the Founding Director of Feminique Fitness Club “a Fitness Club aimed at the women in the townships battling with Mental fitness, Physical Fitness and Emotional fitness”. Yonela discovered running later in her life and experienced its benefits in a way that profoundly affected her. Her transformative experience made her passionate about dissolving the toxic culture that dissuades women from seeking fitness and empowering women to make healthy decisions. I hope to work with Yonela to create a short movie about the women in her group and help out with the various campaigns that she runs. I’m so excited to have found an opportunity that so uniquely fits with so many of my different interests.