So, I'm Back

That's right, after four weeks of being back, I finally feel like I'm caught up! I apologize for not getting up my other musings about the last week of the trip to Cape Town, but things picked up towards the end of the trip and journaling every night became increasingly impossible.
Just to fill in the blanks, after we left Atlantis the group headed out to a hostel in Camps Bay for two days. This was pretty much the transition period before the first wave of people had to head out for various reasons. It was kind of an up and down time but all in all, we got to do all the fun, touristy things we wanted. Table Mountain was awesome and Greenmarket Square was crazy. The houses around Camps Bay were ridiculous and the beaches were beautiful.
After we settled things at the hostel, the people left went to a retreat/camp sponsored by Africa Jam. It was amazing. We met up with Jena's friends, Ellen and Quinton (and the adorable Maya), who are basically the founders of the Africa Jam program and fantastic people. The camp was beyond description and we were even reunited with some of our friends from Atlantis. We were there for three days and enjoyed every minute of it... including bringing the deadly game of "Red Rover" to our friends in South Africa.
From camp, Rose, Santosh and myself went back to Atlantis to stay in the townships. It was a great experience, despite the fact that I was pretty much feeling the full effects of my cold. Rose and Santosh went out and I stayed in, attempting to fight off the illness. On Friday (which is Safrica Day 18, if you are keeping count), we stayed in Matilda's house. Her husband prepared the most delicious stew I have ever tasted. The poiki was cooked over an open fire for several hours and it was worth every minute. It had meats, veges and tubers all cooked soft and tender. Rose and Santosh went out with the group while I played it safe and stayed in again. I was starting to feel better and didn't really want to chance a night out at the bar.
I woke up on Saturday feeling better than I had for days. We had a fantastic breakfast and packed up all our things. After saying goodbye to Matilda and her family, we headed to the airport to pick up Buddy, who had left for Durban. We then headed to Table View, where we were graciously housed by one of Carlo's friends (who shall remain nameless at this time because I don't know how to spell her name... but it sounds like El-Nisha). The flat was unbelievable and a short walk to the beach. Our stay in Table View was the perfect way to end the trip. We had some good times out with Vuyo in Gugulethu and Dr. Petersen visited for a final dinner.
So that was the last of South Africa. After we got back to the states, I had a couple days to recuperate before going to the week-long cranial osteopathy course. It was a great time to get back into the routine of school and refine my skills in an area that I didn't get much practice in during the regular school year. Since then, "real school" has started and two weeks have already passed! Its amazing to think about how fast time has flown already. Next week, the new class of students will be here for orientation and starting classes. I remember almost one year ago, I was thinking I would never survive the first year of school.
This time, the ever-daunting thought of Boards is occupying a lot of my thoughts. That and all the extra things I've gotten myself into: SGA, the ER and Sports Medicine groups, etc. I'll try and keep my head screwed on. So that's what's on my mind now - more news as it becomes available.