NOTE: Except for a few minutes last weekend, I haven’t had any internet time in two weeks. This blog is about our weekend two weeks ago, and it was written sometime around then.
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One interesting part of being in South Africa is the language barrier. No, I’m not talking about Afrikaans or any of the tribal languages. I’m referring to English. On top of having an incredibly awesome sounding accent, English speakers in South Africa use a lot of different words than we do. I’ve had an interesting time getting used to understanding people in conversation and this has led to a few interesting miscommunications.
Russell has talked about his “cell group” a lot. He visits them every week for ministry and has mentioned some of their different backgrounds and stories. So last week I was under the impression that his “cell group” referred to a prison ministry. Last Wednesday he arranged a time for us to get together with them, and I was bracing myself to meet a bunch of criminals. It didn’t help my misconception that most of them were weightlifters with tattoos, but I eventually found out that a “cell group” refers to a small group or core group.
Russell’s non-convict friends are so great. That night went so well and they were blessed by our time together and encouraged by our worship. They decided to bless us in return by treating us to two experiences last weekend: a wildlife trip and a legit South African barbecue.
On Sunday we went to the Rhino and Lion Park in Magliesburg, not too far west of Pretoria. Driving through the large park, we saw a lot of wildlife, including antelope, giraffe, rhino, water buffalo, and zebra. We also drove through a heavily gated area and saw lions, cheetahs, and wolves, all during their feeding times. There were a lot of birds and smaller animals too.
On a bathroom stop, I had an ostrich walk over to me and that encounter turned into a stare down. They can be intimidating, but if you stand your ground and make yourself look bigger than they are, they won’t attack you. (Good thing I’m 6’5” and had a rock to stand on.)
Ostrich standoff (Photo by Abby Twarek)
After that, we went to a petting zoo that had baby lions and tigers that were about the size of full size dogs. It was fun to pet and play with them as they growled and slobbered all over our hands.
(There haven't been a lot of pictures uploaded because of slow internet and lack of internet. I'll try to add pictures to my blogs in future when I can find them. I did get some pictures with the baby lions and tigers though!)
Playing with Baby Tigers (Photo by Natasha Paschal)
(Added 10/15/12)
The weekend was a long weekend because of Heritage Day, a public holiday in South Africa to celebrate diversity. It’s also known as Braai Day, which is a South African style barbecue. Russell’s friends wanted to show us what a real braai was like, so they took us to a legit picnic spot: a lakefront park on a nature reserve that was heavily gated and full of million dollar homes. (It’s crazy to see the full extent of the rich and poor divide here.) They barbecued lots of chicken, lamb, and sausage, so we ate a huge amount of meat. We also relaxed by the lake and went boating, intertubing, and swimming.
That weekend was one of my highlights, and we were very blessed by Russell’s friends. I am very excited for other experiences to come! Hopefully I will be able to blog about them sooner as well.
