Volunteering has its costs, and its benefits...
I started working on the paperwork to come out here over a year ago. I submitted every form they asked me for and mailed it all over via courier as requested. It was a very expensive and tiring process. All in the name of volunteering. Apparently the document proving that I had finished my internship at Cottage Hospital was lost in the shuffle AFTER it arrived here in Africa. Someone signed for it, but it is nowhere to be found. No one ever told me that this document was missing, and I came here thinking that everything was in order. It took a full week to find out exactly what was holding my paperwork up. They had a copy of it, but the orientation was wrong and the signatures were cut off of the copy. TIA. That's a saying I have learned here. It stands for "This Is Africa" and is routinely employed when things of this nature occur. Fortunately, Amber helped to help me get new document signed and sent over in the middle of December. Unfortunately, the entire Health Professions Council of South Africa went on Vacation December 15th. They are just getting back into the office now (TIA). I have been rounding in the hospital every morning, and have been scrubbing in on interesting cases, but do not have full privileges to operate on my own yet. I should get my privileges sometime this week or next. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
 |
| Climbing up Table Mountain |
It has been painful waiting, but I have been trying to make the best of it. Since I have not been "on call" for the weekends, I have been traveling around South Africa every chance I get. The "Danimal" came out to visit over New Years and we had a great time exploring together. This picture on the right is when we climbed up Table Mountain (one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world FYI) via the India Venster Route. It is known as being the most difficult way to ascend the mountain, and guides are routinely offered to help with the trail... Guides? We didn't need no stinkin' guides!
 |
| From the top of Table Mountain |
The view from the top was breathtaking.
 |
| Nature's Valley |
We went to an incredible place on the scenic "Garden Route" called Nature's Valley. The Garden Route is famous for its rich biodiversity, hosting some of the strangest, coolest plant life I have ever seen. We did a 7 hour hike that included a 2km walk on the beach. The Indian Ocean was a nice temperature and the swimming was epic. This is a picture from the end of the hike looking down on the beach and valley that we traversed.
This is a waterfall we hiked to the next day in the backyard at the Wild Spirit Backpacker's lodge. The people there were very cool and the atmosphere was amazing. I played guitar all night by the bonfire and we made some good friends.
 |
| Cape of Good Hope |
We went to the end of the continent
 |
| Me, my kite and Table Mountain |
In the days after I round, I have been learning how to kite surf. It is an amazing sport. I normally hate windy conditions, and Cape Town is one of the best spots in the world to kite surf because of the consistent wind. You know the saying... "when life gives you lemons", so I have been fully embracing this new sport. I met a really cool guy that owns one of the kite surfing shops locally. If you haven't seen kite surfing recently, please check out this video of him. It's pretty short and will blow your mind:
As you can see, I have been making the best of my "idle" time here in South Africa. I am sure that my paperwork will be completed soon, and I will have a ton of interesting cases to share with you in the near future. Thanks for checking in, more to follow.
