The conclusion is just a beginning

I fell in love with South Africa. Before I left, I was warned that your first trip to Africa is never your last -- unless of course you never leave....

A good portion of my time was spent waiting: waiting to be picked up from the supermarket, waiting for the rhino's new owners, waiting to find the buffalo, waiting for a sable to be darted, waiting for that sable to fall, waiting for anyone to come into the clinic...but I now love waiting. You can do so much thinking while you are waiting. You can relax and evaluate what just happened, whats going to happen and how to avoid danger on the next call out. You can think about how you've changed for better or for worse and what kind of person you want to be in the future. You can read, write, just listen to music and really listen to it. You can sit in the bushveld and compare all of the different thorny trees, search for hornbills, rollers, and kingfishers. And in my case you can also try and figure out how to stay in South Africa.

There were several options. The simplest one: get married. This could have easily been accomplished with a number of men in a heart beat. Especially since I was American... Green Card anyone?? However, marriage in my eyes has always been a union between two individuals madly in love and I couldn't allow myself throw away my values just to live in that wild country.

Second option, be a translator. My Spanish (really rusty at the moment, Hay alguien que quiere practicar?) could be a useful tool. Loads of Spaniards that don't speak any English or Afrikaans come to hunt and most of their professional hunters (PH's) don't speak Spanish. How useful could I be to an outfitter? (Outfitters get clients from foreign countries to hunt with PH's, kind of like a middle man that sets up the deal.) I could go to Spain for a month or two, live with my family in Valencia, which I want to do anyway, speak Spanish all day and get my Spanish where it should be. Then I would come back and be the wonderful young lady that makes communication easier for everyone. This idea was a little far fetched since I didn't have a job offer, a place to live, or anymore than a couple of hundred dollars borrowed from my parents.

When desperation hit its high point, I thought maybe I could be a receptionist. Niel's office was looking for a new one, so why not right? This way I could see Niel and Angela everyday. I could answer phones, sell dog food, make coffee at 10 o'clock every morning. My three years of excellent, expensive education at UNC would be well put to use. But, oh crap, I don't speak Afrikaans. Bummer.

I was stuck. Back to the good 'ole US of A for me. I have been back for two weeks and realize that deep down in my heart I knew all along that none of those were legitimate options even if I

had fallen in love, had some capital to spend, or spoke Afrikaans. With the first one, I don't think I could know someone for only a couple of weeks even if it was "true love" and then marry them. Time has to be there to build a relationship, right? For those of you who didn't read two posts before this...I did meet someone...but what I didn't tell you was that he did propose.  I think, however, it was just a final act of desperation because I was leaving...

As for the last two, I want to be a vet. Or at least be hands on with animals for the rest of my life. Not just answer the phone or translate while someone else treats or shoots them. Plus, I do have a family in the United States that I love very much and I think they love me back since any of my ideas or jokes of living in SA have been received with scoffs.

But who knows right?? It's anyone' guess as to where I will end up, since I just have a dream

and you never know where life will take you. And in a year from now maybe I will read this and think that I was crazy for writing it because I'm a married translating receptionist. 

Either way, I will be back in South Africa sometime soon. I have to, it stole my heart.

(Thank you for reading my blog this summer!  I enjoyed writing in it more than I expected, especially since I had such a responsive audience!  If you are ever bored one day...check back, I may have written more)

What I love about SA

I love South Africa for the following reasons that are not in any particular order:


The bushveld. There is something about it that is inexplicably captivating. You never what is just around the next thorny tree.


The people. They are so genuinely kind. I can’t tell you how many people invited me in their homes and offered me coffee, places to stay, and game drives.


The friends I made. Faye, Kate, Kathryn, Bizzie, Stephen, and Lisa from my program were all wonderful people that I know I will keep in contact with. Faye and Kate's love for life and lack of sleep made my stay 100 times better than I could have ever imagined. And gosh could they make me laugh. Why do all but Stephen have to live in England??


Niel. What I love about Niel is, well, everything! He's an incredible vet, he's funny, he loves his wife and family, he's got awesome aim with that dart gun, he's ambitious... he's exactly the kind of vet I would want to be one day. Ha, and you know why Niel became a vet? Because his friend said he was applying and Niel thought, well if he can do it, why can't I??



Angela! She is also an amazing vet and a woman! A really strong woman, with a big heart that handles adveristy very well. She taught me a lot and put up with all of my annoying questions and chit chat. I miss sitting on the box of paper next to her desk, eating chocolate, drinking coffee and discussing either vet medicine or Ellisras gossip.


The Axsel and Kriel Families. They are my South African family.


The wildlife…no explanation necessary.


Antelope. I had no idea there were so many different species and all so beautiful.


The game industry. I didn’t even know it existed before I arrived and now have a new dream to own my own game farm one day -- a dream I share with most South Africans.


Phillip, Trompie, Jannie, Jaco, Collin, Niel the bartender, and everyone else who made me laugh and cry to pieces when I left.


Biltong! Who knew dried antelope could be so delicious?


Africa time. It allows you to really enjoy the moment because if you are late, who cares? Everyone else is.


Lax regulations concerning veterinary work! I was able to be so hands on....


Africa taught me more about myself and how to be a more outgoing and accepting person.Afrikaans. What a cool language, even though I didn't understand much of anything. But I did know when people were talking about me!! Then I would feel really uncomfortable, especially when they would start laughing. Tell-tale signs I was being spoken about: the words amerikaana and engels, glances in my direction, or a sudden switch from English to Afrikaans. It was fantastic when Kate was there because she could understand a lot of Afrikaans and knew what they were saying about us. The looks on guy's faces when they found out she understood were priceless. I did learn a handful of words and phrases including, "I'm not interested, thank you." "Leave me alone." and "I don't like smoke." These were extremely helpful in the bar. Even more so because I enjoyed the shocked looks. Hopefully when I own that game farm one day, I’ll really speak Afrikaans.


Shawu, Mike’s, Boskrug (is that spelled right?), Nexus: Ellisras nightlife at its best. Sakie Sakie anybody? (Waltzing to the wrong kind of music anyone?)


This one I have mentioned before, but I loved riding in the back of a bakkie at 70-80 miles an hour through the bush. I did this for the first time on my second day for an entire hour, which made the day spectacular -- I was grinning the entire time. Forget the buffalo translocation and dead rhino, I liked the bakkie ride.


Text messages from South African men. The first time I received one of these I was in shock because it was so ridiculous. Basically these texts were corny pick up lines sent directly to your cell phone and usually spelled with perfect English. Faye and I decided that there must be a text Bible on the internet because several different guys that didn't know each other couldn't all be thinking these up and miraculously improving their English in a matter of minutes. The following is one of my favorites and I would like to add that it is from one of the best track and field athletes in all of SA:


If u drop me ill BREAK,


If u hold me ill SHAKE,


If u need me ill HURRY,


If u don't sms me ill WORRY,


If u hurt me ill CRY,


but if u 4get me ill DIE! Mwa





Well I should stop myself now with this list...otherwise I will be up all night.

The real SA

Could my image of South Africa have been anymore wrong??? Could I have been anymore naïve?? Could I have really missed the point of some of the semester’s lectures???

First of all, Niel was a family man who never smoked, cursed only occasionally (usually when talking about politics) and lived in a large home in the middle of town. He had not a pack of dogs, but two, who stayed outside.

I lived in a carpeted, concrete apartment with glass windows, air-conditioning, a TV and DVD player, scalding hot water, and a full functioning kitchen. My sheets were changed weekly by the housekeeper who also washed my clothes 3 times a week in a washing machine.

Diarrhea got me twice for only 1 day at a time, my toilet paper was used when we ran out in the flat and were to lazy to get it from the house. Bottled water? Seriously? I drank from the tap.

Mosquitoes…2 which only 1 of bit me, and then I killed it. Snakes….1 tiny one. Rats….where? Spiders….4. There was a spider that lived above my bed for several weeks, and had been living there before I got there. As the larger animal, higher up on the food chain, I allowed him to be there because I never saw him move, he wasn’t too scary looking, and usually didn‘t invite others over for a party. However, after Faye spotted a massive brown rain spider behind my pillow before bedtime, I had to reevaluate my friend’s position in my life. I noticed that he no longer lived alone but with two young friends. After lots of screaming, jumping on the bed, and Faye’s brave attempts to take out the big guy by herself, we had to call in Alfie to do the job. And in those few moments of terror I made the decision to have the spider above my bed, the gigantic rain spider, and the two new friends exterminated by Alfie’s slipper. Sorry for the one spider, but I had told him under no condition was he allowed to bring guests.

We didn’t help anyone’s tribe, receive goats as payment, work in any national parks or reserves, and certainly didn’t use satellite phones. Communication was accomplished by means of …..cell phone? Everyone has a cell phone and no one hesitates to answer their phone at any time: during dinner, right before darting an animal, while the vet is asking you questions about your $20,000 sable‘s nervous symtoms….really, anytime is a good time. Cell phones are even more important to have because you never know when the land line to your home or office will be cut because someone stole the copper wiring to make bangles like the one I now wear on my left wrist.

All of our work was done on farms or in the clinic. Many of the animals we treated, especially expensive sable, were kept in small camps so we didn't have to look deep in the bush for them. (Except for maybe that day we looked for 5 hours for a sable.) Thinking about it now, most of the antelope we treated were sable for the simple fact that they are worth so much. The rarer the animal, the higher the price. Anyone want an elephant?? SA's got so many they're free. You just have to pay for transport which will cost you about $10,000 (and that's just within the country).

I didn't mention this before, but prior to arriving I had no idea what type of work I would be allowed to do with Niel. The second day I gave an injection to a buffalo. In the weeks that followed I helped stich up a horse, scrubbed in to assist during dog castration, collected blood from a leopard and picked it up (well half, it was really heavy), helped birth calves, held a sable uterus in my hands while it was stiched together, aided in directing a giraffe into a trailor by pulling on the ropes to guide it, lifted heavy antelope, sat on them so they wouldn't escape, post-mortemed 3 buffalos.....the list could go on and on and on.

For me, however, the defining moment of my trip was when I gave my last injections. We were moving a buffalo into a holding pen so we could collect blood and test for disease. (This has to be done before most sales.) Well in the process, the bull had been attacked by two others and now had nasty woulds all over its body -- mainly superficial but seceptible to infection. As a precaution it needed several injections after we had tranquilized it and moved it to the pen. I was standing by Niel, ready to do anything he asked when he handed me a syringe, needle, and bottle of penicillin. "Give him 40 mills," Niel instructed me and he busied himself preparing other things. I hesitated, unsure if he was really asking me to do this completely on my own without watching. This buffalo was being bought for 125,000 Rand. Thats about $17,000. What if I killed it?? But then I went ahead and did it. I had done it countless times under supervision so why not? I knew exaclty how and where to do it: intramuscular in the butt. I returned and he hands me another syringe, this one already drawn up, and tells me to do the same. AND THEN he asks me to show a new student how to give an injection in the neck! Well crap. What would I have been doing if I had stayed for 12 weeks? Never could I have imagined doing any of that.

The bush did extend for thousands of kilometers but there were fences everywhere. 8-foot wire game fences often electrified depending on the type of animals inside, 3-foot barbed wire cattle fences, or 8-foot brick ones around a house. I was always inside somebody’s fence regardless of where I was.

Since being home I have described the game industry to many of you as well as my initial shock by its existence. Basically, because there are people who are willing to pay to hunt animals, there is a profit-driven reason for others to breed them. In retrospect, I don’t think I could have ever understood this or accepted it without going to Africa. But after spending 2 months as an integral part of the game industry, I really respect it. Not only does it fuel the economy for the majority of the Limpopo region but it has conserved many of the beautiful species we see today. Animals that would otherwise die because of disease, drought, and/or human sprawl have proliferated tremendously and their populations often have to be culled. Moreover, because it is an industry and tightly controlled by the government, many conservationists have been able to successfully instate regulations to insure animal protection.

If you didn’t know, I am a huge advocate for gun control. Before SA I had never even touched a gun and simply could not understand why people hunted. “Appalling,” I thought, even though I would gladly eat the meat someone else killed. Now, I think I maybe understand, but I am still an advocate of strict gun control and don’t see the point in killing anything unless the meat is used. Killing just for a trophy to hang on your wall makes me queasy. And hunting should be done on foot; not from a vehicle or behind a blind because then you aren’t hunting, you’re just killing.

It occurred to me that my views had drastically changed and I had become more “accepting” when I met Phillip. Those who know me and my dating history have seen the type of guy I usually go for -- generally not someone who wears only camouflage, most likely has several rifles in his bakkie (pickup), carries an 8 inch knife for skinning and sometimes a pistol, smokes, owns a tractor for his potato and corn farm, has fake license plates and was kicked out of college for selling liquor from his dorm room. Oh yeah, and is a professional hunter for a living. That is Phillip. Although these things are part of who he is, they don’t define him. But before college, probably just a few months ago, I would have written him off as “not my type” and not even talked to him because of his camo and big knife, even if he was sex on legs. Sadly, I would have never learned how he made me laugh, think, and feel like I was on cloud nine. Nor would I have ever been able to admire what a hard working individual he is.

People grow. I am a firm believer that this trip has helped me grow and taught me incredible things about that corner of the world, but I don't know if it would have done that without me being completely wrong about what to expect. (Ha, and I didn't even touch on the politics of South Africa and how those affected me). Looking back, I'm glad my crazy vision was mistaken because while I was there, everyday I thought I was having the best day of my life.

My pre-trip vision of SA

This is the first in a four part series to be posted every night for the next four nights:

Before I went to South Africa I envisioned my time there to be the following:


Niel was a bachelor who devoted all of his time to saving the wild animals of Africa. He lived deep in the bush, smoked and cursed incessantly, and smiled infrequently. He housed us in an annex behind his small stone dwelling where he slept with a pack of rogue dogs….


The wooden annex, built on stilts, had only cutouts for windows (no glass), no running water and electricity was minimal -- perhaps a hanging light bulb from the ceiling but definitely not any outlets. Our beds were cot-like with thin mattresses and sheathed with mosquito netting. To shower and use the toilet we would journey from our room on stilts and use a shack like bathroom that only had lukewarm water. For dinner we ate goat that we would prepare over a fire with baked beans (BTW, we acquired the goat as payment for birthing a calf for a tribe in the middle of no where)….


There were HUGE bugs everywhere. Rats, cockroaches, tarantulas and snakes filled my life with a terror that kept me awake for hours every night as they crawled all over my mosquito netting. Mosquitoes plagued me night and day as the 5 economy-size bottles of insect repellent ran out in three weeks time. I was itching all over and dehydrated from the continual diarrhea my American meds couldn’t cure. My bottles of Deer Park water and Charmin To-Go toilet paper proved to be priceless commodities I had to learn to live without -- they were gone within the first week. It was two months of pure discomfort, but I sacrificing for conservation…


Callouts were never ending. Countless tribes with sick cattle and goats contacted us by word-of-mouth, and park rangers who found injured lions and rhinos reached us by satellite phone. We were constantly on the lookout for the poachers who hunted the beautiful animals we fought to save. How could they even dare think to shoot them?


The bush extended for thousands of kilometers, as fences and homes were no where to be found….


Whites and blacks lived in perfect harmony since the end of apartheid….


My liver thanked me for the absence of alcohol on my lips for two months…..


Dr. Lambert really has no idea of what Africa is like. It’s not urbanized, no way….

Check back tomorrow for what SA was really like.