First week overview!

Internet here has been spotty, so hopefully there will be enough to upload a few pictures along with this post.  We've had our first week of classes here at Pullen Farm and work is already piling up! But, I'm not going to let that stress me out and instead am determined to take advantage of where I am instead of sitting inside during the day and working on homework.  So, I've been slack lining, going on hikes, etc.  The good thing about the site we're in right now is that we can walk around by ourselves without a game guard.  Unfortunately that also means that there isn't any big game, so I'm ready to get to Skukuza on Friday and see some more animals and do some more field work.  I know that later on in the trip I'll be glad that we got all the lecturing out of the way in the beginning, but sitting inside listening to lectures while I'm in South Africa just seems wrong!
I'll check in again once we're in Skukuza and I'll have more internet and more pictures!

Durham --> Washington DC --> Paris --> Johannesburg --> Pullen Farm

Today was our arrival day in South Africa.  Travel began on Thursday morning when Lizzie and I drove from Durham to Washington DC to have a few hours at home and finalize packing.  We flew out of DC that evening and started our first flight leg to Paris, France.  We arrived in Paris at 11:30 after 8 hours of flight time.  Lizzie and I had a 12 hour layover so we left the airport to wander the streets of Paris.  We had nutella and banana crepes, croissants, wine, cappuccinos, and even a creme brulee! We walked all the way from St. Michele/Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower!

not actually sure what this is

The Eiffel Tower!

After our day in Paris, we left on Friday night to take an overnight flight to Johannesburg.  I slept most of the flight and so it went by quickly and we were landing in no time.  We got our bags and walked out of the international section of the airport to see an overwhelming amount of people, two of which were holding OTS signs.  We met our first staff for the trip, Kelly and Cieni!

Soon after we met Dax, who was driving the van for us, another OTS staff member and on the ride to Pullen Farm we met Laurence Kruger, the director of the program.  After a long ride we arrived in Pullen Farm, ate dinner, and watched our first South African Rugby game (actually it's still going on and by the cheers of downstairs I think it's going well)!

It's finally starting to sink in that this all is real. After such an overwhelming PWILD trip and just a couple days of recovery I wasn't able to fully process the change.  But now I'm here and I'm starting to get more excited.  Getting here was a long and tiring process and the real trip starts tomorrow after a good night of sleep! So let the adventures begin!