Saturday 4 May
Settling back in
Saturday morning, I slept in, did some blogging, did some homework - we had a lot of reflections to write upon our return from our epic journey. I talked to some friends from home. And I made my box of Kraft Mac'n'cheese that Anna had sent me away with on my last night in Evanston. Friday was her birthday, so I was missing her, and it was settling to eat something American and homey after so much traveling.
In the afternoon, I walked to Checkers and did my grocery shopping, but on the way, I got to talk to my dad which I hadn't done in a while, so that was great!
It was nice to just be settling back in to my room, my dorm, Stellenbosch. I felt at ease, happy to be back, nice to have some alone time after so much traveling.
On Sunday, I made a little excursion with some friends to a Cheetah Outreach Sanctuary in a neighboring town. We got to pet a cheetah named Joseph. I was very concerned about the conservation effects of the sanctuary, but they only use a few cheetahs and they are for ambassadors for the species programs only. They are bred in captivity, which I somewhat have a problem with, but the overall mission of the organization is pretty good. Cheetahs are so endangered from their natural predators but also from all the farmers shooting them because they kill livestock. So this Cheetah Outreach program started a giant dog breeding program in which it raises dogs and gives them to farmers to protect their livestock from the cheetahs so the farmers won't shoot the cheetahs. It seemed like a pretty good strategy to me...
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| Joseph taking a nap while we pet him. |
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| Joseph's paw |
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| Joseph's Coat |
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| Look at that cute little face! |
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| We interrogated the staff about the sustainability of their conservation efforts. #Nerdwestern. Go 'Cats! |
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| The interrogation continues... |
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| and continues as I begin to wonder if Joseph is actually alive or if he's sedated... |
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| hmmm this must be a stuffed cat |
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| Cuddly Cheetah |
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| Rawwwr....nope. |
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In serious contemplation.
Convinced he's dead or sedated or stuffed. |
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Just kidding! He leapt up to surprise us! "I've had enough petting. Enough questions.
Quit interrupting my nap time you obnoxious students. Go home!" |
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| What cat doesn't like being scratched under the chin? |
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| The big dogs. Yes that dog comes up to our stomachs. He was HUGE! (and aptly named Massive) |
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| Sweethearts! |
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| Again, just observe the size! |
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| ...and the interrogation resumes. |
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| Two injured jackals that were unable to be returned to the wild. :( |
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Two meerkats who were kept in captivity for too long by some stupid pet-owners.
Now they can't be released, but they sure were cute!
(and spastic...ran back and forth across that board the entire time we were there.) |
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