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South Africa Student Adventure

Tuesday, June 16, 2009



I have a baby brother!!!! He weighs 7lbs 4oz. and is 20 inches long. He was born at 2:30-3:00 this afternoon...and even though I made it back to the States in time to see him.....I missed it!!!! I had to leave for a job interview around 1:00pm. The interview lasted 2 hours. I ran through the maternity ward just in time to see them wheel Landon Greg Marshal Jones into the nursery. We went in today with all the intentions of having a baby through normal labor and procedures. However, we weren't so lucky when after a period of useless pushing, the doctor recommended a C-Section. It wasn't any emergency he just wasn't going to come naturally. Landon is beautiful, he has huge blue eyes and a great smile. He's dark headed and a very natural pink color.
Well since my mom didn't get around to having the baby, I'm going to update everyone on here!!!! This morning at about 4 am she got up and got ready to head to her inducement appointment at 6 am! I am about to head to the hospital. Let's all pray that she has it today!

Kelby

Penguins!!!!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Today we visited boulder beach. It is a natural habitat for the south african penguin. It also called the jackass penguin because of the donkey like sounds it makes. After 30 or so minutes of observation we headed to SANCCOB, a penguin rehabilitation center. There we went hands on, and I found a soul mate! Rocky, a rock hopper penguin, had caught my eye. Rocky looks exactly like those off of Happy Feet! He is not native to South Africa so he can't be released. At this point in his life he has become pretty well tamed. I offered to help out and take him.....good luck gettin that across customs!

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A quick change of plans.

Today instead of going to the aquarium we decided to go out to the ocean. It was very chilly, but the wonders we were about to see were definately worth the cold. It was a two hour drive to our destination. We were heading out to the opposite side of the bay to board a boat equiped with a huge seven person cage. After a brief presentation about the great white shark with a local marine biologist, we finally made our way toward the docks. The water was extremely choppy....but it was just like a huge natural rollercoaster. After a long bouncy ride we finally made it to shark alley. It was a while before they could get the boat ready, but once it was done they called for volunteers. I was one of the first! I got into the cold wetsuit and headed down. It wasn't long after they had thrown a seal shaped decoy and a giant tuna head out in front, a shout from above told us "DOWN TO THE LEFT!!!" Quickly we dove down and watched.....just when I was about to head back up I saw it. It was a baby, but it was still at least five foot long. After twenty dives or so it was time to go back up. In that span of time we seen three sharks: a baby, an adult, and a very large specimen, said to have been about 4 meters long.

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South African Adventure Day 1

Friday, June 5, 2009

Well today we had a blast! The weather is going to bad for th rest of the week, so they were going to cancel the shark diving, but instead they arranged for diving lessons! So tomorrow, we are going to a nearby aquarium to swim with them there. Also today we visited a couple of the townships. It was a real eye opener. These people live in buildings worse than what our vehicles are parked in. It has been very rainy, therefore most of the homes had puddles of water in the floor. We visited an amazing woman named Rosie. She cooks for 200-300 people per day. Her dream is that one day no South African child will go to bed without at least one meal. What is most remarkable is her working area. She cooks for and feeds lots of people each day out of a small 7x7 shack. We theb went to a church in the township where we were fed. The food was amazing! I enjoyed it very much.

We are currently working on our pictures for upload. After we have worked everything out yall can see the remarkable things we have seen.

Talk to you tomorrow, after I have swam with sharksb!!!!

Kelby

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South Africa!!!!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

We just landed in Jo'Berg! We were warned that the weather is terribly cold and that our jackets wouldn't be enough before leaving the plane.....it is 48 degrees. Lol. We are about to exchange currency and get on our plane.

Kelby

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From Germany to Jo'berg

Here's a quick update onour travels! We boarded our Lufthansa flight to Jo'Berg at ten pm. It is now 2 am and we still have a few hours to go. Today was amazing!!! We met some great people, our German tour guide (taught me how to count in German), the Dallas crew, the Iowa crew, and our crew from the DSA office!!!!! These people definately make the trip better! Well I'm going to sign off! I didn't sleep on the plane last night and I sure need some.

Kelby

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