...But there was just too much going on over the holidays and throughout January! Finally, we have to send a tiny, colorful sign of life again. After a very relaxed Christmas with good food and 30 degrees in the shade, a real South African Christmas Eve service with a modern nativity play and lots of American Christmas songs to sing along to, we both took a little time out from the clinic to explore the country with our husbands. Christmas Eve - fancy dinner at 'Havannas' Steak House The Lighthouse Bar at 'Oyster Box Hotel' - here we enjoyed many cocktails Chrissy and Sven first explored Kruger National Park and the parks in the north, and then Till and I explored Cape Town, along the Garden Route and also the north with the HluHluwe and Isimangaliso National Parks. We collected wonderful impressions, experienced long safari days and breathtaking coastal drives, ate fresh fish in sleepy fishing villages, admired sunsets on Table Mountain, and spent romantic evenings in the wilderness - it couldn't have been more varied, but I'm sure you'll see enough of it at home! And even when we were back in Durban in familiar togetherness, we could hardly stand still: we got to know a group of other German students and with so many people you can even explore the party mile in Africa, dance into the heat of the night or bravely try surfing for the first time... With the 'Durban Crew' We dared to enter the waves!
Another highlight was our day with the 'Flying Doctors' - an organization that flies doctors of various disciplines to rural areas to help out in small clinics. With a small Swiss propeller plane and our very cool captain, we soared high over the African hinterland - this is what real flying feels like! We were dropped off at a small clinic in the inland together with an anesthesiologist and spent the day in the operating room - which had to operate without running water at times due to a drought... It was definitely an experience.
And when we're not flying over the green hills and wide valleys or taking care of things on the ward, we're definitely enjoying ourselves. We're also quite versatile when it comes to culinary delights...
Mopane caterpillars, freshly grilled in Cape Town..Hmm! Original South African 'Bobotie' (a minced meat casserole with raisins, bananas, fruit chutney and a variety of Malayan-inspired spices) from our oven
And...actually: Max's freshly scraped Allgäu cheese spätzle on our balcony! We all longed for a piece of home
Now the last four weeks of our adventure have already begun... it's hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. Chrissy will start another big tour of the country with her parents this weekend, while I will hold the fort in the clinic for a while and then get a lovely visit from Salomé, Daniel and Sarah from Germany!
We will let you know one last time before we head back home on March 9th... where spring and Darmstadt Hospital are waiting for us.
Until then - take good care of yourselves and Hakuna Matata!
