Task #19 - Graduate College!

Sorry I haven't updated anything in a while but I was a little busy working on my final project because I graduated. Last week actually. I studied Interior Architecture at the Marbella Design Academy for three years, and now it's done. For the past year I was working on my Final Project which was a Safari Lodge and Spa. You can check out the 3D work for the project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UupO0cp0zAc&feature=youtu.be

My exhibition on the right.

Then graduation was the week after! Both my parents and my boyfriend flew up to celebrate and it was a super fun party! We had an exhibition set up and then I was called on stage and given my diploma! Crazy, right? Adulthood - boom! 

My classmates and I after our presentations

My classmates, professor, and I after graduation

Hopefully now I will have a little more time to blog, travel, and get some things checked off my ever growing list. Thanks to Pinterest I keep discovering places daily that I want to visit.... This list is getting longer and longer....

Task #18 - Swim with a Great White Shark

Well... this experience was simply unreal!!!! Four of my girlfriends and I travelled to Cape Town and while we were there we went shark cage diving in False Bay! We woke up at 5:30am and made our way to Simon's Town where we met the crew of African Shark Eco Charters. This company is awesome! We headed straight out to Seal Island to see if any sharks were breaching, but unfortunately no luck. Then as soon as we put the cage in the water, one MASSIVE shark turned up! That was the first great white I had ever seen and it definitely made my heart beat a little faster.

Myself and two of my friends; Annette & Signe got in the cage first. The water was surprisingly warm and the first shark we saw was breath taking. We were less than a meter away from a 5m great white shark! It is a moment I will never forget. Then as we were waiting with our heads above the water for another shark to swim around, one jumped onto the cage! Needless to say, we all screamed! But it was awesome!

I was lucky enough to go in again with my other two friends, Fjola & Lotte. This time we actually saw one open its mouth to grab the bait, so that was kind of cool! It was a phenomenal morning and I would happily do it again with the same company. All the crew members were helpful and super knowledgable about sharks! We also were able to breath through scuba lines, so we could sink to the bottom of the cage and watch the sharks. In total we saw eight different great whites of which they were all between four and five meters in length! Awesome Morning!

Annette & I before the dive!

Signe, Annette, & I in the cage!

That's a shark!

Our underwater camera managed to get a few photos before the battery died!

Great day that gave us all the best experience and memory of our lives!

Thank you African Shark Eco Charters!

Task #17: Visit Pompeii

About three or fours year ago I learnt about Pompeii. A town at the base of Mt Vesuvius near Naples, Italy - which was completely covered by the mountains volcanic eruption in AD 79. No one knew the town existed until about the 17th century and when they started to excavate they found that the lava and ash had basically protected the buildings from decay. Not only that, but the lava had basically provided a cast around human bodies. So when the scientists started digging around they found bodies that had been buried for almost 2000 years and where left in a cast. I was fascinated by this and when my Dad asked me what is my top destination in Europe, I immediately said Pompeii!

So last week, my parents and I flew to Naples to explore the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and of course Pompeii. It was a wonderful week exploring the area. But, without a doubt, Pompeii was the highlight!

We got there early (around 9am) and set about exploring - no one else was there! It was fantastic! There  were houses of all classes, an amphitheater, stores, and parks. They also had a lot of artifacts on display, which included pots from houses and also some human casts on display. It was so eerie to realize that an entire civilization was wiped out by one volcanic eruption.

Some of the human casts were in positions of terror, there was even a cast of a dog. It's a beautiful place and I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to be transported back to the first century AD.....

Hopefully, I'll return and be put under Pompeii's spell once again...

Task #16: Donate Blood

This may be a weird task to have on my bucket list, but I felt that donating blood was a relatively easy good deed to do. I could not have been more wrong. My whole quest to give blood began about a year ago, when I was back home in Sydney for Christmas. The Red Cross kept advertising for blood donors, and I thought why not? I'd always been healthy, and as far as I was aware I had no diseases or any reason to not donate. So I filled out an application form and made an appointment. When I went to the interview stage with the nurse everything went well until she asked me where I currently lived - my reply South Africa. Which she immediately replied that I could not donate because I "most likely had HIV/AIDS". So, you can all imagine my shock, after being educated multiple times on this topic that a certified nurse was telling me that I could contract AIDS from sharing a toothbrush with people who did have the disease.

Needless to say I was devastated, not only that I couldn't donate, but that I was so offended by the Red Cross personnel. Then, I was in Mallorca about 5 months later and saw a Red Cross bus that would stop in various places around the city, so I tried my luck again.... Unfortunately, this time I couldn't donate because I had been taking medication that could affect my blood (Roaccutane), this time I wasn't as disappointed because it was a legitimate reason.

Finally, (and here comes the victorious part) I was in Madrid and saw the Red Cross bus driving around. I knew I hadn't taken Roaccutane in a while so I was in the clear. I was so excited when the doctor accepted my application and I was cleared to give blood! The nurse hooked me up to the machine and in a second blood began draining from my body. I felt like I was being converted into a vampire.... They took almost half a litre of blood, and the whole process was over in 10 minutes....

At the end, I was given strict instructions for the next 24 hours and a Fanta to get some sugar... However, I fainted regardless. Of course, the doctors freaked out and began taking off my coat and putting ice on my body to "shock my system". Keeping in mind that it was about 10 degrees outside, my system was shocked very quickly...

Other than that I managed to do my good deed, and managed to cross another task off my bucket list... Only about 50 to go...

Task #15 - Visit Lalibela's Churches

According to UNESCO, Lalibela Ethiopia should be visited as soon as possible because the sun and weather is slowly starting to disintegrate the churches. I spent New Years 2013 there with my family and it was such an inspiring trip. We met so many friendly people along the way. Ethiopia is a very proud, religious country and we were fortunate enough to be included in some celebrations in the lead up to Christmas. They were so exciting and I felt very honoured to be included in them.

Ethiopia is famous for coffee so I tried to see if I could make some - Ethiopian style. It was fun and very specific about the steps needed to be taken before serving the coffee.

 We met a lot of wonderful people along the way, including these two girls who ran to the van we were in to say hi!

 This woman had never seen her photo before, so she gave me a big kiss and hug when she saw it!

I tried my hand at drumming, which is done during most celebrations.

Here are some of the churches, the most famous one is St George's (left). King Lalibela built them into the ground and carved them out, taken a very long process. His churches are breath taking! I would highly recommend to anyone to visit this place ASAP.

 It was a pure joy to experience this beautiful, vibrant, and diverse country. Hopefully, I'll be back to visit soon!

Words To Live By....

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short - enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Task #14 - Visit Namibia

It's been a while since I could check something off my bucket list but I finally managed! My parents and I visited Namibia this July! We did a driving tour for 2 weeks working our way from Fish River Canyon all the way around to Windhoek. We had an amazing time! We had multiple run-ins with baboons, an ostrich ran into our car, and we found a dead gemsbok (oryx - see pics below)! It was an awesome trip and we met so many friendly people along the way. It is a beautiful country with gorgeous landscape! Make sure you put this one on your bucket list!

This is the dead gemsbok!

Fish River!

Fish River Canyon

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei

Cape Cross

Vingerklip

Vingerklip

Wild Dogs

Etosha

Etosha

Etosha

Etosha

During the two weeks, we had to change tyres, three times, and one of those times we were in the middle of the safari/game park! Exactly 100m from where we had previously seen a male lion!

We had an amazing trip - Namibia is truly a special one-of-a-kind country!

These are the places we stayed at if you are keen to visit:

Canon Lodge - Fish River

A Little Sossus Lodge - Sossusvlei

Meike's Guesthouse - Swakopmund

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge - Damaraland

Vingerklip Lodge - Damaraland

Okaukuejo Resort - Etosha

Waterberg Plateau Lodge - Waterberg

Hotel Safari - Windhoek