I know two years sounds like a long time, but in my experience you must make the effort if you want to see the sites a location has to offer. Therefore, I wasted no time in getting out and about Grahamstown. To backtrack just slightly I'll say the trip here went as smoothly as it possibly could have. No luggage issues, no major delays, and all in all it was a great trip for the potential millions of things that could have gone wrong. A friend of friends, named Nick, picked me up at the airport in Port Elizabeth and was an excellent "guide" on my first trip into Grahamstown. He pointed out several elephants, a herd of zebra, and some kind of buck (water buck?). So I knew I was in the right place and that the stories of the biodiverse and mega charismatic wildlife were true. We also stopped by a little roadside market where I bought my first houseplant, a cactus. This turned out to be very ironic as I am here to study biological control and all species of cacti are invasive to South Africa.
We carried on and I quickly made it to my new digs. I only spent about two hours unpacking and showering before Nick came back to get me. It was a Saturday night after all so we went out for dinner at the local watering hole, The Rat and Parrot. Contrary to the name this is not a pirate themed bar. The rat is because of Rhodes University, and the parrot I assume is because South Africa has parrots? Anyway, we stayed out a bit late in hopes that I would sleep through the jet lag. It sort of worked, but I had a couple nights of waking up at one or two am after that, and finally was on the "right" time after three or four nights. My new home is a garden cottage or mother-in-law suite in the yard of a very kind family of four. It includes a beautiful garden, two cute kids, and two doggies whom have since kept me occasional company. The situation is very nice and I feel as though I have been adopted by another African family.
Check out my Instagram or Facebook 'Entomology Emily' for photos of the garden and the doggos. The only thing similar to Senegal so far is that there are cows and donkeys in the street. this makes me so happy as for whatever reason I have always loved donkeys. They are such sweet creatures and while I hate to see them struggling behind heavily laden carts, I do enjoy a nice occasional braying. In contrast to Senegal I have plumbing and clean water as well as electricity. Most of the time. There is actually a drought going on here now so everyone is being very careful to use water wisely. At our house we are using buckets to catch our shower water and then using that water to flush the toilet or water the garden.
I spent the first few days collecting the necessities from the store. I wasn't sure at first but I have found I can get everything I need here and many things I want. There is even a mode of online delivery akin to Amazon. Since I have now had two weekends since I arrived I also took the time to see the sites of Grahamstown. This could be done in a day, maximum two days. It's a small town. The highlights for me were the Botanical Gardens. There are about a hundred, literally, churches and a couple cathedrals here as well as some monuments to history.
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| Elizabeth Salt Monument |
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| St. Michael and St. George Catherdral |
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| Bunya Pine in the Botanical Garden |
I did all this in a day, but there are a few things I have missed. I haven't yet been to the Albany museum or the Featherstone Brewery. Maybe those will be for this weekend as there is some rain in the forecast. It has been warm and sunny most days since my arrival. We have had one day of rain and one day that was rather cool. The evening temperatures drop drastically from the day. It can be in the 80s during the days and the 50s at night (30s to teens in C). I fear my ability to tolerate winter. I will have to adapt though!
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| This is serious but was also a bit humorous |
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Stairway in the Botanical Gardens.
I could definitely spend some more time here. |
I know two years sounds like a long time, but in my experience you must make the effort if you want to see the sites a location has to offer. Therefore, I wasted no time in getting out and about Grahamstown. To backtrack just slightly I'll say the trip here went as smoothly as it possibly could have. No luggage issues, no major delays, and all in all it was a great trip for the potential millions of things that could have gone wrong. A friend of friends, named Nick, picked me up at the airport in Port Elizabeth and was an excellent "guide" on my first trip into Grahamstown. He pointed out several elephants, a herd of zebra, and some kind of buck (water buck?). So I knew I was in the right place and that the stories of the biodiverse and mega charismatic wildlife were true. We also stopped by a little roadside market where I bought my first houseplant, a cactus. This turned out to be very ironic as I am here to study biological control and all species of cacti are invasive to South Africa.
We carried on and I quickly made it to my new digs. I only spent about two hours unpacking and showering before Nick came back to get me. It was a Saturday night after all so we went out for dinner at the local watering hole, The Rat and Parrot. Contrary to the name this is not a pirate themed bar. The rat is because of Rhodes University, and the parrot I assume is because South Africa has parrots? Anyway, we stayed out a bit late in hopes that I would sleep through the jet lag. It sort of worked, but I had a couple nights of waking up at one or two am after that, and finally was on the "right" time after three or four nights. My new home is a garden cottage or mother-in-law suite in the yard of a very kind family of four. It includes a beautiful garden, two cute kids, and two doggies whom have since kept me occasional company. The situation is very nice and I feel as though I have been adopted by another African family.
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