Sawubuona All,

Few things are crazier than a Jay-Z concert in Africa, except maybe sleeping in a tree or hanging in a harness from a wire stretched over one of South Africa's largest natural canyons. Maybe I should elaborate.

This past Friday Jay-Z played in Durban, and a large group of international students, from both Maritzburg and Durbs, went. We all had tickets for the "Golden Circle," the closest section to the stage, standing room only. Not surprisingly, tickets were less than half the price they would have been for the same show back home, that's why we all went. My Friday was hectic. I didn't get much sleep the night before on account of an early class and a late Thursday night with a bunch or crazy Zimbabweans. I had class pretty much non-stop (Friday's are my busiest days, shame) and then hoped on a bus for Durban at 3:30, then hopped in a cab at the station during rush hour. So I didn't get to Shan's res until 5:30, and we (Shannon, Vanessa, Meg M, Clara, their friend Anele, and I) left for the concert at about 7. Whew!

We missed the first act, and then fought (literally) our way through the crowed when Rihanna started. We were able to get really close, about 4 or 5 "rows" back on the left side of the stage, and managed to stay there for the whole show. Rihanna was alright – she lip-synched, but Jay-Z was awesome! Anele had our arms around each other the whole time and just danced. Toward the end of the show I reached down and felt a big gash in the side of my bag. At first I thought I ripped it some how, but it was to strait and sharp feeling to have been just torn. I had to wait until after the show to look. When I did, it was obvious that it had been cut, through the leather outside and through the lining. And the scariest part was that there was a good amount of blood (luckily not mine) on outside by the slash. The only things missing were Clara's wallet, I'd been holding it for her, and a roll of toilet paper that I had taken from the porto potty earlier (just in case one of us had to go later and there wasn't any left). The bag was pretty thin and not very full, laying flush with my side; so it was quite possibly that roll of toilet paper which stopped the knife from slipping further and cutting me as well. Thank God for random turns of fate (what if I hadn't taken it from the porto potty? Don't think about it). Then we found out that Megan's phone had been stolen – she'd gotten pick pocketed. So in total, my bag was slashed, Clara's wallet was taken, and Megan's phone was stolen – that was the low point and it was only 11pm. Instead of going home to bed and letting our spirits be defeated by the urban crime, we went to a nearby club, Eighties, for one of the many unofficial after parties in Durban that night. And we ended up having a great time. So overall, the night still turned out to be a really good one.

Meanwhile, Megan H, Lindsay, and April had been in Umzumbe, a town on the South Coast, about 90 min south of Durban. Umzumbe was once home to cannibalistic tribes (according to my Coast to Coast backpackers guide, the town's name was possible derived from the Zulu word "umuziumbi," meaning "bad homestead") who were wiped out by Zulus under Shaka Zulu in the early 1800's. In any case, the cannibals are long gone and the area is absolutely beautiful. Saturday morning (way too early for our aching heads and bodies) Meg M, Clara, Vanessa, Shan and I hired (rented) a car, blasted the Credence Clearwater Revival, and drove down the coast through dense sugarcane fields to meet them. We stayed at the Mantis and Moon Lodge (kiff name, huh? www.mantisandmoon.net), quite possibly the most beautiful backpackers/ hostel I have ever been to, and one of my new favorite corners of the world. You can either stay in the dorm, or in a tucked away cabin, or in a tree house. A tree house! We had eight girls, so that meant 2 tree houses and a cabin. Shan, Meg and I were the three in the cabin, though not as awesome as a tree house, was still really lovely: Sliding glass doors, comfy bed, porch (complete with hammock) and an "attached" out door bathroom. The whole place was over run with wild banana trees, tropical flowers, ferns, and vines. To get around you have to navigate the winding pathways made from slatted wood. There were vervet monkeys, parakeets, a four of the sweetest, largest, sleepiest dogs I have ever met. Two were Rhodesian (colonial Zimbabwe) Ridgebacks – originally bread by the colonial farmers to hunt lions – yeah, they're BIG. The whole place was like one deep cleansing breath. It was amazing, and so nice to get away and recharge, even if we could only stay one night.

It we spent that afternoon at the beach, and that evening/ night at the Monkey Bar, the bar at Mantis and Moon, for a braai and then cocktails and wine. We stayed up way to late talking, playing drinking games and sitting in the Jacuzzi. I was lulled to sleep by the constant incest buzzing and then awoke to a chorus of bird song. We checked out (sadly) the next morning, and headed through the sugar cane to the Echo Valley coffee plantation. There we ate brunch and did a coffee tasting in a quaint restaurant on a cliff over looking a flourishing valley. The owners were so nice to us. They were originally from the Belgium Congo, and then moved to South Africa during the revolution. People down here have the most intense stories; people who have lived through things we can't even imagine back home – we are really lucky for so many reasons.

After brunch, we drove just a bit further through the cane fields to Oribi Gorge, one of the largest natural canyons in South Africa. And home to the Wild Swing (like bungee jumping, this is the longest free fall in the world) and the Wild Slide (a zip cord stretched across the gorge, you hang from a harness and slide across, the dangle, and then are pulled back). When you get out of your car, you are literally at the top of a water fall looking down past shear craggy cliffs and pillar-esque rock formations into a river valley overflowing with exotic green plant life. It was so beautiful; we were all speechless for a moment while we tried to take it all in. We were looking around, taking pictures when Vanessa and April decided to do the Wild Slide tandem. After watching them, and the guy who worked there bungee jumping, Shannon and I decided to do it together. I was petrified! But, when would be the next time I'd have the chance to zip cord across Oribi Gorge in South Africa? The harness is like a rock climber's and is attached to a clip on the thick zip cord, then you are hanging there, literally about to go over the edge of a cliff, and there is nothing you can do but hang on and try not to think about falling. The cord is pulled back a few meters from the edge, so you start over solid ground, then suddenly there is nothing, and your are just hanging on a wire 160m (about 500 ft or around 40 stories) up. Shannon just laughed hysterically and cried a bit, while I let out a short scream and then hyperventilated the whole time. It was really incredible though – like flying, and the view is amazing.
While we were hanging there I asked Shannon "What would our parents say if they could see us?" She said, "I don't know, there children are dangling 160m high from a wire." A few seconds later, I said "This is our life." We were both a bit dismayed.

After that, we said goodbye to Oribi and to South Coast, and headed back up to Durban. A bit later, Megan H, April, and Shannon took me back to Maritzburg in one of the rentals. It was a really good weekend – ups and downs, but mostly ups. And even though the lows were pretty low, the ups were up enough to more than compensate. The South Coast is beautiful, I'd love to explore it more, but I only have so many weekends left. Class ends at the end of this month, then exams, then a bit of travel, and then Home. I'll be back in California in less than 2 months. That feels so soon!

Salakahce,
Lauren