Back to Reality

I'm back! Back to life, back to the grind, back in the game…though not without dragging my feet a little bit, I must admit. I realize it's been well over a month since my last post, and some of you may have thought I'd fallen off the edge of the earth. The truth is, returning to snowy Montreal after spending a month in a South African summer was a bit of a culture shock, and left me with a strong desire to hibernate.

To give you a little taste of what I mean - this was the view from my bedroom window at the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game park on my first morning in Africa:  

The sunlight came streaming in the window in the early hours to gently nudge me into consciousness and the only sound was...well, actually, it was pretty noisy. My dad had to turn off his hearing aids while we were there because the high pitch of the insects was causing uncomfortable feedback. The rest of us adapted more easily. Waking up essentially in the middle of the wilderness was breathtaking, and the morning sun accompanied by the droning of insects was the greatest alarm clock ever.

This, on the other hand, was the view I awoke to this morning: 

Not exactly the kind of day that makes one want to frolic in the morning air. On the contrary, I made myself a pot of tea and went back to bed. It seemed an appropriate reaction.

On the day after I returned, Shaun and I started an excercise program called P90X (see very cheesy promotional video here) which, aside from getting me out of bed much earlier than I would like every morning and causing intense pain in muscles that I didn't even know I had, comes with a low carb, low sugar, low fat nutrition guide...everything that I am opposed to when it comes to food. Needless to say, my opportunities for baking have dwindled considerably. My opportunities for eating have followed suit. And why, you ask, am I subjecting myself to such a masochistic ritual?

This may have something to do with it.

Also this. 

And these.

Beer sampler? Yes please.

(I didn't eat this entire chocolate bar myself, but only because my family knew better than to leave me in a room alone with it.)

In short, when we arrived home our bellies showed the evidence of much enjoyment and little restraint, the effects of which we are still working hard to remedy.

Of course, there were other enjoyments besides food. 

 Getting accquainted with the locals, for example:

 

Our guide helpfully pointed out how to tell the males from the females: the males are black with white stripes, and the females are white with black stripes. Now you know.

 

Look how amazingly spherical his little ball of dung is! Here is a being who is dedicated to his work. 

May it be an inspiration to us all.

A sighting at dusk just as we were planning to turn around and head back to camp. 

Partly blurry because of the light, and partly because we were all so excited our hands were shaking.

 

These guys gathered on my parents deck every morning. We suspect a previous guest had been feeding them. 

(Note the "Do Not Feed the Monkeys" sticker in the window.) 

One of them accosted my mother while she was outside doing a Sudoku puzzle and ate the eraser off her pencil. 

"Who, me?"

 

*squeal!*

A very large and terrifying rhino crossing our path.

And its baby coming to see what all the fuss is about.  

 

Pumbaa, wallowing as only a warthog can. 

And the piece de resistance...

ELEPHANT!!!!

Quite possibly the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me.

 

That is, until we saw the next elephant.

Seriously, it was so close it could have stuck its trunk in the window to shake hands. 

My entire life flashed before my eyes. In a good way...I think.

This, of course, is only a sampling of our African experience and barely covers the first week. Much more to come in the days that follow, and hopefully, some inspiring recipes as well. 

Thanks for hanging in there!