Biltong hanging at the butchery that Helena visited.


An ostrich photo bombing Helena's picture at Rooihuiskraal Historical Terrain and Animal Farm.


A snake at Rooihuiskraal Historical Terrain and Animal Farm.


A tank that was used during the Anglo-Boer War.


                                        Group photo time at the Johannesburg Airport (OR Tambo)! 

            Hello fellow readers, Helena here. I hope you are excited to learn about this trip, just as we are to tell you all about it! I should start by giving you my background. I arrived from Brazil yesterday and the students coming from the USA arrived this evening. So I´ll just tell you what Dr. Michael MacNeil and I did today before they arrived. Dr. MacNeil is an animal breeder from the USA who consults with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in South Africa.  Dr. MacNeil helps organize the program for us while we are in South Africa.

            We started our day having an amazing breakfast buffet and at 10 am Dr. Giel Scholtz (ARC scientist) drove us to a local butchery where they only sold meat from the Afrikaner breed or cattle crossed with Afrikaner. They had biltong, a typical food from here that is basically dry meat seasoned with spices and some local sausages. They also had a dry aging meat that I had never seen before. Apparently it is a really tender meat. Afterwards, we went to Rooihuiskraal Historical Terrain and Animal Farm. It is a park/farm where we saw sheep, impalas, cattle, tortoises and ostriches. There was also an reptile sector where they had snakes, like najas, and baby nile crocodiles. I was really amazed by all those snake species and also about the ostrich size. I knew ostriches were big, but not that big! There was also a big war tank from their war against the British (the Anglo-Boer War). Our last stop was at a big butchery, that was similar to a grocery store because they also sell other grocery items. At both butcheries there was someone cooking sausages outside to put on hot dogs and sell to customers.

            In the afternoon I just laid around the hotel and took a nap (jetlag´s fault). Then by 5:45 pm Dr. Scholtz picked us up at the hotel to meet the rest of the class at the airport. We arrived back at the hotel by 8:30 pm and had something to eat and drink. Then, we all went to sleep because we have a long (and amazing) day tomorrow. It was very fun to meet everyone in person and to start to get to know them.


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