Dear UMBC readers, Yet another two weeks have flown by, which means it is high time for another South Africa update! Per usual, the weeks have been crammed with events (making updates quite easy), so enjoy reading!

Jumping back a few weeks: over Valentine's Day weekend, a group of about 100 international and local students went to the Raka Music Festival, a three-day Afrikaans music experience. Located in Swellendam right next to the river, it was the ultimate weekend of relaxation-good tunes, good food, and a diving dock on the river for when the weather turned hot. Though we internationals didn't understand the songs sung in Afrikaans, we had an AMAZING time mingling with locals and just loving life in general. One of the benefits to sleeping in an African field was the night sky-we saw the entire Milky Way. Words cannot even describe how beautiful and awe-inspiring it was.

The next weekend was an absolute flurry of events as the res'tstrove to out-spirit each other…at 3:00 a.m. It was three days of very late nights, but we managed to meet vast amounts of local students, who we befriended with our American charm.

Monday (February 22) began my six-day crash course in scuba diving-an intense experience to say the least, but I have emerged whole, PADI certified, and pumped up about diving! We managed to cram two to three weeks of class into three four-hour classes and completed all five underwater pool dives in one session. Stressful and tiring, yes, but it meant that by the weekend, our group was geared up and ready for two days of diving in Cape Town! Breathing underwater is an INCREDIBLE experience, and I cannot wait to do it again.

Our group (dubbed The Great Whites) had several hours to ourselves while the other group (dubbed The Problem Divers) completed all their certification tasks, so we headed right down the road to Boulder Beach, home to hundreds of –wait for it– penguins. Penguins. Chilling out in Africa. Let your mind be blown. For some reason, Boulder Beach is the only place the penguins will stay, and I'm afraid we Americans geeked out more than was necessary at seeing penguins outside of aquarium tanks.

Of course, before I could dive in Cape Town on Saturday, Friday needed to happen. I wrote my first exam (successfully) and then went to my first professional rugby game with a couple of my local friends. Even though the Stormers choked literally in the last play of the game (nothing new for the loyal Redskins fan), seeing a legitimate game of rugby played was a pretty sweet experience. Energy was high, the playing was intense, and it made our university rugby games look like child's play. On that note, however, Maties continue to dominate the Varsity Cup, since we are undefeated and normally crush the opposition by at least 50 points.

Classes have been going slowly but surely, though as midterm exams loom next week, the tension is rising. Academically, my new experience of the day was lecturing for my linguistics class, which proved a great learning experience. I'll be lecturing more in the future, which is an amazing opportunity. It's a bit difficult playing the professor to students that are only a year younger than I am, but it seems to be going well so far, so wish me luck!

In other exciting news, I have officially booked my spring break (technically their fall break) and my end-of-the-semester trips. Holiday begins on March 13, and I will be joining the scuba diving club for a ten-day dive trip in Mozambique!! And as if that weren't amazing enough, I have a 22-day adventure tour through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to look forward to once I'm finished writing my final exams. I won't be able to write about the end tour, but without doubt, I will keep you updated on the Mozambique trip!

The end of February marked the end of another wonderful month. I've already been away from home for two months, which is both shocking and empowering. As hackneyed as it sounds, I've already learned and experienced so many different things, and I have every intention on continuing!!

Until the next update, Holly.