The week started off with a huge bang. As part of the Wellness conference, the American delegates and our family were invited to partake in a two-day safari at Schotia game park just about 45 minutes outside Port Elizabeth. What an outstanding experience. See, Schotia is on the edge of Addo national park. Part of the game drive was through Addo with a bite to eat at a roadside restaurant in the middle of the country. Our Schotia guide (who drove us through Addo also) told us Addo is actually about 625 square miles in area and extends from the sea to about 50 miles inland. A massive piece of land for an elephant park. Our trip through Addo (the third time since we have been here) brought us to within a few feet of actually being able to touch the elephants. A herd of about 25 elephants crossed our path no more then a car's length in front of us, with babies in tow behind their mothers. It is amazing that such a large animal, the largest mammal on land, can walk past without a sound. The entire herd walked past us and not a sound could be heard. Complete silence. Of course other then the fights that were happening in the back of the truck. "Yes you did!" "No I didn't" "Uh-huh!" "Uh-uah!' Yah-huh!" "Nut-ah!" Meanwhile, these giant beasts passed in silence. Our Addo drive ended back at Schotia, which is much smaller in size but still about 3,000 acres. That's almost the size of a township back in Michigan (6 miles by 6 miles, or 3,840 acres), which is quite a chunk of land. As you can imagine, Schotia has it's own game in its park, complete with zebra, warthogs, birds, and all sorts of bok (antelopes) like springbok, impala, gersbok, and hartebeast. Most of these guys live in the section of the park that is fenced away from the lions. What? Lions? Yes, lions. In fact, Schotia has the only true hunting lions in the Eastern Cape game parks. This means they actually hunt for their food rather than some human feeding trick like what happens in a lot of other parks. The lions reside in about half the park, complete with another set of zebras and bok of all shapes and sizes. There are six lions at Schotia: The male and female and their 4 offspring (all males) who are full grown themselves. Our guide told us that the park actually needs herds of about 2,000 animals to support the balance between the six lions and their natural prey. After a drive through the non-dangerous part of the park, we were taken to a boma in the bush for a spot of tea. A boma is a circular open wooden structure with a large cooking stone area in the middle. The boma at Schotia can accommodate probably 100 people if need be. Fortunately, our group of about 15 was one of the only ones there that evening. After our tea, we piled back into the open land rovers and headed for the lion section of the park. After getting through a series of locked gates, we drove into the bush in search of the lions. Mind you, this was now getting dark, as this is when the lions come out of the shade to do their hunting. Our guide spent quite a bit of time instructing us what to do in case the lions came up to the vehicle. Basically you hold still, make no sound, stare the lions in the eye (as they are less likely to attack if dominance is shown), pray to God, and check your pants to make sure that rancid smell isn't coming from you. No Lupana here. No gun. No escape. Just you and the lions. "Hey guide, but we're at least 3 meters from the ground way up here in the open truck." 'You ever see a lion jump?" "No sir, but they wouldn't do that would they? I mean, really now, they couldn't just jump up here, grab one of us by the head like we see in those African type movies, and cart us away, could they? Surely that couldn't happen." "You got a roof over your head on this open truck?" "Ah, well no. But I'm way up at the top in the back. They'd most likely try to pick you off first wouldn't they since you are closer to the ground? Surely they would. I mean, that way, I'm pretty safe. Yeah. Ha. I'm safe. I'm safe! I'm in the back and you, my friendly guide, are sitting in the driver seat in the front of the truck! Ha! Yeah! Woooooo! Come on Mr. tough lion, let's see you try and pull me off this truck. I'm way up in the back! Yeah!" "Hey tourist." "Huh? Yeah, me?" "Yeah, you. Just to let you know lions will never attack from the front. They pick their prey off from behind." "Huh?!" "Yeah. So keep your arms in, your mouth shut, and don't make a sound if they come up behind you. But don't worry, because you'll never hear what hit you from behind. They are deadly silent." After about 15 minutes, we came upon the lot of them, all basking in their own importance and getting ready for a night of hunting. We actually drove within about 15 feet of them. I have to admit that I have never been more alert in my entire life. I mean not a scared feeling but one of being on high alert. We were out there in an open truck with fierce animals that kill to eat. If they wanted to go for us on the truck, there is absolutely nothing we would be able to do. Just sit there and pray that they get full on the guy they're munching who used to be next to you. Our guide said it best when he told us the only way to truly escape a lion attack is to make sure you can run faster than the slowest guy in your group. Being a runner who completed a triathlon last summer as a mid-life-turn-40-type-of-event, I knew I'd be pretty safe. "Hey Kath, don't worry, I'm fast. I can run a 20-minute 5K." "Yeah, try doing that with Bekah in your arms and Jack on your back." Alert. After we saw the lions we went back to the boma for a fantastic dinner complete with everything gamey and wild you could imagine. It was then that Andre reminded me that we (his family and our family) were sleeping in the "bush camp" that was located in the lion area. All the other guests had nice guest huts near the boma where a crocodile lived. Actually two crocs, but one had taken a "walk about" a couple of weeks ago and hadn't yet returned. We were warned to keep the little ones near us while at the boma. The bush camp consisted of a couple of little cabins within a clump of bushes that were surrounded by a ring of thorny branches. If you saw the "African Survivor" TV show, then you know what I am talking about. By the way, that is the Survivor show I actually applied to be on. But that's another story for another day. So the game ranger drove us back out into the lion area, where we once again saw the brutes. This time they were chewing on bits and pieces of a springbok. Less then a quarter of a mile away the driver pulled up to the bush camp and we unloaded for the night. Just us, a ring of thorny branches, and a cheap 3-foot wire gate clasp together with a coat hanger. One of the rangers spent the night in his truck, with a rifle, just outside the camp. On the morning drive, where we once again found the lions, he told us that during the night, the lions came over to our camp and proceeded to circle it for a couple of hours before moving on to find some other game. Usually they do not allow customers to stay in the bush camp. Andre pulled the necessary strings to get us in there. This, my friends, was real. And this was exciting. And this was intense. And this was insane. Regardless of the tremendous fear some of the kids had the night before, I don't think I have ever seen more proud children in my entire life. They survived a death-defying feat.

The rest of the week was completely tame in comparison. I spent all week engaged in the Wellness conference and activities. An outstanding conference directed by Andre and the staff in his unit at UPE. It amazes me where health promotion is in this country and how much work can be done to move it into a reality as a profession. In general, health promotion does not exist, at least not at the same level as back home. So what Andre was able to accomplish was an outstanding feat. There were two highpoints of the conference, both of which were social events. The first was at the opening of the conference. The Mayor of Port Elizabeth granted the Wellness conference a "civic reception." Apparently this is only done once or twice per year, so it was a great honor to have the conference recognized as being so worthy. What made it powerful was the Mayor's opening address. He was an inmate for 11 years at Robben island with Nelson Mandela and others who fought for justice against the Apartheid system of the past. His life story is one of extreme survival and fortitude that embodies the concept of well being. He shared a story with us that related to the mentoring that occurred between the older inmates and the younger ones at the prison. Each inmate was expected to participate in a recreational activity, be it sport, cultural, or whatever. This was not a prison requirement, but rather one created by the older inmates. If a prisoner was not participating, one of the older inmates would sit him down and insist he take part in an activity and not let him leave until he made a commitment. In doing this, they insured the younger ones would "survive" the incarceration and eventually leave as good and whole men. He spoke of his awakening at 3:00 every night to eat a meal because that is when it was available. He still wakes every night at 3:00, no matter where and when he goes to sleep. He uses that time to replenish his energy needs. A soft-spoken, yet powerful man. I was honored to be there in his presence. Sister Ethel from Missionvale Care Centre was the other speaker that night, who shared stories of well being amidst adverse conditions. What was extremely powerful was her sharing of a woman who fed her children homemade beer as they hadn't eaten in over 3 days and that's all she had to give. She knew there was some sort of nutrition in the beer. In desperation, she took a step to keep them alive. The night concluded with the UPE choir singing African music, complete with a Xhosa and a Zulu dancer. A very powerful night indeed. The second social event took place at the end of the conference at a boma about 20 minutes from Port Elizabeth. It was a celebration dinner complete with wild foods and exotic dancers that provided a dance story that included the powerful warrior type Zulu dancing and the animal imitating Xhosa dancing. A fantastic display of native dance and culture.

During the middle of the week Melissa Luepella, a grad student from the U.S. arrived. She is here for the next 3 and a half months completing a practicum with us at UPE. A wonderful person with great skills and a keen disposition. Her patient attitude and friendliness will go a long way here in Africa. We ended the week spending quite a bit of time with the American visitors, especially Andy (from Washington). Andy and I really get to know each other while he was here. It was nice to be able to "talk American" and not worry whether someone understands the slang and speed inherent in our speech.