The final day of Cederberg...
After breakfast everyone got in their uniforms and we assembled for the final parade and the taking down of the flags. I decided to wear my venture shirt this time. It fits me better. And of course, Josh, the other American didn't want to take down the American flag so I did it. I figured that since he was the youth and I put it up he should take it down... oh well. (Funny side story about him: Apparently when their patrol was at a base with a bunch of girls all of them (the guys) took their shirts off. From what I heard, the SAs told the girls that his stretch marks where whip marks from his girlfriend back home (whom he apparently forgot about once he got to Cederberg and saw all the girls)).
After taking down the flags and a few closing words it was time to leave. The scouts that had flights to catch got to leave first. Since we were leaving on a bus the next day, we had to wait til the end. Instead of sitting like a bunch of bumps on a log, we got around to breaking camp. Well, I should say most of us did. I took the opportunity to trade badges. I got a whole bunch of SA badges, a few Irish ones, even a Scandinavian one, and a few scarves. Even when scouts didn't have any patches I really wanted I still gave them (albeit one of the crappier ones) one of my many Lincoln Pilgrimage patches. My shirt came back with two patches on it (my jambo one that I wasn't trading and a quality unit award). I also ran around looking for John Mutti (the man in charge) so I could give him a few badges and Josh wanted to give him the flag.
Badge Swapping requires the use of a pocketknife.
John Mutti, the man in charge of this whole thing, giving his last regards as we're about to break camp.
This is Bob. Bob was the third American at Cederberg. He was on staff in the medical division. He got sick because he took Malaria Tablets (so did Josh).
Breaking camp.We got up before dawn to catch our bus back to EL. It was another very long trip but enjoyable. We were in the front and made friends with the drivers. At one point they put on karaoke and sang some Celine Dion, Whitney Huston, and BeeGees.
When we arrived in PE Steven's parents presented Josh and myself with bags of gifts. They gave us a scout handbook, a mug and more badges. On the way back to EL I read through the handbook and found it to be mostly the same as ours (no surprise really). We got in really late and just crashed.
The next few days are kind of a blur. I remember going to a music shop so Josh could pick up some drums and to a souvenir shop so we could get... well... souvenirs. They also took us to a game reserve for dinner the night before I left. The Inkewensi Game Reserve to be exact. We all ordered these really huge hamburgers (5lbs I think it was) and there was an assortment of sauces to put on them: mayo, ketchup (tomato sauce), and a few others. Feeling adventurous, I went with the Monkey Gland. It tasted kinda like barbecue.
The next day I said my goodbyes and went to the airport with Brett, Gareth, and Josh. My flights back were pretty much the same (same movies even...) except for one extra stop we made to refuel before leaving Africa for good and heading out over the ocean. I came to find that the extra stop was to account for the rotation of the earth. Since we were going with it we were going to use more fuel than when we went against it. I thought it was interesting.
Anywho, I arrived in Chicago after barely making my flight out of DC (they moved the gates and didn't tell us). I got in around 6, played phone tag with Becky and dad and eventually found him at the baggage return. We grabbed my stuff and headed out. We picked up Becky and Alice and went out for breakfast. I wanted something distinctly American and since there are no horseshoes in the Aurora area (I don't like them anyway) I opted for the country fried steak.
Other than that I slept a lot and handed out gifts. I gave dad the scout handbook and Becky got a carved elephant. The trip back home was rather depressing... just look at the pictures.
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