As my exchange reaches the ¾ mark, I have realized how much South Africa has to offer the world. I hope that during the World Cup people notice how beautiful it is. Last weekend I hiked up the tallest mountains in South Africa, the Drakensberg. As I took a break at the peak of the mountain and took in the beautiful view, I realized how spectacular South Africa is.

People who know me well, know that I have a quite bad fear of heights. This hike required me to address this fear. At a certain stage of the hike, we had to climb chain ladders up the face of a cliff. Standing at the bottom, I thought “there is no way I’m going to climb that,” however, I eventually made my way to the summit. I definitely wasn’t the quickest one up the ladders, but I still made it to the top and for me this was a great achievement. Once I was on the top of the mountain I was really glad: I had climbed the ladders because the view was like nothing I had ever seen.

Last week I also attended a professional rugby game between South African and Australian teams. The atmosphere in the stadium is quite impressive. I think it’s fair to say that rugby fans come second to Habs’ fans. I also noticed how huge rugby players are. I’ve been told that rugby players are the perfect athletes because they have to have endurance and strength at the same time. I can definitely see why this is.

I am now looking forward to my next adventure as we are going on a safari in the Kruger Park this weekend. — Julien Miller ’12