Our adventure today involved some choose your own adventures; this morning, one group opted to start their day with a walk through the town of St. Lucia in search of a sunrise over the Indian Ocean. Instead, we were treated to a farewell of a setting moon. On the way back to our hotel we encountered children going off to school. As our final days of the trip are on the horizon we reflect on our own students starting another academic year full of summer stories and new-found experiences.

Our morning continued with a self-guided driving tour through the iSimangoliso Wetland Park.  Why the “i” you ask?
In many South African languages, like isiZulu and isiXhosa, the beginning of a word acts a little like a label. Think of it as part of the word that helps tell you what kind of thing you’re talking about. In English, we use words like “a,” “an”, and “the.” In these languages, that information is often built right into the word itself.

For example:
* indlovu = elephant
* indlu = house
* inkomo = cow
* isiZulu = the Zulu language

So the “i” (or sometimes in-, im-, or isi-) isn’t just there by chance—it’s an important part of how the language works.

one of those little things you probably wouldn’t notice until you hear the language every day. Now that we know, we can’t stop noticing all the words that begin with “I”! Learning these small cultural and language details has become one of our favorite parts of exploring South Africa.

As we explored the wetland park our species sighting lists continued to grow. A new monkey species, a handful of beautiful birds, and new tide pool inhabitants.

The park has unique characteristics featuring jungle, heavily vegetated grasslands, estuaries, and beaches all right alongside the Indian Ocean. The beach and cool ocean waters provided each of us the opportunity to dip our toes into a new possibility of wonder. They even remind us of our marine forests and coastal dunes on the way to our NC beaches. 

We can’t wait to continue learning as we continue west tomorrow towards Golden Gate highlands National Park.