Everything I learned about South Africa, Lesotho & Eswatini:

1. South Africa really does have penguins, right in Cape Town. 

2. In South Africa, two of the most well-known hikes are: Lion’s Head & Table Mountain. Table Mountain has a Cable Car which makes visiting both of these peaks possible in one day. 

3. In South Africa there is a huge amount of racism. 

4. In South Africa the currency is Rhand. This currency can be used in Eswatini and Lesotho as well but they have their own currencies additionally. One U.S dollar is the equivalent of 15.5 Rhand. 

5. South Africa is known for their wine. 

6. South Africa and Lesotho have many mountain ranges. 

7. In these countries many people live on less than the equivalent of $1.50 U.S.D per day. 

8. Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa is known for surfing during their winter months, June-November. 

9. In Lesotho the frogs do not jump, they crawl along the ground. 

10. Parts of South Africa frequently experience droughts due to their infrastructure and water outages. 

11. When it rains, it pours.

12. In Lesotho, school aged girls have to shave their head for the purpose of equality and lack of hair care education. 

13. Eswatini has an orphan rate of 40% of children. AND adoption is currently closed due to Human Trafficking.

14. Eswatini has the highest population impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

15. All three countries practice loadshedding, scheduled or randomized electric turnoffs.

16. Eswatini is the last true monarchy in Africa. He has more than 10 wives.

17. In all three countries cars are driven on the right hand side of the vehicle and opposite direction of the road in comparison to the U.S.

Okay, truth be told, I've actually learned a lot more over the last three months! It's been incredible to be submerged in the communities of each of these countries. I encourage you to find out more for yourselves about the communities and cultures of each of these nations.