Jbay - Step 2.3: Pool eve with sweet dreams and almost dying in a dormbed

The next days and even weeks in jbay passed by like nothing. My days contained new routines coming from capetown it switched from hostel-changing, daily breakfast in concsious kitchen, chilling with strangers and sunset with the girls to: early mornings, yoga and gym routines, beach afternoons and family dinner in the end of the day. (It was called „staff dinner“ but I changed the wording for a reason) triple M knows.

I was really adapting to the "slow life staying in one place and working in hostel shifts lifestyle“. During this time I stayed in the wild spirit for a night the first weekend and one week later I stayed away for some days to participate at the bazique festival.

Right after that the universe blessed me with a 5-days-40-degrees-fever kidney infection.

I never had the pleasure to experience this kind of sensation before. so I thought „okay I will die in a dormbed in South Africa thats fine I guess“.

Spoiler: I did survive.

Here I was; a privileged, white ass - thinking I will be safed by my german travel insurance. Well, let me tell you: just having this thing properly planned before your travels, doesn’t mean that anyone gives a fuck or that there is the possibility of the help you crave in this situation: not capable to do the most crucial things, which amplifies the absolute misery I found myself in. Thinking of the relief that it is, that my insurance includes bringing my dead body back to germany.

I know it sounds fucking dramatic. But in that days I felt like this is a really valid way of thinking. okay in fact I didn’t „thought“ a lot.

I more rather survived phases of shivering shaking in bed of a freezing cold feeling and then drowning in your sweat in absolute heat. Just something new, just like a bungee jump.

In the end I went to the doctor twice anf when I got a new antibiotics and booked a hotel for 2 days to finally rest without people and noises disturbing this process,

I got better and was stunned by the sensation of being able to do the most basic things like walking again.

Questioning: is it really that basic to be able to walk? To be able to do what you feel like? To be able to cook breakfast with people who already have a space in your heart after knowing them since some days? To be able to have a titanic movie night or playing hide and seek in the dark? To be able sitting on a table with multiple nationalities, doing handcrafted jewelry together? To be able to go to the beach and see dolphins while walking home from the gym? To be able to listen to sweet dreams on highest volume 3 times in a row while playing pool? I think doing all these things is not basic but priceless and sensational.

Being able to call a place thats more than 9.000km away from the place you grew up „home“.

After this sickness again I realized how blessed I am to live all these experiences and that I am the one creating this life.

I turned back to life and the owner of the hostel said „so the 4 weeks volunteering end on Sunday so monday you leave“

And I was like „what??“ I didn’t realized my time should be over and didn’t felt like leaving at all. Luckily the next volunteers canceled and I could stay a week more - falling in love even more with that lifestyle.

Obviously at some point I had to leave so I planned to go to visit the Wild Spirit Lodge again for some days. I wanted to go to Johannesburg together with my friends so I waited for them to finish their volunteering.