Stellenbosch and Skydiving: Shut up and Jump

Hello from the Western Cape! This weekend might have been the best weekend so far here for me! After loving on so many children in Sir Lowry’s Pass during Service Week, I was sad to leave the township but excited to take a day trip into Stellenbosch, a town in the Winelands, that houses the University of Stellenbosch! We started off our day at The Apprentice, the culinary institute’s local restaurant. It was delicious, and super cheap! I sipped a cappuccino while eating a delicious freshly made omelet! Perfection. Downtown Stellenbosch reminds me somewhat of my own home away from home, Athens, Georgia (Go Dawgs!) It is very student oriented, and is the perfect place to shop and eat on a Saturday afternoon. After going into some boutiques and art galleries (a girl’s heaven!), about 24 of us traveled to Waterford, a gorgeous vineyard for a wine tasting! We tasted around 8 wines and then had a wine and chocolate pairing. Can’t get any better than that!

Most people could end their weekend with that, but I had somewhere to be at 8 AM this morning…a place called Skydive Cape Town! Man, what a day.

Just to give you some personal background, I am the girl who avoids roller coasters at all costs. Who doesn’t like heights, and honestly doesn’t even enjoy jumping off of high dives. But, the Global LEAD adventure spirit amazingly kicked in, and about a week ago I found myself willingly signing up to skydiving. Never in my life have I ever wanted to do something like this.



So today, as I walked into Skydive Cape Town, I had an out of body experience. I put on a harness, walked out onto the runway, and hopped into the tiniest and most rickety plane I have EVER been in. After a 20 minute ride, Rob, my instructor, hooked me to his harness and slid up the plexi-glass door that was the barrier between me and the big blue sky. The cold wind rushed through the plane, and I was suddenly on the brink of a life changing experience. And in a moment’s time, I found myself being propelled out of a moving plane, free falling above the stunning South African landscape.



There aren’t words to describe this experience for me. Seeing God’s creation from above was breathtaking, and the realization that I was flying in the sky was insane. As I was flying towards the ground with my parachute (thank the Lord it worked) and saw my friends and faithful taxi drivers cheering me on, I had such a sense of pride. I have always been the girl who didn’t like to take risks, who hated heights and got nervous even thinking about doing something like jumping out of planes. But this trip has taught me so much about myself, the world, and the reward of taking risks and pushing yourself. I feel like a different person, a girl who wants the most out of life and who realizes that life is so much sweeter without fear.

So, embrace the unknown. Take a risk today. Who knows? It could change your life.

-Anna Lynn Carroll