Cape Town, Part 2

We were supposed to leave Cape Town at 11 last night. Because of the winds, we had to wait until early this morning to get to the refueling station, and we are still sitting in port. We still have to go to classes today though, which is hard since we can see the beautiful city outside. So much has happened since I last posted my blog that this is going to be a pretty long entry I think. As it turns out our “safari” to Kagga Kamma was not actually a safari. It was on a private game reserve, and was really fun, but we didn’t get to see any of the big 5. The big 5 are animals you look for on safari and include elephants, rhinos, leopards, zebra, and giraffes (I think). We did see ostrich, blue wildebeest, bontebok, springbok, dassies, eland, and oryx. We also saw rock paintings done by the San people (bushmen) between 200 and 6,000 years ago. If you look above my head in the picture, on the left is something they aren't sure what it is, but it appears in more than one spot. On the right is a picture of the people moving since they were nomadic.

It was really interesting to see the way that they went from using their fingers to using brushes to make more details and also how they crushed up different rocks to make the paint. Our guide explained that the shaman would go into a trance and would then paint what he saw. We also got to look through a pretty powerful telescope and see Saturn, the nebula that’s in Orion’s belt, and the moon. He pointed out the Southern Cross to us which was pretty cool to see since you can’t see it in the US. It was a fun time, and I’ve decided that I’ll have to go on a safari in Kruger Park the next time I’m in South Africa. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can come back! The day after we got back from Kagga Kamma, Kendall and I went on a service visit through a program called Africa Jam. This is an amazing Christian program where they go into schools in the townships (the poorest areas) and give kids opportunities to better themselves. They have after school clubs like a band and a drama group so that kids can have somewhere to go and stay out of trouble. Also, they host leadership camps and tell kids that it doesn’t matter what their past is like because they can do what they want with the future. Our guide had been changed by the program, and he is now planning to go to college with the financial help of the program. This experience touched me so much, because we got to meet and hang out with kids (10-18) who were so full of hope and vitality even though they were living in such conditions. This is a picture of me with some of the girls. They love having their picture taken!

A few of them took us to their homes, and the ones who went with Kendall and me gave us chicken feet to eat. We tried them, and then gave the rest to the kids to finish up. It wasn’t as bad as I’d expected, but one time eating chicken feet was enough for me. The day after that, Kendall and I went to Robben Island in the morning. I saw 2 pairs of penguins, and 1 penguin on his own. The jail was pretty interesting, but so was the history of the entire island. I didn’t expect to see a small village on the island. After we did that, we had “the sandwich” for lunch. The sandwich is a chicken club sandwich at a little café that everyone had been raving about. It was actually pretty good, but I can’t say what makes it special, you just have to try it sometime. After lunch we went to Green market. I love markets because of all the fun things there are, but I am so bad at bargaining. I’m getting better though. I got something for 200 rand that started at 800. I know that sounds like a ridiculous amount of money, but it’s less than $30 US. Yesterday was our last day exploring Cape Town. Kendall, PT, Emily, and I went on a wine tasting tour with 2 other SAS girls and a British woman named Nikki. We stopped at five wineries and had between 5 and 6 wines at each place. It was a really fun day and a great way to end our time here. I really wanted to buy a few bottles to ship back home, but it was going to cost between 300 and 400 US dollars just for shipping, so I gave up on that idea pretty quickly. I know that this blog can’t really express what Cape Town is, so let me just say how much I love it here. Brazil and Puerto Rico were fun to visit, but I would love to live in Cape Town if I could. The people and the scenery are all so beautiful, and I feel drawn to this place in a very weird, but strong way. Tomorrow is a no class day, and then we only have 4 days of class before we get to Mauritius. I have a trip planned for all 3 days we’re there, and I’m really excited about all of them. Now it’s time for my intro to world religions class!