Safari and Andrew's House! Our Last Full Day :(

We got up bright and early to leave the house by 6:15 am. All of us were so excited to finally go on Safari! Most of us fell asleep on the hour-long trip to Fairy Glen, but if you stayed awake you saw magnificent views of the beautiful mountain ranges and farmlands in South Africa. When we finally got to the front gate we were greeted by an enormous elephant! It started coming toward us so Sed quickly began reversing. The elephant started running (as it was being chased by vehicles from the other direction) when all of a sudden our car stalled! It was the first time in Sed’s life that he had ever stalled a car. With all of us starting to panic, the elephant took a turn and ran up the hill. Woah! Talk about a way to start a morning!

After this excitement we went inside and enjoyed a beautiful spread of breakfast foods. We ate all that we could and then officially began the safari. The first place we went was to the young lions enclosure. There were two female lions about 4 months of age and a two-year-old male lion. They were all together playing in a corner so we stood around taking pictures with lions being less than a foot away! After we all got our fill of pictures we jumped back into the military jeep and headed on our way. We circled the watering hole and the first animal we stumbled apon was a Leopard Tortoise in our path. Our tour guide, Chantelle, got down and picked up the tortoise and it “leaked” all over her! She didn’t seem to mind much though, what a pro. Then we continued on our way. We stopped for a minute to get some pictures of an elephant in the watering hole and then saw some wildebeest and a waterbuck. Chantelle told us the legend of how the Wildebeest came to be and after seeing them in person, it all makes sense. Apparently they are made up of left over pieces from other animals. They have the neck of a zebra, body of an antelope and the face of the devil. We drove slowly past and then found Lady and Higgins.

These two heroes are the rhinoceroses that were recently poached for their horns. To date, they are the only rhinos in the world who have survived such a brutal attack, living more than a month and a half while all others never make it past two days. The pair were found not far from each other with their horns viciously ripped out of their faces. Higgins was blinded from the sun burning into his eyes but Lady was lucky enough to be found while the sun was still down. The sick poachers were caught thankfully, but got out of jail by paying a measly 75,000 rand find. That is not even 10,000 US Dollars and each horn sells for about 520K! It’s disgusting how easy the poachers get off in South Africa.

To cheer us up after seeing the rhinos, we went to meet a 2 day old Zebra! We watched as he playfully walked around his mother. We got to name him and named him Gary after the bartender who lives down the road from us. He should be so honored haha! After the zebras it was off to visit the bigger lions. We actually drove into the enclosure and drove right up to three fully grown lions. There was no fence or ANY kind of protection between us and them. Talk about an adrenaline rush. Nothing really happened though, they were being lazy under a tree trying to stay cool in the 95 degree weather. After the lions we went to the springbok’s breeding grounds and then back through a mountain road. We saw the devastation caused by a fire just two days before we got there. They were lucky enough to stop it before it ruined any of the animal’s feeding grounds or habitats. The silver lining of the fire is that there is now new fertile ground for plants to regrow and flourish. We went back to the headquarters and had a filling lunch and then headed on our way home. The safari was amazing and many of us already said that it was our favorite day. Little did we know what the night would bring.

For dinner we all went to Andrew’s house. They were having a block party where kids came from all over and we just hung out with Andrew’s family and his neighbors. I’ve never had so much fun. We danced with the kids for hours and played soccer up and down the street. We all worked up quite an appetite and then the food was served. As we sat down outside again to eat, we were swarmed by the children asking for food. None of us really knew how to react. I’ve never felt so guilty and spoiled in my entire life and I know a lot of us can all agree with that. It was such a change in the environment too. One minute we’re all laughing and playing together, and then the next we feel like we’re teasing these unfortunate kids by flaunting full plates in their faces. We were ushered back inside and then after eating, Ivy let the children have the leftovers. She knew which ones were truly hungry and made sure they had first dibs. That situation shocked a lot of us into reality and I know will be with us for a long time. A lot of us now appreciate a lot more the things we have at home, and more than that we realize how much extra we have and what it truly means to “need” something. On the way home we talked about what all of those kids seemed to have and it was pure happiness. They were all so joyful and yet had substantially less than us. I think this was a huge growing point for our group.

After getting home from Andrew’s, most of us decided to go out to the bars to say one last goodbye to Obs. We played Cheers Mandela! and sang Disney songs in the kitchen. It’s amazing to know how close we all have become and how much fun we have together. Not only was our day full of adventure and laughs, we learned so much about ourselves and the world we live in. If I had to choose one day to remember South Africa by, it would be this one. Not excited for tomorrow at all.

Soweto Bike Tour

Our day started out very early in the morning, we had to be ready to go by 8:30am. It was a bit rough because some of us were tired from the activities from the day before and it was pretty hot by the time we had grabbed a light breakfast. However, we were ready and excited to get to our bike tour. We went straight to Lebo’s Soweto Back Packers where our guide and bikes were awaiting. Before the tour could start we tried out the bikes for size as well as for safety, we had to make sure that the breaks worked. After we all had our “perfect” bike we were off and it was a rough start because we went up hill for a few minutes, for those of us out of shape it felt like a very high mountain, our legs were a bit wobblely by the time we reached the group.

On our first stop our guide gave us some background on the township of Soweto. He first asked what we knew about Soweto and a few people answered things such as the student uprising of 1976, the movie Tsotsi, which won an Oscar, and some other interesting facts. Our guide told us that in addition to all those things Soweto had its own soccer team, the Orlando Pirates.

Then he informed us that Soweto is one of the most famous townships in the whole world and in the African continent, it has over 4.5 – 5 million people living there, it is divided into 38 suburbs, covers 120 square kilometers, there are no tall buildings but a lot of hills which makes it difficult to see the entire township. We stood in one of the suburbs - Orlando West.

The suburb of Orlando West is home to 2 Peace Prize winners – Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. They shared the same street, common vision, fought for the same cause – Freedom and liberation of S Africa, but did not live in the same neighborhood at the same time. Another well-known person whom Orlando West was home to was the late Walter Sisulu, Secretary General of ANC (African Nation Congress), oldest political party in S Africa, which is celebrating their 100 years this year. Walter Sisulu was a mentor to Nelson Mandela, Sisulu recruited Mandela to the ANC party and he gave Mandela his first suit, Mandela’s first wife was a cousin of Sisulu. Walter Sisulu was married to Alberta Sisulu, she was known as the mother of Africa, she was very influential as well.

Another famous or well-known person from this area was musician Solomon Linda (sp) who wrote the famous Lion King song, in the Jungle the lion sleeps tonight, etc. The song came from Orlando West musician Linda and it took Disney five years to pay off the realty, this song was also used in Coming to America.

This is the home of many soccer players because during apartheid Rugby was more segregated and was for whites, however soccer was more available to all there weren’t that many restrictions on race mixing, no limits. Soccer became very popular in Soweto/Orlando West and it is the home to one of the giants Kaizer Chief’s

The tour in itself was awesome. We got to go through various parts of the township and learned about the different social class systems they have. There are three classes – first, second and third. The third social class used to be hostels for men during apartheid. These men were brought into the city from the rural areas by the government to work in the mines but during apartheid the government also used them as instigators and informants on the ANC actions and so on. The third class housing is actually on the outskirts of the Soweto suburb of Orlando West, so even then there is some separation between the classes. During apartheid people from Orlando West would not step foot in that area because it meant trouble. This section was also problematic in the sense that when the government brought people to this area it was only men allowed since they would need to work and they were brought over for short and long periods of six to twelve months at a time.

Additionally, you could tell the different class systems by the built of the homes. The third class homes/housing are the majority of the shacks, they are still not as well structured as the other homes/houses. The first class homes are full standing structures with working bathrooms inside the homes. However, the guide told us that some of the “nice” homes were sort of from old money and if the homes were maintained it meant that money still existed or that the families still had some money. The gates of the homes/houses at the end of the tour had beautiful gates and they were not for security reasons but instead to show them off.

At this stop we were able to have our first treat of the township and that was their locally brewed beer. Consumed from a cardboard carton into a plastic glass at a shebeen called "The Shack" in Soweto near Johannesburg during a cultural tour of the township. It is a Sorghum beer, which is indigenous opaque traditional African ale, brewed by a loose collective of South African brewery organizations using maize, wheat, water and yeast. It is not sold in bottle shops but is widely consumed in the black South African townships. It looks like a watered down strawberry milkshake with a few loose bubbles of pinkish white head. The aroma has a pungent yeasty lactic acid sourness and the palate is grain-like and sour with a thick grainy texture and medium body. There is no hop presence and the degree of sourness and alcohol content varies with the age of the brew (the fresher the better according to our guide). Like tasting your very first lambic beer, the palate needs to adjust to it and after a while you can consume it quite easily. Though I did not have the pleasure of tasting the beer, most of the other students enjoyed the taste.

After the beer stop and little bit of Zulu dancing where Andrew, main coordinator of trip, fell as he tried to dance, this was seriously hilarious! We moved on to have a township treat – cow cheek with pop, pop is like smashed potato but made out of corn/corn starch, has no real taste but combined with the cow cheek it is amazing. Most of the students enjoyed the cow cheek that was seasoned at our own taste with salt and/or paprika.

We continued our tour by going through the township and eventually heading towards the student up rise of 1976 museum/site, where there were a few monuments to commemorate the youth struggle during apartheid. The day of the up rise was July 16^th, 1976. This site occupies the most famous picture of the up rise where Hector Pieterson was carried by a young man named Mbuyisa, who until today no one know if he is still alive. The site has a commemorative stone that Nelson Mandela unveiled on June 16^th, 1992 in honor of Hector Pieterson and the other youth who lost their lives on that day as well as those that took the risk and were courageous to stand up against apartheid. The memorial site is very meaningful especially since it is right on the corner street where Hector was shot. There is a quote on one of the stones that reads “To honour the youth who gave their lives in the struggle for freedom and democracy”.

After this powerful site we went on to have some lunch. We had Kota’s, which were very similar to the Gatsby’s except that these one’s had egg on top. It was really nice treat. We moved on to check out Nelson Mandela’s old home, now turned into a museum, and then Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s home. Both homes are now located the same street that has also been labeled as the Nobel Laureate Walk. It was really nice to end our tour here because it was very uplifting. It was nice to see the change that these people had made even though they lived in the largest township of South Africa.

Finally after our 4 hour bike tour and possibly 3mile bike ride we headed to the airport. We arrived with plenty of time to relax before boarding. It was a nicer ride back to Cape Town and it was still sunny when we got home. We made it back just in time for some of Ivy’s home cooked meal. And Andrew successfully made it through his first complete airplane ride.

1/14/2012 1st Day in Joburg!

We arrived in Johannesburg—called “Joburg” or “Jozi” for short—just after sundown. Our flight ended with a bit of turbulence as we made our decent into South Africa’s largest city amidst a thunderstorm. But we ended our Friday the 13^th travels safe and sound at Gandhi’s Backpackers, named after the main house’s most famous former-resident. For our first morning in Joburg, our staff organized groceries of eggs and bacon for breakfast (which a few of the earlier-birds in our group were kind enough to prepare for those of us that slept in) as well as sandwiches to pack for lunch and get us started off right for a day of tours.

The first part of our day was spent at Constitution Hill, today the site of South Africa’s Constitutional Court (the highest court of the judiciary), but formerly known as “the Fort,” one of South Africa’s most infamous prisons. The Fort had been around since 1892, but as resistance movements grew throughout the 1900s, the prison became known as a place for transitory holding of many political prisoners while they awaited sentencing, including Gandhi and later Nelson Mandela. The Fort was known for its brutal treatment of prisoners, especially in Section Four, where Black male inmates were detained. (www.constitutionhill.org.za)

As we were guided through the remnants of Section Four, we were told about the humiliating and dehumanizing practices endured by its prisoners, the vicious beatings given by wardens as punishment, and the abhorrent living conditions that led to malnourishment and the spread of disease. Video testimonials of former prisoners were playing inside one of the old cells. One of the men in the video stated simply, “this is not a place for human beings.”

Among the exhibitions of the weapons used by wardens to beat and torture prisoners and the line of isolation cells where some inmates were left to die from their injuries, there was also a small exhibit called “resistance and resilience.” This space focused on the few ways that prisoners managed to guard what dignity and morale they could sustain. The most prominent piece displayed here was the “blanket sculpture.” Our guide explained that prisoners would hold regular competitions to see who could come up with the best sculpture made out of a group-cell’s collective blankets to pass the time after lock-up hours. This particular exhibition was a welcome reminder of human resiliency amidst institutionalized depravity.

Today the country’s Constitutional Court shares the old foundation of the prison and the Fort’s remnants have been converted into a museum with tours and the exhibits described above. Now a national heritage site, the entire complex is riddled with symbolism representing South Africa’s confrontation of its past, its project of reconciliation, and its promise to uphold human rights as mandated by its new constitution—considered one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.

To end our guided tour we were invited to enter the constitutional court itself, currently not in session for the holiday season. The court building is constructed from bricks that once made up the holding blocks of the prison. While a large beaded new South African flag hangs from the wall at the left side of the court room, a window on the right-hand side makes visible the old prison staircase still standing just outside, ensuring that the past is not forgotten when working toward the future.

Before leaving Constitution Hill, I asked our guide if the recently proposed “Protection of State Information Bill”—often referred to as “the Secrecy Bill” by its many critics—was being scheduled for the Constitutional Court’s next session (as I have been a little behind on current events since this trip got started). He replied that he believed it was. For more information on this current issue, its controversy, and an example of a present challenge being posed to the highest court in the country, check out http://mg.co.za/article/2011-11-23-secrecy-bill-black-tuesday-not-the-end-of-road/ and of course there is always Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_State_Information_Bill

After a look at other sections of the Fort-turned-museum, we embarked for our second museum of the day—but not before a short break in a nearby park for lunch where Nico, our driver while in Joburg, asked Jan if he could share a bit of his own experience of growing up during apartheid with our group. Hearing about Nico’s hardships as a young student in Mpumalanga province, about how he became conscientized to politics and the oppression facing non-white South Africans, and his gratitude to those who came before him, seemed to set an appropriate mood of respectful attention and contemplation among the group as we headed toward the Apartheid Museum.

It is hard to say much about the Apartheid Museum because there is simply too much to be said. After paying our entry fee we were given tickets that designated each of us as either ‘white’ or ‘non-white.’ While the only difference this ticket really made for our experience of the museum was in determining which entrance we were to take, the discomfort at having been suddenly and arbitrarily categorized was immediately noticeable. The museum was essentially a long and winding path (a long walk, perhaps) that led us through multimedia exhibits, chronologically displayed so as to direct us through apartheid’s turbulent history. Newspaper articles, political posters, artifacts, and information placards led the way, but my favorite part of this museum are the archival news broadcasts and video footage of riots, protests, interviews, and political speeches that one could pause for a moment and watch. In many ways, the Apartheid Museum was a review of the first half of our pre-departure course, and it seemed a fitting reminder to have toward the end of our trip.

We ended the day on a lighter note, however, at Moyo Restaurant in Zoo Lake. The long anticipated all-you-can-eat-buffet had sparked the idea for an eating competition, and our trip coordinator, Andrew, came out victorious… though Chun, Brittany, and Ciara showed exceptional effort as well. Our meal was topped off with live music by a wonderful guitarist/singer who serenaded our table with songs by Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, John Legend, and more.

All this to report for our Saturday in Joburg and I even skipped the helicopter and boat rides some of us managed to fit in between tours and dinner! All in all it was an insightful, interesting, BUSY, and exciting day.

Jess

Tour of the old Fort Prison (now a museum) - the Isolation Cells of Section Four

A blanket sculpture displayed in an old group cell - part of the "resistance and resiliency" exhibit.

The new Constitutional Court built from the bricks of the former prison.

Nikki, our trip coordinator Andrew, and Shevin show off their face paint at Moyo Restuarant.

Our driver, Nico, and Mariana at Moyo.

1/13/2012 Red Cross Visit and Last Day at Work Sites

Today Jan arranged for Mariana, Brittany, Danielle, Andrew, and I to volunteer with children at the Red Cross Clinic. The children we worked with - or should I say played with- were coming for their lab work that is required every three months. We played with the children while they waited for the nurses to come and get them. Some of our activities included many games of Jenga, Uno, coloring, having a tea party, and playing with dolls that were made by Girl Scouts from Urbana. It was great to see the children forget about their worries and fears while playing in this waiting room.

For the rest of the group, it was the last day at volunteer sites. For many, it was an emotional day saying good-bye. When one of the students volunteering at St. Anne's Home began to tear up, a little girl said to her: "You know, big girls don't cry." Many of us wish we had more time here in Cape Town to spend with those we worked with at our sites. Overall, these experiences are ones we will remember as we move on with school and into our future careers.

It just a few hours we will be taking off for Johannesburg for the weekend. We look forward to seeing many historical sites. We will be staying in Ghandi's Backpackers, named after Ghandi because he used to stay there.

We look forward to enjoying every minute of our last few days here in South Africa!

-Bridge

1/13/2012 Red Cross Visit and Last Day at Work C

1/12/12 Heideveld Clinic and Beth Uriel

Today, Keya and I observed in an HIV clinic at Heideveld. We shadowed Dr. Lee who was originally from Australia. He was very nice. He told us a lot about HIV treatment in South Africa. According to Dr. Lee, the government had certain criteria for free ARV treatment for HIV positive patients. (ARV stands for antiretroviral drugs) The cutoff for ARV treatment at Heideveld was a cd4 of 350. Dr. Lee explained that cd4 was a measure of immune system strength; a lower number meant a weaker immune system. Most patients that came to the clinic were between 200 to 350 in terms of their cd4. HIV patients under 200 were at a considerable risk of infection. HIV was generally classified into 4 stages. The fourth stage—aids—was the worst. The progression from stage 1 HIV to aids took around 10 years, but it could be significantly slowed by ARV treatment.

One of the biggest challenges with ARV treatment is that a lot of the patients skip their doses. Skipping doses is very detrimental to the treatment process. The doses have to be taken at the same time every night before bedtime. In order to make sure that the patients were taking their medication, Dr. Lee asked his patients to bring in their tablets to every session so that he could count them. We were impressed at the level of determination and care that Dr. Lee had for his patients.
There was one patient who was especially memorable. He was a teenager. He came into the clinic complaining about chest pains and constant coughing. The most astonishing fact was that his cd4 was 4, which meant that he was at a high risk for infection. Dr. Lee immediately sent him to the emergency room and arranged for an ambulance to take him to a bigger hospital. I hope everything went well with him today.
Next, we were introduced to the pharmacy. We were quickly put to work. For the next 2 hours we packaged 28 pills of chlorpheniramine. Although this might seem a little dull, the time passed relatively quickly, because we were entertained by the pharmacists singing along to the radio. (My favorite was when one of the pharmacists sang Mariah Carey’s “We belong together.” She was really belting out the song by the end.)
For dinner, the group went over to Beth Uriel, which was a home for young men from 18 to 24 years of age. Since most care facilities only housed children up to the age of 18, Beth Uriel was a place that could potentially serve as the next step in these young men’s pursuit of academics. Lindsay and Melvin were co-supervisors of Beth Uriel, and they gave us a thorough introduction and tour of the home. After we all ate together, we had a chance to get to know each other. Some of us danced; others played pool; and some of us simply enjoyed hearing these men’s stories, interests, and hobbies. We were all sad that we had to leave, but we said our ‘goodbyes’ after taking pictures and facebook friend-ing each other. That’s about it for today. I’ll make sure to upload some pictures after I get them from Gloria.
Can’t wait for Jo-burg tomorrow!

-Chun

January 11th: Tembaletu

After spending some time at Guguletu Clinic in the ARV department it was time to move on. I’ve learned so much there related to HIV, Tuberculosis, and ARV’s. It was also a great experience to be able to interact with those patients. It was now time to experience Tembaletu.

Tembaletu is a school for the physically disabled. It is a gorgeous facility with plenty of space for the children to roam. They also have a hostel (funded by Hillsong church) attached to it for the children who can't stay at home. Today was the first day of school and I think we were more excited than the children!

As the day began, I started to notice the differences in how schools are ran compared to back at home. I expected more structure. We spent the first half of the day organizing the classrooms because none of the desks were in place. We also were asked to play games with the 5^th grade class because the teachers were busy making their lesson plans for the year. We played “Heads Down, Thumbs Up” with the children which was so much fun. Some knew how to play and others caught on to the rules quickly.

Our game time was disrupted because it was now time for them to take their break. This caught me by surprise because they haven’t done any work yet! They took their break outside and we got to get to know some of the girls a little better! They are such divas and plenty of fun! We were with the “cool kids”. We talked about things that we all liked such as music and movies. I was so surprised that not one girl said their favorite artist was someone from their country; they were all American singers so we all had something in common.

(DIVAS!!!)--- >

Throughout the day I noticed how everyone helped each other. Those with crutches would push those in wheelchairs to help balance while still being a help to the child in the chair. I was so intrigued by this. They didn’t judge one another and they all got along very well. No child was discriminated by their disability.

After their break time class finally started. We helped the teacher pass out notebooks for the children and assisted some children with writing their subjects on them. Their first lesson was grammar in Xhosa. From what I understood they had to write what was on the board correctly. It was sad to see some children struggling to write such short sentences because of limited control of their hands. There are so many resources in America that could help these children tremendously but yet they are not available.

I was just beginning to get comfortable at the school but then it was time to leave. Our first day with the children was great! I’m sad that we only have two more days at the school because it is truly amazing. The staff and the students are so much fun to be around.

After being at Tembaletu for the day, we went to Hout Bay to take a cruise to Seal Island. The scenery to the Island was beautiful. The water was so clear and the breeze felt great. As we were riding, the smell of seals in the air clearly let us know that were have arrived. Despite the foul smell from the seals, they were so much fun to look at. Some were splashing in the water while others were tanning in the sun.

After arriving back on land we had dinner at Lookout Deck. It was a very nice restaurant right by the water and it was definitely one of the best views ever. The food was delicious as well. We all left there feeling very satisfied.

Today was a great day full of plenty fun!

-Aleisha

January 10: Tembaletu

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela Tembaletu, meaning faith or hope, is a school for children with physical disabilities that exemplifies Mandela's words. After an informative observational experience at the Guguletu clinic, Aleisha, Steph, and I began the rest of our volunteer experience at the Tembaletu school today. This school, which is right next door to the Guguletu clinic, provides education for children with physical disabilities. There is one teacher and classroom for each grade level R (kindergarten) to grade 9. The grounds of the school are very aesthetically pleasing, similar to Beautiful Gate. The walls are colorful and full of inspiring words and posters. The hostel where some students stay is welcoming and has a fun and homey feel to it. There is plenty of space for children in wheelchairs to get around with ease and lots of space for expanding. In fact, expansion is in the works for the school thanks to generous donations from the Hillsong church in Australia. In the next year, they plan to build another hostel for children to stay in when school is in session and a sports complex.

Each student has access to physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological therapy at the school. Today we prepared for the arrival of the kids by cleaning up the therapy room and setting up the dining room. During our down time we were able to talk to some of the therapists and learn about how things work at the school. Since staff is lacking, the students are only able to see the physical therapist about once every one or two weeks depending on the severity of their condition. They can receive normal physical therapy and other therapies such as therapeutic horse riding and art therapy. The students who use wheelchairs have two chairs, one for home and one for school, that are constructed efficiently for their height and body type. Everything in the school is wheelchair accessible. The only thing that isn't is the bus that transports the students from home to school. According to the therapists, the driver needs to pick up the first child around 5am in order to get the other kids and everyone to school by 7am. Since the bus isn't accessible, students sometimes have to be carried on to the bus or use their own method to get on. Tomorrow is their first day back to school so we are excited to meet them and get started!

After volunteering, the group took a trip to the University of Cape Town campus. I think we were all thinking the same thing, why didn't we come here for undergrad and the scenery (or lack there of) at U of I is nothing compared to this. The campus was beautiful with the mountains overlooking the city, tall trees and plants, and the buildings full of character. Jess told us that it's an Ivy League school because of all the ivy that grows on the buildings! I would take Devil's Peak over the Morrow plots any day.

After a dinner of samosas and gatsby's (the fat sandwich of Cape Town) we got the pleasure of meeting Patti, a UCT professor, and Kate, a UCT PhD student. They gave us information about HIV/AIDS and TB and told us about the stigmas that go along with it. A lot of the information we learned at the Guguletu clinic, but it was a good chance for all of us to hear about HIV and TB from people who research it.

Thanks for reading!
Karah

Jan 9 - Volunteering at St. Anne's

After a nice relaxing free day Sunday, for those of us who didn't want to visit with the sharks that is, it was back to work this morning! Gloria, Sarah, Ciara and I have been spending our work days at St. Anne's home for abused women& children located in Woodstock, a neighborhood nearby Observatory where we are staying. The facility does not just provide shelter for the women and their children, but it also provides therapy services for mothers and children (social work and occupational therapy), life skills training for mothers and daycare for the children where the four of us have been spending our time! St. Anne's is a truly amazing place because it acts as a safe place where these women can get back on their feet and learn to live on their own and create a better life for themselves and their children.

(Outside St. Anne's Home)

There are two classrooms in the creche, daycare, an infant room that usually has 3 or 4 babies ages 3 months to 8 months, and a preschool room that has 8 or 9 children ages 2 to 5 years. I have spent most of my time with the preschoolers, which is where I spent my day today. Today was the first day we've been here that the preschool room had school. When Gloria and I went into the classroom, the children were all sitting on the floor and Chantal, their teacher, was having them recite the days of the week, months and seasons. Gloria and I joined in, but when Chantal asked what season the year starts off with, the kids laughed that we thought it was winter! We had to explain to them that in America, January isn't a summer month, it's a winter month. They all thought that was funny.

(The Infant Room)

After their lesson, we read a few books, played with play doh and did some puzzles before it was time for snack. Each day the children get apple slices for snack & I think it is so sweet that before the children can eat their snack or lunch, they say a little prayer thanking God for their food. After snack, we went and played outside on the playground. Gloria did a good job tiring the kids out playing monster while I sang songs with some of them. Some favorites that I've taught them are "5 Little Monkeys" & "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." After running around outside for a bit shorter than we have in the past, we went inside for lunch and then nap time. Today was a very easy nap time because they were all exhausted from running around outside. While the kids napped, we ate our lunches packed for us by Ivy & went to the infant room to spend time with the younger kids. For most of the time we were in there, the babies were sleeping, so it was a very relaxing end to the work day.

(Nap Time in the Preschool Room)

Because of safety concerns for some of the children, the pictures I have posted of St. Anne's are not of the children's faces, only ones of the facility and the back of their heads.

We had some down time between work and dinner. Some people went to the outdoor market to shop for more souvenirs, some just hung out at home and I, your blogger for the day, was lazy and took a very much needed nap! Once everyone got back from their shopping and other errands, we ate a delicious pasta dinner made by Ivy & then Mariana, the grad student traveling with us, gave her presentation on post-apartheid education in South Africa. It was a topic that we had touched on in our class during the semester, but she went into much more detail. It was shocking to hear about the wonderful ideas the government has to create more equality in the school systems but how little of it has been practiced.

After her presentation, we talked about our plans for the upcoming week and most of us ate some banana bread for dessert, a snack I have been waiting for since Jess mentioned the nearby bakery on our first day here! All in all, today was an excellent Monday :)

-Nikki

January 8th- Shark Cage Diving

What a day it has been! Today is our free day; free to sleep in and lay around the house, free to go to the beach, or free to to go for a day of shopping at the outdoor market. For me and four others, however, our free day started out by waking up and being ready by 5:15am. The five of us, Ciara, Keya, Aleisha, Chun, and I, were the only ones brave enough to take on the adventures of shark cage diving. We were picked up at 5:30am by our tour/shark cage diving guide Vin and we were off! We had a 2 hour bus ride ahead of us, picking up a few people on the way. Most of us slept the whole way there, besides Aleisha who had already gotten a full 8 hours of sleep.

Our destination was White Shark Diving Co., located in Gansbaai, which is southeast of Cape Town. White Shark Diving Co. would be the company responsible for providing us a good time, and oh what a good time it was! When we got to WSDC we were escorted upstairs for breakfast and a briefing. The briefing consisted of the dos and don'ts of shark cage diving, the weather conditions we were facing, and discussing emergency plans of action. They covered just about every topic in order to ensure our safety. After the briefing, it was time to head out to the boat, it was about 8:30am. Our group climbed into the boat and then backed into the water, and our adventure began. At least that's what you'd think, right? Wrong... We had a little electrical technical difficulties before we were really able to start on our way. Once the problem was fixed, we were once again placed in the water and then we were really set to go.

They took us 3 miles off the coast and this is where we would get to see some white sharks. Once the boat was anchored, we were able to head to the upper deck. There, another briefing took place about what to look for to spot a shark and what to expect from the sharks. I had no idea that white sharks would be timid and nervous approaching a boat. Also, did you know that a shark won't approach prey with their dorsal fin out of the water? They like to sneak up on their prey and will most likely come at them from underneath! Dang, movies sure do portray sharks wrong. After the last briefing it was time for wetsuits! I've never had to put on a wetsuit before, and I hope I never have to again! Boy, those things were so hard to get on, everyone was having difficulties! After the five of us had our wetsuits on and situated we went back to the upper deck to wait. It felt like we had been waiting a long time. Looking out into the horizon, scoping out the water to see if we could catch a glimpse of a shark. I don't know about the other others, but I was losing hope little by little that we weren't going to see a shark. And then it happened.

Vin yelled and everyone rushed to the one side of the boat. I seriously thought the boat was going to flip over! But there it was, a shark! My faith had been renewed! I couldn't believe it, there, not even 5 feet from the boat, was a shark. And soon after we would find out that the first shark we saw was only a baby, about a year or two old and a little over three feet. Not even five minutes after our first shark did we see the second shark, and holy cow, did this second shark change my perspective. This shark was about 12-15 feet... About the same length of me and Keya put together or about 3/4 the length of our boat! After that sighting, everyone rushed to the lower deck to get in line for the shark cage diving.

Our group was the third group to go, but while we waited we were able to catch some awesome glimpses of the sharks. Some were jumping out of the water to try and get the bait, others were swimming right next to the cage, some were even banging into the cage. By the time it was our turn to go I was extremely excited. I received my goggles and I was the first one into the cage, I was followed by Chun, Ciara, Aleisha, and Keya! However, as I was getting into the cage, I was about halfway in, and then all of a sudden a shark popped out of the water and snatched the bait! It was crazy! I was literally within 5-10 feet of this shark while I was getting into the cage. What an experience. Once we were all placed into the cage and settled, it was actually quite humorous. The nervous giggles had started. We were all joking around and talking to each other, trying to keep one another calm, but you could tell there was a bit of nervousness in everyone's voices. This kept on for a while until we saw our first shark!

The only way you really know when a shark is coming is either by surprise of it jumping out of the water to grab the bait or by our guide yelling 'Down!' at us, which meant that a shark was close enough to the cage that we should be able to see it through the murkiness of the water. Our first encounter as a group was a shark that had jumped out of the water, it had surprised us all! We stuck our heads underwater to see if it would swim by, but it didn't. This was pretty consistent with all of our shark encounters. We saw them above the water, but we didn't really get the opportunity to really see one pass us by. Not going to lie, it was a little disappointing. Then we got our 2 minute warning, which kind of dampened everyone's spirits because we had had the same opportunity as the groups previous to us. But not even a minute later, there was another shark! It had actually thrashed into our cage trying to grab that bait! We went under and could see it swimming by. Keya and Aleisha got the better view of the shark since the bait was closest to them, but we finally were able to see some of the shark as it swan by. This meant that the shark was within 7 feet of us, because that was the available visibility to us.

In total, we had 5 sharks swimming by us, trying to snatch the bait. What an unforgettable experience this will be. Once we were out of the cage and sitting on the boat, the group was kind of silent. Everyone was just shocked that we really had just experienced real shark cage diving! As we sat on the lower deck we were able to watch the last group and their shark encounters. Once everyone was done we loaded up the lower deck and off we were, back to shore. It was kind of sad. I could have sat on that water all day and watched the sharks.

By the time we got back it was noon. We were sent back to the area where we had breakfast and given lunch. While eating lunch we watched the footage that the filmographer had captured while on the boat with us! He got both above and under water footage. Seeing it all live again, it was crazy to think that we had just been on that boat and had just seen all those sharks. We all pitched in for a DVD, we are going to burn it once we get back to the states so we can each have one. Our day ended with a little shopping in the souvenir store and then another long 2 hour ride back home. We were all exhausted from our long, exciting day. Each and everyone of us would definitely recommend this opportunity to others if given the chance. Not once did we feel threatened or that we were in some kind of danger. It was seriously one of the craziest things I will ever experience.

-Britt

January 7th -- Wine and Township Tour

Today was our first day of full tourist activities since starting our volunteering here in Cape Town. We started off our day at Groote Constantia winery where we were greeted by a beautiful scenery and a large wine farm estate. We then toured through the 362 year old winery and were shown how the wine was made with the machinery and kept in the barrels. At the end of the tour we were greeted with five glasses of wine for tasting. The whole estate was very pretty and I would consider a must see in Cape Town. However, next on our list of activities for the day was to visit the township of Khayelitsha.

Khayelitsha is only about 30 miles from Groote Constantia, but instead of being a large wine farm estate, it is full of small shacks and homes for the people. We made our stop at Kopahong Bed and Breakfast where we were greeted with a smile from Mama Thope, the woman that started the B&B. After serving us a most filling meal, she began telling her story of how she started her bed and breakfast, why she started it, and where she came from originally. She had a very interesting background and brought about lots of questions from the students. After we visited with her we then thanked her and took a drive through the township. The drive through the township was very eye opening for most of the students. This township was geographically close to the previous winery, but it was clearly economically inferior. As we drove we could see shacks made of scrap metal, roaming animals, desert sand, and much more. The dichotomy between the two areas was almost frustrating to see considering how close the two locations are to each other. However, on a free day like today, it was a good reminder of why each of the students are here and why we are volunteering at the sites.

Of course, our leader Jan would never leave us on a very down note for the day, so we ventured to one more winery called Spier. At Spier several of the students got chances to pet cheetahs in the Cheetah Sanctuary and take many, many more pictures. We ended the day with one more wine tasting and students got to view one more pretty wine farm and see some more fantastic African animals.

-- Andrew