Last Weekend in Cape Town

Today was my last day volunteering at the Silvertown Educare. I had a lovely send off and received some nice gifts to bring home including art work made by my class. This is my last weekend in Cape Town and we are supposed to have nice weather. Tomorrow a group of us are going to try to go to Robben Island again in the morning. Several people are heading home tomorrow as well. I have been feeling sick today, but I hope to get better fast. It is hard to believe I only have one week left, the time has flown by. This has been a great experience so far and I look forward to sharing it with you all. I have taken over 500 pictures so far!
Dena

Here's What I've Been Doing!

Hello Everyone!! Sorry my blog posts have been short, but I haven’t had much time to write. The three week program has a very busy schedule. Today is a National Holiday in South Africa so we had the day off from placements, which are mostly closed. This has given me a chance to fill you in on what I have been doing. We have had a few cultural learning activities which have included speakers on HIV/AIDS and the treatment of workers on farmlands. We have also visited the District 6 museum and an area called Bo Kaap, which is home to most of Cape Town’s muslim community. We also visited the Slave Lodge, where actual slaves were housed years and years ago.

There is so much to see in Cape Town and the history is very complex. The country director gave a talk on the history of South Africa and we talked about the education system, which I found particularly interesting. I definitely want to read more about South Africa when I come home. Several girls here have suggested books they have read. Cape Town’s scenery is also a good reflection of their difficult history. Everywhere you go in the city you can see Table Mountain which is beautiful. Our home base is located in a nice little suburb, but you don’t have to go far to see the townships where millions of people live in shacks. As we drive to placement everyday we pass by the townships and see the mountain in the background. It is such a contrast to see this massive natural made mountain and then these shacks that are a result of man made apartheid.

My placement is a lot of fun. The kids are very excited to see me everyday. The teachers here don’t really play with the kids much so they are all over me when I sit down to play or go outside with them. I have taught them several songs which we sing everyday-multiple times. They even decided to sing a song I taught them for a concert the Educare is putting on. I have posted a few pictures of the kids. The first is Numaan and Logan on the playground and the second is Yanda, Zika, and Jeremiah playing outside. The last is Hlengiwe eating the snack I brought in for them. They love it when I read this story about ants so I made them ants on a log. I have taken a lot more pictures and some videos to share when I get home. I am very proud to say I have learned all 46 of their names! I only have 3 days left at placement which makes me sad, but I have a lot of good memories to take home with me.

Next week I will be staying in a hostel in Cape Town with three other volunteers who are also staying to travel. I hope to explore downtown more and get in some time at the beach. I still have plans to repel off Table Mountain. I am just waiting for good enough weather. I hope everyone is well at home and I will try to keep updating the blog, but it might be more difficult next week so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me.
Love,
Dena

Adventure Weekend

This weekend a group of us went about 5-6 hours east of Cape Town along the Garden Route for some Adventure activities. We went zip lining and caving. Most of the group went bungy jumping off of a bridge (don't worry I didn't go). I also did the Elephant Sanctuary where we got to feed the elephants and ride on them. It was very cool. We also stopped at a wildlife game reserve on our way home. We stayed at a hostel since it was so far away. It was a good time, but I am very tired. Tomorrow I start my final week at my volunteer placement. The kids continue to be lots of fun and very cute. They love singing and getting their picture taken so I will have lots of good stuff to share when I get home.
Love,
Dena

Cape of Good Hope & Table Mountain

The past two days I have seen some of the most beautiful parts of Cape Town and South Africa. On Sunday we spent the day driving along the coast and stopping at some amazing sights. We saw the penguins in Simon's Town and my favorite was the Cape of Good Hope, which includes the southern most point of the African Continent. We had great weather all day and the non-stop mountains and ocean was breathtaking. Today we had another amazing day of weather - not a cloud in the sky. A group of us decided to hike Table Mountain. It was a very difficult hike that took 2 hours and was very steep. This hike completely out does anything I ever did at Camp. I will definitely be sore, but the views were amazing. I have included a picture of me at the top of Table Mountain for you to see. I am also taking pictures at my placement this week that continues to be lots of fun.

Emails

I just found out that the emails I have been sending are not going through. I apologize to those of you I told would be receiving updates via email. I am able to receive emails, but you are not able to get them from me. Please don't hesitate to send me an email or comment on the blog. I would love to hear from people back home. Things are going well and I am having a good time. I got to pet a cheetah today!! We also toured the winelands which were beautiful. The only complaint about my trip so far would be living with so many girls. Since I have lived alone for 6 years and never lived in a dorm during college I am having trouble with the different personalities of the house. There has been a lot of unexpected drama going on. There are however, others like me who are avoiding it so hopefully we will be able to continue doing that. I will update again soon!

My Placement

I am having a lot of fun at my volunteer placement with Silvertown Educare. I am working in the 3-4 year old room with Teachers Tonya & Alma. The kids are very excited I am there and they are frequently hugging me, jumping on me, pulling me, etc. They all call me Teacher Dena (which I hear at least 100 times a day). I have been working really hard to learn all their names. There are 40 in my room and some have very American names like Justin and Lisa, while others have very South African names like Indiphile or Asiphe. They are being very patient with me and they love to sing!! I have taught them a couple of songs I know from working at Camp Koch. I can communicate pretty good with them in English, but they also speak Xhosa, which is really difficult to understand and learn. They think it is very funny when I try to say things in Xhosa. You can imagine things are a little choatic with 40 kids, but they listen really good to the teachers. I'm still trying to get them to listen to me. It is very sad to see the kinds of toys resources they have to use. The boys play with leggos and OLD wooden blocks, The girls enjoy the babies and kitchen. I am taking my camera with me next week to get some pictures.

Everything else is good, except the constant cold, rain and wind. I am really hoping our weekend plans don't get rained out. Tonight we are going to a restaurant called Mama Africa.

I'm Here!!

I arrived safely in Cape Town on Saturday!! I met some of my fellow volunteers at the airport before we boarded. The flight was very long and uncomfortable. It was a big plane and it was full! We have had orientation the last couple days and we took a driving tour of Cape Town. The city is so beautiful and there are some amazing views! We drove up Signal Hill to get a view of the city and ocean. Then we drove down to Clifton Beach, which has huge boulders in the water and on the beach.

I am staying at Home Base 2 which is a little smaller, but is nice because it is quieter. I only have one roommate and we have our own bathroom to use. I have made fast friends with Aly from Ohio(my roommate), Amanda from Michigan, and Claire from Long Island.

Today we took a tour of the Townships(shantytowns). Our guide was Mama Ivy from the townships. She was great and gave us a lot of background history on the culture and lifestyle. It was an eye opening experience that is hard to put into words. I start my placement tomorrow and I will be at Silvertown Educare which is a creche (daycare) with kids ages 1-6years. I am very excited and ready to get started with my volunteering. I will continue posting updates, but the internet at Home Base 2 is down so I am using a friend's computer. Hopefully it will be fixed soon!
Love and miss you all!
Dena