The Amazing Race

So I am currently sitting in a coffee shop enjoying a rare free moment. Although I really like everybody in the house, it’s always very crowded and loud so it’s nice to get away for a little while and enjoy some peace and quiet. Yesterday afternoon, we participated in a rendition of the Amazing Race. We were split into four teams and had to search for clues and perform tasks around Cape Town. My team, The Crusaders, consisted of Harry, Leslie, Rosamary and myself. We were all really pumped up at the beginning….little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. After searching for clues at the UCT campus (which included hitchhiking from upper to lower campus and convincing someone we were on the actual Amazing Race), we were sent on a wild goose chase around the streets of downtown Cape Town. Although the point of the activity was to navigate Cape Town and get to know the locals, we definitely stood out like the true Americans we were (Harry tried to pay off the “yeller” bus driver to take us straight to our stop, which only served to anger the other passengers). All the members of our team were very competitive so we actually sprinted from clue to clue and gave another team the cold shoulder when we ran into them. As our taxi pulled up to the final location (Royale Burger), we were convinced that we were going to win, only to find another team waiting in the restaurant, grinning. Although we were exhausted and disappointed in finishing second, it was a very fun experience and I definitely feel more comfortable asking strangers for help as a result. I also got a lot of great pictures and video as we had to document each location, although my camera is currently malfunctioning and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to access the pictures. We were treated to a delicious dinner at Royale Burger afterwards and then headed home. It was definitely an afternoon to remember and certainly beat sitting in lecture!

Other than that, we have continued tutoring every morning this week. Pamela and Patricia definitely seem more comfortable with Microsoft Word so I helped them create their CV (South African term for resume). They are both hoping to apply for jobs in the near future so we spent a lot of time making them look professional. In the “previous work experience section”, Pamela (the older one) only had a few years of work to include. I was surprised that she had spent so much of her life unemployed as she seems to have such a strong work ethic. We had a lengthy discussion about the lack of employment opportunities as she does not have the financial resources to be able to commute to the city and there are very few job opportunities in Manenberg itself. We have visited a couple local businesses that train and employ low-skilled laborers, but this initiative has only slightly improved the extremely high unemployment rate in the townships. This helped me to truly appreciate all the opportunities that I usually take for granted. After graduating, I plan to apply to jobs in different parts of the country, maybe even the world. The residents of Manenberg and the other townships do not have this luxury, so I hope their improved CVs will help them land jobs in the future. When we finished the CVs, Patricia (the younger one) turned to me and said “I can’t wait to tell all my friends that I created my own CV. Thank you so much.” It’s moments like that which make this whole thing worthwhile.

The last week...

So yeah...I really fail at updating this. The past week has just been insanely busy so I haven't had the chance to write anything. We began the service portion of the program this week. For the first 2 weeks, we are teaching adults of Manenburg (a "coloured" township) IT skills. I was assigned to work with Patricia and Pamela (a mother and daughter). Pamela is a 60 year old pensioner who wants to learn computer skills so she can get a job again (she used to be a tea lady at a factory before it closed down). Patricia is her 30 year old daughter who works as a security guard at the local elementary school. She wants to learn how to use the computer so she can teach her 4 year old daughter, Genevieve. She dreams that one day Genevieve will be able to leave Manenburg and attend "Uni." They are two of the friendliest people I have ever met and their desire to learn is obvious. Teaching them has been a both very frustrating and a very rewarding experience. Thus far, I am supposed to have taught them how to use Microsoft Word, send emails and surf the internet. However, we are still perfecting the most basic Word commands such as putting spaces between words and capitalizing letters. While it is frustrating to see other people in our group helping their "learners" with more advanced computer programs, Patricia and Pamela are working so hard and I'm very proud of their progress. I am excited to see what they can accomplish in the coming week. Through talking to them and a tour of the town, I have learned a lot about the township of Manenburg. Despite the high unemployment rate (60%) and high rates of gang participation, the residents have incredible pride in their community and there is a lot of hope for the future.

The coolest part of the week was on Tuesday night. A few of us went to a comedy show and managed to get front row tickets. Before the show started, we met Desmond Tutu! I'm a huge dork, but that was easily one of the coolest experiences of my life. He is a true international hero, having been one of the leading anti-apartheid figures and promoting peaceful protesting. The actual comedy show was hilarious and Tutu even did a stand up routine of his own! 

We have also been doing a lot of touristy stuff which has provided us with an excellent glimpse of Cape Town. Earlier in the week, we went to the District 6 museum, which provided moving accounts of the hundreds of families who were forcibly moved out of the area during the apartheid movement.  We then visited the actual location of District 6. I was shocked by the vast amount of open space that still remained. In the morning on Saturday, we went on a boat ride to what we thought was Seal Island..you know the one they show on Shark Week. After surviving the extremely rocky boat ride there, we discovered that it wasn't the actual Seal Island, but it was rather just a rock covered in seals. Still cool, but the Animal Planet nerd in me was a little disappointed.  We then went on a driving tour of the Cape Peninsula. We stopped at several key points with beautiful views and hiked up Cape Point. On the way back, we stopped at Boulder's Beach and saw the penguins that live there. We saw an egg hatch and the mother waddle out to sea to let the father nurse it till she got back. It was adorable and was like a scene out of March of the Penguins! I was imagining Morgan Freeman narrating the whole time.

 This morning, we went to the best breakfast place called Cocoa Wahwah and geared up for a hike up Lion's Head Peak. The weather was perfect for a hike and the views were absolutely incredible and we all felt very accomplished when we reached the top (after scaling ropes and all...). There was this Jack Russell Terrier named Roxie who climbed with us like a pro. I secretly wanted to steal her. Going down was pretty tough as the rocks were covered in dry dirt which was very slippery. Although being passed by a group of 7 year olds served as motivation to keep going.

We have been going out a lot, so I'm pretty tired. The funnest night was on Wednesday when we went to the Long Street Cafe to do karaoke. It was the first and only time so far the entire group went out and it was a blast! I was even convinced to do a duet of "She Bang" by Ricky Martin (made popular by William Hung)...yes, there is photo and video evidence...

This past week has been incredible. We have done so much, yet I feel like I have only barely scraped the surface of all Cape Town has to offer. Ok, well I should go to bed, we have another long week of service work and classes ahead of us. I'm fairly technologically inept, but I'll try to upload some pictures soon.  Thanks for reading!

Days 2 and 3

Hey guys. So all the members of the program have now arrived and we have a full house. It's great to see everyone and we have kept pretty busy over the past 2 days. Also, my luggage finally arrived. Yesterday, we hiked (yes it's basically up the mountain) to see the main University campus. The upper campus is absolutely stunning, the prettiest campus I have ever seen. It is surrounded by beautiful views and foliage. I took lots of pictures but I have been having camera problems so I'm not sure if I'll be able to retrieve them.

In the evening we went to a choral tribute to Nelson Mandela. I expected it to be kind of cheesy, but it was actually pretty moving. Even though I didn't understand all that was being said (the emcee spoke primarily isiXhosa), it was clear that the crowd was very inspired. Although the concert was a little long, the music was beautiful and the energy was electric. After the concert, we went to a cafe for late night drinks and a snack before hitting up a couple of bars.

Today, we woke up late and enjoyed our last day of freedom. We went to the Waterfront village, which was a touristy shopping and restaurant spot right on the ocean. It was a beautiful location but felt like any American mall. After that, we got our first meal in the house (we get three meals a day catered...not a bad deal!) and then went to a bar/poolhouse in Obs before going to a cafe for desserts.


Tomorrow morning, we have orientation for our service program and the first day of classes start Tuesday. I am very excited to learn more about the service we will be doing, as that is what attracted me to the program in the first place. Sorry, this wasn't super interesting, I hope to have more to post soon!

Day 1

Ok I've never done one of these before so bear with me, but I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I am traveling to Cape Town, South Africa for a combined service and study abroad program through Vanderbilt's  VISAGE program. We will be taking classes at the University of Cape Town and volunteering in a youth development center in Manenburg, a township of Cape Town. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to be able to look back and remember everything and to give you all a glimpse into my life in Cape Town. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this.

After 32 hours worth of travel, Jill and I arrived in Cape Town exhausted but excited to begin our six week adventure. Unfortunately, my luggage did not make it on the flight from London to Johannesburg but is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I was frustrated but I guess it's all part of the experience. The flight into Johannesburg offered a view of the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. I also forced myself to stay awake on the flight to Cape Town. I'm glad I did because we got to see Table Mountain and the ocean while we were flying in. It was truly breathtaking. After going through the incredibly lax South African customs, Jill and I walked to the departures exit, not sure if our ride was going to be there or if we would have to take a taxi to an unknown address. Obviously, we were hoping for the former. We were relieved when we heard someone yelling our name as we walked out the door. We looked over and saw Tess and Stephanie and two of the SHAWCO (the organization we are volunteering with) organizers waiting for us. We then waited for Harry, Carrie and Rachel to arrive, before driving to the house.

This brief drive offered a true snapshot of the diverse experiences Capetown has to offer. We saw beautiful Table Mountain as well as one of the poorest townships. In contrast, as we got closer to the University, the houses reflected great wealth. Finally, we arrived at the SHAWCO house we would be staying in. The house is great, right by the University of Cape Town campus and has tons of room. We dropped our bags off, got our keys, and immediately started exploring the area. We walked around the area right around the University, and stopped at a place for a late lunch. Despite ordering my meal mild, it was still way too spicy for me. Hopefully this experience will improve my tolerance for spicy food.  After this, we stopped at a convenience store to pick up some toiletries. A few of us were waiting outside for the others when we saw a man sprinting out of the store with a backpack on. Two store clerks started sprinting after him. At first we were very confused, until we saw a police officer joining the chase. We realized the man had stolen something from the store. We had heard that Cape Town has a high crime rate, but I didn't think I would be witnessing one within my first 2 hours of being there!

After that, we walked back to the house to nap and shower before dinner. We went to a place called Marco's for dinner, which serves traditionally South African food and entertainment. I ordered the "famous chicken," and an Amstel which were both delicious. There was a band playing traditional African music. Eventually, the dancers convinced Stephanie and Harry to dance with them, which was hilarious. We then had a true group bonding experience when we all went up and learned traditional African dance. Everyone got over their embarrassment and just had a good time. It was really fun. Then Harry convinced everyone to check out the bar scene on Long Street, despite us being extremely jetlagged. We checked out a few bars, which were all extremely different. They were fun, but we went home around 12:30, all exhausted from the long hours of traveling. I slept for 10 hours and am now refreshed and ready for day 2! I finally got my camera charged so I will start taking lots of pictures and hopefully I can figure out how to include them in this blog. Also, I know this post was kinda long, so if you took the time to read it, you're awesome. They won't all be this long, but I have a lot of energy after sleeping for 10 hours!