Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Dec. 26!

Hello All!!
Wow, there is SO much to tell. I have to backtrack several days, back to Wednesday, December 24 . . .
Christmas Eve! This day we had planned to go to the beach or climb Table Mountain but it was kind of overcast (which sucks, because I have realized that everything I really want to do depends on nice weather) so we went to Canal Street, which is basically a HUGE mall, like at least 4x the size of the average mall at home. It was really nice, though was very different from American malls-- lots of big furniture stores, large restaurants, and I passed at least two stores only selling meat. I wasn't really in the mood to shop, mostly because I was bummed to be indoors at all and because I'm not about to spend my money (already) on things that I could pretty much buy at home also. I spent a good amount of the time getting coffee with David (18, UK) who is done at Bap but spending ~10 days at the house until he goes on to Germany or Amsterdam or somewhere. So that was nice to get to know him. That night we (me, Georgina, David, and Kim- a former volunteer who came back to visit her last night in the country) went out in Obs to a pool bar kind of place that has two for the price of one Wednesday nights. I played one game of pool and actually did quite well. After being there for a while we went to Long St. to a bar called The Dubliner... SO much fun. It was such an awesome Christmas Eve atmosphere, really good music, and I talked to and met so many neat people. Then we went across the street to a bar/club called Jo'Burg, where we were until they closed. It is really weird here though because it gets light early- and bright too, like it was maybe 5 or 6 am and looked like it was like 9am out. Really, really fun night.

Thursday, December 25: The next day I somehow woke up without a hangover-- a Christmas miracle!! Granted, Georgina and I didn't wake up until 1, but oh well. We met Ida at Camps Bay Beach which is just on the other side of Table Mountain/Lion Head. It is such an awesome place-- a gorgeous beach, clean water (though FREEZING is no exaggeration, it is painful to go in), the beach is lined with palm trees and on the other side is lined by a street with really nice hotels, stores, and restaurants, and then the backdrop of it all is the 12 Apostles, a mountain with 12 separate peaks. So we layed out here all day- it was hot!- and got lunch at a really good cafe right there. We are about to do the same thing today. What a Christmas!! It sure wasn't traditional but I wouldn't mind spending another one that way. There were very few signs that it was a holiday except for the occasional person in a Santa hat or reindeer ears, just lots of families out picnicking. Christmas night we had sort of a Christmas dinner that Ed had bought us- 2 chickens and some veggies. We also made some mashed potatoes, it was pretty good. Just watched a movie and stayed in.



Friday, December 26: The day after Christmas Me, Ida, and David decided to climb Table Mountain. I would like to preface this by saying that I consider myself in relatively good shape, and I would think that I would be a decent hiker though granted I haven't hiked legitimately since probably the Ochsenreiter California Trip of '95. However, not one person that I had talked to about Table Mountain mentioned to me how INCREDIBLY HARD it is to climb. We started at about 1:30pm, and the first part of the trail is steep, though not even THAT steep (it gets steeper later), but this part was soooo hard. Basically you are climbing rock "stairs" (I use the word stairs incredibly loosely here), but the rocks are tall so it takes a lot of effort to take one step, and then in some areas there is no order to the rocks at all so you are just scrambling up over random rocks... it sucked. Like Ida and David have done it at least 3x before so they had no problem but I was thinking why in the world am I about to spend my day doing this?? Eventually I made it to the top of that section, and for a while you are going pretty much flat because you are basically walking the length of the mountain. David and I walked this part together (Ida was way ahead, Norwegians must be good hikers) but then he got a headache so he decided to turn around. I was fine with this because I didn't want to have to keep up with him on the uphill part and there were a good amount of other hikers going up and down so I wasn't on the mountain by myself or anything. Oh, and I forgot to mention- the reason there were so many people on the trail is because the Cable Car that is usually running up and down was closed because of high winds. This is important to keep in mind seeing as you get higher and higher it is SO windy. The upper part of the trail wasn't as hard as the beginning because it was more windy so didn't go STRAIGHT up, though at parts it did- plus, this part takes hours to get up. Like I would ask people coming down occasionally about how much farther to the top and they'd be like "Oh, an hour and a half, maybe two depending on your pace." ????? Who would enjoy that?? Anyways, it was hard, but I really wanted to get to the top. And the views were AMAZING. When I was about an hour from the top, a couple coming down told me that I shouldn't even bother, that it was freezing cold and windy at the top and that the clouds were coming in (which means I wouldn't have been able to see anything off the mountain). That was all I needed to hear- I did want to get to the top for personal achievement but if it there was really no point then I wasn't about to do it. Unfortunately, going back down the mountain was just as hard if not more so than going up. Not tiring, and it was faster, but I was a bit nervous of rolling an ankle or something, not to mention falling off the mountain. And with the wind and a backpack on my back and etc I didn't think that at least the former was quite possible. In conclusion though, I made it down alive and I am glad I did as much as I did but Ida was like "Oh we will have to do it again one day" and there is just no way. The cable car is there for a reason.



That night we rented two movies and just hung out since the next day was Bap!!! ... which I will write about tomorrow for sure! Georgina, Ida and I are about to go to Camps Bay again.

*I will add pictures later!!!*
**I worked out my Kruger Safari, and will have to miss my last shift at Bap but let's face it it's worth it- I am so glad it will work out!!!**

Day 5

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Sorry I haven't been able to get on a computer, lots of places are closed because of the holiday (including the internet cafe). Now I'm using David's comp with no real r key so its very hard. I have lots to update on and have been very busy but it will have to wait until I get back from Bap, my first shift starts tomorrow and I am SO excited!! So 3 more days until I can write, sorry!! I will have lots to say!


*Happy Birthday Uncle roger!!!

First Night Out & Baps Orientation

It is amazing how much can happen in 24 hours. It's like I have a totally different mindset sitting here today compared with yesterday. I LOVE IT HERE! Yesterday (of course) I was so unsure and didn't know anyone and now I feel like I've been here for weeks, at least. It is a very, very good feeling.

So yesterday after I wrote I continued to check out Obs, mostly just Lower Main street which has several blocks of shops, restaurants, and bars but is not all that busy during the day. There are lots of cute shops I will definitely have to come back to, and apparently Wednesday nights are really good here so I will probably experience that tomorrow. I got some take-out sushi (so cheap!!) which was the first substantial thing I've eaten since Saturday morning (and still I have basically no appetite, weird). I also went to the Pick-n-Pay which is the grocery store and got a few things since we are on our own for lunch and dinner (can't get used to how inexpensive things are, I payed probably less than half of what I would have at home).

When I got back to the house the girls were planning to go to the V&A Waterfront to see the new James Bond movie and invited me along, so 6 of us (Me, the four girls I had already met, another girl who's 28 & dutch and an American kid Kyle who's 18- Kyle and I were the only Americans but he went home today- I think). Anyways, so we took a minibus, which is kind of van-like and the drivers drive around and just whistle and honk at every person they see to see if they need a ride, will pick them up and drop them off wherever, and everyone just PILES in. It is a sight to be seen. Took the minibus into Cape Town, got to see Table Mountain from the front and it is amazing, I don't think I will get used to seeing that as the backdrop of the city the entire time I'm here. The Waterfront area is really really nice, I didn't get to see all of it and will have to go back, we were in an area kind of set around the mall- lots of outdoor restaurants and an open air stage, etc. Saw James Bond, it was good and would probably never have seen it otherwise.

After the movie we decided to go to Long Street, which is the famous bar street in Cape Town. We first went to Cafe Mohito and met up with three volunteers from Gary's Surf School (another AVIVA project) who were all really nice (and convinced me to go out to Muizenberg for surfing lessons one day- HA that will be interesting) and we all sat and had appetizers and drinks for a while, then went to another bar that was having a comedy night but ended up talking to a couple British volunteers on holiday from the work they are doing in Namibia the whole time. Had my first Obama conversation which was very interesting and very exciting to hear their enthusiasm!! After this we took a cab to a club but the line was too long, so went next door to The Shack which is a big bar with lots of levels and rooms, hung out there and talked to the surf school volunteers and a couple guys from the Netherlands for a while. Left when they turned the lights on with Fredericka (German) and the surf school people to go back to the house. Ate a legitimate sausage hot dog from a vender outside the bar while waiting for our taxi- something I would NEVER do at home but it was delicious. See what an open mind I have here?!

Additionally, & not surprisingly, it takes only one night out like this one to make fast friends with an international group of people, which makes me now feel completely comfortable in the house and no longer "new" or a stranger. Yay!

This morning I woke up at 9:30, which would have been harder if I wasn't so excited to see Baps. Ed, co-director of AVIVA, came to pick us up at 10 and took me, the two girls who had been home sick, and the 28 yr old who was doing Gary's Surf School but switched to Baps & so was doing orientation with me, to the orphanage. All of this is kind of hard to explain because I can't imagine understanding it without being here & seeing it- both in terms of the extreme poverty & the kids at Baps. Kayalitcha is the township that Baps is located in about 20 min outside of Obs. The entire drive there you are passing these "informal settlements" that I mentioned before- shacks with tin roofs that are small - like the size of a shed you would put in your backyard or something. And driving past you see kids just playing by the side of the highway with nothing, in the sand or maybe with a ball. When we get off the highway we followed signs to Kayalitcha through these shacks, though I am not sure what distingueshes Kayalitcha itself from the rest of it- It all looks the same. There were a lot of people around & random herds of cows & lots of dogs. There were also a lot of signs painted onto walls about HIV/AIDS awareness, clinics, etc.

We pulled up in front of Bapumelele, which is completely enclosed with a tall wall- the area around it is not safe, and while we are there we are not supposed to leave it. So we go in through the gate and are introduced to Allison, who is from Raleigh, NC and has been here for 4 months. Within about 30 seconds of being inside I felt two little hands on the backs of my legs- I turned around to my left and didn't see anything, turned to my right and didn't see anything, back and forth back and forth (the little boy kept dodging out of sight). He was maybe 4(?), and ADORABLE. He thought his little game was very clever. The two of us having orientation went into the office to hear the rules and all that stuff from Allison. Then she brought us out for a tour, because Baps has grown a lot in the past four years- it now has the original house that older kids now live in (very crowded, like 4+ triple bunks to a room), a building that the older kids eat and hang out in, above that is the flat for AVIVA volunteers and currently there are 8 German volunteers also at Bap for a year who stay there (it's fine, very basic- pretty much my meals there will have to be microwaveable), then there is the Babie House, which is where I will be the majority of the time, then there are 7 Cluster Houses (these hold ten kids each with one caregiver with the aim of creating a family-like environment; two of the seven are brand new and will open in January). There is also a soup kitchen and a health center where people in the community can go for information about HIV/AIDS. All of this is within the walls of Baps, and except for the older kids house none of it was here four years ago- it really is amazing what they have done. It has gone from 30 kids to about 150, ages 0-18, and is a model for children's homes across South Africa (possibly even Africa I guess).

Even having said all of that though, it is still heartbreaking. Throughout the entire time we were being shown around both of my hands were being held by at least one child each. They followed us everywhere and were so friendly, always smiling and laughing and eager to see who we were, what we were wearing, checking out my nail polish & jewelry & even the stamp on my hand from last night. And each and every one is just gorgeous , like the most beautiful kids I have ever seen. And I haven't even gotten to the baby house. We walk in and there are several rooms off of the main room/kitchen area, so we walk into one of the bedrooms with two triple bunks in it and on each middle bunk there are probably 4 kids, all around 3,4 yrs old, just rolling around and laughing and climbing on the beds-- again, so happy, all smiles. The cutest things you can imagine. Next to that room is the baby room, which has probably 8-10 cribs lining the walls and at the time there were 5 babies- teeny, tiny babies, the smallest I have ever seen- in their cribs. There are more, but I think they were out getting fed at that point. And again, adorable. I am SOOO excited to go back, I wanted to stay. I am so glad that I chose this project, they definitely need the help there with so many kids and it is so sad that they don't get the individual attention that they deserve & need.

Good God this is a long entry, I'll try to sum things up but there is so much to say!! So when we left Baps it was just me, Ed, and the other new-ish girl (I really need to learn names) and Ed needed to pick up two volunteers who were just getting in from the airport, so we were gonna go with him and get a coffee or something while we waited for their flight to get in. However, once we got there we learned that their flight had been delayed, but we had already ordered some food so Ed offered to pay & said he would just come back for the girls later. So we got to eat and hang out with Ed for a while and he is SO super nice, which is not surprising at all seeing how all the AVIVA staff are like the nicest people I've ever met. Anyways I was able to ask him about the Kruger Safari I had wanted to do--- since I have gotten here I've learned that the safari, since it's 6 days away from Cape Town, is usually done before or after one's alloted time at the orphanage since we are there every 3 days. So for me, this would mean no safari since I am leaving right after my time at Baps is up. So Ed said that he would look into me doing the safari one week, and then the next week doing 6 straight days at baps to make up the time, which would be awesome so I REALLY hope it works out. So after lunch Ed took us back to the house, and then I came here!

So it has been a very busy, fun, informative, and a little bit culture-shocked past 24 hours. I think that tomorrow I might climb Table Mountain, maybe the two new girls will want to do that. Ida, who is on my shift, told me yesturday that the other girl on our shift, Georgina (who I have not met yet, I think she comes back from Baps today, but I didn't meet her when I was there) hasn't really wanted to do/book anything to do, but that she (Ida) definitely wants to do as much as possible, which is awesome! I am trying to convince her to Sky Dive but I don't know if she will agree to that, though I'm gonna keep working on her. She already did Table Mountain but maybe will want to again tomorrow. I think Christmas day I am going to go to Camps Bay beach and just lay out... sounds like an absolutely wonderful way to spend the holiday =).

Now I am going to go back to the house and probably shower and nap. Ursula, the AVIVA staff member that picked me up from the airport, is having a holiday party tonight and invited all of us so I am guessing we will go to that!

Forgot to mention before- when I got here I got a welcome pack which included a really nice fleece, a SIM card for my phone (which I think I just figured out M&D!!- and which will be way more handy than I expected since I have already met people outside of the house that I would have no other way to get in touch with again), some kind of voucher to send postcards (? I don't know really what that is), and a bottle of wine. I do love AVIVA =)

First Day in Obs

I made it!! But it sure was a long trip. The 15 hours to Johannesburg were pretty rough though I did get to watch The Dark Knight, Mama Mia, and part of Finding Nemo. I guess I slept some but not well (though I was very thankful for the travel pillow, Karen!). I don't know if this is new or if I just never noticed on international flights before, but it was pretty cool how you can track the plane's progress, how many miles you have gone & how many left to go, your altitude, the temperature outside, how many more hours you have left, etc. Otherwise I would have had absolutely no clue of the time the whole trip. Anyways, the layover sucked, I payed someone to show me where/how to check in and all that and it was worth it because there were just lines everywhere and he brought me right up to a desk that said it was closed and checked me in in about 30 sec. Going through security took another 30 seconds, no taking off shoes and I was allowed to bring in open water bottles, etc that are not allowed in the US. (Also, I was surprised to have real silverware on the plane to Jo'burg, including a knife.) I slept most of the flight to Cape Town but woke up to see Table Mountain right at sunset- gorgeous!! and very exciting.

Ursula from AVIVA picked me up with two volunteers (one American, went to JMU, and one Capetonian). We drove to the AVIVA house in Observatory (Obs) which is right at the base of a mountain, and Cape Town is on the other side. They played me a Cape Town welcome song and kinda gave me a tour as we drove, though mostly we were driving past "unofficial settlements" which are basically shacks- it's crazy that there is such poverty right next to Cape Town.

I arrived at the house and Ursula gave me a quick tour- it's nice, there's a wall around the property so you go through one door into the front garden/mostly patio area which is nice, then you go through the front door and there are 3 bedrooms I think with three bunk beds in each, and off of my room there are three separate bathrooms that I think everyone uses (haven't figured out everything). There is a nice living room, kitchen, and backyard, and a room with big locker-type things. So when I got there two girls were there (and I can't remember their names now!) but one is Norwegian (18), has been here for 3 weeks, and will be on my shift at Baps, and one is English (22) and I think has been here for a month or so. And they were really nice! We stayed up talking for a while but all went to bed pretty early, they were kinda sick which is why they were at the house, everyone else had gone out in Cape Town. I was exhausted.

Woke up around 9 this morning and met Kim, the house Mom, who showed me around some more. Also met two other girls- Sophia (18, NYC) & Fredericka? Also nice. There are two other people that are at Baps right now, and two people left this morning. Tomorrow I have my Baps orientation, and I am sooo excited. Last night the girls were saying such good things about it & they can't wait to get back to the babies. On the 27th I will start my first shift, which means the start of 3 days there/three days in Obs.


OBS! Lower Main Street, two blocks from the AVIVA house.

So I guess so far so good, things are kind of strange/take some getting used to right now but I have a feeling that in a week I will be completely adjusted and used to how everything works. I am probably forgetting a hundred things that I wanted to say but right now it looks like it may be clearing up so I am going to look around more and then see what the girls are up to.

I miss EVERYONE!!

Leaving on a jet plane . . . (Tomorrow)

I can't believe that tomorrow I am leaving, I don't even know that it has really sunk in yet. This was probably the longest week of my life, it was nice to finally just be able to say "I'm leaving on Saturday!" instead of in however many months or weeks, but Saturday has taken forever to get here. Today I spent the whole day packing with Mom which has gone smoothly except for the few minutes when Mom read somewhere that I DO need a Visa to go to South Africa, which I don't have because really I don't need one, but until we confirmed that it was a tense couple of minutes (i.e. I was ready to kill myself at the thought of having to postpone this trip). Anyways, I am pretty much all packed and I personally think that for being gone 6 weeks I am definitely not bringing too much though Mom begs to differ on several items. But really everything I'm bringing is incredibly necessary.

It is sad that I've only been home for one week and haven't really been able to see/spend the time I'd like with some people, but at the same time I really can't imagine being home for another 8 week winter break. It is also sad of course to be missing Christmas with the fam, but as Rholene (the AVIVA staff member I've been in contact with since last year) says, the babies need to be fed/bathed/played with on Christmas and New Years too, and somebody's gotta do it. Christmas in Africa will probably be so weird, but there is always next year & the years to come at home. New Years, on the other hand, I am EXTREMELY excited to spend in Cape Town (legal drinking age = 18). Woohoo!

So my flight leaves tomorrow at 5:40 PM from Dulles-- I fly overnight to Johannesburg, South Africa (~15 hours?), have a two hour layover and then get into Cape Town around 7PM after two more hours of flying (I think). I am kind of dreading the long flight; I suck at sleeping on planes and this will not be helped by my definite nervousness/excitement. I really would just like to be there already. Tomorrow morning Dad's making waffles, then I have to run a bunch of errands, finish packing, go say goodbye to Grandma, and get Bagel Bakery with the girls (Molly, Cody, & Marie). It's going to be a busy day.

A few interesting things to know about AVIVA/Cape Town/Africa:
-Cape Town was recently named 5th in a survey to find the top 50 "must see" places in the world.
-Beyonce Knowles, Bono, Elton John, and Manchester United have all visited & provided publicity for Baps (the orphanage I'll be working at).
-Included in my trip is a full day Cape Winelands tour, a full day Peninsula tour, and a half day cultural tour of Cape Town.
-AVIVA was recently contacted by the Discovery Channel, which is interested in doing a special that would follow several volunteers before, during, and after their time volunteering with AVIVA.
-South African currency is the Rand, R10 to $1. According to AVIVA, a good breakfast costs about R35, dinner with a bottle of wine around R80, and R12 for a beer.
-South Africa is 7 hours ahead of Olney, MD.
-It is currently summer in South Africa. Right now it 75 degrees and sunny with 0% chance of rain =).
-When not at the orphanage I will be residing at:
AVIVA House
8 Sussex Road
Observatory
7925
South Africa
-The "Big Five" apparently refers to the 5 animals that are the hardest/most dangerous to hunt & includes the elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhino. Hopefully I will see them all in Kruger National Park.
-South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV in the world, more than five million. HIV-related deaths among young people fifteen years of age and older increased by 62% from 1997 to 2002. AIDS-related deaths account for some 30% of all deaths nationwide. The adult prevalence of HIV in South Africa soured from less than 1% in 1990 to almost 25% by 2000 with an average of 600 new infections per day. 100 children become HIV-positive every day, and in 2005 160,000 children experienced the death of a parent to HIV/AIDS. (New News Out of Africa).

I guess that is all for now-- the next time I write it will be from AFRICA!!

**HUGE thank you to all of my family that contributed to my Safari fund. It is such a big help to me and I really, really appreciate it!! Love you all.**

Hello & Welcome

In less than two weeks I will be leaving for Cape Town, South Africa! I couldn't be more excited and I have very high expectations for this trip, though I am sure some nervousness will set in the days before I leave. Before then, I think that there are several things to be explained- after all, this whole thing really began almost a year ago to the day that I leave, December 20th.

I've always looked forward to studying abroad, but learned upon coming to UD that as a nursing major, if I went abroad for a whole semester I'd be set back an entire year academically. Though this was disappointing at first, (I don't understand why more people don't go for a whole semester!! I think it would be entirely worth it) UD has the alternative of going abroad during our 7 week winter break, which is actually what most people do. So I began considering some of the offered trips- one throughout Europe, one to Fiji and Australia with nursing majors, etc etc. I realized, though, that these programs weren't going to work for me: for what a UD trip costs, I could probably travel abroad on my own for 6 months and pay the same. Plus I'd be paying for credits and taking classes that I have no need for.

Another reason for not going abroad with UD is that I don't want to be so confined to a set schedule and I want to be able to plan trips and activities on my own and based on what I want to do. This desire is also the reason why I am going completely by myself and didn't try to recruit my friends. I may be crazy, I don't know yet, and I'll be finding out very soon. But who knows when I'll get to do something like this again, and I realized that I might as well take the plunge and try to get everything out of it that I possibly can.

With all of this in mind, the idea of volunteering abroad came to me, and I knew right away that I wanted to go to Africa. I can hardly explain why really (which probably sounds weird seeing as Africa may not be most people's number one destination abroad), but for several years I have had ideas of going to Africa in a Doctors [nurse] Without Borders kind of situation one day, and the opportunity to be able to spend my winter break doing something incredibly productive in a place that has SUCH need is perfect. So I Googled "volunteer opportunities in Africa", clicked on the first link I saw, and found AVIVA. It was really that easy, and AVIVA is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I was thrilled.

AVIVA is a company based in Cape Town (CT) that offers volunteer opportunities to people 18+ from around the world, offering over a dozen programs focused either with children & community or wildlife & conservation. The program that immediately stood out to me is located at Baphumelele (Baps), an orphanage in Kayelitsha township right outside of Cape Town. I will be working with children ages 0-5 who have been neglected, abused, and/or abandoned, a few of whom have TB or HIV. The way it works is that I will live in the AVIVA house in CT with other volunteers for three days at a time (during which I can do whatever I want with my time) and then I go to the orphanage and work/stay there for three days, then back to the AVIVA house for three days and so on. So for the 6 weeks my time will essentially be split evenly between Baps and my own free time in Cape Town.

I decided to apply right away, which I think may have freaked Mom and Dad out a little bit, but they learned very quickly how completely serious I was about it and came around in no time =). Of course, I did research other programs/opportunities, but I knew AVIVA was going to be the one- and after three weeks of waiting over Christmas and New Years to hear back, my application was accepted and it was set!

So I have had a whole year to plan, talk to past volunteers through Facebook, research CT/safaries/excursions, sadly watch airfare go up and up and up . . ., and read multiple travel guides as well as New News Out of Africa (courtesy of Aunt Linda!) And now, all there is to do is wait (and study for finals in the mean time).

So for now, thanks for taking an interest in my travels & for reading along, and be sure to comment!! Comments from home when I'm thousands of miles away will be hugely appreciated! And lastly, below are a few pictures from the AVIVA website that may help to further explain my desire to do this . . .





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