Friday, January 23, 2009
Pictures!
AhHa!!! I have discovered that SOME of the computers in the internet cafe have IrfanView, so I have been able to downsize my pictures and will upload some to my blog, finally. I am going back and slowly but surely adding some pictures to my previous posts so keep an eye out! (I know it is a hassle to go back, my fault for not working it out until two days before I leave here!)
Last Shift at Bap & etc
Good news! I found my credit card! As I had suspected, it had fallen through a crack into the locker below mine. Unfortunately, I had already transfered $400 to AVIVA with Dad's card so that they could give me cash but I guess that doesn't matter. Now I can still say that I have been responsible and not lost anything (knock on wood)!!
I am still contemplating what to do about my last days here. The issue is that I fly to Johanesburg (2 hr flight) for Kruger, stay there for one night after Kruger and then was supposed to fly back to Cape Town, only to fly home via Jo'burg two days later. So my thought was to just leave South Africa right after Kruger instead of flying back to Cape Town and to get home two days early. Good idea to just stay in Jo'burg, Kris, minus everything I have ever heard about how Jo'burg is SUPER dangerous, especially to walk around in alone, especially as a girl. Which is why that idea hadn't even really occured to me, but it is something to think about. It is not at ALL that I am in a hurry to leave here, but flying back and forth from Jo'burg is something I'd be happy to skip. Plus, when I would get back to Cape Town everyone I am close with would be on shift, which would just make it depressing to come back to a basically empty house. Anyways, I am going to think about possibly just staying in Jo'burg, but if not I will go early to the airport on Monday and try to switch my flight home to Jan 31.
Now I have to backtrack several days... let's see... Sunday night! Right so we were supposed to go out for Georgina's last night. I hadn't felt well all day (stomach bug- super fun) but of course didn't want to miss out on the evening, so we (Me, Georgina, Jen, Amanda, and Shawna) started drinking here (finally drank the bottle of wine that came in my welcome pack!) and then headed out to Long Street. Sadly, within 30 minutes three of us really didn't feel well (I'm not the only one with the bug) so we went home. I was so disapointed to miss Georgina's last night but Shawna stayed out with her and they still had a good time- plus I really felt like crap.
Woke up the next morning feeling better which was good because Jen, Amanda, Christiaan and I were booked for SKYDIVING!!! (one of my life long dreams regardless of the fact that if anything, heights are probably what I am most afraid of). Unfortunately, Cape Town happens to be the windiest place I have ever been, and Monday was a particularly windy day. So the skydiving people called and said that we would have to get there right away or we would miss our chance to go. Of course, the taxi didn't come for 45 minutes, and then it took another 45 minutes to get there (of course we had to stop for gas, there was traffic, etc etc). So when we FINALLY got there we were good to go, they got Jen all suited up and then... no go. The wind had become to gusty and they wouldn't take us. We were so bummed!! Skydiving is not the type of activity that you want to have postponed when you are already there and ready to go. So we attempted to rebook for this morning but they were full (go figure, there is like no wind today) so we got in on Sunday- my last day here! So I am hoping for good conditions because if I come home without doing this it will be my one disapointment of Africa and I would like to keep that slate clean.
Now for my last shift: probably my favorite one of the five. On shift was me, Amanda, Amy, and Christiaan, joined by Katie and Alyssa (23, Canada) on day two. Maybe it was just because I was really trying to soak it all up, but this shift the time seemed to go by fast (I don't recall thinking "Oh my GOSH it's only 6 pm right now?" ever) and the kids were great and I really enjoyed the sisis as well- one of the shifts in particular is super sweet and they couldn't believe it was my last shift. We also learned this shift just how much the kids LOVE to sing and dance. Their new favorite game is us standing around clapping and they get in the middle and start dancing like crazy and we call out their names and they just go wild, it's hilarious. They have so much fun that they can't control themselves, usually end up falling to the ground laughing histarically and they all end up in a mosh pit/big pile. It's great. We also sang a LOT of songs- they really enjoy such classics as "The Wheels on the Bus", "If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands" and, of course, "We Will Rock You". It's fun. And really cool how much they respond to music.
Lunch time! Preparing the food.
This was the first shift that I didn't fall asleep easily at every opportunity I got. My mind won't stop, kind of like how it was before I left to come here. Now I can't imagine NOT being here, going to Bap and seeing the kids. My last day (yesterday) I just kept thinking- "this is the last time I'm going to feed a baby lunch/dinner, have free play time, do baths, give a bottle, say goodnight" etc etc. Saying goodnight was the hardest part- it's my favorite part of the whole day, when they are in their adorable footie pajamas and in their crib/play pen/bed and I try to go around and say goodnight to all of them and give them a cuddle (this is an english thing to say- thanks Georgina) and they all give high fives and then do this "thumb flick" (for lack of a better way to describe it), like you are giving each other a thumbs up and then you push your thumbs together- I don't know but it is incredibly cute and they all do it. And then of course last night Babalo, who is one of the coolest 3 or 4 year olds I have ever met, kept on saying "See you tomorrow!" which he has never said before (he has two phrases- "What are you DOING?" and "You're CRAZY") and of course I kept thinking, Yea- tomorrow and then never again!!
Me & Mbali- what a cutie!
Luckily, last night my mind was taken off of it all with a few rousing games of spoons in the flat.
Today I am trying to think positively, seeing as I do realize that I have just experienced something incredible and that I will always remember it. I went out and ran some errands in Obs this morning and felt happy and at easy with the fact that I am leaving this city that I adore so much in three days. I went back to a shop that I have been in about 10 times to finally buy the things I've been eyeing and talked to the super sweet girl that has been in there every time for a while (she started out asking me about my "I Bleed Warrior Blue" t-shirt that I happen to wearing- the second person to comment on it today!). She was surprised that I wasn't at home for the inauguration but agreed that I was making good use of my time here. I also went into Pick 'n' Pay to get some food and the man that rang me up said "Wow, you are very happy!" which I was taken aback to hear but really I guess it is true and apparently it shows, so that's nice.
Now Amy, Amanda, and I are going to the Waterfront to do some shoping (I need a head lamp for Kruger) before Robben Island at 3pm! Cape Peninsula Tour all day tomorrow, and then hopefully skydiving on Sunday (keep your fingers crossed for me!!)
xoxo
I am still contemplating what to do about my last days here. The issue is that I fly to Johanesburg (2 hr flight) for Kruger, stay there for one night after Kruger and then was supposed to fly back to Cape Town, only to fly home via Jo'burg two days later. So my thought was to just leave South Africa right after Kruger instead of flying back to Cape Town and to get home two days early. Good idea to just stay in Jo'burg, Kris, minus everything I have ever heard about how Jo'burg is SUPER dangerous, especially to walk around in alone, especially as a girl. Which is why that idea hadn't even really occured to me, but it is something to think about. It is not at ALL that I am in a hurry to leave here, but flying back and forth from Jo'burg is something I'd be happy to skip. Plus, when I would get back to Cape Town everyone I am close with would be on shift, which would just make it depressing to come back to a basically empty house. Anyways, I am going to think about possibly just staying in Jo'burg, but if not I will go early to the airport on Monday and try to switch my flight home to Jan 31.
Now I have to backtrack several days... let's see... Sunday night! Right so we were supposed to go out for Georgina's last night. I hadn't felt well all day (stomach bug- super fun) but of course didn't want to miss out on the evening, so we (Me, Georgina, Jen, Amanda, and Shawna) started drinking here (finally drank the bottle of wine that came in my welcome pack!) and then headed out to Long Street. Sadly, within 30 minutes three of us really didn't feel well (I'm not the only one with the bug) so we went home. I was so disapointed to miss Georgina's last night but Shawna stayed out with her and they still had a good time- plus I really felt like crap.
Woke up the next morning feeling better which was good because Jen, Amanda, Christiaan and I were booked for SKYDIVING!!! (one of my life long dreams regardless of the fact that if anything, heights are probably what I am most afraid of). Unfortunately, Cape Town happens to be the windiest place I have ever been, and Monday was a particularly windy day. So the skydiving people called and said that we would have to get there right away or we would miss our chance to go. Of course, the taxi didn't come for 45 minutes, and then it took another 45 minutes to get there (of course we had to stop for gas, there was traffic, etc etc). So when we FINALLY got there we were good to go, they got Jen all suited up and then... no go. The wind had become to gusty and they wouldn't take us. We were so bummed!! Skydiving is not the type of activity that you want to have postponed when you are already there and ready to go. So we attempted to rebook for this morning but they were full (go figure, there is like no wind today) so we got in on Sunday- my last day here! So I am hoping for good conditions because if I come home without doing this it will be my one disapointment of Africa and I would like to keep that slate clean.
Now for my last shift: probably my favorite one of the five. On shift was me, Amanda, Amy, and Christiaan, joined by Katie and Alyssa (23, Canada) on day two. Maybe it was just because I was really trying to soak it all up, but this shift the time seemed to go by fast (I don't recall thinking "Oh my GOSH it's only 6 pm right now?" ever) and the kids were great and I really enjoyed the sisis as well- one of the shifts in particular is super sweet and they couldn't believe it was my last shift. We also learned this shift just how much the kids LOVE to sing and dance. Their new favorite game is us standing around clapping and they get in the middle and start dancing like crazy and we call out their names and they just go wild, it's hilarious. They have so much fun that they can't control themselves, usually end up falling to the ground laughing histarically and they all end up in a mosh pit/big pile. It's great. We also sang a LOT of songs- they really enjoy such classics as "The Wheels on the Bus", "If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands" and, of course, "We Will Rock You". It's fun. And really cool how much they respond to music.
Lunch time! Preparing the food.
This was the first shift that I didn't fall asleep easily at every opportunity I got. My mind won't stop, kind of like how it was before I left to come here. Now I can't imagine NOT being here, going to Bap and seeing the kids. My last day (yesterday) I just kept thinking- "this is the last time I'm going to feed a baby lunch/dinner, have free play time, do baths, give a bottle, say goodnight" etc etc. Saying goodnight was the hardest part- it's my favorite part of the whole day, when they are in their adorable footie pajamas and in their crib/play pen/bed and I try to go around and say goodnight to all of them and give them a cuddle (this is an english thing to say- thanks Georgina) and they all give high fives and then do this "thumb flick" (for lack of a better way to describe it), like you are giving each other a thumbs up and then you push your thumbs together- I don't know but it is incredibly cute and they all do it. And then of course last night Babalo, who is one of the coolest 3 or 4 year olds I have ever met, kept on saying "See you tomorrow!" which he has never said before (he has two phrases- "What are you DOING?" and "You're CRAZY") and of course I kept thinking, Yea- tomorrow and then never again!!
Me & Mbali- what a cutie!
Luckily, last night my mind was taken off of it all with a few rousing games of spoons in the flat.
Today I am trying to think positively, seeing as I do realize that I have just experienced something incredible and that I will always remember it. I went out and ran some errands in Obs this morning and felt happy and at easy with the fact that I am leaving this city that I adore so much in three days. I went back to a shop that I have been in about 10 times to finally buy the things I've been eyeing and talked to the super sweet girl that has been in there every time for a while (she started out asking me about my "I Bleed Warrior Blue" t-shirt that I happen to wearing- the second person to comment on it today!). She was surprised that I wasn't at home for the inauguration but agreed that I was making good use of my time here. I also went into Pick 'n' Pay to get some food and the man that rang me up said "Wow, you are very happy!" which I was taken aback to hear but really I guess it is true and apparently it shows, so that's nice.
Now Amy, Amanda, and I are going to the Waterfront to do some shoping (I need a head lamp for Kruger) before Robben Island at 3pm! Cape Peninsula Tour all day tomorrow, and then hopefully skydiving on Sunday (keep your fingers crossed for me!!)
xoxo
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
YES WE DID!
Today I can say with good reason that I wish I was home- January 20, 2009 has finally arrived after so much hope and anticipation and I am in AFRICA!!! I do wish that I was going to be there at Obama's inauguration with my family, what an exciting time! Unfortunately, I am about to leave for Bap so I won't even be able to watch on TV. Oh well, I can be a proud and excited American while I play with the most adorable kiddies in the world =)
In other news, IT IS MY LAST SHIFT AT BAP! So sad... I don't want to talk about it.
Lastly, I think I lost my credit card. And I might be coming home 2 days early. These two events are not related and I will explain more later. Hope everyone is doing well!!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Day 27
Day 27- the first day of my trip that I do not know exactly what I am going to with myself. I was supposed to go kloofing with Jonas today but decided a couple days ago not to (didn't want to pack my weekend TOO full or spend TOO much money in 3 days). As it turned out, though, the trip was cancelled anyways because there weren't enough people signed up to go. Then a bunch of us (Me, Georgina, Amanda, Jenn, and Shawna [new American girl that is staying at the house but will start Gary's Surf School tomorrow]) decided to spend the day at Camps Bay, but it is really windy today which is not good for the beach. So now I am thinking of doing a 3km walking tour of downtown Cape Town that I've been wanting to do- there are still so many things in the city to see (Castle of Good Hope, Company Gardens, Bo Kaap, etc). I can probably recruit someone to do this with me (though it is the type of thing I wouldn't mind doing alone).
This past shift at Bap was really, really good. Granted, this may be because I only slept there one of three nights- after our first day we came back for an AVIVA cookout and slept at Obs House, and after the third day Ida and I got a taxi back to Obs because we had to wake up really early on Saturday for shark cage diving. The cookout was pretty fun, it was at the Table View house which is SO nice (so many bedrooms, granite counter tops, pool and pool-side bar...) and all the staff was there so it was nice to hang out with them. Afterwards a bunch of us went out in Obs, first to Stones (the pool bar) and then to Roots, a beach themed bar that I had never been to- sand floors, tiki hut bars... gotta love it.
Didn't stay out too late since it was back to Bap the next morning. On the way we picked up 100 baby bottles and during our break labeled all of them with the kid's names on color coded labels (indicating whether the bottle is taken at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, or 10pm). With six of us working on it it didn't take that long but when we did bottles the next morning it made ALL the difference in the world- no more broken bottles/lids, no more missing bottles, no more labels that are completely impossible to read. This shift we also redid the out of date poster boards with the kid's pictures that hangs on the wall in the flat. We took all new pictures and put up new, labeled boards. It was nice to do something (as little as those things are) that will last beyond all of our time here. And it is amazing the difference that seemingly small things can make. Though really what Bap needs is on a larger scale- the baby house needs a complete makeover badly (we thought about writing to Ty Pennington). The kids need a cleaner, safer place to live and they need plenty of volunteers to play with them and love them... two things that are not so easy to come by.
The new bottles!
Another orphanage project just opened up through AVIVA (Amanda and Jenn are the first volunteers to work there) that was recently given a COMPLETE makeover- they brought in volunteers that worked non-stop for (I think) four days and now the place is BEAUTIFUL- I have only seen the outside but there is grass (something Bap lacks) and a great swing set. And inside it's clean, and the kids have their own individual beds and much more. Granted, I am glad to be working at Bap where they really, really need us, but I just wish the same thing could be done for our kids, who I guess are considered lucky to be at Bap but really have basically nothing. It is just amazing that there are people in the world with so much money they don't know what to do with it and then you come to a place like this and there is a world of good that could be done with just a little help, and it is amazing that these problems still exist at all. It's sad and makes me wish I could do a heck of a lot more.
Anyways... as I said the shift went really well, I love everyone on it and am so sad that it is Georgina and Ida's last shift!! Makes me realize how fast the end is coming for me because after they leave (and Sofia and Friederike- also leaving this week) I have been here longer than anyone else in the house, which is CRAZY. How did that happen?? I just got here! I don't even want to think about it.
Yesterday Ida and I were picked up at 5am for shark cage diving. It was about a two hour drive there, during which time one might think it would be a good idea to sleep, but I was awake the whole time and turns out I am glad because we were driving over mountains by the coast as the sun rose and it was GORGEOUS. I swear, if you blink here you will miss something worth seeing. It was very nice. We arrived at the cage diving headquarters (a house about 1/4 block from the water & boat) and had a very nice self-serve breakfast (and several cups of coffee). Then they gave us a quick debriefing and we were off! There were only 12 of us (plus the crew), so it was a small group compared to most apparently which was quite nice. We rode out about 15 minutes but were still in relatively shallow water (~10m). This is technically the off season for seeing Great Whites, which are the only species in the area due to the cold water temperatures. However, you generally can see them year round, and this is the most famous place in the world to see them (some people may have seen the famous picture of a man in a yellow kayak being followed by a huge great white- that was taken here). So they put down anchor and throw out a "chum line"- nasty fishy stuff that the shark will (hopefully) catch the scent of and follow back to the boat. Also, the whole time they are throwing nasty fish stuff out into the water and have 1/2 a fish on a buoy as bait.
So everything was super... until I started to feel a bit seasick. Man, I have been a puker my whole life. Threw up twice, which sucked, but then the first shark was spotted so I threw on my wetsuit (in actuality, "throwing on" a wetsuit is the exact opposite of how it works, those things are so incredibly hard to get on [and off]). Plus these wetsuits have hoods, like what scuba divers wear, and little shoes that zip on, and I had a mask on, and they put a weight over your shoulders to help you go under in the cage. All of this was quite uncomfortable after having just thrown up let me tell you, but there was a shark! So I had to get in the cage.
THE CAGE
Five people get in at a time (and only 7 of the 12 on board were getting in at all which in my opinion is not worth the $120 to only watch from the boat but whatever) and you have to hold on to the top of the cage, and then when a shark is coming around they say "Divers go under!" or "Divers, on your left!" so you take a big breath and pull yourself under and look for the shark. Unfortunately the visibility was really poor under the water but there were several very exciting moments when that didn't really matter because the sharks would actually ram into the cage, putting them at about half a meter or less from you and that was awesome. I got out of the cage after about 15 minutes though because you really could actually see the sharks better from the boat. And we saw sooo many. After waiting about 30 minutes to see the first one we would see one every 2-3 minutes, and they would swim right next to the boat and go for the bait and come out of the water- it was awesome. And they looked HUGE, though they were only about 3-4m long and can grow to be 7m long- hard/scary to imagine. It was really great though.
Ahhh!
After about three hours we packed up (there were other boats around not having any luck, and in the off season the different companies help each other out so we left to let another boat come into the area since we had already seen so much) and headed back. At the house they put on the video that a videographer on the boat had been taking the whole time, and it was quite funny- for one, to see yourself in the wetsuit getup, and also because whenever someone was on camera they seemed to either wave or give the thumbs up- it reminded me of stereotypical Asians always giving the peace sign. Anyways, we were driven back to the house and were home by 2pm (I slept the whole way). (NOTE- all of this sounds incredibly touristy, and I guess it is, but it didn't feel like it. And it was definitely worth the money. And the staff was super nice and included volunteers just like us. So it was completely worth it and I am very glad I did it!)
Last night, everyone (Me, Georgina, Ida, Amanda, Amy, Jenn, Amanda, Shawna, Reino, and Christiaan) went out to Mama Africa on Long Street for a kind of goodbye dinner for Georgina and Ida. It was such a nice evening (I shared a kabob appetizer and I have no idea what kind of meat was on it [I am thinking crocodile, ostrich, and springbok?] but really have no idea, and had some kind of fish for my meal- very good). The best part though was that our table was right next to this AMAZINGGGG live African band that was SO good. Like you couldn't help but sit there dancing in your seat. And we had the perfect table because everyone else from inside the restaurant kept coming up to stand and watch them but we were right there the whole time. And of course, Amanda and I were both picked out by the lead singer/drummer man to dance with him on separate occasions... of course I loved this. It was so much fun. We didn't go out afterwards because tonight is G&I's official last night so we had already planned to do it up tonight. Can't wait =)
Some of the band!
This past shift at Bap was really, really good. Granted, this may be because I only slept there one of three nights- after our first day we came back for an AVIVA cookout and slept at Obs House, and after the third day Ida and I got a taxi back to Obs because we had to wake up really early on Saturday for shark cage diving. The cookout was pretty fun, it was at the Table View house which is SO nice (so many bedrooms, granite counter tops, pool and pool-side bar...) and all the staff was there so it was nice to hang out with them. Afterwards a bunch of us went out in Obs, first to Stones (the pool bar) and then to Roots, a beach themed bar that I had never been to- sand floors, tiki hut bars... gotta love it.
Didn't stay out too late since it was back to Bap the next morning. On the way we picked up 100 baby bottles and during our break labeled all of them with the kid's names on color coded labels (indicating whether the bottle is taken at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, or 10pm). With six of us working on it it didn't take that long but when we did bottles the next morning it made ALL the difference in the world- no more broken bottles/lids, no more missing bottles, no more labels that are completely impossible to read. This shift we also redid the out of date poster boards with the kid's pictures that hangs on the wall in the flat. We took all new pictures and put up new, labeled boards. It was nice to do something (as little as those things are) that will last beyond all of our time here. And it is amazing the difference that seemingly small things can make. Though really what Bap needs is on a larger scale- the baby house needs a complete makeover badly (we thought about writing to Ty Pennington). The kids need a cleaner, safer place to live and they need plenty of volunteers to play with them and love them... two things that are not so easy to come by.
The new bottles!
Another orphanage project just opened up through AVIVA (Amanda and Jenn are the first volunteers to work there) that was recently given a COMPLETE makeover- they brought in volunteers that worked non-stop for (I think) four days and now the place is BEAUTIFUL- I have only seen the outside but there is grass (something Bap lacks) and a great swing set. And inside it's clean, and the kids have their own individual beds and much more. Granted, I am glad to be working at Bap where they really, really need us, but I just wish the same thing could be done for our kids, who I guess are considered lucky to be at Bap but really have basically nothing. It is just amazing that there are people in the world with so much money they don't know what to do with it and then you come to a place like this and there is a world of good that could be done with just a little help, and it is amazing that these problems still exist at all. It's sad and makes me wish I could do a heck of a lot more.
Anyways... as I said the shift went really well, I love everyone on it and am so sad that it is Georgina and Ida's last shift!! Makes me realize how fast the end is coming for me because after they leave (and Sofia and Friederike- also leaving this week) I have been here longer than anyone else in the house, which is CRAZY. How did that happen?? I just got here! I don't even want to think about it.
Yesterday Ida and I were picked up at 5am for shark cage diving. It was about a two hour drive there, during which time one might think it would be a good idea to sleep, but I was awake the whole time and turns out I am glad because we were driving over mountains by the coast as the sun rose and it was GORGEOUS. I swear, if you blink here you will miss something worth seeing. It was very nice. We arrived at the cage diving headquarters (a house about 1/4 block from the water & boat) and had a very nice self-serve breakfast (and several cups of coffee). Then they gave us a quick debriefing and we were off! There were only 12 of us (plus the crew), so it was a small group compared to most apparently which was quite nice. We rode out about 15 minutes but were still in relatively shallow water (~10m). This is technically the off season for seeing Great Whites, which are the only species in the area due to the cold water temperatures. However, you generally can see them year round, and this is the most famous place in the world to see them (some people may have seen the famous picture of a man in a yellow kayak being followed by a huge great white- that was taken here). So they put down anchor and throw out a "chum line"- nasty fishy stuff that the shark will (hopefully) catch the scent of and follow back to the boat. Also, the whole time they are throwing nasty fish stuff out into the water and have 1/2 a fish on a buoy as bait.
So everything was super... until I started to feel a bit seasick. Man, I have been a puker my whole life. Threw up twice, which sucked, but then the first shark was spotted so I threw on my wetsuit (in actuality, "throwing on" a wetsuit is the exact opposite of how it works, those things are so incredibly hard to get on [and off]). Plus these wetsuits have hoods, like what scuba divers wear, and little shoes that zip on, and I had a mask on, and they put a weight over your shoulders to help you go under in the cage. All of this was quite uncomfortable after having just thrown up let me tell you, but there was a shark! So I had to get in the cage.
THE CAGE
Five people get in at a time (and only 7 of the 12 on board were getting in at all which in my opinion is not worth the $120 to only watch from the boat but whatever) and you have to hold on to the top of the cage, and then when a shark is coming around they say "Divers go under!" or "Divers, on your left!" so you take a big breath and pull yourself under and look for the shark. Unfortunately the visibility was really poor under the water but there were several very exciting moments when that didn't really matter because the sharks would actually ram into the cage, putting them at about half a meter or less from you and that was awesome. I got out of the cage after about 15 minutes though because you really could actually see the sharks better from the boat. And we saw sooo many. After waiting about 30 minutes to see the first one we would see one every 2-3 minutes, and they would swim right next to the boat and go for the bait and come out of the water- it was awesome. And they looked HUGE, though they were only about 3-4m long and can grow to be 7m long- hard/scary to imagine. It was really great though.
Ahhh!
After about three hours we packed up (there were other boats around not having any luck, and in the off season the different companies help each other out so we left to let another boat come into the area since we had already seen so much) and headed back. At the house they put on the video that a videographer on the boat had been taking the whole time, and it was quite funny- for one, to see yourself in the wetsuit getup, and also because whenever someone was on camera they seemed to either wave or give the thumbs up- it reminded me of stereotypical Asians always giving the peace sign. Anyways, we were driven back to the house and were home by 2pm (I slept the whole way). (NOTE- all of this sounds incredibly touristy, and I guess it is, but it didn't feel like it. And it was definitely worth the money. And the staff was super nice and included volunteers just like us. So it was completely worth it and I am very glad I did it!)
Last night, everyone (Me, Georgina, Ida, Amanda, Amy, Jenn, Amanda, Shawna, Reino, and Christiaan) went out to Mama Africa on Long Street for a kind of goodbye dinner for Georgina and Ida. It was such a nice evening (I shared a kabob appetizer and I have no idea what kind of meat was on it [I am thinking crocodile, ostrich, and springbok?] but really have no idea, and had some kind of fish for my meal- very good). The best part though was that our table was right next to this AMAZINGGGG live African band that was SO good. Like you couldn't help but sit there dancing in your seat. And we had the perfect table because everyone else from inside the restaurant kept coming up to stand and watch them but we were right there the whole time. And of course, Amanda and I were both picked out by the lead singer/drummer man to dance with him on separate occasions... of course I loved this. It was so much fun. We didn't go out afterwards because tonight is G&I's official last night so we had already planned to do it up tonight. Can't wait =)
Some of the band!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Yay!
THANKS TO MOM & DAD for my AWESOME Christmas package!!! It is amazing... everyone sat around while I opened everything and kept saying "Wow you are very loved!". You guys are the best!
Now off to Bap~ back in 2 days!
Now off to Bap~ back in 2 days!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Table Mountain and Winelands Tour
Yesterday I woke up at 8 am and was supposed to go on my Cultural Tour, but decided to opt out. For one, I wasn't feeling super when I woke up and didn't want to be stuck driving around with a schedule to keep all day if I was sick. Also, I had heard that the tour isn't that great, that you get to see a couple neat things but the highlight is visiting a township, and doing so in a touristy way doesn't interest me. I know the point is to get a glimpse of their culture and township life but to me it seems like most people would just end up gawking at their poverty which seems wrong- these are peoples LIVES. I don't know, that's just the way I feel about it.
Instead Georgina and I decided to finally get to the top of Table Mountain the easy way- Cable Car! We went around noon and had to wait about 20 minutes to catch a car up. The cars are really neat- hold about 60 people and have a rotating floor, so you get a 360 degree view going up and down. It ascends the mountain in probably two minutes For most of the time you are hanging not too far above the mountain, but at a certain point all of a sudden you are hanging over NOTHING and that was kind of scary, though the views were INCREDIBLE. On top you can see everything- Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles on one side, all of Cape Town, the Waterfront, Obs and beyond on another side, and then a huge expanse of mountains in another direction. We walked around on top for a while on nice trails and then we had lunch at the restaurant outside. We visited the gift shop (I bought a t-shirt) and then headed back down- were probably up there for about three hours. We are lucky that we just happened to chose this day to go because the weather was absolutely perfect up top, and a lot of the time this is not the case due to cloud coverage.
Today was all together an amazing day- WINELANDS TOUR! First and foremost, it was nice to have an outing with everyone (Georgina, Ida, Amy, Amanda, Jenn, Amanda, & Christiaan), an international bunch (3 Americans, 2 Canadians, 2 Norwegians, and an English girl). Everyone gets along great and really enjoys each other's company it seems. It is so nice to be forming friendships with these people and then to experience things with people that you genuinely like.
This morning I woke up at 6:30 am (seriously what is wrong with me?? My roommates will vouch for the fact that this is very unlike me... maybe I'm turning over a new leaf?). Unfortunately the first thing I did when I woke up was electrocute myself on an outlet- also I am rather accident-prone here. Anyways we left around 8:30 am I think and had about a 45 minute drive to the first winery (I will have to come back and fill in names- can't remember now). The drive became more and more scenic as we entered the winelands and passed dozens and dozens of estates. Finally we reached out destination- a beautiful estate with a driveway lined with orange trees up to an archway through which you could see the fountain the courtyard inside. We got a short tour throughout the buildings with huge vats to hold the wine and rooms filled with hundreds of wine barrels. We also got to go out and pick some grapes off the vine though they weren't quite ripe (they need another month or two). Then we sat down for the first tasting at a long table under an overhang overlooking the courtyard. All in all we probably tried nine or ten wines here I think- about 5 whites, 4 reds and one desert wine (approximately). With the last three we had chocolate to try with each- one piece of chai chocolate (I bought some of this- delicious), then a piece of salt chocolate (not my favorite, kind of strange but good) and then the last was the geranium chocolate which tasted like you were eating a flower. The whole experience was very informative, very relaxing, and very tasty. We probably sat there for two hours. (During which time it is important to note that I recruited THREE people (Amanda, Jenn, and Christiaan) to go skydiving!! Woohoo!)
At the first winery.
The whole group!
We left this estate and headed next to the cheetah conservation place to pet a cheetah! Of course you end up paying about $10 for 5 minutes with a cheetah but I don't care- it was worth it. We pet Joseph, a 6 year old male and he layed there and purred so loudly, he loved it. The place is for cheetahs that were abandoned by their mothers or whose mothers were killed, and they have 13 cheetahs. Sadly, after cheetahs have been raised in captivity they cannot be released back into the wild, but this seemed like an okay home for them. Joseph was big and beautiful and it was VERY neat to pet him and be so up close. Very cool experience.
After this we drove a while to our next destination- lunch, which was great because we were all STARVING (and a few of us tipsy as well). Lunch was on AVIVA at a cute restaurant called Essence- I had a chicken sandwhich, fries and a small salad. Next we drove to winery number two (along the way passing zebra, ostrich, etc along the road) where we had our second tasting. Tried probably 6 wines but this place was not quite as nice as the first, plus we were in a bit of a rush to get to our third winery. And the last one was, like the first, gorgeous! Beautiful gardens, fountains, and goats as well. At this place you could taste six wines for 20R- $2.00! Plus, you got to chose from a long list which ones you wanted to try. Everyone kind of rushed through and only tried about four, but Amy and I took our time and ended up trying seven (guess the people liked us), all of which were soooo good. I should have bought some. Granted, at the end of this Amy was tanked and I was pretty drunk but I guess that is what a day of wine tasting will do to you. It was fun. We also got to do a cheese tasting (delicious) and I bought two cheeses- one with cranberries in it and one goat cheese for $3.00 all together (probably would have cost at least $10.00 at home?). So those will be delicious to have at Bap this shift. We left this winery to head home but Amy suggested we head to the Waterfront instead for Harry's Pancakes, where everyone had to try the banana and cinnamon pancake dessert. We all agreed so drove straight to the Waterfront and ate outside by the water at sunset. I got a pancake with ground ostrich on it (my first taste of ostrich- good!) and then the banana pancake for desert (mmmmm!). I like the idea of pancakes with anything for any meal here, and it is very popular. Dinner was the perfect end to an amazing, beautiful, fun-filled day.
My ostrich pancake!
Now I am really tired and will probably head back and go pretty much straight to bed (need to call Mom and Dad first!). Tomorrow we are back to Bap, and on the way we are going to buy about 100 new bottles so that we can reorganize and relabel all of the babies bottles. Our shift is also working on making new poster boards with all the kids pictures on it (one currently hangs in the Bap flat but is very out of date). So these are our projects for this shift. We have decided to take a bit of action and do what we can to better the baby house since there are so many things there that need work.
Tomorrow night is an AVIVA braai at the Table View house, so we will come back from Bap after serving dinner and get to sleep at Obs tomorrow night (very nice!) and return to Bap on Thursday morning. I will spend Thursday night there, but Ida and I are coming home Friday night instead of staying until Saturday morning so that we can go Shark Cage Diving on Saturday (leaves around 5 am!). Sunday I am going kloofing, and now we are going to try to book skydiving for Monday (hopefully we will be able to do this though I have no idea how far in advance you need to book it and I guess often trips are canceled due to weather, so we will have to see about all that). In other words, my next break will be known as "Lauren's Adventure and Death-Defying Break" and I am SO excited.
After these past six days off all I can say is that I am incredibly happy here and with all that I have been seeing and doing. And now I get to go back to my babies... not a bad deal =)
Instead Georgina and I decided to finally get to the top of Table Mountain the easy way- Cable Car! We went around noon and had to wait about 20 minutes to catch a car up. The cars are really neat- hold about 60 people and have a rotating floor, so you get a 360 degree view going up and down. It ascends the mountain in probably two minutes For most of the time you are hanging not too far above the mountain, but at a certain point all of a sudden you are hanging over NOTHING and that was kind of scary, though the views were INCREDIBLE. On top you can see everything- Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles on one side, all of Cape Town, the Waterfront, Obs and beyond on another side, and then a huge expanse of mountains in another direction. We walked around on top for a while on nice trails and then we had lunch at the restaurant outside. We visited the gift shop (I bought a t-shirt) and then headed back down- were probably up there for about three hours. We are lucky that we just happened to chose this day to go because the weather was absolutely perfect up top, and a lot of the time this is not the case due to cloud coverage.
Today was all together an amazing day- WINELANDS TOUR! First and foremost, it was nice to have an outing with everyone (Georgina, Ida, Amy, Amanda, Jenn, Amanda, & Christiaan), an international bunch (3 Americans, 2 Canadians, 2 Norwegians, and an English girl). Everyone gets along great and really enjoys each other's company it seems. It is so nice to be forming friendships with these people and then to experience things with people that you genuinely like.
This morning I woke up at 6:30 am (seriously what is wrong with me?? My roommates will vouch for the fact that this is very unlike me... maybe I'm turning over a new leaf?). Unfortunately the first thing I did when I woke up was electrocute myself on an outlet- also I am rather accident-prone here. Anyways we left around 8:30 am I think and had about a 45 minute drive to the first winery (I will have to come back and fill in names- can't remember now). The drive became more and more scenic as we entered the winelands and passed dozens and dozens of estates. Finally we reached out destination- a beautiful estate with a driveway lined with orange trees up to an archway through which you could see the fountain the courtyard inside. We got a short tour throughout the buildings with huge vats to hold the wine and rooms filled with hundreds of wine barrels. We also got to go out and pick some grapes off the vine though they weren't quite ripe (they need another month or two). Then we sat down for the first tasting at a long table under an overhang overlooking the courtyard. All in all we probably tried nine or ten wines here I think- about 5 whites, 4 reds and one desert wine (approximately). With the last three we had chocolate to try with each- one piece of chai chocolate (I bought some of this- delicious), then a piece of salt chocolate (not my favorite, kind of strange but good) and then the last was the geranium chocolate which tasted like you were eating a flower. The whole experience was very informative, very relaxing, and very tasty. We probably sat there for two hours. (During which time it is important to note that I recruited THREE people (Amanda, Jenn, and Christiaan) to go skydiving!! Woohoo!)
At the first winery.
The whole group!
We left this estate and headed next to the cheetah conservation place to pet a cheetah! Of course you end up paying about $10 for 5 minutes with a cheetah but I don't care- it was worth it. We pet Joseph, a 6 year old male and he layed there and purred so loudly, he loved it. The place is for cheetahs that were abandoned by their mothers or whose mothers were killed, and they have 13 cheetahs. Sadly, after cheetahs have been raised in captivity they cannot be released back into the wild, but this seemed like an okay home for them. Joseph was big and beautiful and it was VERY neat to pet him and be so up close. Very cool experience.
After this we drove a while to our next destination- lunch, which was great because we were all STARVING (and a few of us tipsy as well). Lunch was on AVIVA at a cute restaurant called Essence- I had a chicken sandwhich, fries and a small salad. Next we drove to winery number two (along the way passing zebra, ostrich, etc along the road) where we had our second tasting. Tried probably 6 wines but this place was not quite as nice as the first, plus we were in a bit of a rush to get to our third winery. And the last one was, like the first, gorgeous! Beautiful gardens, fountains, and goats as well. At this place you could taste six wines for 20R- $2.00! Plus, you got to chose from a long list which ones you wanted to try. Everyone kind of rushed through and only tried about four, but Amy and I took our time and ended up trying seven (guess the people liked us), all of which were soooo good. I should have bought some. Granted, at the end of this Amy was tanked and I was pretty drunk but I guess that is what a day of wine tasting will do to you. It was fun. We also got to do a cheese tasting (delicious) and I bought two cheeses- one with cranberries in it and one goat cheese for $3.00 all together (probably would have cost at least $10.00 at home?). So those will be delicious to have at Bap this shift. We left this winery to head home but Amy suggested we head to the Waterfront instead for Harry's Pancakes, where everyone had to try the banana and cinnamon pancake dessert. We all agreed so drove straight to the Waterfront and ate outside by the water at sunset. I got a pancake with ground ostrich on it (my first taste of ostrich- good!) and then the banana pancake for desert (mmmmm!). I like the idea of pancakes with anything for any meal here, and it is very popular. Dinner was the perfect end to an amazing, beautiful, fun-filled day.
My ostrich pancake!
Now I am really tired and will probably head back and go pretty much straight to bed (need to call Mom and Dad first!). Tomorrow we are back to Bap, and on the way we are going to buy about 100 new bottles so that we can reorganize and relabel all of the babies bottles. Our shift is also working on making new poster boards with all the kids pictures on it (one currently hangs in the Bap flat but is very out of date). So these are our projects for this shift. We have decided to take a bit of action and do what we can to better the baby house since there are so many things there that need work.
Tomorrow night is an AVIVA braai at the Table View house, so we will come back from Bap after serving dinner and get to sleep at Obs tomorrow night (very nice!) and return to Bap on Thursday morning. I will spend Thursday night there, but Ida and I are coming home Friday night instead of staying until Saturday morning so that we can go Shark Cage Diving on Saturday (leaves around 5 am!). Sunday I am going kloofing, and now we are going to try to book skydiving for Monday (hopefully we will be able to do this though I have no idea how far in advance you need to book it and I guess often trips are canceled due to weather, so we will have to see about all that). In other words, my next break will be known as "Lauren's Adventure and Death-Defying Break" and I am SO excited.
After these past six days off all I can say is that I am incredibly happy here and with all that I have been seeing and doing. And now I get to go back to my babies... not a bad deal =)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Catch Up!
I know I wrote yesterday but still I am several days behind! Let's see...
A couple nights ago after I was here in the internet cafe my plan was to get some sushi takeout and head back to the house, which I did, but when I went to the sushi place they were putting out platters of sushi for the bi-weekly $7 sushi buffet. Sadly I had already ordered my measly 8-piece spicy salmon california role, so I went back to the house a bit bummed. Lucky for me though Sofia is also a sushi lover and when I told her about the buffet she really wanted to go as well, so I put my dinner in the fridge for later and Sofia, Friedericke and I went to the Sushi Zone buffet (not to be confused with the competing Taste of Asia buffet directly across the street) which was an amazing spread of sushi plus lots of other Chinese and Thai food (did I mention for only $7?). It was just great. Plus we got a bottle of wine that we moved outside to the front patio to finish- sat around talking for quite a while. Then we went back to the house and got ready to go out- headed to Long Street where we started at The Dubliner, then went somewhere else for delicious mohitos and then to Zula for some dancing.
The next day (two days ago) Sofia, Friedericke and I went around 11am to a market about 5 minutes away. The focus of it was a HUGE food market- tons of vendors, all with free samples, with delicious looking bread, cheese, fruits & vegetables, sandwhiches, meat, cakes & sweets, etc etc etc. Additionally there was a tented area in which vendors were all around the perimiter making ready-to-eat food such as crepes, pizza, hot sandwhiches, stir fry, wraps, salads, and much more- everything looked AMAZING. In the middle of the tent were several long rows of picnic table-type tables (each with flower center pieces) packed with people eating and drinking beers and obviously completely enjoying themselves. It was a nice scene. I got an iced tea that came in a jar for 20R- when I returned the jar after I drank it I got back 1R.
The market also consisted of an area of shops, some open air some not. Things were not too cheap here but I bought a nice scarf and it was a really nice area to walk around.
The three of us had already planned to pack a picnic that night and watch the sunset from Signal Hill, so convenitenly we were able to buy everything for our picnic at the market (chicken sandwiches on fresh rolls, cherries, salad with artichokes, zuccinni, eggplant, tomato, olives and feta cheese). Definitely the best picnic of my 20 years.
For the rest of the afternoon we hung out around the house (i.e. layed out back on the patio reading) and around 6:30 pm we left for Signal Hill, which is right next to Table Mountain and closer to the ocean. There were a lot of people up there for the sunset picnicking and with good reason- I would do it weekly if I lived here (oh man I wish I lived here). Our food and bottle of wine were delicious and we sat in the grass until the sun was nearly set (around 8 pm) and then walked out to a point for the final few minutes of daylight. On one side of us was Table Mountain, with clouds rolling over the top of it like an avalanche, and on the other side is the Atlantic ocean, with the sun setting over it, and down below us is the coastline scattered with hotels and houses. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and we stood around admiring it until there was nothing left to see.
A little later on we headed out to Long Street (surprise, surprise!) and met up with some Gary's Surf School people and a few others. We spent most of the night at Marvel, which is a favorite bar of everyone but it was my first time there. Not many tourists go to Marvel- it is a lot more locals- and was SO much fun. Awesome music and not surprisingly such a fun crowd. Another night for the books.
Sadly, Sophia and Friedericke went back on shift the next morning which was so weird!! I will have very little time to see them again before they leave next week- as in like 30 minutes between shift changes. I really got to know them pretty well the past couple of days though and as I have said really like them. I guess that is just how it works here but still it is a shame.
Yesterday I didn't feel great (sore throat and runny nose finally catching up with me?) but I still refuse to waste a day (sorry Mom, can't do it!). I did take it somewhat easy though by going to Green Point Market, which is only open on Sundays & about 15 minutes away from Obs. I had a great time taking my time and haggling the prices down, and I bought a lot. I wish I had gotten more, but I have no clue how I am going to fit everything in my suitcases (will worry about that later). It was interesting because I have had an Obama pin on my bag this entire trip, and no where has it gotten more attention than in the market. So many people asked if I had any more that they could have, and one lady put it on and I took a picture of her- she happened to be wearing a shirt from Kenya as well, which is where Obama is from. She and her friends just loved me. So that was neat. Came home from the market and again layed out and read (who doesn't love to lay out and read? I do it a lot).
Last night we all stayed in, and most of us went to bed pretty early & really tired. Unfortunately, Obs House had some bad luck last night, and not for the first time. A little over a week ago Friedericke had her camera and Ipod stolen- someone hoped the wall & electric fence, reached in through the window, and took them off of her bed while other people were awake in the living room. I was at shift when this happened. Last night, everyone was asleep except for Amy, who had been out front on the phone and then went into the living room around 1 am. Turns out that while she was still awake in the living room, someone got in again and this time came in through the window in the other girls bedroom (not mine) and took Amanda's (new girl from Canada) camera and wallet. Around 2 am Amanda and the other girl in the room Jenn woke up and realized that something was wrong- the shade was up. Amanda coincidentally went to get something out of her purse and it was gone. So this morning (when I really, really had wanted to sleep in past 8:30 for once) I awaken to the police in the house- great. They ended up finding her credit cards on the other side of the wall, for some reason the person took them out of the wallet and left them (too bad she had already called her parents to have them cancelled by the time they found them). Of course there is really nothing the police can/will do, but it is really freaky that someone was IN the house- it didn't seem as bad when we knew they had just reached through the window. It's pretty scary, and we are all now always locking up everything of value (of course the lockers could probably be broken in to with minimal effort). It sucks because I know that this isn't a safe place, but I like to try and give it some credit, which is hard to do with this stuff happening.
Additionally, there has been talk at Bap that one of the gangs in Khayelitsha tried to pay one of the older kids at the orphanage to steal a key to our flat there & asked him if we had any weapons. They know that we are there and that we have cameras, phones, and laptops. Of course hearing this is scary, and the flat could be broken into so easily. But everything that I have heard is that townships are actually really safe because they know that when white people visit we are either volunteering or spending money on their goods- so if anyone were to break in at Bap they would literally be hunted down and killed by all the people in the township. This is a crazy, crazy place.
And speaking of which, it is getting dark and I don't really want to walk home alone in the dark, so I'll finish catching up later. I am fine though & definitely keeping my things locked up (though go figure- for a HORRIBLE 5 minutes on Table Mountain today I thought I lost my camera... it was in my pocket, duh). And, there are five of us girls sleeping in my bedroom and if someone tries to get in we have a plan of attack prepared... I won't go into detail.
Miss everyone!!!
A couple nights ago after I was here in the internet cafe my plan was to get some sushi takeout and head back to the house, which I did, but when I went to the sushi place they were putting out platters of sushi for the bi-weekly $7 sushi buffet. Sadly I had already ordered my measly 8-piece spicy salmon california role, so I went back to the house a bit bummed. Lucky for me though Sofia is also a sushi lover and when I told her about the buffet she really wanted to go as well, so I put my dinner in the fridge for later and Sofia, Friedericke and I went to the Sushi Zone buffet (not to be confused with the competing Taste of Asia buffet directly across the street) which was an amazing spread of sushi plus lots of other Chinese and Thai food (did I mention for only $7?). It was just great. Plus we got a bottle of wine that we moved outside to the front patio to finish- sat around talking for quite a while. Then we went back to the house and got ready to go out- headed to Long Street where we started at The Dubliner, then went somewhere else for delicious mohitos and then to Zula for some dancing.
The next day (two days ago) Sofia, Friedericke and I went around 11am to a market about 5 minutes away. The focus of it was a HUGE food market- tons of vendors, all with free samples, with delicious looking bread, cheese, fruits & vegetables, sandwhiches, meat, cakes & sweets, etc etc etc. Additionally there was a tented area in which vendors were all around the perimiter making ready-to-eat food such as crepes, pizza, hot sandwhiches, stir fry, wraps, salads, and much more- everything looked AMAZING. In the middle of the tent were several long rows of picnic table-type tables (each with flower center pieces) packed with people eating and drinking beers and obviously completely enjoying themselves. It was a nice scene. I got an iced tea that came in a jar for 20R- when I returned the jar after I drank it I got back 1R.
The market also consisted of an area of shops, some open air some not. Things were not too cheap here but I bought a nice scarf and it was a really nice area to walk around.
The three of us had already planned to pack a picnic that night and watch the sunset from Signal Hill, so convenitenly we were able to buy everything for our picnic at the market (chicken sandwiches on fresh rolls, cherries, salad with artichokes, zuccinni, eggplant, tomato, olives and feta cheese). Definitely the best picnic of my 20 years.
For the rest of the afternoon we hung out around the house (i.e. layed out back on the patio reading) and around 6:30 pm we left for Signal Hill, which is right next to Table Mountain and closer to the ocean. There were a lot of people up there for the sunset picnicking and with good reason- I would do it weekly if I lived here (oh man I wish I lived here). Our food and bottle of wine were delicious and we sat in the grass until the sun was nearly set (around 8 pm) and then walked out to a point for the final few minutes of daylight. On one side of us was Table Mountain, with clouds rolling over the top of it like an avalanche, and on the other side is the Atlantic ocean, with the sun setting over it, and down below us is the coastline scattered with hotels and houses. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and we stood around admiring it until there was nothing left to see.
A little later on we headed out to Long Street (surprise, surprise!) and met up with some Gary's Surf School people and a few others. We spent most of the night at Marvel, which is a favorite bar of everyone but it was my first time there. Not many tourists go to Marvel- it is a lot more locals- and was SO much fun. Awesome music and not surprisingly such a fun crowd. Another night for the books.
Sadly, Sophia and Friedericke went back on shift the next morning which was so weird!! I will have very little time to see them again before they leave next week- as in like 30 minutes between shift changes. I really got to know them pretty well the past couple of days though and as I have said really like them. I guess that is just how it works here but still it is a shame.
Yesterday I didn't feel great (sore throat and runny nose finally catching up with me?) but I still refuse to waste a day (sorry Mom, can't do it!). I did take it somewhat easy though by going to Green Point Market, which is only open on Sundays & about 15 minutes away from Obs. I had a great time taking my time and haggling the prices down, and I bought a lot. I wish I had gotten more, but I have no clue how I am going to fit everything in my suitcases (will worry about that later). It was interesting because I have had an Obama pin on my bag this entire trip, and no where has it gotten more attention than in the market. So many people asked if I had any more that they could have, and one lady put it on and I took a picture of her- she happened to be wearing a shirt from Kenya as well, which is where Obama is from. She and her friends just loved me. So that was neat. Came home from the market and again layed out and read (who doesn't love to lay out and read? I do it a lot).
Last night we all stayed in, and most of us went to bed pretty early & really tired. Unfortunately, Obs House had some bad luck last night, and not for the first time. A little over a week ago Friedericke had her camera and Ipod stolen- someone hoped the wall & electric fence, reached in through the window, and took them off of her bed while other people were awake in the living room. I was at shift when this happened. Last night, everyone was asleep except for Amy, who had been out front on the phone and then went into the living room around 1 am. Turns out that while she was still awake in the living room, someone got in again and this time came in through the window in the other girls bedroom (not mine) and took Amanda's (new girl from Canada) camera and wallet. Around 2 am Amanda and the other girl in the room Jenn woke up and realized that something was wrong- the shade was up. Amanda coincidentally went to get something out of her purse and it was gone. So this morning (when I really, really had wanted to sleep in past 8:30 for once) I awaken to the police in the house- great. They ended up finding her credit cards on the other side of the wall, for some reason the person took them out of the wallet and left them (too bad she had already called her parents to have them cancelled by the time they found them). Of course there is really nothing the police can/will do, but it is really freaky that someone was IN the house- it didn't seem as bad when we knew they had just reached through the window. It's pretty scary, and we are all now always locking up everything of value (of course the lockers could probably be broken in to with minimal effort). It sucks because I know that this isn't a safe place, but I like to try and give it some credit, which is hard to do with this stuff happening.
Additionally, there has been talk at Bap that one of the gangs in Khayelitsha tried to pay one of the older kids at the orphanage to steal a key to our flat there & asked him if we had any weapons. They know that we are there and that we have cameras, phones, and laptops. Of course hearing this is scary, and the flat could be broken into so easily. But everything that I have heard is that townships are actually really safe because they know that when white people visit we are either volunteering or spending money on their goods- so if anyone were to break in at Bap they would literally be hunted down and killed by all the people in the township. This is a crazy, crazy place.
And speaking of which, it is getting dark and I don't really want to walk home alone in the dark, so I'll finish catching up later. I am fine though & definitely keeping my things locked up (though go figure- for a HORRIBLE 5 minutes on Table Mountain today I thought I lost my camera... it was in my pocket, duh). And, there are five of us girls sleeping in my bedroom and if someone tries to get in we have a plan of attack prepared... I won't go into detail.
Miss everyone!!!
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