Best Week Ever

(I wrote this post on Monday, but I have been delayed in actually putting it up)

So I am happy to say that I think this has been the best week ever. The more things I do here, the more I love this city. It is unique in so many ways. The fact that mountains and beach are ten minutes away from the center of the city is still awe inspiring to me (see Sunday’s activities.) The balance between the first and third world is so striking. I visited a township a week ago and volunteered at a school where township youth attend (more info on this below) and in the same city I saw an insanely expensive Ferrari and drove past exclusive beachfront property. It is such an interesting place, I never want to leave. Here is a recap of my great week from Monday to Monday:

• Kalk Bay, Monday – After class a friend and me hopped on the train to Kalk Bay, a beach town about an hour away. We had lunch at a great local restaurant called Olympia Café, and walked around the hippie-ish town. I came away with the coolest vintage bag from an antique store with springbok fur on it. I was a very happy camper despite the slow and hot train ride.
• Volunteering, Tuesday and Thursday – I started my volunteering commitment on these two afternoons. During orientation, CIEE presented many opportunities to volunteer from going to orphanages to visiting youth in prison. I chose to work with the LEAP Maths and Science School for grades 9-12. It is about a 20-minute drive from the UCT campus. The students that attend LEAP mostly live in townships, some even travel over an hour each way to attend the school. LEAP is almost like a charter school, the students have to apply and even pay a small stipend of about 200 Rand (approximately $30 USD) to demonstrate their commitment to the school. They go from 8:15 to 5:15 and even have half days every Saturday. It is a very rigorous academic environment and LEAP expects a lot from its students. They work very hard an all aspire to do well for themselves. I chose to volunteer at LEAP because I felt that I could make more of an impact on an educated conscientious student, someone I could relate to on one level. We mostly did logistical stuff on Tuesday but on Thursday, my friend and I were assigned a group of 6 girls that we would be mentoring. We will be helping them with science and math that they are struggling with, and also just being there for them. On Thursday afternoon, the LEAP kids participate in cultural activities, from drama, to choir, to African dance and drumming, and even hip-hop. All the kids were so talented, it was truly amazing. I’m still getting all the girls’ names down, and it will be difficult because they are all in Xhosa, but they all seem really excited to be working with us and we are certainly excited to be working with them as well.
• Amazing nightlife, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – I had an awesome time going out this week. We discovered Ivy League on Wednesday, a bar with all locals on Long Street. We talked to some awesome Cape Tonians about cool places to go, music festivals, and what to do. Thursday my entire house trekked to Hemisphere, a club on the top of a skyscraper with 180-degree views of the city. Our RA’s got us on the list so we didn’t have to pay cover, and we had a great time with a great view of the city. Friday, on the recommendation of someone we met on Wednesday, we went to Assembly, a cool venue to hear an awesome DJ. We danced up a storm, also a blast.
• Braai, Friday – on Friday my house got together and had a Braai, a South African barbeque. Our security guard, Andrew, volunteered to come in early and cook for us, and let me tell you he is a grill master. We had a feast of all kinds of meat, corn and other sides. All of our American and South African friends came over for a generally good and delicious time.
• Wine Tasting, Saturday – CIEE took us to Stellenbosch to the Spier Winery for a wine tasting festival. We tried all different kinds of wine, hung out with friends, and had good food. It was so relaxing and tons of fun. My favorite was the Shiraz Rose and the Pinotage, a grape that is only grown in South Africa.
• Soweto Gospel Choir concert, Saturday – as soon as we came back from wine tasting we grabbed some picnic supplies and headed to Kirstenbosch for another outdoor concert. This time we saw the Soweto Gospel Choir, a Grammy-award winning group who sung amazing songs and did amazing African dance in multiple languages. All the singers were unbelievable; they could have each had their own record deal. It was so amazing to see and hear this awesome group that is uniquely South African.

• Camps Bay Beach and hiking Lion’s Head, Sunday – to top off my amazing week, I had a very eventful Sunday. Some friends and I headed to the beach in Camps Bay to catch some sun. It was so relaxing to be back at the beach and enjoying the hot weather. We dried off, had some snacks and hopped into a cab to Lion’s Head, a mountain with 360-degree views of the city. We hiked for a little over an hour to reach the summit while the sun was setting. It was so amazing to see the sunset in the West while the full moon was rising in the East over Table Mountain. The views of Cape Town were unparalleled and it was so amazing to see. The hike down was a bit treacherous because it was in the dark, but the full moon lit the way for the most part.

Lion's Head
at the summit
sunset
shadow of Lion's Head, moon rise, city of Cape Town, Table Mountain

• Bo’Kaap, Monday – as per the past few weeks, we did a fun Monday activity. Some friends and I hopped on a minibus and headed into the city to walk around Bo’Kaap, the Muslim area of Cape Town. This section of the city is so unique because of the brightly colored buildings that are so much fun to look at. We just walked around in awe of all the beautiful colors, mosques, and ethnic feel of the neighborhood. And even though we weren’t that hungry, we saw a Cape Malay restaurant that we had wanted to try and sat down for a delicious meal. The mutton curry was superb, as were the samosas.

I am finally starting to have real schoolwork here. In the next few weeks, I have a test and multiple papers. It’s going to be so hard to sit down and actually concentrate on work. in the mean time, this weekend we will be staying overnight with families in a township called Ocean View. It will certainly be an interesting experience and I am excited/nervous to see how it will all turn out!