Adios Classes!!! :)

Today was so fantastic. Erica (my CHOSA partner) and I took our kids on a field trip/excursion to Signal Hill and played all afternoon. We really wanted to hike with them but honestly didn’t have the time to do an entire day’s hike up Table Mountain or Lion’s Head and also weren’t sure if they would enjoy hiking? So we decided to take them to Signal Hill, which is almost as high as lion’s head but you can actually just drive to the top of the hill and park and then there are picnic areas and lots of trails to walk around on…and the views are phenomenal. So we took our kids to Signal Hill, had a picnic (made sandwiches and ate snacks) walked around the trails, and then bought them ice cream and went home. The day went perfectly though, I couldn’t have asked for it to be better.

The van that was picking us up to take us to Bap to get the kids and then drive to Signal Hill was over an hour late, so Erica and I were both really nervous, we figured the kids would get upset and angry, or think we forgot about them…and we were also nervous because we only had about 3 hours allotted for our trip. Still, our van finally came, and when we got to Bap our kids were all waiting outside for us; they’d been there the whole time just hoping we’d show up, it was really cute but also made me feel horrible for being so late. They gave us hugs and then jumped in the car before we had a chance to actually walk into the children’s home and let the caretaker’s know we were there…it was cool they were so excited. Once we got to signal hill they were so crazy, they just wanted to run around and play, and when we walked on the trails they yelled hello to everyone (and told them “Hey we are Xhosa!!”. They made friends with this crazy artist who was paining Table Mountain, who told them about when he met Nelson Mandela to paint his portrait. They also wanted to walk to see the World Cup stadium (which is right next to Lion’s Head) so we walked there and they started singing the South African national anthem, it was so great. The afternoon went so quickly and I was really bummed to have to take them back and say goodbye…I’m done with my volunteering with CHOSA and won’t get to go back because of my exam schedule and traveling plans. I’m so glad I got to meet these kids though, they’re all so great, it’s incredible the way they all have become a family and look after each other, and they’re just so happy I’m so glad my last time with them wasn’t at Bap teaching, but on an afternoon excursion, it was perfect.

My field trip today was obviously the highlight of my week, but I did some other cool things too. Last weekend I went to a concert at assembly, I saw freshlyground, a South African band (who’s really good!) they actually sing with Shakira in the official song for the world cup. On Tuesday I went to Zula in town for acoustic night, but it turned out that a Cape Town band was playing that night, 4 Seasons Family, they were also really good, fun music. Both concerts were great, and were such a nice break from the usual party scene here.

Wednesday, I had my CIEE final dinner at Moyo at Spiers winery in Stellenbaush. It was so good! We all got dressed up for the dinner and the restaurant it was at was so pretty. IT was inside a winery, so we actually ate outside under a tent (permanent wood gazebo kind of?) but there was also all these little forts and booths and smaller gazebos around the huge one we ate under? And there was small ponds and flowers and I can’t actually describe what the place looked like but it was gorgeous. Our dinner was a buffet and this place had everything…fresh veggies, lots of different prepared salads, so much meat I didn’t know what it was?, FISH AND CALAMARI, and then typical south african foods…and then of course, dessert. We ate way too much delicious food, and drank good wine, and got our faces painted while watching African dancers/performers and then explored the winery a little. IT was such a perfect dinner.

Thursday was our fundraiser for CHOSA at Stones. We were trying to raise money to pay for our trips that we were doing with our students before the semester ended, and Stones is this bar/pool hall that a lot of students go to. The fundraiser was only semi-successful, it was raining and gross out that day and we knew most students had gone out hard the night before because Wednesday was the last day of classes…so no one was really up for day drinking? Still, a lot of our friends came and it was semi-successful.

The rest of my weekend was not very exciting…I have 2 exams, 2 papers and a project to due between now and Thursday so I’ve basically been spending all my time in coffee shops studying and writing. I’m leaving on Friday though to go to Mozambique for 8 days I’m so excited! My friends and I are flying to Joburg, then busing across the border to Maputu (the capital) spending a night there, then taking a ferry out to an island and staying there for a week, then coming home. It’s going to be the perfect ending to a crazy and stressful week, and I’m going with my 4 best girlfriends so it will be a great final trip to do together ☹

I can’t believe I have less than a month left, its going to go so quickly, I don’t’ even want to think about it, I could stay here forever. Although I do my friends and family…and iced coffee and showers and going on long runs, I know I’m going to come back to South Africa-maybe I’ll even work here one day!

I’ll try and write again before I leave for Mozambique, cheers!