Cape Town has stolen my heart!

Cape Town South Africa
        Recovery mode starts now! South Africa welcomed us from sun-up to sundown, or maybe more like sun-up to sun-up for 6 days straight. I left Cape Town feeling on top of the world. This city presented such an awesome experience that I KNOW I will return one day, maybe even for an extensive time period. It is hard to pick a favorite port, but I would say this is the front-runner for now.
        Upon arrival I was awoken to the most beautiful sunrise over Table Mountain. I knew it was going to be an amazing week. After the clearance of the ship, I took off. Several friends and I caught the tram up to the top because we were afraid if we did not get up there fast enough the “tablecloth” would leave only one option: hike up and down. We made it up just in time to get some awesome pictures and soak in all the beauty of the city. It was amazing to look around and see Robben Island, the World Cup Stadium, and the big blue ocean. We were then standing in the clouds, and it started to get pretty chilly. We asked a few people on the top how to get down and the directions were pretty vague, but we thought we would see others. Well we got a little turned around on a fairly big mountain. After a couple hours of hiking we ran into a group from S. Africa and we had missed a turn and we had traveled way out of the way. Welp, the only way to get down from there was to hike all the back to the top, so we did. Luckily this group was heading the same way and took great care of us. We ended up hiking further than if we would have hiked up and back, but we had an absolute blast. After heading back to the ship and grabbing a quick shower we were out for our 1st night in the city. We had a blast out, we went to a Cuban bar and danced all night.
 Early the next morning we arose and I had a meeting with Andre, the man from Youth for Christ who we would be working with for my service leadership class. We then headed out to Boulder Beach. Four of us headed to the train station to take an hour train ride down the coast. It was a beautiful ride full of picturesque views. We got off the train in Fish Hoek and transfer to a bus, but as we walked off the platform the bus pulled away. We then had a half-hour to explore the little village, and we found this amazing cupcake shop. We chatted with the owner and she does it all. She gave us these cookies with nuts, white chocolate, and dark chocolate chips. It was so delicious. We finally made it down to Boulder Beach and explored the little market, and swam with the African Penguins. Once we got home we went to dinner at the little café in the mall right next to port and headed to the pub to meet up with friends.
The next day I headed out with the members of my leadership team to the school that we would be serving at. We had planned to help serve food that day, but upon arrival we were told that the food had not arrived and they would not be serving food today. Andre said that this could be the only meal that the children get for the day, so we decided we were going to make sure they had food. While brainstorming a plan to get the children food, it arrived. We were so relieved, but the gas did not, and it would not for 2 more days. So Joe and I talked with Andre and we asked him to find out where the school gets the gas and put a rush order on one, and he did. At last, the kids had a meal. We played with the kids and talked with the teachers. One of the 4th grade teachers that we would be working with later in the week challenged us; he told us he wanted us to make the world bigger for the kids. All the kids know is the farm and school. The beach, which lies 10 minutes from the village, is a foreign concept, and only has 1 child out of 40 been to the library. While we already had a plan to do a lesson on dental hygiene, back to the drawing board it was. We were hoping to use the bus to take them to the library, but due to new regulations in S. Africa this was out of the question.  We decided to think about it and hope to come up with a plan. We then headed to the farm to see the village where the families working on the farm live. Here the farmer provides his workers and family housing, which is nearly nothing, but more than sleeping on the streets. We also got an interesting sighting. We saw the slaughtering of a cow with a pic ax. Seeing the internal organs made me rather queasy and uncomfortable. The farmer gives the villagers a cow each month for themselves and the slaughtering was a communal activity. Everyone was around watching as if it was a sporting event or art form. After returning back to the ship, a couple of us worked to prepare for the next couple of days. We headed out on the town for another night and met some awesome students studying in Cape Town from Australia. They were an absolute blast and I am know dying to get to Australia and see this awesome place.
Early, early the next morning my friends Megan and Dallas and I caught the ferry to Robben Island. It was a wonderful ferry ride with quite a few dolphin, whale, and penguin sightings. When we arrived to the island we boarded a bus and headed around the island with a tour guide. He was very informative about the rich history of South Africa and predominately the apartheid.  He had so much to share about the political activists that were housed here, but the highlight was definitely being able to hear from an ex-prisoner. Listening to his story made me very uncomfortable, but it was such a testament to the inhumanity that these people suffered from. We were able to see the jail cell that Nelson Mandela was confined to for 18 years, it was heart wrenching. After getting back from that amazing experience, we had arranged for a group of students to come with us to the SOS children’s’ village in Cape Town. We ran around and played with the children forever and had an absolute blast. We let them play with our cameras and played soccer until the sun went down. It was an awesome day but thoroughly exhausting. Also, on the way home our van broke down on the highway so we set on the hill and waited for it to be fixed while 4 police cars worked to help us. It was an adventure in its self.
The next day was our big day, we were headed to the school to give our presentation. Our morning got off to a little of a rough start as we had a few more transportation issues but we finally made it to the school right after the 1st class had started. We did our presentation on leadership for the kids, we aimed to establish hope and a sense of worth in these children. Our second class went off without a hitch. The children were much more receptive and we had a fantastic time. We then headed back to the port to pick up another group of students to head to the farm. At the farm, we played soccer with the kids and did arts and crafts. We also did a small presentation on dental hygiene and gave them toothbrushes and toothpaste we had collected on the ship. We then went to the water tap and did a group brushing and the kids LOVED it.  Overall, I think our project was a success. That night we went out for a celebration on the beach and saw the sun rise. It was so beautiful and I was with the best group I could ever ask for.
On our last day in port we took it easy. We ate some breakfast and did a little shopping. We then headed to lunch and found a Cape Town original called a Gatspy. Two of my guy friends decided to try the full-house torpedo, and it literally weighed 10 lbs. It was a heart attack waiting to happen. On this sandwich was steak, egg, lettuce, French fries and a special sauce. It was hilarious watching them attempt to finish half of it. I have never seen anything quite like it. We did a little shopping at a street market with local artisans and then headed back to the mall to Skype. This was so nice to hear my family’s voices. Not being able to talk to them for over a month was a challenge. E-mail is just not the same. I was so excited, I just did not want to hang up. We got back on the ship and bid a farewell to Cape Town. I went to bed so early that night in attempt to regain much of the lost sleep.
Cape Town is a place that I will never forget. I have found a group that is amazing and I love to travel with. While South Africa did not provide as much personal growth as Ghana or Morocco, I enjoyed myself so much. I believe that it was a nice break from always feeling so stretched out of my comfort zone, and that it was much needed. South Africa as a country has so much potential. The world cup was an evident booster and has provided much nicer city transportation and improved many infrastructures. With this said, the remainders of the apartheid are still evident. The colored people are still living in conditions less than that of the whites. So like in any country there is still work that needs to be done.
Hope all is well back in the states and thanks for all the kind words I have been getting. They are so nice to read and make it feel as if I am not so far away. Miss you all tons!!
All my love
Jordan