July 9th-
July 13th
Upon
arrival into Cape Town: exhausted, excited, anxious, intrigued, and wide eyed
are most of the feelings that flooded my body. Driving through the city on the
way to our hostel, I noticed that the town was nothing like I expected, and a
pleasant surprise it was. It was beautiful, the night lights glowing, mountains
in the background, the ocean a little further in my sight, I couldn’t help but
think “man my friends would not believe this!” because they all thought I was
going to some under developed country with sub standard living, in a village or
something. However, even though there was the gorgeous city when we first
entered, as we continued to drive, we rode past and got a glimpse of a township.
All I saw was a large area cluttered with little houses made of wood and metal,
they were barely standing, and looked like they would fall over if a rough
breeze came through. Then I heard our tour guide, Godfrey, say, “that is where
we will be doing some of our work later this week” and then I knew this trip
would be one to remember.
It was
so great to get out and see the city. We got to see all of the diverse people
which was a big shocker! I think I saw more white people and other races at
first than I did black people. We went to the Water Front mall which was great!!
They had Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Levis, a Mac make- up store, and so many more well
known stores, which was not what I expected. Also, on the way to the store, I
saw a Mazarati store, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and all the nice cars that people
want in the United States.
Also, on
the same day, which was the 10th of July, we climbed Lion’s Head
Mountain. Even though it was the smallest of all the mountains, it was still
quite the challenge! It was the first mountain I actually ever hiked so I was
very pleased to make it up to the top! We got to watch the sunset on the ocean
and it was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen!
The next
day, we started on our very first project at the Nomonde Kindergarten in the
township of Langa. There, our projects were to build a vegetable garden and to
create a book shelf for the children. Beginning the vegetable garden had a very
rocky start. That was due to a combination of faulty planning, people not
really knowing how to build anything at all or even how to plant vegetables or
what season the vegetables grown in, no one really knew each other so the
atmosphere was kind of awkward, and we kind of felt rushed. After a lot of hard
work and a few extra runs to the hardware store, and a little frustration, we
were finally on the roll and had an idea of what we were doing. I was pleased
that my group was the first group to actually get our box constructed and all
put together, but that is because our group was consisted of a lot of stronger
people who had more of an idea of how to take charge and get things done.
Especially me, I love building and putting together anything so this project
was right up my alley. And I like the way it brought us all a little closer
together and we learned how to work with one another.
The next
day at the Nomande School, we finished up the garden and it moved so much more
smoothly. The other groups went back and finished their boxes and my group and
I went to nursery to get the vegetables. We got lettuce, cabbage, greens,
carrots, peas, celery, and even a peach tree! When we returned, we put the
mulch and soil into the boxes and began planting! It was so much team work
going on that I loved it. Even Mama Lumka, the head of the preschool, was
getting involved and she had never been involved in anything we were doing
before that day! We got all the seedlings and the tree planted and there was such
a feeling of accomplishment and joy radiating over everyone! The teachers at
the school were happy and laughing and clapping taking pictures and it was one
of the best feelings in my life to watch them react that way to what we had
done for them.
That same
day when we finished the garden we actually got to walk around and tour the township,
which one of the best parts of the trip. We got to see one of the booming
businesses of a lady who sells “smiley” which is smoked sheep head. Some people
even tasted it and bought one. We got to
go into one of the “shacks” which was actually a local pub where the lady made
the beer right there, we went to a community hostel and in a very small room
there were three beds and we were told that three families lived in that one
room, and sixteen families shared one kitchen and one bathroom. It was very
hard to sit and watch without getting emotional. The most hurtful thing for me
to watch had to be was how unsanitary the outside was. Its trash everywhere,
people use the restroom wherever they feel, and some of the children walked
around with no shoes on. I just wish I could help everyone. That level of
poverty is just unlivable and the government just doesn’t do much at all to
help those people and their living conditions. But even with that being said,
you would never think that those people just radiate happiness, especially the
children, they may not be in the best situation but it’s obvious that that do
not let that stop them from continuing on and surviving through the hard times.
This
week we also did our service for Mandela Day! We went to a primary school and
repainted there walls. It was a small service but it was fun and everyone was
involved and was glad to be there to do what we could to celebrate a great day.
