Day 3?

Day 2...or is it Day 1? I don't know what day it is!! Friday, June 26 at 12:21am

So I'm well adjusted to Cape Town time....just not the actual day!! I'm so confused as to what day it actually is!! I guess that's a good sign that I'm enjoying myself! The past 2 (or is it 3?) days have been crazy busy but full of excitement! The people in my group are fantastic – such an eclectic group: from a former cattle rancher turned 6th grade English teacher, an Alaskan by way of California Social Studies teacher and finally an inner city teacher in Georgia who also happens to be a Chief in Ghana. Everyone has a story and it is just fascinating learning from all these people and swapping some of our life changing adventures. I can't believe how well traveled some of these teachers are: Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, South Korea, China, Egypt, all over Europe, Japan...the list goes on and on. They inspire me to see more, and do more...(hopefully with the aid of another one of these fabulous grant programs!). I think I will learn more from some of these people than I will from all the lectures and seminars during these 6 weeks. That's truly the beauty of stepping out of one's comfort zone and seeing the world and meeting others. I can definitely say that some of my best “life influencing” moments occurred in the company of new friends and often times, in foreign countries. I hope that in the end I can say the same thing about this experience. As I always try to stress to my students (shout out to those of you reading this!) that one learns so much more from just LIVING life than from any book. Thanks to my parents for helping me realize that from a young age!

The program directors, Rich and Kay, are a riot. They love sharing stories just as much as we do. They told us some stories about certain people on some of their previous grant trip...and needless to say, none of us want to be one of those people they tell stories about!! :) The group is really bonding and I'm really clicking with my friend Elayna from Wisconsin and Chris from DC. Chris has traveled all over and even taught in Belfast, so we swapped some awesome Ireland stories. What isn't awesome about Ireland stories? We always manage to find humor and sarcasm in the most ordinary situations, so it makes even a lecture about hot springs engaging. Yes, a lecture about hot springs.

We ventured to UWC (University of Western Cape) for our lectures for our next 2 weeks in Cape Town. UWC is located outside Cape Town and near many of the townships where blacks were forced during the apartheid. There are thousands of “houses” in these shanty towns where the underprivileged still live. Despite changes since the end of the Apartheid, there are still millions of black South Africans struggling to get by. Such a contrast from the opulence in down town Cape Town. We will be going on a township tour next week (and on another one in Soweto outside of Jo burg in a few weeks). The image that really struck me was we drove past these shanty towns was a graffiti mural facing the freeway which read “Third World Beauty” Very sad. I will write more about the townships after visiting them. We also have the option of staying the night in a B&B within one of Cape Town's townships and I am considering it...just don't know if we'll have enough time. I think that would be a truly humbling experience.

After our afternoon lecture about Tourism and Geography of South Africa ( and yes, hot springs too), we headed to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront mall. It is on the working harbor of Cape Town and is a HUGE conglomerate of shops, restaurants, an aquarium, movie theater, hotels etc. It is essentially one giant tourist gathering spot, but it is convenient as it is only 10 minutes from the hotel and is safe. A group of us had dinner at a fish and chips place and had a decent meal for just 35 rand = 4.50. Not too bad. After dinner and exploring the mall (puts Sommerset to shame!), we headed to a pub to watch the South Africa vs. Brazil football match in the Confederates Cup. Unfortunately South Africa lost after Brazil scored in the last 5 minutes of the game. The atmosphere was awesome: South Africans singing the national anthem, and cheering like crazy for their team. SA dominated the game, but unfortunately Brazil got the lucky break in the end. The final match for the cup is on Sunday – USA vs. Brazil. We'll definitely be watching that one and cheering for the Red White and Blue!

All in all I am loving my experience thus far...it truly is a whirlwind and I really need to sleep now so I don't nod off tomorrow during our 3 lectures. We are covering ALL of South African History from the Early times through 1994 tomorrow. So, on that note, good night and PEACE!!!

Oh – things I've learned about South Africa thus far:

1. They don't believe in heat. I am constantly freezing.

2. It is NOT as warm as I expected. I should have listened to the whole “rainy season” thing. It is rather cold and damp. Let's hope it warms up...or at least doesn't rain!

3. I packed WAAAAY too many short sleeve shirts.... and I thought I was being so so efficient. Hope ya'll are enjoying that super HOT weather...I'll send some chilly Cape Town weather your way!!