How many Services Learners can you fit in a mini bus?

            I really don’t think I’ll ever want to leave this place, because life here is pretty as close to perfect as I’ve ever been. So much has happened since my last post and I have been extremely busy (the reason why I haven’t had time to write one).  We are now in the swing of classes and service, which takes up 9-3 Monday through Thursday, but I love every minute of it.  Classes are so interesting and everyday of service is even more eye opening and amazing than the previous.  The seven of us working at Manenberg Primary have officially become part of their community.  Everyday we are welcomed by flocks of children hugging, kissing, and reaching for a piece of our hands.  All of us are beginning to find our niche in the school as well.  I am working with the foundation ages (grades 1-3).  I will be taking groups of 10 kids out of their classroom to the schools library, where I will be reading to them and teaching them lessons based off of the books I choose.  This concept is in hopes of teaching kids that reading can be fun and not simply something that they solely need to do for academics.  Additionally, it will give the kids access to the schools library that is currently unused since the school is unable to afford a librarian.  On Thursday while I was starting to find a group of books for lessons, Mr. Jensen (one of the teachers we work closely with) sent me a boy who had been ‘very bad.’  The boy, Miskunde, and I spent the afternoon reading stories and doing numeracy.  He was so enthusiastic about reading stories, handing me book after book.  It was amazing to see this kid who was so misbehaved in the classroom so well behaved.  To the children at the school we inspire a new motivation for learning and it is very moving to see that drive in the children’s faces. 

            Apart from classes and service we have been doing some incredible activities as well.  Many of them have involved crazy trips on the mini-busses, which are sort of local taxi busses that cram anywhere up to 18 people in them, have crazy drivers, a door person yelling to people on the street—basically they are an experience to say the least.  Recently we fit our entire group of 14 into one mini bus that already had 5 people in it excluding the driver and door person! One day we went down to Parliament and saw President Zuma speak!  We also spent one afternoon at Clifton Beach, staying to watch the sunset and grabbing dinner in Camps Bay after.  Last Saturday morning we went to a market at the Old Biscuit Mill.  It completely blew away any market/farmers market I have ever heard of.  There were several tents full of the most incredible food including pizzas, cookies, paella, and basically anything you could imagine.  Daunted by the many choices, several of us decided to buy different things and share!  Our first choice was an eggs benedict type thing served over a potato pancake and some sangria—yum!  Next we tried a pizza that I cannot even begin to describe and some local wine.  I think we would all be more than happy making weekly visits to the Old Biscuit Mill—it’s a shame it is only on Saturdays.  Later, we experienced our first true South African braai (barbeque) at our friend Dave’s house.  It was really fun and we were able to meet more locals.  Sunday we went to our first soccer game, which was a great experience.  The stadium was packed and nearly everyone had a vuvuzuella (giant horn).  At night we went to see Goldfish, a local band who I love back home, perform at St. Yves club.  It was unreal.  I felt as though I was a celebrity.  The club was on the beach with a balcony full of white cabanas.  It was so much fun and we are hoping to see them next Sunday at Kirstenbosch gardens.  This past Friday after class we headed down to Kalk Bay for some fresh fish and chips by the pier and then a little shopping around.  We constantly find ourselves questioning if this is really our life, because as I mentioned before, it is pretty close to perfect.  This Saturday morning we spent two hours sea kayaking.  It was amazing (though a lot more of a workout than we had been expecting).  At one point there were four or five seals swimming underneath our kayaks, popping their heads up and jumping out of the water!  Today (Sunday) we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens for one of their Sunset Concerts.  It was SO beautiful.  Everyone packs picnics and sits on the lawn, which is at the base of Table Mountain with incredible views.  It reminded me a lot of the concerts in Cape Cod that I used to go to with my family.

Ok time to get back to the ‘hectic’ schedule.  As the locals say, ‘Away me bru.’

Love,

Catie

(Kayaking in Seapoint)

Cape Town Continues...

            Have we been busy or what?  Last Thursday we painted at Manenberg Primary, where I have chosen to do my service work.  It was really fun to help paint the school, but it also reminded us of how differently things are done over here.  We arrived to a partially painted school and very tired volunteers.  The supplies were beginning to run out, so we assisted to make sure that walls that had started being painted were completed.  All of the kids were so excited and wanted to help paint.  Kristen and I helped facilitate a line of students around the age of 7 paint a wall yellow.  They all just wanted a turn!  It was very different than say painting a school in the States, where the project would surely have been very structured and organized.  But the staff and children all love the newly painted school (it had been 20 years since the school had been painted).

            Friday we headed off to High Africa for a weekend of work shopping about our goals and expectations for the semester.  We were told we would be going to “the bush” about an hour or two outside of Cape Town.  I expected to be ‘roughing it’ for the weekend—boy was I wrong.  Not only did our cabins and the other buildings have electricity, but also there were chefs who prepared delicious meals three times a day.  It was set on a river and absolutely gorgeous.  We did several team-building activities, including a low and high ropes course.  I haven’t done a ropes course since I was probably 10, so I was a little nervous when faced with the 40-foot high obstacle course.  However once I got up there I loved it and ended up doing the entire thing (and luckily did not fall!)  One of our group members is terrified of heights, but she faced her fear and did it with all of us cheering her on!  When we first arrived they warned us about the snakes that from time to time visit.  Now these snakes are around 4 inches thick and poisonous—so I (who am NOT amused by snakes) was VERY aware of where I was placing my foot!  At night we all hung out around a fire, beneath the most beautiful stars I have ever seen.  The entire Milky Way was visible.  I was tempted to sleep outside, however due to the “snake population’ I kept to the cabin while sleeping.  The weekend was amazing and made us all even more excited for the rest of the semester! 

            Yesterday we went to tour Parliament.  It was very exciting to see!  I am so amazed by all the tours that CIEE has taken us on—I feel like we have done SO much since we arrived.  We also had a lecture by a professor from University of Western Cape about Cape Town’s history.  In the evening we had our first Xhosa class.  I am still deciding between Xhosa and Afrikaans for my language, so for this week I am going to both classes.  The language is so different from others that I have been exposed to, with 16 clicks to learn—lots of practicing to be done and sore jaws awaits us.  So far my knowledge really only extends to a few phrases including “Igama lam ngu Catie” (my name is Catie).  The teacher is so friendly and it is very interesting to learn about Xhosa culture!  In the evening we went to Clifton Beach to have dinner at sunset for Ore’s birthday.  It was fabulous and the views here continue to amaze me—they seem to get better and better everyday.  I will definitely be coming back to Cape Town in the future.  Afterwards we drove up Signal Hill again so I could play around with long exposure shots of the city at night on my camera.  Some of the shots came out amazing, despite using the car as a tripod!

            Today we had another Xhosa lesson at 8am, then a group of us headed off to Manenberg Primary.  We started to visit various classrooms and meet teachers so we can decide where we want to do our work within the school.  I was particularly excited when one of the teachers expressed interest in wanting to start a school newspaper.  She said she really wanted to start the project, but did not know how to use a computer, format it, take photos, upload artwork, etc.  So Emily and I are going to help get this project started and teach her all of the skills to carry it on after we head back home.  I am very excited, as this is a way to alert the parents and community about what is going on in the school!  We are still really exploring and getting into a flow at the school.  It was so moving to stop in on various classes and see how different their education is from those that I have been exposed to before.  First off, the classes are all huge.  They range from around 30 students to as many as 70—all with one teacher.  As a result of such large class numbers, much of the day is spent trying to get the kids to behave, known as ‘crowd control.’   During interval (recess) all of the kids were pouring over us.  One girl refused to let go of my hand, telling all of her friends that ‘Teacher Catie’ was going to be in her classroom.  I think at one point I had seven different children playing with my hair.  In the classroom I saw the look of determination in so many children’s faces, and was glad to assist a few with work they were struggling with.  I think it is going to be a very moving and eye-opening experience to work at Manenberg.

            The weather in Cape Town continues to be wonderful to us and I love this place more and more with every new day and experience.

Hope all is well at home.

Love from Africa,

Catie

Painting at Manenberg Primary

High Africa High Ropes

All of us at High Africa

Clifton at Sunset

On the way to Clifton-views are amazing!

Playing with Long Exposure Shots on Signal Hill

Too much to say, too little time!

            The past few days have been amazing.  I think we had one of the best days ever the other day.  We woke up at 9 to get ready for tours, only to be notified that all the days’ activities were cancelled, leaving the day free for whatever we desired!  A group of us decided to venture to another beach called St. James.  It was absolutely beautiful!   We hung out there for a few hours, exploring the rocks and tide pools and enjoying the sun.  Then we decided to stop at Groot Constantia Vineyard for some wine tasting.  It was the perfect time of day—late afternoon/early evening.  We all sat outside in the shade of trees sipping wine.  Already it had been a great day, but of course we decided to come home, jump in the shower and head out for all you can eat sushi!  We had a private room with couches and ordered crazy amounts of delicious sushi—all for the price of R99 (so around $14 US).  Had I been eating sushi back in Boulder I easily would have spent $14 on one roll—and we ordered at least 5 platters (probably more).  We spent some time walking around the city before deciding we just wanted to hang out and relax for the rest of the evening.  Dave drove us up Signal Hill to hang out, which has incredible views of the city.  It was amazing to see the city illuminated in the dark, becoming black when it met the mountain or ocean.  All of us agreed the day could really not have been much better. 

            Yesterday we went to a few service sites again.  It is definitely going to be a tough decision about where to work, as they all offer such amazing opportunities.   In the afternoon we went to Mannenberg Primary School to help them paint the school.  All of the kids were so excited and eager to try out painting!  I don’t think I have ever been hugged so much in one day—all of the children wanted to hug us!  It was a lot of fun! 

            This afternoon we are headed off to “High Africa” for a weekend of team building activities, including high rope courses!  I also figured out how to unlock my blackberry, so I am now back in the BBM world (so all of you with blackberrys that is the best way to contact me pin:3243426C—though I don’t carry it out with me all the time).  Mom, I think you should enter the blackberry world since this is free communication! 

            Alright, I must go pack for the weekend!

            Miss you all!

            Catie

Loving this place!

            The other night we hung out with Jessica’s friend from camp who lives in Cape Town and some of his friends.  It was nice to meet some locals and see where they live—let me tell you their lifestyle is not too shabby!  After a lovely breakfast Sunday morning we spent the day relaxing by Dave’s pool (Jessica’s friend from camp).  It was really the perfect day.  We have been doing so much since we got here, so having a day to just relax with some friends was really nice.  We spent some time lounging on our porch staring at the perfectly blue skies as well.  In the evening Stephanee instructed us in a yoga class—it was wonderful!  Then we all attempted to braai (barbeque) hake and tons of vegetables.  The food came out great but I don’t think we ended up eating until around 10pm. 

            Cape Town is really incredible.  I have found an organization called GSCID (Groote Schuur Community Improvement District) that is working on improving a community near by.  Their mission is "…to improve its public environment to make it a sought after, attractive and pleasant destination in which to live, work and shop.”  The organization is trying to decrease violence in the area, clean up the streets, connect better to the community, UCT, etc.  It seems very close to what I have been studying back in Boulder, so I have contacted them about doing some volunteer work.  They emailed me back saying that I was the first person to offer to volunteer and that they would love to meet with me! 

            Today we went on tours of two museums in the city.  My favorite of which was District Six Museum.  It represents an area in Cape Town where people were forced to relocate from during the Aparthied, making it a white only area.  People’s homes were destroyed and they were relocated to townships.  Today people are trying to reclaim land that their relatives lost when they were relocated.  I bought a really interesting book about the redevelopment of the area, which looks at ways to ensure that culture of the area pre-relocation is accurately represented in the rebuild.  It is a very interesting topic to learn about it and has me thinking about post graduation work over here!

            Sometimes I cannot believe we are in Africa, because the contrast is so extreme.  Cape Town really shows you both the first and third world.  The townships make me so aware of how much I have, while parts of our program make me feel like I am in Hollywood (such as being transported around in a Mercedez van/bus complete with a television playing music videos and loud music).  Classes start on Monday, so we only have a few more days of this lazy luxurious lifestyle.  It is definitely going to be a little tricky to get back into the swing of classes, since I have had a now two-month break.  The weather is going to tempt us with the beach as well.  However I am really excited for the topics we are studying and service work we will be doing!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Love,

Catie

Hanging out by Dave's pool

Some of us at Castle of Good Hope

View out my window

Green Market Square is going to result in another suitcase...

            Oh how I love this town!  Yesterday we visited the last two service sites.  I thought I wanted to work at Mannenburg Primary School until I saw the last site.  Yabonga is a support service for people who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.  We went to the main office and met a group of about 20 women called Community Mothers.  They had us join in their circle and we went around and sang a welcoming song—it was beautiful.  They were all so warm and welcoming.  I definitely have some thinking to do now, because this site really moved me. 

            This morning we ventured into town on the train.  First we went back to the Bo-Kaap area for a market that some of the women we had met on our tour invited us to.  The first Saturday of every month the woman from the community hold a market selling goods and delicious food.  It was great to see the people we met on our tour and they were all delighted to see us as well!  We learned how to fold Somosas that I am hoping to make soon!  Afterwards we went down to Green Market Square and shopped around!  The crafts and goods are all gorgeous and you are able to bargain prices down a ton.  I bought quite a few things that I am going to hang up in my room!

            Hope everyone is doing well!

            Love,

            Catie

Todays Purchases!

My new obsession

Cute breakfast/lunch spot!

Some people need to be on leashes...

            Yesterday morning those of us interested in doing our service work at Mannenburg Primary School went back to ask more questions.  We were introduced to several of the classrooms.  All of the kids were welcoming and begged us to come work in their classrooms.  They all think we are personal friends with people like Justin Beiber and Beyonce.  Their teacher told them that one of us was Justin Beiber’s sister and they bounced out of their seats with excitement.  I really enjoyed seeing the school again and I am currently thinking of choosing it as my service site.

            Then we packed up for the afternoon and headed to Camps Bay Beach.  It was gorgeous!  It was a very different scene than the townships that we have toured the past few days.  The beach felt very glamorous with fancy boutiques, hotels and restaurants lining the main street.  We didn’t spend too much time on the beach since the wind was rather strong, whipping sand around.  However, we all agreed it was a great exfoliate!  We walked around for a bit and several people bought bracelets, scarves, and artwork from vendors on the street.  I was having difficulty deciding on which scarf to buy, so I left it up to Darin (an 11 year old local who decided to hang out with us for a bit).  I am very pleased with his selection. 

            This morning (meaning around noon) five of us headed down to start our first adventure on the train!  It was extremely hot today, so we felt it was appropriate to check out 3 or so different beaches!  Since we were starting a few hours earlier than some other house members, we decided to make a few stops before going to our final destination of Simon’s Town.  We bought our train tickets for $8 ZAR (so around $1.20 US) and were off!  Our first stop was Muizenberg.  It was a beautiful beach with lots of surfers!  We spent around an hour exploring the beach before heading back to the train and continuing on our journey.  Next we stopped at Kalk Bay.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We started exploring the town, stopping in a few local shops to check them out—definitely heading back there to shop sometime soon!  There were such cute places, including a beach bar called ‘Cape To Cuba.’  We decided to have lunch at ‘Luck Fish & Chip’ that was the BEST calamari, fish and chips I have ever had.  Our orders came out wrapped in giant paper and four of us could have easily split one.  This town offered me fish the way I enjoy it—straight from the ocean onto the pier where it was filleted, cooked, and put on my plate!  After lunch we spend some time watching the waves crash into rocks in the water and seeing the seals swim around.  The later members from our house met up with us and then we all hopped back onto the train and were off to Simon’s Town.  When we arrived we were faced with a longer walk than expected to Boulders Beach (where the penguins are).  We got there, saw a few penguins, and quickly headed back so we didn’t miss the last train back to Rosebank. 

            The day was definitely filled with lots of adventures—some of which are going to have to remain secrets, but I think we all enjoyed ourselves and had a great day!  I thought of everyone back home in the cold snowy temperatures while enjoying the sun and beaches.

Off to sleep!

Love,

Catie

Camps Bay Beach

Muizenberg Beach

Kalk Bay

Group at Kalk Bay

Best Calamari, Fish and Chips!

Boulders Beach

Lost penguin!

Penguin with overcast sky

            

If fashionably late was a style, Africa would be so in…

            The concept of time over here in Africa is definitely different than in the US.  In short, there is just no time.  People come and go as they please and the concept of a schedule just doesn’t seem to exist (Mairin you would have a panic attack!)  We are beginning to understand new phrases that describe exactly how “on time” or rather late something is going to happen.  The phrase that you hope to hear when wanting to be on time is “now now.”  This is followed by “just now” and then “whenever.”  Suddenly it became clear to me why it took so long to call my mom when I got off the plane at the airport.  Ronel (one of the staff) kept telling me Taku had purchased a calling card and we would call my mother “just now.”  I really didn’t understand why we weren’t actually calling her at the moment.  (Sorry mom!)  Trying to make decisions as a house is a little frustrating as well.  It is not easy to organize 17 peoples requests and it generally takes at least and hour to actually get out and going!  Hopefully once we are better acquainted with the area this will change. 

Despite these minor adjustments we have definitely been finding some fun!    Yesterday four of us woke up to go on a hike at 6 in the morning!  When my alarm started chirping (a noise I deeply despise) I was very tempted to shut it off and fall back asleep. But I really want to get out and walk around this area so I can figure everything out, so I hopped out of my bed. The views walking up to Rhodes Memorial were definitely worth the early wake up.  The four of us hiked up to Rhodes Memorial, which is a little above campus to meet up with another RA who offered to show us around.  He had brought his unicycle, which was very exciting to watch!  We hiked down to Newlands Forest, an area full of trails.  I hope to spend a lot of time exploring these trails and hike up Table Mountain as well!

Last night while we were out I ran into a girl from high school.  I think I did a triple take I was so surprised! Neither of us knew the other was even here but it will be nice to spend the semester in the same city!  Shows how small the world really is. Tonight we are celebrating Dania’s 21^st birthday at Tiger Tiger and are told it is going to be a great night (which I don’t doubt).  I am currently at a café called Cocoa WahWah that gives you 40 megabyte internet vouchers when you buy a drink, sandwich, dessert, etc.  I was just given a bite of Ben’s chocolate cake—pretty sure that is going to be my weakness in this city.  Boulder folks—it totally gives the cookies and cupcakes at Boulder Baked a run for their money (only it doesn’t deliver them warm at your door). 

Well I should probably hit post before my internet runs out!  Hope all of you in the negative temperatures bundle up and stay inside.  I will be thinking of you while I soak up the warm weather and sun!

Love,

Catie

Sunrise over Cape Town

Hiking with Remy