Happy Kids and Table Mountain

My second week has been terrific so far. I would say I'm adjusting pretty well to everything here. However, the days are long and exhausting. When we get back to homebase, we all want to go explore the Cape Town. There is definitely never a dull moment. Also, the meals they cook us are always hot and very heavy so we have all been craving sandwiches and lighter lunches.

I finally brought my camera in to preschool. I couldn't wait to take pictures of the babies and they absolutely loved the photoshoot! The kids are definitely adjusting to me, and love to just run up and hug me when I arrive. I am starting to understand their mumbling, although a lot of it is still jibberish. Today, we brought in facepaint and the kids really got a kick out of it (at first). Then, I think it got a little itchy and they all smeared it all over their faces. We had a lot of faces to clean along with the usual wiping off of buggers and porridge. When they go outside, it all acts like a glue so sand also gets plastered to their precious little faces. Most of them have adjusted to preschool, but we get new kids everyday, we're up to 35 munchkins. Today we made a table of the "picky eaters" so that Patricia could rapid-fire spoon feed them. They all have to eat unless they start puking, which happens daily. I haven't adjusted to the lack of sanitizing urine and puke off the ground. However, the kids are as happy and as adorable as you could imagine, and Silvertown is definitely a blessing for many struggling families. We have found out over the course of the week a little more about the familes. A few of them are cousins who live in the same house. One darling little girls lost her mom last year (most likely due to AIDS) and hasn't found a permanent home yet. And lots of other children have different types of rashes and things. I am trying to be as careful as possible to avoid getting sick here, but preschools as well as dormitory-style living really doesn't help. Tomorrow is my last day at the preschool and then I'll be working at an elementary school. I am definitely excited about that possibility.









After a long day snapping pictures of the kids, a bunch of us decided it was a beautiful day to climb table mountain. My blog picture is of the sunset over table mountain, so beautiful. It gets pretty windy here and if the winds are too strong, hiking is pretty miserable and the cable car that runs to the top shuts down. The hike was strenuous to say the least. Basically you are hiking up stairs for 2 hours. We split up into two groups, and most of the girls and I chose the leisurely bunch and we enjoying taking breaks and enjoying the nice view. But the view from the top was just incredible! And there is a cute little restaurant where we all split a bottle of champagne and then took the cable car down. We were told hiking down is more difficult than hiking up, and we enjoyed the build-up to the top. Definitely had to work for it!

New friends climbing Table Mountain
The last few steps up!

The rest of the week has also been filled with activity. We went out for margaritas to celebrate the inauguration of President Obama. Let me tell you, the world is definitely watching. Even the preschool teachers at my school watched the ceremony. And being an America abroad always stirs up political conversation. My favorite... Today we went and sampled Cape Malay cuisine. These people are descendants of the slaves brought here from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Madagascar. Very good (but again some type of spicy lamb and rice dish). The Cape Malay people live in an area called BoKaap (above Cape Town) filled with beautiful colored houses. Photos to follow. Then we went to the old Slave Lodge museum that used to host the Dutch East India Company's slave trade. All in all, a very fun week, and I antipicate an even better weekend.

Thanks to everyone who has been checking in. I miss you all back home (but not the weather). Wish you could be here to experience everything yourself.

Talk to you soon,

Jackie

Garden Route for the Weekend

What an incredible weekend! 13 new friends and I hopped into a 15-passenger van this weekend to drive along the southern coast of South Africa stretching from around Cape Town all the way into the Eastern Cape on what is known as the Garden Route. On Friday night, we arrived to a wonderful home cooked meal at the Fairy Knowe Youth Hostel in the city of Wilderness. We stayed in bunks and there were a few other backpackers hanging out at the bar when we headed to bed.

We started out the next day bright and early at the Knysna Elephant Park about an hour and a half east of Wilderness. There is an only an estimated 3 wild African elephants remaining in South Africa (in the Knysna forest) but all the elephants we saw were domestic and are nutured by the loving staff. There used to be hundreds but they have been illegally hunted for their hides and ivory for the past hundred years or so. I had the absolute privilege of riding Shaka around the park as well as seeing many other elephants. I couldn't help but picture Disney's Jungle Book while watching them run around. They all seemed to swing their trunks, ears, and tails to the same beat. I learned a lot about elephants, most of which I already forget. I do remember that African elephants have much bigger ears than Asian elephants to help keep them cool. Who knew?

After feeding Shaka some pineapple to thank him for the ride

Two baby females playing in the field

We jumped back on the road and stopped to go Zip Lining. We zig-zagged over a canyon with lots of beautiful scenery and many waterfalls. The view was excellent, as was the ride. Everything seemed very safe, but things here are a lot more relaxed than in the states. We joked that back at home we would have to watch a 20 minute safety video beforehand. Unfortunately we couldn't bring our cameras...

Next stop was the highlight of the trip. The world's HIGHEST bungy jump! Of course, I had to check it out. 7 of us decided to "take the plunge." They pumped you up with some fun dance tunes, so everyone was really excited. And it was was simply breathtaking, just incredible. Really words cannot describe.

The bridge we jumped off, such a scenic view

Bungee!
On the way back we stopped to stick our feet in the Indian Ocean

The day was exhausting but we all wanted to celebrate such a great jump, so we headed back to the hostel for some drinks. It was also one of the girls 21st birthday so we had to celebrate. We met some local South Africans from Pretoria, and learned some good advice on things to do and see around Cape Town while we're here. They also introduced us to a new shot, a Springbok, which is the national South African animal, kinda like an antelope. The shot is actually named for the national rugby team and is composed of amarula and creme de menthe so it's gold and green like the team colors. Plus delicious!

Me and Collin and new friends

Today, we started off at an ostrich farm. Actually kind of sad how they breed ostriches for their meat, feathers, and hides. However, riding them was hilarious. Much more difficult than I expected.

Collin had fun feeding them too.

The last stop on our trip was a nature reserve, much like a zoo. We got to see lions, white tigers, cheetahs, crocodiles, birds, lemurs (my personal favorite). Some of the girls stayed and paid extra to get their pictures taken with the animals but I decided not too. We got lunch their and I tried both ostrich and crocodile. Ostrich tastes like a lean steak, but I thought mine was overcooked and kinda gamey. Crocodile is chewy but tastes like chicken.

Trying out my sweet new photography skills on the aquarium

Simba and Nala (Actually the male is Charlie with three female "angels")

All in all, the weekend was purely amazing! I had such a great time bonding with the other volunteers, meeting all the animals, being adventurous, hanging out with locals and other international travellers. I can't believe we fit so many different things in, along with the 6 hour drive there and back. But I am simply exhausted and need to rest up for another great week at Silvertown.

Jackie

P.S. I did a tiny bit of editing on the photos this time, and am fooling around with a bunch of settings to try to get some good shots. There are a few other photographers on the trip and we're going to take pictures tomorrow (at another awesome spot around Cape Town - I swear to you everything is scenic here). I am loving my new camera!