Friday- long and interesting plane ride to Cape Town
Saturday- Arrived at about 4:30 pm. The CCS van brought us to the homebase where we unpacked and headed out on the town. We accompanied the veteran volunteers to a little local restaurant called Roots. Everything was so cheap. A large pizza was less than $4! It was fun getting to know the people I will be living with for the next 6 weeks. The veterans updated us on all of the worthwhile things they have done since they've been here. So excited for the weeks ahead!
Sunday- Orientation Day 1. We toured downtown Cape Town and the surrounding areas. The landscape was the prettiest I've ever seen.. Perfect combination of mountains and ocean. The weather is beautiful here. We got a short history lesson and reviewed the safety policies etc. Sunday night we went into the little town of Rondebosch which is within walking distance to our homebase. Since the phone store was closed, we settled for sangria at a local Mexican restaurant called Cafe Sofia. Later, Bailey came to meet the group and have a drink. We talked for hours.. It was awesome seeing her and catching up.. I miss her so much. Everyone lovvvvved her. She is coming back to see us on Wednesday.
Monday- Orientation Day 2. We dug a little bit deeper into the history of South Africa. We learned about the history, culture, and modern day life of the Xhosa and Afrikaans. The people of this country have gone through so much and it was obvious when we took a tour of the Cape Town townships. The tour was done in a way which showed a progressive history and some of the post-apartheid developments. This was definitely a very powerful experience and a little hard to handle especially after Sunday's tour. Everyone we met was so welcoming. One of the women in the township who was friends with our tour guide even invited us into her room/home.
During the second part of the day we learned a little more about our placements. Mine is Sarah Fox Children's Convalescent Hospital.
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