The Past Week- An Ear Full :)

This is long overdue… and I have a lot to catch up on-

Since the last time I posted we have been so busy!

List of things we have done to try to keep this short:

1. Amy Biehl Foundation/ Townships Tour

2. We climbed Table Mountain- one of the 7 wonders of the world

3. Old Biscuit Mill

4. Church

5. Robben Island

Scroll and Read what you are interested in J

1.  Amy Biehl Foundation is an organization in the surrounding townships of Cape Town in which they run after school programs to try to keep the kids involved and busy so that they aren’t out on the streets after school lets out- We got to visit 3 of the after school care locations last week and it was absolutely amazing! The smile on these kids faces made me never want to complain about a small thing again- Seeing the joy that they have and knowing how little they have puts so much into perspective. At every location they performed for us- these kids are so talented musically and are great dancers. We also toured the townships, where the after school care programs are, I never really knew how bad poverty was until that afternoon. These people have no running water, no sewers, and basically 4 pieces of tin leaning against each other to form a “house”- Next week we begin a week of service in the townships and I am now so excited to get back in there and make a difference in their lives and mostly to see those contagious smiles again!

2.   Table Mountain is right here in Cape Town, and is 1 of the 7 wonders of the world. Since we first arrived, a day has not gone by that I haven’t seen Table Mountain- it is the backdrop from anywhere in the city. We started the hike around 1 and it took us about 2 hours to make it to the top- I mean on our hands and knees at some points scaling rocks…this was intense. But with the support of friends and knowing we had an awesome view at the top, WE MADE IT! When we got to the top it was breathtaking, I felt like I was on top of the world.  It was kind of overcast that morning so we were worried about our view at the top but what we found was that we were above the clouds when we reached the top of the mountain so it was great- it seemed like we were in heaven.

3.  The Old Biscuit Mill… wow, this place is awesome! Only open on Saturdays, it is a market that has vendors selling anything from crepes, omelets, and mini pancakes, too rings, clothing, and cutting boards.  We ran into Drew Berrymore at one of the clothing booths… pretty good timing I’d say! The food was out of this world! Can’t wait to make a trip back next Saturday and look forward to buying some gifts for friends/family back home!

4. On Sunday, we traveled to a church that was about 30 minutes away that opens its doors to the homeless and whose services the children mostly lead. It was awesome! Dr. Mo and Mr. Mo (two of our teachers) are involved in ministry in the States and they really did an awesome job delivering the sermon on Sunday. Seeing kids here with such a strong faith is really great- it is cool to see that though our worlds are so far apart and we come from such different backgrounds that everyone can still connect through one thing- FAITH

Glimpse at one of the townships 

Half way up Table Mtn.

Sitting on the clouds :)

At the after school programs

Top of Table Mtn.

Mini Pancakes at OBM

5.  Today, we took about a 30 minute ferry ride to Robben Island- an island off the coast of South Africa that used to be a maximum security prison, and also the site where Nelson Mandela was held for so many years. It held political prisoners as well as criminal prisoners… and the most shocking off all- it didn’t close its doors until 1991- today serves as a museum.

Wow- so that was all a mouthful and probably somewhat boring but I just wanted to catch everyone up on my travels and what we have been doing!

The food is great, the people are great, I desperately need to start working out more, and the weather has gotten CHILLY!

Miss my fam and friends!

Xoxo