Third Day in South Africa

There are so many things going through my head right now that I had to write it all down before I start to forget how I'm feeling.  The flight to Cape Town was fine; I slept through most of it.  Once of the CCS volunteers on our flight lost her bags so that took some time to help her out.  Then we found our drivers and drove to our home base.  We all went around, found our rooms, ate dinner, unpacked, and just mellowed out a bit.  We got in about 6pm so there wasn't much time and we were all pretty tired.  However, the jet lag really didn't set in until today.  I'm in a room with 3 other girls; two bunk beds.  I'm on the top bunk which isn't the greatest but I'm ok with it.  That was Saturday.  Sunday we woke up a little late, had breakfast and just worked on getting to know everyone in the house used to our surroundings.  Orientation began and that was a little boring, but oh well.  After orientation we filled into vans and they drove us into town for our first town tour.  We saw the beach side communities; which are beautiful!  We went to a few touristy locations; I think my favorite was Signal Hill.  We drove up this long, windy road to a lookout point which was more like a park.  Looking down on Cape Town all I could think about was how much it looks like the Bay Area and San Francisco.  These beautiful homes nestled between a gorgeous mountain (Table Mountain) and the sea (Atlantic).  Then we went down to the beach.  I, OF COURSE, was the first one in the water.   IT WAS MY FIRST TIME IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN!!!  That's another thing, the weather has been gorgeous.  Sunny and beautiful and warm.  I hope it lasts as long as possible.  So yeah, back to the water.  I had my tennis shoes off before I hit the sand and then I just hit the sand running straight into the water.  My jeans were soaking but I didn't care, I was so happy to be in water.  It was no colder than Malibu and clearer that Hawaii.  We got to spend some time at the beach and then we went back to the home base and got ready for dinner.  Dinner was icky meatloaf so 13 of us decided to get cabs and go to the Waterfront.  The Waterfront is a lot like Fisherman's Warf, nice shops and restaurants right on the water.  We got pizza . . .  very yummy.  That was Sunday.  Monday was the complete opposite and possibly the most amazing day of my life.  Monday morning we filled into the vans again for more tours; however, today's tour was of the townships.  It was the most incredible experience of my life.  I'm still processing so it's hard for more to find the words.  I don't have many because I couldn't bring myself to bring out my camera.  I didn't want the people to feel like they were on a show or in a zoo.  Basically we just drove around to a few different neighborhoods and then got out to walk around.  The smell, the sights, everything was so overwhelming.  Once I've sorted out my feelings I'll fill you in.  Tomorrow I start my volunteering and I'm so excited and so nervous about that.  I'll let you know how it goes.  This is all so awesome but I do miss all of you at home.  This post is getting long so I'll say goodbye, but I love you all!

Hugs,

Amanda