Quick follow up from the
first entry - my bag finally arrived! Not until Monday afternoon, but I
couldn't have been happier to see it.
I’m not sure who is
following this, but I know my Mom has been anxiously waiting for an update so
get ready! Due to jet lag/culture shock/meeting new people/the stress of not
having my bag I will admit I have slacked on the blog responsibilities but I’ve
got a system now so no more lagging I promise J Unless the Internet fails
like it did yesterday when I tried to post...anyway, since SO much has happened
in the last few days I’ve decided to create 2 posts so all you readers out
there don’t have to sit through a novel in one sitting, especially since I
won’t post again until Sunday or Monday when I get back from weekend #1
adventures. Also, the rest of my posts will have pictures included but since I
haven’t had a camera and it’s not the best idea to have your Iphone out all the
time, this one is strictly written descriptions. Here we go!
If we're being totally
honest, I almost turned around 3 times on my way to South Africa. Luckily I've
gotten smart enough to not listen to my brain when I start over thinking, and
thank goodness I stuck with it! I can already say with confidence - I love it!
To start, I was greeted at the airport by a man named Moses (he drives us
to/from volunteer sites every day) who immediately after confirming I was the
last person he was waiting on gave me a HUGE hug and said "Welcome to
Africa!" From then on everyone I have met (in the program and locals) has
been extremely nice. Here’s the rundown on where I live/who I’m spending
all my time with -
I live in Gordon's Bay,
which is about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. From what I've seen and been
told it's a pretty safe area, assuming you use common sense (don't flash around
your money or electronics, don't walk alone at night, etc) If you take a 10
minute walk from my apartment you end up at a marina where there are a few
restaurants on a pier, then another short walk down the beach is "main
street" Gordon's Bay with a few pubs, restaurants, and tourist shops. On
Sunday the program coordinators gave us a tour of the area that was a lot of
fun, and it happened to be the only sunny day we're expected to have this week!
I'd post pictures but my camera was in the lost bag. I’ll have plenty more
chances to get some though so don’t fret :) For any of you who have been to or
seen pictures of Northern Spain the beach/bay here looks like the ones in
Bilbao and San Sebastian, but the water is a little clearer and has rocks
protruding in the shallow areas.
Alright some info about my
living situation/roommates! I live in a complex called Mont Blanc where GVI has
3 apartments next to each other, each with their common area serving a
different purpose. One is the resource room with a ton of different books and
arts and craft materials and tips from past volunteers, one is the "living
room" where there are couches and a tv/dvd player, and the last (where I
live) is the kitchen and shower (most bathrooms here only have a bath - ew haha)
There is also a town house a few blocks away with 3 volunteers, there are 12 of
us all together – plus 1 program coordinator at each location. My immediate
roommate is Clare from England, she's really nice and we get along great. I am
very proud to say that I converted her to being a fan of peanut butter
yesterday! It’s a big deal considering in one of our first conversations she
told me she hates it so I officially made it my mission to get her to like it
by the end of my stay – only took 3 days! Our first night here we had a
mini-vocabulary lesson on American vernacular versus British. In general,
Americans seem to be the odd ones out compared to any other country - shocking
haha I have also met people from Greece, Bolivia, New Jersey, Virginia, and
there are multiple people from Australia and England. Needless to say dinner
conversations have been quite entertaining! There is a group of 5 of us bonded
right from the start so we already have plans for every weekend I’m here!
Okay that’s enough…
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