Saturday, May 23, 2009

[Sorry I cant put pictures up now... the internet isnt too great here!! Ill do it as soon as I can!]

Today was the day of the ultimate tourist. We were picked up around 9 for a tour of the cape. The tour was amazing. We drove all through the peninsula all the way to the very end- the most southwestern point of Africa. Our tour guide had so much info to share with us and I learned a lot.

Our first stop was hout bay. There was a quaint little town nestled in the groove between two mountains and lining the coast. There we took a boat out to “seal island.” It was very simply a small island covered in seals. Not that exciting. Except our teacher missed the boat. She just disappears sometimes… and our tour guide went to look for her and we waited for a while but she never came to the boat so we went without her. It was funny but we now sing “where in the world is Deborah Sutton” pretty much daily. She goes missing a lot. We don’t know where she goes.

After this we stopped at a beach that was covered in penguins. It was called Boulder Beach because there were huge boulders in the ocean! The penguins are only about 2 feet tall at the most. Maybe only a foot and a half. They are known as Jackass Penguins because they make a sound like a donkey. These penguins also do really adorable things. The hope and it’s the cutest thing ever. Also when they find a mate they stay with them for life. They circle around each other and they even kiss. Sometimes they link wings like they are holding hands. Also they are always together. We almost always saw two penguins together. Never just one.

Next we went to an Ostrich farm. I’ve determined that I reallllllly dislike ostrich. We got to see 2 that had been born about an hour before. I also got to feed one. And we ate lunch at the Ostrich Restaurant. It was a little weird eating them after seeing them but I cant say I particularly liked it anyways. But they are very stupid animals and they have ugly feet.. Ill be fine if I don’t see one again.

After that we went to the Cape of Good Hope. That is the most South Western point in Africa. It had a beautiful view. Right along the water a lot of kelp had washed up into the rocks. I had never seen it up close but it was surprisingly huge. It was at least 6 inches wide. Also, it was covered in little bugs. They were crawling all over the place!

The last place we went was to Cape point. This is the point at the end of the cape peninsula. There was a light house at the end that we went up to. It was gorgeous- just like every other view! We hiked hundreds of steps up to the light house. At the top there was a post that said how far we were from a bunch of major cities and which directions they are in. I was 12, 541 kilometers from New York!!

That night it was my roommate’s 21st birthday so we went to this club that was on the 32nd floor of a building with windows all around. It was really cool because we could see the whole city and it so cute how they dance. It was completely different since its such a different culture.

I really enjoyed the tour and it was actually beneficial cause I learned a lot about the people too. The tourguide was great and told me and another girl a lot about the South African health system. There is another tour that tours the townships (like Masi). They visit the town, talk with the people, and meet a healer. The money goes to building a youth center and towards a childrens soup kitchen. The soup kitchen feeds 80 kids a day! They also get the left over fruit from markets once a week to give to the soup kitchen. Such a great thing. I also learned so much about the health care system here. I’ve found that talking to people is where I learn the most. These people have so much to say and so many individual stories that you wont hear anywhere else. Although I might have been on a guided tour, I learned so much.

I cant say Ive found what I want to do with the rest of my life, but being here has really given me a great idea of what I like doing. The passion of the people and the desolation Ive seen has shown me how little people can make a big difference.