This
weekend was a nice mixture of relaxation and fun. On Friday I celebrated my 21st
birthday here in Cape Town. I will never forget the amount of excitement and
happiness that I experienced that morning. Traveling to Africa has been my DREAM for years and throughout all of my
transitions through college, it has always been such a driving factor. I cannot
even put into words how blessed I feel to finally be able to live out this
dream. I was able to enjoy my first full
relaxing weekend poolside and catching up on much needed sleep. My birthday
consisted of an energized run, relaxing poolside and a delicious pizza dinner
in Seapoint followed by a stroll on the boardwalk. While on Long Street later
in the night I excitedly found two of the interns from work and spent some time
with them. I just can’t get over how amazing and friendly everyone is here.
Saturday
we went to a soccer game in one of the 2010 World Cup Stadiums. Having watched
the last couple World Cups and become more interested in European soccer, this
was such a cool experience for me. Though I have only seen the spirited soccer
fans on television, it was fun to be among them with Bongi (a coach and mentor
for the Khayelitsha Fire Fighters, a local youth soccer team) heading the excitement.
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| (back row) Alex, Sarah, Taylor, Maddy, Shona, Sara, Claire, Rachele, Laura G (front row) Karen, Ashley, Anna, Kaitlyn, Laura T before Ajax vs Cape Town City game |
Though
I am excited for the future, coming in today was hard as a few of the kids from
our first day were no longer there. It was especially hard since we had no indication
of how close their current state coincided with a departure date. When we last saw them, some of the kids still
had the metal rods in their legs. I
must remember that a lot goes on in the four days we are not there. It’s sad
that we will no longer be able to see them but I hope I will be able to continue
creating bonds like these with the new kids. I do worry about how these kids
will be able to fully heal once they are discharged since many live in
impoverished areas like Khayelitsha or Gugulethu. I also worry about the
likelihood that they will be readmitted in their future because of the
dangerous situations that they are involved in.
In
other news….my parents are coming in two days and I could not be more thrilled.
So much has happened in the last month and I’m so EXCITED to show them some of
the most special places. Have I mentioned I’m excited? But with this said, I
cannot believe that we’ve been here for a whole month! It’s crazy to think of
how well I have adjusted to this new lifestyle despite having never lived
anywhere (outside of school or home) for this length of time. I can’t wait to
see what the next two and a half months will bring.
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