South Africa Part 2

04 June 2008 Wednesday
Today we had our placements in the morning and then had an HIV/AIDS workshop in the afternoon. South Africa has a population of approximately 40 million people and there are 6.5 million people living with AIDS. There are also 2 million orphans due to AIDS.


05 June 2008 Thursday
After our placements in the morning 14 of us took the boat tour out to Robben Island. It was a beautiful day and thankfully the seas were calm. Robben Island has help many high ranking political prisoners. Nelson Mandela, and Pan-African Congress leader Robert Sobuke were prisoners here. The last prisoners left in May 1991.





















06 June 2008 Friday
The first weekend here, without having to deal with jet lag! The kids get out of school at 12:30, and as part of a school fundraiser the grade 7 students sell homemade donuts and hamburgers. The learners, as they call them, get their treats and get to eat them on the carpet while the rest of the learners are doing their work. That afternoon we went to a local coffee shop and wrote out some postcards and tried to get to bed early for the safari the next day.



07 June 2008 Saturday
Our alarm went off at 4 am. We were picked up and headed northeast toward the Breede River Valley. We arrived at the Aquila Reserve in about 2 hours time. There was a lot of sleeping on the trip there. We had a terrific breakfast with steamed milk for our coffee, and loads of great fruit. Then off in a jeep for our safari.
















The "big five" animals to see are the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. We spotted 4 out of the 5 even with rainy weather. We were able to see a family of hippos, elephants, springbok, rhinoceros, lions, wildebeest, buffalo and giraffes. It was a fantastic time and was followed up with a delicious lunch. It was then time to head back to Cape Town with our driver Moses.



We took a different route home and went over Helshoogte Pass which gave us beautiful views of the valley. We were also able to see baboons on the side of the road looking for food. We got home in the later afternoon and went out to Long Street for a great dinner at Mama Africa and caught some great live music.

08 June 2008 Sunday

After sleeping in a bit today we got a cab and headed to the Green Point Market. It is held every Sunday and Bec and I found some great things to bring home. We went went down to the Waterfront to continue our day of shopping and picked up a couple more things. Eric this is where I found something for you... We then grabbed a bite to eat and headed back home.

That is it for now, I hope you are all doing well and I love reading your comments! Love~Katie

The Trip to Cape Town and the First Couple Days in Cape Town

29 May 2008

The flight to Cape Town included an 8 hour layover in London. Thanks to Christine's Mom I was able to get myself around London and on the Underground. I got off to see Big Ben and grab a coffee near Buckingham Palace.

It was an 8 hour flight from Denver to London and then an additional 12 hours from London to Cape Town.

31 May 2008 Saturday

I arrived in Cape Town at 8:00am on Saturday morning. We were able to go to our new home for the month in a town called Rondebosch, a suburb in Cape Town. I was able to meet my roommate, Rebecca and we unpacked and had lunch. Then in taking Eric's advise we decided to push through the day and save sleep for that night. We went down to the Waterfront, an area in downtown Cape Town where there are shops and restaurants and where you can catch the fairy to travel to Robben Island. We did some walking and sightseeing and then stopped and had a beer by the water. The day ended with dinner at home and a much needed good night rest.

Sunday 01 June 2008

We had our orientation in the morning followed by a drive up Signal Hill and a trip down to Camp's Bay. We were able to see the soccer stadium they are building for the World Cup 2010. We were also to see some wetsuit dressed surfers down by Camp's Bay.

Monday 02 June 2008

In the morning we went on a township tour. We were able to hear about the history of a couple of the townships including District 6. Also, we were able to walk through a bed and breakfast run by a local woman in the township of Khyelisha. Then it was an afternoon of orientation about some of the history of South Africa.

Tuesday 03 June 2008

The first day of placements. I am at a primary school working in a first grade classroom. I am not quite sure what I will be doing yet, but it was an interesting day of observation. I guess that's about it for now. Hope you all are doing really well and hope to hear from you all soon! Love~Katie