Cape Town part 2

I've just moved in with my home-stay family about 30 minutes away from my classes here at B.I. at a township called Ocean View. My roommate Shaun and I will be living together with our family for our last week in Cape Town before we fly back home on May 5. We will be living with Dan and Moira who have 3 boys and 1 little girl. They have been so warm and welcoming to us already, and it's been a true blessing to be a part of their family. I'm really excited for the time we get spend together this week.

So far, I've had an incredible time in Cape Town. From hiking Table Mountain to visiting Robben Island and the waterfront, I've experienced a lot of Cape Town in just one week.

This past week has been full of field trips, adventures and seafood. Our first field trip for our South African history & culture class was a walking tour of Langa, a township outside of the city center. Langa was very different from Haniville in Pietermaritzburg. Instead of dirt roads and mud & brick houses, Langa had paved roads, street lights and 2 community centers. While I'm sure a lot of the differences have to do with the size of each township (Langa was way bigger), I saw a different culture and attitude with the people of Langa than I saw at Haniville. Our guide explained it to us this way: the Xhosa people of the cape provinces were historically the more educated tribe in South Africa, which is why we saw no children around the streets on a school day. Langa still has its fair share of problems, but I have a lot of hope for the next generation that is being raised in the township right now. We concluded our walking tour with yet another South Africa braai which I was totally ok with.

After a day of classes and volleyball, our next field trip was to the top of Table Mountain. We had the option of either taking the cable car up to the top or braving the trail up. I opted for the hike, which was really more like 2 hours of stepping up rocks. The view on the way up made it all worth it though, as we climbed up a small gorge looking back to the city center and harbor below us. When we made it to the top, I saw ocean water for almost 360 degrees. It was incredible. On one side, I could see out to the cape peninsula and False Bay, while on the other side I could see Robben Island, the city center, Lion's Head mountain and Signal Hill. On top of that, we were blessed with a perfect day free of clouds and wind, and nothing but African sunshine.

After I finish classes today at B.I., Shaun and I will go back to Dan and Moira's house in Ocean View where we'll eat and spend the evening with them. Life is good right now, and I'm trying to forget the fact that I'll be leaving this amazing country next Wednesday. Next up this week: cape peninsula tour, soccer game in Cape Town, and Stellenbosch.

P.S: I have really limited internet access while I'm in Cape Town, so I'm sorry I haven't been able to post any pictures that I've taken here. I will try to put some up once I get back to the States next week.