Smiles Abroad

June 10, 2012

This morning, we made up for the rainy-day Friday that we missed.  We took the road towards Cape Point.  Our first stop, Chapman's Point.  Luckily, it is a beautiful day outside, and everyone was camera happy.  Understandably so, for the water here is absolutely breathtaking.  Whenever anyone asks what I would prefer, the beach or the mountains, I usually chose mountains.  Here, I am able to get the best of both worlds.  After our stop here, we continued on to Cape of Good Hope (Kaap Die Goeie Hoop - in Afrikaans).  Cape of Good Hope was once believed to be the location where waters of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean collide.  Even though this is now proved not to be the case, I still believe that worlds collide.  English, Dutch, Spanish and Afrikaans are some of many languages spoken here.  People from around the world came to climb on the rocks and take even more pictures.  

We arrived at the ocean, and many of us chose to take a couple mile hike to the top of the cliff.  Though it wasn't exactly the "leisurely walk" we were told, the behind the scenes look at cliffs made it completely worth it.  In the words of Colleen, "It looks like Narnia!"  Kind of cheesy, but incredibly true.  We made it to the top where Ali and I ordered avocado, bacon and feta pizzas for lunch.  It was a bit difficult to eat, for there were baboons.  Yes, I said it.  Baboons.  Victoria ended up running from one of these hungry animals while it was chasing after her and her bag of chips.  Needless to say, these animals provided quite a bit of entertainment.

Next, we went to Boulder's Beach to see the African Penguins.  These guys are absolutely precious.  They're so small, and we got to see a little hole with grey, fuzzy little penguin babies.  It was very difficult not to just grab one and smuggle it out of the park.

June 9, 2012

Yet again, this Saturday started with the one and only Old Biscuit Mill.  Besides the UGA Visitor’s Center of course, Old Biscuit Mill may be the happiest place on Earth.  The food is not simply tasty, it’s beautiful.  Each and every person who works in the shops and food stands are so genuine (and so talented!)  We’ve all been joking about the Cape Town 15 with how much we’ve been eating, but the diet can start when we are back home.  You’re not in Cape Town that often!

After having an amazing waffle and ice cream, a group of us went to Long Street.  This street is right off the Green Market (a square that is NYC’s version of China Town), and it has some wonderful shops.  Though I couldn’t find anything, it was nice to spend some time wandering the downtown Cape Town streets that we don’t get to see very often.

June 7 - 8, 2012

Today, the weather rivaled that of Twister.  It was storming, and the oceans' waves were massive.  The lagoon practically disappeared under all the water and the mess.  Needless to say, it is a good thing we had an off day today.  We stayed inside, worked on our papers, and let our bodies catch up a little with the go-go-go mindset they have been in for the past few weeks.  Sadly, we learned that our Cape Point tour for Friday was cancelled due to the same bad weather.  Little did we know that this would be a blessing in disguise, for everyone needed about two days off to catch up with the exhaustion. This evening we went to Panchos, a Mexican restaurant, then festivities at Tiger Tiger.  

Friday was about the same sort of day.  We all slept in until 11-12. I woke up feeling like there was something to do, someplace to be, or something to see.  Luckily, we were able to relax until dinner at Camps Bay this evening.  A small group of us ate at Ocean's Blue, which I highly recommend for anyone lucky enough to come on this experience next year.

June 6, 2012

Day three of educational week is wine tasting and blending.  We travelled about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town to Franschhoek, home of the wine country.  The owner and founder of the winery met us at the bottom of her long, windy driveway to escort us through her gardens.  This winery is called Haute Espoir, so of course I loved the French name.  It means "high hopes" not only for the owner's hope for good wine, but also because we were situated right in the mountains.  When we reached the winery, we divided into community groups to taste and blend wine.  Each team had one hour to find a blend and create a label for the bottle.  Dionysis' Dames, as we were called, tied for first place.  The prize? A case of wine. Maybe I have a future in the wine industry now.

We explored the town for lunch, and I had the most amazing banana and bacon pizza.  Don't judge a book by its cover - this stuff was amazing.  Ever since that breakfast I had in Stellenbosch, I think bacon and banana is my new favorite combination.  We also tasted a chocoate store with a pretty interesting story:

A Belgium chocolatier wanted to set up a chocolate store in Franschhoek.  He talked to the members of a local township and offered to pay 100% for two young men in the community to travel to Belgium and learn the art of chocolate making.  He paid for their travel and all expenses in Belgium.  When the two men came home, they set up this incredible store right in the heart of Franschhoek.  

We all came back, planned on going to Mama Africa, but everyone who went to the winery ended up sleeping for too long.  So, I ate chocolate cake for dinner, and all the over-sleepers spent the evening together.

May 5, 2012

We had an amazing class to start out our day today.  Overcoming Obstacles.  Something we all will have to do at one point in our life.  Big or small - there will be that rock in your road that you think you just cannot get around.  Joanna taught us the meaning behind "Keep Calm and Carry On" and how to a crisis into opportunity.

1. It is one thing to tell your story.  It is another to live your story.

2. You mess will become your message.

3. The last human freedom that we posses is  our ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances.

4. Our ability to respond rather than react will be a key factor in moving forward.

5. It is not what happens to us, but what happens within us that shapes our future.

6. Character is never made in a crisis but it is revealed in a crisis.

7. Although darkness surrounds you, the darkness does not have to be within you.

8. Trouble handled rightly will encourage those around you.

9. A crisis does not have to define you, but it will shape you.

10. A crisis should call you to your highest & best, rather than your lowest & least.

It was really amazing to hear inspiring stories about taking these rocks in your way and inspiring others with what you can do.

June 4, 2012

Day One of Educational Week.  Sadly, this is our second to last week here, so we are trying so hard to take in every moment of it.  We went to Robben Island today, and wow - I was amazed.  My history geekiness was going over the top.  Robben Island was the home of the jail where prisoners have been sent from as early as the 1600s.  More recently, it was used to send political prisoners during the apartheid.  Interestingly, only colored and black prisoners were sent here.  They are separated into different areas depending on the crime committed, color of your skin and the position you hold in political parties.  We were able to see Nelson Mandela's cell, but I liked that the entire tour was not focused on him.  He is incredible, and I've learned so much from his principles.  But, there were many stories shared about all the prisoners that lived there.  For example, our tour guide himself was a political prisoner.  He was arrested in college for a list of crimes involving sabotage.  It amazed me that his man who suffered through so much in one place would be so willing to give tours of the very rooms that gave him pain.  When I asked him why he wanted to be a tour guide here, he said that it was the best therapy he could imagine.

After Robben Island we went to Saki for half price sushi and drinks.  I somewhat tasted the sushi, but I am still not a full sushi-goer yet.  Who knows?  This trip may make me one.  Some shopping around in the mall allowed us to discover the Cape Town version of Anthropology, Poetry.  Needless to say - it was a hit.  A group of eight went to dinner at Harbour House directly on the water, and we also met the Argentina U-20 soccer team.  It reminded me that I literally cannot speak a word of Spanish.  It was entertaining to watch Ali try to communicate though.