Week One Update

(These posts are all going to be really long - sorry, I have a lot to say)

So I've been here a little over a week, and I am in love with this country. Working in the school is absolutely amazing. This week I've gotten to do one-on-one reading and spelling lessons with each of the kids, which has been really cool cause it helps me learn their names. The teacher that I work with (Mrs. Wyngaard) said that the kids NEVER get one-on-one help because of the size of the class, so it's really cool that i get to do it. During their free time, some of the kids even come up to me and ask if they can read with me more. Some of these kids have really bright futures ahead of them, if only they were given the same chances as everyone else. I already know that it's going to suck saying goodbye to them. A few kids asked us if we were coming back next year, and I wish I could say yes.

At night we either go into the town (Muizenberg, not Cape Town) and just hang out or stay in the house and just get to know each other more. One night this week we went to a open mic night, which was a cool experience to see some local artists. This weekend was so much fun. On Saturday morning we went biking through wine country, and we stopped at three different places for wine tastings. Then we went into Cape Town for dinner and a little barhopping. We grabbed a hostel in town instead of going back to Muizenberg because we were spending the whole weekend in the city. Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and went to Robben Island. It was AMAZING to be in a place with so much history. (Look it up on Wiki if you don't know what it is - really interesting stuff.) We got a tour of the prison from a former inmate and got to see Nelson Mandela's cell. Then we came back to the mainland and spent some time on the waterfront. We got lunch, went shopping, and enjoyed the street performers. It was an authentic South African boardwalk! At the end of the day we went to church, which was something we were looking forward to experiencing here. It was one of those mega-churches with a lot of people, and it was like a rock concert.

This is seriously the life guys. Volunteering in the morning/early afteroon, then chilling on the beach, and then hanging out with cool people at night, and then on the weekends we get to experience everything that South Africa has to offer. I never want to leave.