Experiencing South Africa
WARNING: This is a long post, however, there is a video at the end if you are a visual engager rather than a reader!
Imagine being in an area where the houses are made of scrap materials and fabric. Many high fences with barbed wire on the top, creating a prison like effect. The people are wearing worn and tattered clothes, some are bare foot, and look like they have not showered in weeks. There are women with babies wrapped around them with a beach towel. Fight break outs and bullying is a norm here. Such a place is Capricorn in Muizenberg, South Africa. For the past four weeks of my winter break, I volunteered at Sunrise Educare Center in Capricorn. This organization is run by Dreams to Reality, which is one of the many programs sponsored by IVHQ (International Volunteer Headquarters). While in South Africa, I spent my weeks volunteering with the children that live in this area. During free afternoons and weekends, I spent my time with other volunteers and experienced the culture of South Africa.
I left for South Africa on Friday, December 14th and traveled for a total of about twenty-six hours. I woke up at 5 a.m., and drove with my dad to Dulles International Airport. I checked in, and said goodbye to my dad. My next stop was Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta International Airport is now my least favorite airport in the world. I have been through the largest airport in the world (Heathrow International Airport), and yet that airport is less complicated than Atlanta. It seems the terminals are all in opposite directions. It took me a half hour to get to my next departure gate. Once I arrived I sat and relaxed. My next flight was not until 6 p.m. My next flight was to Johannahsburg, South Africa. It is roughly a fourteen-hour flight. This is the longest flight I have been on so far, and my least favorite by far. Towards the end of my flight, I started to go a little stir-crazy and I was sore from sitting for so long, not being able to sleep, and in the middle seat of three (which is by far the worst seat on the plane). When we finally landed I was met by an airport worker who helped me transfer to my final flight to Cape Town. They wanted us to be sure to get to our next flight on time. When I finally arrived in Cape Town, I had to wait about two more hours for other volunteers to arrive before the Dreams to Reality driver could take us to the volunteer house. At this point I was exhausted from all of the traveling, but enjoyed meeting some of the other volunteers. Several times during the long trip, tears came to my eyes as I realized that I was finally doing this program, something that I have dreamed of since I was seventeen years old. It was so surreal to believe that the experience was finally coming true.
When I arrived I immediately became close with my housemates. We got to know each other quite well within the first couple of days, and it felt like we had known each other for so long. On Sunday my roommates and I went to Muizenberg Beach for a few hours. We also went to Checkers (the Giant of Muizenberg) to get bottled water because the tap water in not very safe to drink here. That evening, all of the new and current volunteers went to dinner at a restaurant on the beach, and then back to one of the volunteer houses to hangout. We had a similar schedule on Monday, except that the new volunteers, including me, had orientation. At orientation, our program head gave us a tour of Muizenberg (which is probably the size of Fredericksburg – not very large), and went over program and house rules. During orientation, we were given a huge background on the town the children live in. It was hard to listen to, but even harder to see it in person. I felt so selfish, as there are times I have complained about little things going wrong in my life, when I have had it pretty easy. These kids have witnessed some intense things at such a young age and some are traumatized, however, they do not complain. For them, they believe that this behavior is the norm.
On the first day of program, it was raining. Normally you might be upset about the rain, however, we were all very excited, because Cape Town has had a significant drought and desperately needs rain. The drive from our house to the daycare is about twenty minutes, and the change from our town to theirs is drastic. I had seen a couple pictures of the town, but pictures never do justice to actually seeing the sight in person. My heart dropped when turning into Capricorn and seeing the shack-like houses. I immediately felt so selfish. Not only do I have a house and loving family at home, but running water, electricity, heat and air conditioning, as well as clothes and personal belongings. These people have almost nothing. We always hear about these types of towns and people, but we donate and move on. Actually seeing the town changes your view on life entirely.
Program was scheduled roughly the same each day for the kids. They arrive, play for a bit, eat breakfast, play some more or do a planned activity, and then eat lunch and clean up. The planned activity would always be something like making Christmas cards, painting, dance contests, or some other fun and easy activity that would be fun for all ages. After the first day for the new volunteers, all of the children would give us hugs, and were so excited to see us all again. It is amazing how much trust they have after only spending a few hours with us at the daycare.
Program ends around twelve o’clock everyday, which gives us the rest of the day to ourselves. It is nice, as sometimes there is something all of the volunteers and I plan, or it’s just a simple beach day.
The first week here, I had several beach days at the Muizenberg beach. A few volunteers and I would go after program just to layout in the sun for a bit, and eat lunch at one of the local restaurants as well as window shop. Beach days are definitely more relaxed, and care-free. Another popular thing we did together was go to various town markets. The first one we went to was at Cape Point Vineyards which was a more up-scaled market. The second market we went to takes place every Friday, two blocks away from our house. The main pieces for sale at these markets were art, jewelry, and homemade jams. These markets offer a wide variety of food dishes to try. There are so many options, and everything is so affordable, that you’d be able to try several.
I also went to one of the seven wonders of the world, Table Mountain. Some volunteers and I took a cable car up to enjoy one of the most stunning views I have ever seen. It was there that I discovered these groundhog-like mammals, called Dassies, that can only be found on this mountain. It was an unforgettable experience.
My second week here had a lot more on the itinerary, due to program not taking place over Christmas. We only saw the children on Monday for the Christmas party, which was a lot of fun. The smiles and hugs that were given by them were so touching. It is an amazing feeling knowing that we were able to make their Christmas’s special, and give them a party that they deserve, as most will not celebrate in their households.
For the rest of the week, it was pretty relaxing. I spent Christmas with some old family friends, which was nice, as I haven’t seen them in a long time (some for five years, and others for twelve years). It was nice to spend Christmas old friends because it was my first Christmas away from home, but it felt like I was with family. Apart from spending Christmas with friends, I also had a few beach days, including Boulder’s Beach which is the home of the South African Penguin. This was my favorite beach to go to, not just because of the penguins, but although it is a tourist attraction, it is fairly secluded. While there, I interacted with many penguins, and because they see people on a regular basis they are not afraid to get close to you. They almost act like the people on the beach, walking around finding a nice sunny spot to lay in. It was so interesting to watch them interact with one another. During this week, I went on my first safari at a park called Inverdoorn. It is focused in cheetah rehabilitation, however, they have many other animals including the Big Five (Elephants, Rhinos, Lions, Leopards, and Cape Buffalo). On this safari I saw four of the five, excluding the leopard as it is rare to see them in a short span of time. This second week was filled with a lot of long days adventuring out, and exploring Cape Town.
We only had a couple days off during the third week before starting back at program. During those days off, we went to Camps Bay beach, which was a nice relaxing day and then went to Signal Hill to watch the sunset (as the sunsets are absolutely breathtaking in this country). On New Year’s Eve, all of the volunteers went to a music festival to ring in 2019. It was fun to experience my first night out on New Year’s Eve in South Africa, however, I think I am one of the very few people who would rather stay in with family and friends on New Year’s Eve.
Program started back on January third. It was the last week of holiday program before the kids all go back to school, so I knew it would be my last time seeing some of the older kids. It was bittersweet, as the older kids really look up to the volunteers as a role model. A lot of them grow relationships with certain volunteers, and do a lot of activities outside of program with them. They put so much trust in us, and we do our best to give them the love and support in any way we can. They are some of the most well-behaved, talented, and kind kids I have ever met.
On Friday of my third week, I had booked a three-day safari through a company recommended by my program head. I left early Friday morning, and was the only volunteer from my program who went. My tour group and I all became fast friends, as we were around similar ages, and all very outgoing. Our tour guide was also a lot of fun and entertaining. On the first day of the tour we went on a safari that had the Big Five (like my first safari, only saw the same four out of the five). We settled at the host house where we were staying before spending the rest of the day at the beach near by. We all went swimming in the ocean. I attempted my first try at Rugby (not my strong suit in athletics) and we played a few games before going back home for a braai (barbeque). The second day, we went to an elephant sanctuary where we interacted with elephants, and got to walk them trunk in hand. We got to learn all about their build, and feed them. From there we made our way to Bloukrans Bridge, the highest commercial bridge to bungy jump off of in the world. It is 216 meters high, which converts to about 708 feet. This is one of the main highlights of the tour, and I consider it was one of my biggest accomplishments, as I am terrified of heights. It was a huge adrenaline rush, and I do not regret doing it at all. The last thing I said into the camera before I jumped was, “Sorry Mom”! It turned out to be one of the coolest things I have ever done. I thought it would be hard to top this day, but our last tour day, I got to go to a Wildlife Ranch, which is a rehabilation center for many different animals. I started off with a tour of the ranch and learned about all of the different animals being cared for, and then could pay extra to interact with some of them. Because the US dollar is so much stronger than the South African Rand, I decided to do all but two encounters. I got to hold a lemur and a boa constrictor, as well as pet an adult cheetah, a serval, and baby cheetahs. Lastly, I got to cage dive with crocodiles which I thought would be a lot more terrifying than it was. After jumping off a bridge, this felt mundane. However, I did jump when he snatched food as a reward for coming up to the cage I was in. After the wildlife ranch, we headed home after a fun-filled weekend. It was the perfect way to spend my last full weekend in South Africa.
I started early Monday morning with a paragliding session with other volunteers before heading to program. My last week was the start of school program, which was regular daycare for children from the ages of two to five. Most of the kids I had not met before, as they did not participate in holiday program. The classroom I was assigned to was for children aged two going on three. They were all so sweet and loving, constantly wanting attention (like any young child). It was crazy to me how engaged and interactive they were at such a young age. Even though I only knew these kids for a short week, they won my heart over immediately.
My last week outside of program was pretty relaxed. I spent most days at the beach. I went on a horseback riding trip to Noordhoek beach. I have ridden horseback before, however, I have never gone riding on a beach rarely faster than a walk. We got to trot the horse when we got to the beach, and I thought I would not be scared at all (yet for me, that was the scariest experience I had while in South Africa). Feeling like you are about to fall off a horse was more intimidating than jumping off of a bridge! On Thursday evening, I went back to Cape Point Vineyards to the food market with a few new volunteers, which was a nice way to spend one of my last nights.
On my last day of program, the teachers asked me to say a few words about my time volunteering with these kids. They had not done this previous weeks, so I was not expecting this at all. After saying a few words, the kids all clapped, and I broke in to tears. One of the teachers I worked with said a few words about me after that, and one of the boys in my class gave me a hug. The children then sang me a song, and I continued to cry tears of happiness and sadness. It is truly crazy how short of time I had with these kids, and how fast they won over my heart.
For my last day in Cape Town, I decided to take a few of the children I had grown close to out for the day. Another volunteer was kind enough to come with me, as six children is a lot to handle alone. We took them ice skating for the first time. It was hilarious to watch them struggle on the ice, and try to figure out how to skate. After we skated for an hour, we went to a nearby arcade, where they got to play lots of games. Although we did not win any tickets to get prizes for each of them, a few kind strangers gave us theirs, so they all were able to get each of them something small. After a few hours together we headed back to their homes, but stopped along the way at McDonald’s so that they could get something to eat for dinner. When we dropped them off, I said my goodbyes to them and we parted ways. I never have experienced a tougher goodbye.
I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity. This experience really opened my eyes in seeing how different lifestyles we have here in the States compared to people in less developed countries. If I did not have the option to do all of the outside excursions I did, it would not matter. These kids made my trip even more incredible than I ever would have dreamed. I hope that I am able to go back one day to see them, and volunteer with Dreams to Reality again, and for longer than four weeks. For now, I am just so thankful to have gotten to be a part of these kids accepting me and letting me be a part of their lives for a short period of time.
