Anna on the outer and inner beauty that is Cape Town

WOA. The only word I can seem to find to articulate my feelings about the past week. We have all successfully completed our first official week of class and internships. After getting off to a slightly hesitant start at my internship placement, I finally feel as though I understand my role and am settling in. After attempting to introduce the character “Elmo” to the girls at Beautiful Gate that I have been working with through a coloring book, they thought I was introducing myself, therefore I am now affectionately known to them as none other than the red fluffy guy we all know and love. Having no background in social work, I came to Beautiful Gate thrown essentially into the unknown but have since fallen for the loving people and children that make up Beautiful Gate and am excited to watch the girl that I am working with, Tandiwe, grow.

After a week of internships and class, we decided to head to Muizenberg on Friday and try our luck with surfing, which was a “gnarly” experience. Prior to the trip, when I mentioned that I was heading to South Africa for the semester, I would often get comments about the large population of great white sharks that inhabit the surrounding waters. Ironically enough, just as we were about to jump into the water the warning sirens blared and everyone was forced to evacuate and stay on land until the, believe it or not, great white that was spotted, moved on. We spent the rest of the day kicking around a “football” on the beach and relaxing. The contrast in atmosphere and environment that exists in such close proximity still amazes me. It is difficult to go from working in the Townships throughout the week, to the majestic beauty of the coast and beaches. There is so much want in a country so stunningly geographically beautiful. However, in getting to know the townships, although they may not be as shiny, they possess a beauty of their own captured in the hearts and minds of the people that call them home.

Saturday proved to be quite the adventure. We set off in the morning, intending to meet Mk at Mazolli's a popular restaurant in Guguletu. We went in search of a minibus taxi that would take us there, but found that we were on the wrong route and would have to walk to a completely different location to catch the correct one. However one generous driver and his caller, decided that they would be willing to take us. After engaging in conversation about what we were doing in South Africa and so on, the driver not only gave us his phone number so that he could come back and pick us up when we were done, but gave us the contact information of a friend who would lead us on a hike of Table Mountain and Lion's Head. When they dropped us off in Guguletu, they would not let us get out of the taxi until we attempted to make contact with the friend that we were meeting there. We then proceeded to have an amazing lunch of lamb, chicken, steak, and sausage. When we first arrived and sat down, the man sitting next to us, literally just handed us his baby to play with and began an in depth discussion on race and racism in the US, reenforcing the ongoing theme of friendliness and openness to conversation that the people of this country continue to show. After eating, we had the same driver come back and pick us up, thinking that we were simply headed back home to Rondebosch. We were wrong. After hearing our stories and mission, the driver decided to show us some of the surrounding townships, we saw a local Muslim community, and a Somalian settlement. After driving by the caller's home and waving to his children, the driver decided he wanted to take us to meet yet another friend who was in charge of an NGO in Manenberg. There we met Kiet, a native South African and NYU graduate who founded the Manenberg People's Project, an advice center for residents of the townships, and a possible focus for my activist project. After hearing Keit's mission we piled back into the minibus, once again thinking that we were headed home. Not quite. The driver piloted the van to main street Manenberg where a parade was taking place, the residents were clothed in native dress, a marching band playing and children and their families lined the streets to watch them pass. As this is one of the more dangerous areas, the man acting as the caller for the mini bus, quite literally led us through the mass of people so that we could take pictures and experience what we learned later to be a friendly competition that is held between townships each year. After this whirlwind of experiences the driver did bring us back to Rondebosch, stating before he let us out of the bus “when I drive people who look like they can make a difference, I  try and show them around.”

I am not one to look for signs, or to preach the concept of fate, but it seems that fate or the like was with us on this particular Saturday.

Sunday we went back to Kirstenbosch Gardens and saw “Freshly Ground” an amazing group, known as the band that backed Shakira's hit “Waka Waka.” I continue to see my time passing here in absolute awe, at the experiences that I am having, friendships, and connections that I am making. No day is left without adventure. I consistently wake up in the morning knowing only one thing, that my day will not once go as planned, and it's enthralling.