We arrived without any problems yesterday afternoon and were welcomed into our new home-away-from-home in Observatory. The house is equipped with 8 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen/laundry room, two fridges, and three coffee makers! And a pool! But don't worry, we are staying humble and living a simple life with only cold water.
After we settled in the neighborhood and went on a grocery shopping adventure, we freshened up and made a toast (with sparkling apple juice) to the legacy of our new sisterhood. Then we met some students from Illnois and Pennsylvania at a local bar to ring in the new year. We were home at 12:26 which may sound early and lame, but I would like to announce that we have set a new New Year's Eve record for AU Alt. Break!
South Africa definitely doesn't put the same monetary value on New Years celebrations, but I think we have all agreed that one cultural difference is that people are more enthusiastic about the new year. Since we have been here, we are consistently greeted with "Happy New Years" and smiles! We woke up this morning at the same time that most of our friends back home were probably beginning their celebrations. After making breakfast and using one of the french presses to brew some coffee, we all piled into our Scooby-doo style stick-shift van with our trusty driver, Loyiso. The view as we drove around Table Top mountain was absolutely captivating and, before we knew it, we were at the waterfront. According to our itinerary, we were supposed to tour Robben Island; unfortunaely, the winds (which were whipping through the air at a brutal 72 km/h) were stronger than the ferry, so it was closed. The Robben Island exhibit was closed and just gave us the opportunity to shop for souveniers.
We explored Nobel Square, which commerorates the 4 "local" Nobel Peace Price winners, ate a picnic lunch by the water, and Mindy even tried a new job as a Haggen-Daz ice cream shop worker! (It didn't last long -- she ate too much of the ice cream.)
Our afternoon was quite adventerous! We went to the beach with the hopes of catching up on some reading, soaking in some summer sun, and getting a quality ocean-side nap. Well, remember those 72 km/hr winds? They were worse at the beach. Much worse. Shannon was the only one brave enough to completely submerge in the water. (crazy girl!) Mindy, Megan, and Stephanie tipped their toes in the water without the intention of getting wet, but mother nature had a different idea for us. The 12 ft. waves crashed in and not only worreid us for our lives, but also caused a sand storm! So the rest of the group stayed huddled up trying to protect any skin from the harsh beating of sand granules. Needless to say, the 2 hours we were planning to stay at the beach turned into 20 minutes.
Our journey to Cape Town so far has been a good chance to relax and get a feel for the city. Tomorrow starts off our more service-based activities! Updates to come!
Keep sending prayers and positive energy our way! Love to all xx
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