Finally... Cape Town

Okay I'm sure I have a few people mad at me for taking so long... But I really have been busy!! And as you can see we did quite a lot and it actually took me like hours to write this thing !!!!

So.. I have to go back as far as Halloween. I dressed as a police officer and I went to a party with my host sister. It was lots of fun but nothing like Halloween in Canada since you can't really trick or treat here in SA!

 
Then on Friday November 5th I set off to a Rotarian's house for the night so that we could leave early for Kimberly (the Big Hole) on Saturday morning. We had a lovely dinner and of course all the students had to do dishes. We had 2 new additions to the "team", Leonie from Germany and Coline from Belgium that are from a different district but joined the tour. We stayed up playing UNO but had a relatively early night because we were to be ready for 5 am the next morning.

Saturday morning came and went as we drove south towards Kimberly. We

got there in the afternoon and settled in at a small resort called the Gum Tree Lodge. We swam for a bit and played Jenga then we went to the Big Hole. I'm sure some of you know the importance of Kimberly in the DiamondMining Industry- but for those who don't, Kimberly is home to the biggest man made mine in the world and has produced 14504 566 carats of diamonds. It is massive. We watched a movie on the history of the mine (Cecil Rhodes and Benny Benito) and then got a tour of the museum that is there onsite. It was really cool to find out that the measurement of carats came from the weight of caron seeds. We go to see in the vault which was filled with millions of dollars worth of diamonds. We then went back home for dinner. After supper we went to a monument dedicated to the people who died in the siege of Kimberly. This was the beginning of our "Ghost Tour". We visited a few more historical sites and then a grave yard. At night. Yah it was eerie. Then it was back home and into bed.

Sunday was quite uneventful- just driving to Cape Town. It was beautiful though when we pulled in and I got to see the ocean for the first time, as well as Table Mountain. We moved into our HUGE house in Hout Bay and we walked to the beach, which took all of 2 minutes.We played on the beach until it was dark and went back to the house for dinner. We heard about the plans for the week and some rules and then it was bedtime!

 

  

Monday was a full day- we left quite early and met up with the Cape Town Exchange students (one of which I had already met at Grand Rapids!!!). We then went to a series of Rotary Projects: A safe house for raped or abused women and children, a community for "intellectually developed people" so that they can live a normal life, a educational centre that teaches locals skills so that they can get a job, and a primary

school in a township. We then headed back to a Rotarians House for an amazing Braai. We had soooo much fun with the other exchange students just playing around, taking pictures and talking about our experiences. We really didn't want to leave... But we did, and it was straight to bed once we got home. (We never really stayed up once we got home... we were getting up at like 5 or 6 every day and getting home at 10 or 11)

Tuesday was also a busy day with lots of driving. We drove to the Cape Point, to the Boulders and Boulders beach (PENGUINS!!), Simon's Town for lunch, Fish Hoek Beach (famous for shark attacks), and across town to another Rotarian's house for another lovely Braai. Then of course we did the dishes and it was back home. Then after a cup of tea it was bedtime again!!

                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday was a physically exausting day- as it was the day we climbed to the top of Table Mountain. It was probably the hardest work out of my life... but the views from the top were so worth it! It was so beautiful and it was such a nice day (especially for Cape Town!). It was sunny and hot, instead of the norm which is cold, cloudy and windy. We then ate a quick lunch, and then we went down in the Cable Car. We had a bit of time to recover as we walked around the Cape Town Waterfront District while waiting for the ferry to Robben Island. We got some biltong in a small mall and got on our ferry. It was a beautiful view of Cape Town from the sea although it was quite cold in the middle of the bay. We got a tour of the island by bus- then a tour through the different buildings by an ex-inmate of the prison. We also got to see Nelson Mandela's cell and where he did his work. On the way back to the harbour it was so beautiful with the view- the sunset and on top of that there was dolphins playing in the wake of the boat! We ate dinner at Spur, which is a common steak house here in SA, and it was probably the most fun we had all tour. Our councellor bought us balloons- and you should have seen us. It was like we were 5 years old again. When we got home we had to practice the speaches that we would be reciting the following night at a rotary club. We had to speak for two minutes about our host clubs and why we became an exchange student- which is alot harder than it sounds, even when you've known english your whole life. We stayed up quite late perfecting our little speaches and then bed time!!!

We got to sleep in on Thursday (thank god!!) and we travelled to the outskirts of Cape Town to Stellenbosch which is the winery region of South Africa, well it's the most famous one. We did a tour of one of the wineries, and it was really beautiful. We got to  try 6 or 6 different kinds of wine from the Fleur du Cap brand. I won't lie- some of the students were getting quite tipsy and it was really, really funny. We had the opportunity to buy wine after that and we drove off with a van full of wine and exchange students... which I think is quite funny. We were then going to drive to an Afrikaans shop, but we got lost so we headed back to Hout Bay. We had a quick boat trip out into the bay to see Seal Island. It was really cool but quite smelly. After we got back to the  harbour we got ready  for the Rotary Meeting and drove there. We had a lovely dinner and all managed to live through our speaches. Afterwards we just hung out with the club's outbound student who will be going to Brazil in January. Then it was back in the van- and back home- and back to bed.

  Friday was quite sad.. We were already packed by the time we had finished breakfast and we rolled out of Cape Town quite early. We drove to Oudtshoorn, which is known for being in the middle of nowhere as well as the home to all the Ostriches. We visited an Ostrich farm and learned quite alot about them as well as how they are used as a resource. We were lucky enough to hold a baby that was just about 4 hours old! It was kind of cute.. but also kind of ugly haha.  After a quick tour we got the opportunity to ride the ostriches! I did of course. It was scary and quick but was absolutely exciting. We then stood on the ostrich eggs and then it was off to the Cango Caves. We did a tour through the caves, big and small and it was so beautiful! It was hard to believe that all these formations had been made from underground running water. After we got settled into our little cottages on a different ostrich farm we went out for a nice dinner in town.

 

Saturday we left Oudtshoorn after eating breakfast in a lovely Afrikaans cafe and bakery. We drove and stopped for lunch on our way to Gariep Dam. It was quite an uneventful day- just driving and eating mostly. We got to our cottage which was right on the water. We watched the sunset and had a braai. After dinner we just played cards and relaxed.

 

 

 

Sunday was the final stretch of the way home... It was a lot noisier and a lot more fun than the way down. We all wrote little journals and made a Video Diary also. The Cape Town trip was awesome. I want to go back !!!

 

 

 

 

 

Delay on Cape Town

Hey guys, I’m sure that you’re all waiting to hear about my amazing Cape Town trip. But I’m not going to write about it right now because I have to leave to write an English exam soon. I will be writing a very detailed blog once my exams are done- when I have time to write it. I just wanted to say that I know I’m neglecting you as well as this blog but I do intend to fix this !

Mwahs

Package from Canada!

I’m so happy I finally got my package from my Mom! For those of you know me well- you know that I love my clothes. And I finally got them here in South Africa! I just thought I’d write a blog while I’m still in such a good mood!

 

IM EATING FUZZY PEACHES!!!!!!!

Since then…

Okay okay I know I’m kind of slacking with the whole blog writing thing- but think of it this way: I’m too busy and having too much fun to sit on a computer and write about all the fun stuff I’ve been doing! So once again here’s a list and a few pictures of things that I’ve done since September 5th!

• I’ve written exams in all my classes, and actually did pretty well! I got mostly 50%’s which is actually good because a 35% is a pass here! I even did well on my Afrikaans exams: 11 and 42%! I was so proud of myself! The one I got 42% on was translated into English but the other one wasn’t and I still got 7 questions right from just guessing!
• I’ve been to the Bushveld and met all the other Exchange Students! For those of you who don’t know what the Bushveld is, picture a dessert with lots of bushes, if it helps you can picture a zebra running around. We stayed at a game camp where there were hunting trophies (yes, animal heads. Like Zebras and Giraffes) all over the dining room. Literally as you ate the Giraffe would be staring at you or the Springboks would be right next to your head. But I guess that’s South Africa! We didn’t do much the first day but we had a lot of time to meet different outbounds, it didn’t take much time to meet the inbounds- there’s only 7 of us. The sleeping bunker was quite stuffed with bunk beds and there was a big crack above my bed, but apparently this was one of the better camps because it actually had a sleeping bunker!! So in the morning we chatted about the Capetown trip…Oh yea, I’m going on a Capetown trip on November 6th-14th with 8 other inbounds!! Then after that we did some camp activities- like an obstacle course, shooting guns, playing a game that is a mix between baseball and cricket and going for a walk around the camp to see wildlife (which we didn’t see). So the food was terrible, I got no sleep and didn’t shower, but over all it was a great South African Experience!

     

       Sunset in the Bush!                     Me and the other Inbounds!

• I went to zoolake for National Braai Day with my family. We had a picnic and everyone had a good time, we went home later that day and had a Braai. Zoolake is a park with a lake the people like to canoe or kayak on, and it was packed with families and friends gathering together for the holiday, it really had a great atmosphere.
• I then started holidays and went to Sun City for Spring Break with my siblings and a few friends. I’m sure you can all imagine what Spring Break would be like, and it was a lot like that but there were also rides and families and things. It was great to see friends out of school and to meet new people!

                  

Me at a fountain at Sun City!                           Palm Trees = Beautiful

                                          Lazy River- Met some Friends!

• I went to Gold Reef City with a few exchange friends as well as Haley and my friend Alexa. It’s a theme park that has a old western feel and has peacocks running around. Also I was attacked by one of these peacocks… it was really scary! So we spent the day going on rides, walking around and eating pizza.

 

             On the Anaconda!                 This was the Peacock I was attacked by…

• I attended an art evening at my school which was a display case of all the matric’s (grade 12’s) work and there was also musicians from our school and lots of food. (It kinda reminded me of the GBSS Coffee Houses!)        

Dress made with Magazines                       Me and a wolf painting :)

• I volunteered again at the clinic called Siyanqiba, painting faces and making skipping ropes out of normal rope. It’s always a lot of fun helping these kids and seeing a smile on their faces, even though most of them don’t understand English!
• I went to Museums, Historical sites, Churches and “Squatter camps” in Soweto with another exchange student and a bunch of grade 9s. This day was really an eye-opening experience in the History of South Africa as well as the present conditions a lot of people live in in Squatter camps. For those of you who have seen District 9- well that’s a Squatter camp…and that’s pretty much what it looks like, if not worse. It was nice to see people smiling even though their living conditions were so poor, and to see them come together for the children by building a school facility where if a child goes to school they get 3 meals a day. On the way to the Museum we  walked past the Mandela House- where Nelson Mandela lived for nearly 50 years and then he donated to the City of Johannesburg because of it’s historical value. That house was where he lived for the whole time he was an activist, located right in the middle of Soweto. The Museum we went to was called the Hector Pieterson Museum and I really learned a lot about the changes from the 1950’s to now. It was incredible for me because the majority of the protests and awareness raised was organised by students. It really made me feel guilty about how unaware our youth is and also made me feel empowered… Without these students in the 1970’s- South Africa could still be under Apartheid and people could be treated unequally. We also visited the Regina Mundi Church which is home to the “Black Madonna of Soweto”, where the original painting hangs. The church is scattered with bullet holes from the police (yes, in a CHURCH!) and the Historical Photos were inspiring.  The whole day was enriched in South African History and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to go there, especially into the Squatter Camps and Hostels as few people go there on tours, since it is such a different lifestyle- and an unappealing one at that. I really am thankful for all the people who made that trip possible.

 

          The Black Madonna                         Me and Pun at the Mandela House

          

    Me at the Regina Mundi Church                    Gumboot dancers at the Camp

       Me and Pun signed the wall!                                 Mosaic

• I got my report card!!! And I did very well! I got a 57% average, when a 35 is a pass here. I got 26% in Afrikaans- which isn’t a pass, but I got  26%!!!! My highest mark was in Computer and Technologies , followed by Life Orientation and Maths. I’m so proud of myself! :) :) :) :) I know 57 doesn’t seem like a lot but I passed quite well for here, where an average in the 60’s is almost in the same regard as an average in the high 80’s in Canada. It’s funny how different it is when the work is quite similar and the students are very bright.

Anyways so there’s a recap of what I’ve been up to. Now here’s what I’m looking forward to! I can’t wait for Halloween (I’m making toga dresses for me and my friend Clarice if my costume doesn’t get here in time from Canada!) as well as the Capetown trip! The time is flying by and I promise I will be better at making blog posts in the future- but as you can see I’m usually quite busy. On a normal night for me I am either going to the gym, going to a rotary meeting (on Wednesdays), watching movies, going shopping, walking the dogs, doing homework, having a nap, learning to cook curry and writing these lengthy blog posts!!

Spices to make curry!

First Month…

So I know that I should have been writing blog posts all along, but to be honest I kind of forgot and I’ve been busy. So here is a list of things that I’ve done

• I’ve introduced myself to the school, At Assembly. So I got up on stage, in front of the 1000 and some students at Northcliff High. I remember standing up from my chair, and then I remember sitting back down. What happened in between, is pretty blurry in memory. I do remember what I said though, but only because I practiced it before I went up there. I said “Hi, my name is Emily, I’m from Canada which is just north of America (because no one knows where Canada is). I've been here for 3 weeks and I will be studying at Northcliff for a year. Thank you”. I consider it a near death experience.
• I’ve gone on holiday with my family to a resort in Bella Bella called Warmbaths. It is a waterpark with camping as well as cottages. Oh ya- they also have warthogs!! Surprisingly they looked exactly like Pumba from the Lion King, but a lot smaller.

Wart hog @ Warmbaths             Matthew, Trent and I at the wave pool

 

• I went paintballing with my friend Alexa and my host sister Haley. I still have 3 bruises from where I got hit, but it was a lot of fun!
• I’ve had several Braai’s, which are bbq’s, but to the max. There is so much food its ridiculous, but there is always a lot of food here! You start with snacks, then chicken wings, then ribs, then steaks, then sausages (or that was the menu for one of them). As you can imagine I was full after the chicken wings.
• I’ve gone to a car racing event with my host Dad, Brother Matthew and Sister Haley. It wasn’t a special event but it was a lot of fun spending the day at the track (where I saw two Lotus’)
• I attended “Inter-high” which was a track meet for all the “A” athletes. There were 4 schools that attended, but we had the most students there for support as well as the most athletes. We won with 250 points, and school in second had 177 points, so we did very well. This was actually my schools 14th year winning “Inter-high”.

Cheerleaders at Inter-high and Me and my friends Alexa, Taylor and Megan at Inter-high

• I have attended Rotary Meetings, and presented my Power Point on Canada. Everyone was very impressed with the presentation but I was criticised for saying “Torono” and “Oddawa” instead of fully pronouncing the t’s.  But other than that they were very interested about Canada, especially how huge it is compared to South Africa. They loved the pictures of the scenery and asked a lot of questions about the Great Lakes.
• I ate curry at an Authentic Indian Restaurant in the Indian District in down town Johannesburg. It was quite honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. The naan was covered in garlic and was to die for.
• I  attended a talent show at a children’s clinic with the Interact club in my school. The clinic is just a facility in which the children go to to use the library or do crafts. They are also fed breakfasts lunch and sometimes dinner. It really is just a place for the children to go. The talent show was great, and the kids were adorable. There was a group of girls who did about 6 diferent kinds of traditional dances as well as “waka waka”. After the show we did facepainting for the kids, and then after that my friend Alexa and myself got our faces painted like the South African Flag- which was perfect because there was a rugby game on that day.

Dancers at the Talent show                  Me and Alexa with our facepaint

I’ve made a lot of friends, and at school my classes are English, Math, Afrikaans, Computer and Technologies, Business and History. I go ice skating with my host brother at least once a week, and have made dinner for my host family a few times. I’ve met the other exchange student who is in my school- his name is Pun and he is from Thailand. I will be meeting all the other Inbounds and Outbounds on the weekend of September 18th for a Bushveld weekend (which I am very excited for!!!!!). I’m also trying to get onto the Capetown Trip and am planning on going on the Kruger National Park Trip. I’ve also been invited by the wives of the Rotarians (the Rotary Ann’s) to go to a cottage just outside Kruger on the weekend of the 24th of September which I also plan to go on.

For those of you wondering about the puppies- there is only one left !

I know because I don’t write that many blog posts that you may have some questions! So feel free to email me at emyy.darling@hotmail.com ! Hope everything is going well in Thornbury and with the other exchange students around the world!!

 

xoxo

Emily !