It really hasn't been THAT long since I last wrote but it sure feels like it to me! I've done SO much in the last 8 days that it feels like months! It's funny how time passes here...you meet someone and the next day their gone and then you meet new people, you're in a wineland on one day and on a beach another and then in the same day on top of a mountain, you spend 3 days with children...you do so much in so little time that it feels like forever. I kinda like it. :-) Although I'd be lying if I didn't say I didn't miss home a little bit. I wish I could pick up a bunch of friends and family and have all these experiences with them. Not that the people here aren't enjoyable, it's just that the things I'm doing are so remarkable that it would be great to share them with the people I love.
Speaking of remarkable things...I DOVE WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS! I DID IT! I wasn't a bit nervous...I was actually shocked how at ease I was. I barely slept the night before because I was so excited. Just the thought of being in the water with such an enormous creature was invigorating. I'll put captions under the pics to give a little more info but I'll just tell you...I was the first one in the cage. There were 16 tourists on our boat, 12 intended to dive. The waves were really rough and because so many people got seasick, only 8 dove. We were only meant to be able to go in once - for 20 minutes - but because most people were puking overboard, I was able to go in twice. We waited 1 1/2 hours for our first shark sighting and the minute the first one took the bait, I had to jump in. I nearly pissed my pants. The instructor was speaking so quickly - he pulled my wetsuit over my head and my mask over my face. He said "Hold the bar in front of you and sit back against the buoy in the cage. And remember - DON'T PUT YOUR ARMS OR LEGS OUTSIDE OF THE CAGE!" I think the only thing I really heard was about the arms and legs! The shark was right outside the cage and for a few moments, I was alone in the cage. I saw the whole thing underwater instantly. I nearly lost my breathe right away so I had to come back up but the adrenaline never let up from that point on. I saw TONS of sharks, both underwater and from the boat. It was A W E S O M E! You are only able to dive with Great Whites in South Africa and Australia so it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! It is definitely one of the Top 5 best experiences of my life, thus far. It's up there with playing "The Cowardly Lion" in 5th grade and my Bar Mitzvah.
I took some pics of BAP this last shift. I got some great shots of the kids and I took some pics of the flat that we stay in. I've been meaning to take photos of the house I stay in while we're in Cape Town. It's really nice. Last shift was perfect. They've just gotten better as I've gone along. We trained some new volunteers so now we won't have to do so much menial work and we can play with the kids more. I'm really starting to care for them. There are 2 that I really wish I could adopt. I know I'm not in the place in my life where this is even a possibility and that kills me. I really hate to see them living at BAP. DON'T get me wrong - BAP isn't a bad place. They're better off there than anywhere else in Khayelitsha. But when they turn 18 they leave BAP and then they have to fend for themselves in the township. I think about taking them to the park or the zoo or the aquarium - things kids in the states take for granted. They don't need the coolest shoes or playstations or mounds of toys and dolls. These kids deserve to see the world the way I was lucky enough to see it...from my bicycle, or on the back of horse at summer camp, or in the seat of a movie theatre. Most of them won't ever do that. That's the "hard" part.
The last two days have been filled with exploring Cape Town a little more. As I've mentioned, there is SO much to do. Yesterday we took a tour of the Winelands and tasted about 24 different wines from 3 different vineyards. 1 of the tastings was paired with cheese and another with chocolate. I love wine and food so this really hit the spot for me. I love to nurture my inner gourmand, though I don't spend the money to do it that often back home. It was nice to spend the day drinking and eating finely. The vineyards were, of course, beautiful. The estates lush and elegant. I didn't buy wine but I did buy some cheese - 1 was a chevin rolled in paprika and black pepper and other a camembert rolled in herbs that gave it mushroomy, nutty flavor. Delicious!
And then today some of the other volunteers and I went to Camp's Bay. This is one of the wealthiest parts of Cape Town - comparable to San Diego or Newport Harbor. Nothing much to do but lay on the beach and sit in that cafes. We did that and also hiked Lion's Head, which lies just next to Table Mountain. It's a really nice hike and the views are usually stunning - although half way up a huge cloud pushed in and we saw nothing but grey. We were hoping to get a glimpse of sunset over the bay but didn't. It was fine, though - the hike was still nice.
I take these little excursions and I constantly think about how weird it feels, after being in Khayelitsha - it's like 2 different South Africas. I think about how drastically different life is lived in each place. It feels like I'm on 2 different trips. But I know I'm not. And that is why this place is such a paradox - Cape Town has two distinct sides. And the sides barely ever get to see the other side. If a white sees a township, it's on a tour and if a black sees a suburb it's to work. The discrepancies I was told about as I sat between two South Africans on the way in are apparent to me every day I'm here. They make no sense and as I near the end of Mandela's memoir, it makes me sad. Sad to think that they've come so far but still not far enough.
