This is the motto of my new school, University of Western
Cape, and it could not be more fitting for my experience so far in Cape Town. I
finished reading “Love Does” by Bob Goff right before coming, and he is a big
believer in saying “yes” to everything. I am trying to embrace this idea as I
enter this new world that is completely different then my one back in St.
Louis. I am going to try to summarize all of the things I have said “yes” to
over the past week.
My group hiked Lion’s Head, one of three big peaks of Table
Mountain Range that we are planning on hiking many times. I often share that
nature is my favorite way to tune into my faith, and this hike reaffirmed that.
I could see God’s hands in the beautiful city beneath us, in the teamwork of
everyone in my program, and in the breathtaking view from the top. I loved getting to know people better and
playing Twenty Questions with Kari and Kaitlyn. It took us about an hour and a
half to reach the top, where we all sat down and stared into the clouds. It was
one of those moments that you will remember forever, you know? For that moment,
nothing else mattered except what was right in front of us.
One thing that always makes me smile is that right when you
walk out of our front gate, there is a heart that someone drew into the cement
(remember, it is the small things).
One of our group’s favorite past times is hanging outside on
the side of our house. It is the best sanctuary to go to if you are tired or
need to unwind. Nick was kind enough to hang up his hammock on two trees, so
that has become the favorite spot. The sun beats down on the side of the house
during the day, so we will often sprawl out there to read/layout/talk/paint/journal.
Today I laid in the grass and listened to some of my favorite music and it made me very happy.
So you wouldn’t believe the dinner we had the other night! We went to an African Café as a big group including Pearnel (our awesome
driver), Melikaya (our program director) and Ethel (our RA who is a grad
student at UWC). I got to try sheep intestines, antelope and ostrich (gross,
ok, pretty good). There was AMAZING live music and dancing going on at the
front of the restaurant and I was the first one to go up and start dancing with
them. The best part was when my entire group went up to the front of the
restaurant and started mimicking the dancers. The whole restaurant was staring
at us as we tried to shake as fast as the dancers and kick our legs as high as
they were. It was one of my best memories so far.
I got to finally go to my service site, SAFFI! I was only
there for fifteen minutes to meet the six-person staff, but that was enough for
me to feel welcome and excited about what lays ahead for me. Every morning they
do a morning prayer/devotional and they let me join them when I arrived. We all
got to go around the table and contribute and it made me feel right at home. My
friend Kari was also kind enough to come with me and I am really glad she did. SAFFI stands for South African Faith and Family Institute and their goal is to
stop gender-based violence against women.
They go out to different communities in Cape Town and teach people how
to help end the problem. I am not sure what my part will be, but I know God
will allow me to use my strengths to help them.
One morning I went on a walk with my friends Cami, Zan and
Domonique. We got to explore Observatory more (this is the happenin' area that
we live in). We saw an abandoned circus, graffiti spray painted on walls, some
men singing Eminem songs (he has a concert here in Cape Town…I might go!). I
love how a simple walk here can be an adventure. The whole time you are walking
there are huge mountains looking over you, by the way.
We took the train to a beach a few days ago and I very
blessed for the opportunity to go surfing. It has been on my bucket list for a
while now and it was just nuts. We all rented surfboards and wetsuits and
headed out to the ocean with our instructor. He was really patient with us and
told us when to get up on our boards. I managed to stay up for a few seconds on
my own and I even caught a wave all by myself. Our instructor was nice enough
to yell “SHARK” and I was surprisingly calm as I quickly paddled to shore.
Turns out he was just kidding. But there are really sharks there; the
instructor said there was one the day before we were there. Yikes.
I watched Free Willy because my friend Duke was appalled
that I had never seen it. We have a television in our lounge area so we watched
it there. Some others joined us and I got to say, it was pretty darn good. The
lounge area has some bookshelves with a lot of interesting books (including
some psych textbooks), so I am l looking forward to reading those.
As a group we travelled by train to Old Biscuit Mill, a
market that is a few stops away. It was the best people watching I have ever
seen. Just to show you how friendly South Africans are, I told a lady her pizza
looked really good and she offered me a bite. The people here are so beautiful (I am pretty sure they do not even own t-shirts or workout shorts).
I would fit in with my skirts and bows I wear at school J
Cami (my friend from SLU) and I found our new favorite coffee
place right by our house. It is called Mimi’s Café and I enjoyed the best
cappuccino ever even though it was sweltering hot outside. It was really nice
getting to know her better and I cannot wait to grow in friendship with an
awesome person like herself. And to drink more coffee there.
I have been really enjoying reading the Jodi Picoult book
Liz got me as a present before I left. People in my program are very well read
and I am determined to read more classics now. Cami has a friend who is trying
to read the Bible from beginning to end and I would like to have that be a goal
of mine.
We hiked Devil’s Peak and it was for sure the hardest hike I
have ever done! But also the most awesome. It is like you are doing the
Stairmaster for five hours I kid you not. I got to do the “toast” before we
started our hike. We all held my hiking stick (a random stick that I found on
our first hike that I now hold dear to my heart) and blessed our journey. It
was pretty funny. Reaching the top of the mountain was very rewarding and the
view we saw was something that can’t even be described. You feel really
empowered on top of the mountain. It’s incredible.
My friend Duke and I went to Cocoa Café and grabbed some
smoothie drinks the other night and it was really nice to hangout with her
more! She is the one who I am watching Shawshank Redemption with because she
said I have to see it (I would highly recommend it). She makes a
good impression of a baby and Patrick from SpongeBob.
Cami, Julia, and I walked to nightly mass on Wednesday,
but when we got there we found out it was Anglican. It was only us and one
other person there, and I think the priest could tell we did not entirely know
what was going on. It was interesting noting the differences between a
Catholic mass and Anglican mass. Regardless, we are going to find a Catholic
church nearby to go to next time.
This experience has been like a dream. I don’t know how I am
lucky enough to be here in this moment right now. I want to be honest about the
hard parts, too, though! It is weird that an experience can be so good and so
hard at the same time. There have been times here when I have felt really
alone. Especially when I am at school. Yesterday, for example, I was at the
university by myself for the whole day and I felt really hopeless, to be
honest. I knew no one, I could not find anybody to help me figure out where my classes
were, I sat by myself while eating my lunch. But then I told myself that things
were not going to get better with that attitude. So I went hunting around for
something that makes me happy, and I found myself outside of the offices of the
religious groups on campus. The Catholic group on campus is called Assembly for
God and I am hoping to get involved there. However, they were not there, so I
looked inside the room next door. I saw a boy walk out and I asked him what
group this was. He just pointed his finger into a room so I went inside, and
soon I found myself partaking in Muslim worship! It was so great. The girls
there let me borrow a veil and dress and they showed me how to wash off my body
before entering prayer. They then let me follow their movements and the whole
time they were giving me encouraging looks. Afterwards, they all gave me their
numbers and they said I should come back all of the time! They asked me when I
converted to Islam, and I assured them I was Catholic and I was just interested
in getting to know their religion better. They said that was great. This is
only one small example of how, whenever I get down, I am quickly brought back
up. I am telling you, EVERY SINGLE TIME ON THIS TRIP THAT I HAVE FELT BADLY, GOD HAS PUT SOMETHING IN MY PATH TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. It is amazing how much my faith has grown since being here. This whole
experience I have been out of my comfort zone, and this makes me rely on God
because he is a constant in my life. I am around new people, I am going to a
new school, I am walking different streets…but God has not changed for me. And
even though I left behind all of my best friends and family, I have my number
one cheerleader, guide, and inspiration with me.
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