Day 1: 14 Jul- Landing at the Cape Town International Airport
After almost 1 day long flight including transit at Addis Adaba, we landed at Cape Town in the afternoon. Walking around the airport, I felt as if I were in London. I mean Cape Town is not different from any western cities. Sis Hien told me : "next year you should volunteer in Viet Nam".
The representatives from the local volunteer group picked up us at the airport and drove us to the guest house where we would be staying for the entire trip.
Dropping our luggage at the house, we took a walk around the neirboughood which looked over the long beaches. I felt as if I were in a resort. We went to friday night market nearby and I definitely loved the ambiance. Food and drink were delicious and not expensive. There were a lot of free food samples and I ate a lot :P
I slept early that night but got a sorethroat and I didn't feel well at all :(o
Day 2: 15 Jul - Garden route lodge.
I was waken up by sis Hien at 4.37 am since my alarm somehow didn't work. The tourguide from Capextreme picked up us by car and we were on the road for almost 5 hours to reach Garden route lodge. I slept on and off in the car but still managed to get a glimpse of the sunrise through the van window. The view was breathtaking and romantic. At the safari, we got into a zeep for 2 hour game drive. It was freaking cold and windy. We saw lions, rhinos, ghee ta, zeebra, giraffes, elephants. The lions look very scary. I like the rhinos which are very huge and cute. The safari was an open large field with scattered animals so the tour guide had to search for them by chasing after their footprints. We also saw a which was killed by a gheeta per the guide based on the biting teeth. After the game drive, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant which had a beautiful view to the mountains. I ordered cream chicken pasta but only finished one third of my meal since it was too creamy. I enjoyed the english breakfast tea more and drank up the whole tea pot. After the lunch, we continued our tour to the elephant tour which costs ZAR600 just to play and feed an elephant not even ride on it. I guess i can get better deal in Vietnam so i decided not to join it and stayed at the tour house, doing some meditation and enjoying the quiet mountain view. I was entertained by the tour guide's 15 year old son who is very cheaky and smart. He made me a cup of coffee with milk and honey. I've never tried or thought of adding honey into coffee so this is a new discovery to me. My first thought is to buy honey after I get back to Singapore.
After all the safaries, we drove another 2 hours to guest house. We couldn't book any single rooms so we had to stay with other travellers who are all students in the dorm room. The age gap always matter and I feel old :(
I'm blogging while starving, waiting for the dinner.
Day 3: 16 Jul
I had a very good sleep last night, waking up feeling energetic and ready for a new adventure. After some light western style breakfast, we went on a 4 hour drive to Coven cave. It's called an adventurous tour and indeed took me a lot of calories. The cave was huge, marvellous and some stones were told to be 1.5 mio years old. I need to do a lot of crawls, etc... and i sweat as if in a gym. After the cave, i ordered ostrich steak for lunch. The meat is juicy and tender but too salty.
We headed back to our guest house in Muizenburg, ending 2 day safari trip. Overall, it was a new experience for me. The only problem I don't like is long hours on the road.
Day 4: 17 Jul
I had a pretty good sleep even though the light flu and throat inflammation irritated me sometimes. I wake up at 7 am, making some breads with omelette. I met Jeff who was making breakfast for his daughter. His daughter is below 18 so he had to accompany her. I miss my dad :( Thanks to him, I don't feel I am that old anymore.
Today is the orientation and I met all the volunteers coming from everywhere. I felt as if I were in a school tour. The program officer (I'm impressed that he can remember my name after I made 2 min self-introduction to the group) brought us around Muizenburg and explained to us everything about the volunteer work. I got to learn that the kids we will take care of have gone through harsh lives: they got exposed to drug use, violence, HIV, family member killed etc. The volunteers are expected to motivate, inspire and motivate the kids, not only be their teachers but also mentors, role models etc
We took a bus tour to Cape town. Safety is stressed multiple times during the orientation and we are advised to take uber even just a short drive. I had to hold my bag tight and refrain from taking pictures. I bought a nice painting for 2 elephants in red background for ZAR150 ( the seller quoted me ZAR400) which I thought of hanging it in my new Ba Son house. Later walking around the fair, i saw better paintings which have 4 elephants that represent my 4 member family 😂
On the same bus back to the volunteer house, i feel my cold getting worse so I decided to visit the clinic. Anh Nam escorted me; he is always one of my best friends who are there for me when I need them the most. It's a blessing i got from joining the Orchid group. The doctor was very kind and gentle. He gave me some pills to relieve my throat inflammation and some antibiotics in case my flu got worse.
Day 5 (18 Jul 2017)
Yesterday I probably had the best sleep as I didn't wake up anytime at night. This morning, the van drove us to the library where all the children gather together since it's now school holiday. From the car, I already see the kids smiling at us cheerfully, reminding me of the kids in Nepal. The kids probably age from 5 to 10+ years old, playing different things: football, badmidton etc. I couldn't imagine behind those innocent smiles are harsh lives. It's true that people's starting points are not equal. Personal capabilities and endeavours are just one factor contributing to their success. Doing volunteering work is to appreciate what I have in life.
The girls got around me and were very interested in my long hair. They asked whether sis Hien and me are sisters. They kept touching my hair and made me a braid. The library nanies typically cook 2 meals for the kids in a day breakfast and lunch and the kids go home after 1.30 pm. I played with them, read books for them, teach them English and assist in the kitchen. The kids were excited to their meals but we hustled them into a line. Most of them are cute and well-behaved but some were quite naughty.
In the afternoon, i did laundry and went for hiking in the nearby mountain which i heard links to the Table mountain. The whole trip took us roughly 4 hours. The weather was not so cold so we all stripped out to one clothing layer. The paranomic view was so magnificent with ocean, mountains and entire city. The atmosphere is fresh and the wind is breezy. I totally enjoyed this experience.
Day 6 (19 Jul 2017)
I wake up at 7 am for the past few days and today is not an exception. Definitely sleeping in cold weather is the most wonderful time. I made instant noodle with egg for breakfast. Today we didn't go to library but to an open field to play sports with kids. While waiting for the children, I managed to meditate for a short time. The landscape was beautiful, the sun raising in the background, creating glitter on the lake, pampas grass swinging in the breezy wind, ducks swimming peacefully, birds flying over the water. Those moments are priceless and I treasure every second.
When the kids arrived, they just jumped on me. I noticed a girl named Kelly who is very shy. I tried to talk to her and played with her.
- Do you have a sister?
- I have a sister
- Where is she?"
- she is dead when she was 2 months
I'm speechless and asked no more. Silence reigns. She is so innocent.
Later i found out Kelly was very active, she can play almost every game. Looking at those children's innocent faces and happy smiles, I feel joyful; they remind me of the kids in Nepal. I wonder how they are doing.
When I was tired, I sat down near the bank of the lake. Kelly was very attached to me so she sat down with me. "
- What do you wanna do when you grow up?
- Iwant to become a social worker"
- what does a social worker do?"
- Social workers will take care of children when their parents don't
In the afternoon, we went hiking at the lion head. It was about 2 -3 hour trip. I like activities which helps me to focus and practise mindfulness such as yoga, hiking and mountain trekking. My favorite experience was trekking in Stong State Park in Malaysia. I didn't blog about that trip but I'd remember some precious moments for life.
The trip is sometimes quite challenging. close to the peak, it is said that there were 2 routes to the peak: the recommended one and the challenging one. our group discovered the 3rd route called the wrong one. At the peak, the weather was foggy so i couldn't see the entire view. But i still managed to get some nice photos
Day 7 ( 20 Jul 2017)
Today the kids watched a movie in the library. I spent most of the time in the kitchen preparing food for the them. We cooked maize milk porridge for breakfast. I learnt several meals by watching the kitchen lady cooking for the past few days. She used maize powder as main ingredients and added butter into the big hot pot. I had to stir the pot continuously until my arms got tired. After serving them breakfast, we continued making pop corn and hot chocolate drinks while the kids were watching cartoon. Unfortunately the kitchen lady was not really skilled at cooking popcorn so one whole pot got spoiled. The smoke covered the whole big room. There was not enough pop corns for the kids and I felt really bad when some kids came to me and said : " teacher i haven't got popcorn". " sorry no more popcorn, we'll cooking lunch for you soon"
The van picked up us early this afternoon. We went to Tiger's Milk to try beefsteaks as recommended by the program officer during the orientation day. I have high standard when it comes to steaks so this was not so great given the initial overselling from the guy.
We went to Cape Town for sightseeing and watched sunset at V & A Waterfront.
Day 8: Friday
Today is our last day with the kids. I like the kids' holiday program for its variety. In the morning, we walked to the beach just in front of our dorm house. As usual, it's such a beautiful serene view with blue sea, white waves and long beaches in the south, marvellous mountains in the north, colorful cottages on the white sand. Grown up in a coastal town, I always think i'm a daughter of mother sea. Gazing at the sea, my mind is purified; all the junk thoughts are removed from my head. For some moments, there are just me, the waves, and the sea.
The kids were excited and stripped off their clothes, jumping to the beach in front of our amazement. Their whole bodies were actually shaking becoz of the cold weather but their excitement defeated the coldness. Some kids built sand cattles. I always find kids's imagination colorful and fascinating.
We distributed hotdogs and snacks to the kids for their lunch. Some were really naughty, kids are probably always fighting for more food.
I always had to resist my tears when it's time for saying goodbye. Looking at the kids waving us from the van, I realize no matter what's their skin color, kids' eyes are always sparkling like gems and their smiles are as joyful as sunflowers.
we went to Table Mountain in the afternoon. It is one of the new 7 natural wonders in the world, attracting a lot of tourists. The queue to the cable car was extremely long even though the ride just took us 5 min. The cable car was interesting since it can auto rotate passengers to offer them 360 degree view.
The peak is one of the most beautiful scene I've ever experienced. Love it :)
Day 9: Saturday
It is our last day and we joined a tour in Cape Town. Among all the places we visited, I was very excited at the Cape of Good Hope.
Day 10: We headed back to Singapore, our routine life :(
Finally, the fifth continent is ticked. I wouldn't be able to make this wonderful trip without my companions A Nam, c Hien and Juliana. ❤️ you all :)
