Yesterday was an EXHAUSTING day, but my favorite day on the trip so far. We did wake up at 5 30, and a group of twelve of us hiked Table Mountain. Let me be quite blunt. I threw up my entire breakfast within ten minutes of the hike. The trail we hiked was STRAIGHT uphill, and I can honestly say it was the most strenuous activity I have ever done. I wanted to turn back so bad, but after taking many breaks, I made it to the top!! I was so proud of myself, and the view was incredible. We got to see the sun rise and the mountain overlooks the entire city. Pictures don't do justice. My legs are really feeling it this morning, but the experience pushed me. I am so glad I did it. That afternoon, even though we were really tired, we went horseback riding and got to the sunset. My horse's name was Echo. We rode along the beach, and again, the view from the ocean was awesome. I got great pictures of the sunset. Seeing the sun rise and getting to watch the sun set. The adventures I am getting to do on this trip keep reminding me of how blessed our group truly is and of how beautiful and unique God made this world. To add to the adventures, were waking up at 5 30 again tomorrow to shark cage dive with Vince Dooley! Supposedly the sharks' noses come practically into the cage and it is such an adrenaline rush...

I forgot to add this but before I sign off: Barbara Dooley spoke this morning about overcoming obstacles. She had breast cancer and also talked about the challenges of having a football coach for a husband. Her sense of humor and young spirit make me admire her so much. She's an one-of-a-kind lady with charisma and class. 

Kirstenbosch

We spent the afternoon at Kirstenbosch, the prettiest botanical gardens in Africa. It hosts 9,000 species, and I felt like we were in Japan. The garden gave a close-up, full-range view of Table Mountain. Absolutely breathtaking! After touring around the garden, I fell asleep on a bench underneath a huge tree. The weather was the best it has been since we've gotten here. It was about 75 degrees and no cloud in the sky! Before leaving Kirstenbosch, we ate at The Silver Tree Restaurant, and I had the best meal I've had since being here. It was real juicy chicken with blue cheese, avocado, and roasted peppers. Mmm, it was delicious. Tomorrow we are getting up at 5:30 (yes, I am getting up that early), and we are hiking Table Mountain. Were hiking the Skeleton Gorge route. It's a much shorter route, but that means it is a lot harder. Wish me luck! But once we get on top, we'll see the sun rise, and  I know that will be totally worth it. We're going to eat breakfast on the top, and take a cable car down in time for our meeting. 

Today, Kevin Scott, one of the leaders of Global LEAD, was our speaker. He talked about having a vision for our life. He explained that "living life merely takes a pulse. But making a difference and having a vision, takes a plan". We made a bucket list for our lives, and I focused on in a major dream of mine: to minister to kids in a Spanish speaking country, either by teaching there or witnessing to them. Kevin was a very motivational speaker. After lunch, a few of us girls went to Long Street, which is a busy and popular street, and we shopped through the markets and museums. I bought a cool painting- its colorful and is a picture of the slums. We have a busy week this week! Tomorrow we go on a tour of the botanical gardens with Vince Dooley. On Wednesday, we are going sunset horseback riding. Thursday, we are painting school buildings in the slums. Friday, we are going cage shark diving!! (Wish me luck!) and Saturday we are taking a tour of the wine vineyards in Stellenboesch. Then, finally, whew, Lizzy, Alix, and I leave for Victoria Falls on Sunday for a week! I'm excited about the action- packed week. We're going to see a lot of different sides of South Africa. 

Saturday at the Waterfront

Today was a fun day on the waterfront! It is much colder than we thought here. All of our days so far have been really windy and its been cold. A bunch of us might make a run to the mall and buy some fleeces or boots! We woke up around ten and went to the lobby to sign up for our adventures with Adventure Extreme. I signed up for a surfing lesson, quad biking (which is like four-wheeling), and sunset horseback riding. At Victoria Falls, later in the trip, we'll be elephant riding, abseiling ( kind of like rock climbing), and chimp sanctuary visit. Anyways, we met in the lobby around one and went to this restaurant on the waterfront. One thing I've learned about the culture here is that they love to take long meals here. All of our meals here have lasted like three hours! It's different from our culture, but it is nice to relax more and enjoy the company and food. I never notice how rushed I am in the states eating. They always bring the credit card machine to the table because there are so many cases of fraud in South Africa. After lunch, we went to the mall to get groceries (saving money on meals, eh?) and some other necessities. Now, were back at the apartments- Vince and Barbara Dooley just arrived! They are really excited to be here. Who knows whats in store for tonight..

First Day here!

Finallly, I'm in South Africa..Cape Town to be exact. About 35 of us from our group flew to London from Atlanta and that was a 7 1/2 hour plane flight. We had a layover in London for nine hours, and THEN flew 12 hours to Cape Town. It was really long, but we got to explore London a bit. We took the train into the city from Heathrow Airport, and then ate at a little deli/pub. Everyone there was really warm and friendly! London is really quaint, yet exquisite. It was a beautiful, breezy day there. 

NOW, about Cape Town. As we were riding from the airport to our apartments, we saw the extreme poverty that plagues most of Africa. Slums, homelessness, etc. While we may be living in very nice apartments, equipped with kitchens, king sized beds, etc, we have to remember that extreme poverty and disease is the majority in this country, continent even. On Friday, we will be given a tour of the townships, a formal name for slums. Today, we took a 20 min walk from our apartments to the V&A waterfront and ate lunch, bought groceries, and explored. We had a welcome dinner tonight to kind of break the ice with our group, and everyone is exhausted from the two days of traveling. Tomorrow we will be conversing with a cultural diversity panel and also we will be given a tour of the city. So far, I love it. It's overwhelming because there is so much to do. Stay tuned!

14 days until I am in Cape Town!!