The Adventure Continues!

Greetings from Cape Town!

We completed our epic drive down the wild coast this morning and pulled into Cape Town around noon. Highlights of the week include beautiful hostel locations in Port St. Johns and The Kraal backpackers with ocean views, perfect beaches, and more great weather. On Wednesday we made it to the Crags where we stayed at the Rocky Road backpackers and took full advantage of their 16 person hot tub as we held our nightly discussions in "the pond." Thursday morning we woke up early and headed to the Kurland township for a walking tour and a morning field day with some pre-school aged students where we led 4 stations of sports games.

Our students are now exploring Long Street in Cape Town and tonight we are ordering in pizza as a treat for a fantastic trip. Tomorrow we will take the ferry to Robben Island to tour the prison where the political prisoners from the Apartheid struggle were held. On Sunday we are hoping to drive down the coast to Cape Point and hit up Boulder Beach along the way to check out the penguins. Sunday night we'll hold our final banquet at a restaurant to be determined later. Monday morning we'll pack up and head on our way back to our respective homes.

Spirits are high. We have accomplished so much on our program. Everyone is healthy and we had a discussion today on what it will feel like to go home and try to explain our journey to all of our friends and family.

Cheers from Cape Town!

BSA 09

Student Notes:

Ryan- continues to lead our group and adds humor and friendliness to all of our activities. He befriended our contact "Bonks" who took us to see the sunset at the Amopondo backpackers in Port St Johns.

Ben- cooked an amazing meal of pesto pasta, steak, and ostrich last night! He continues to do well working with kids of all ages that we come into contact with; and he helped lead games of tag at the township we worked with at the crags yesterday.

Freddy- maintained a positive attitude despite being a little sick last Sunday. He made a lovely card in the sand for a fellow student at the Kraal Backpackers.

Josh- continues to keep the group spirits high with his sense of humor. He has captivated kids throughout Southern Africa with his "human zombie" game.

Maddie- the glue that holds our group together. She is always the first to volunteer for any activity, like leading the group on morning runs, and she does a great job with kids of all ages!

Allie's laugh lights up all of our days! She is a terrific "vanigator" helping to navigate shortcuts throughout our drive down the coast from Durban to Cape Town.

Winnie- continues to come out of her shell and make the group laugh with her sometimes random comments. She really excels at pulling out individual kids from large-group situations and spending 1 on 1 time with them.

Toni- helps keep the group on track by making suggestions that are straight-forward but said in a positive and productive manner. She has a running comedy duo with Josh that was a huge hit in our talent show and beyond.

Megan- leads great games of Che Che Kule with kids that we meet all over the place. She really enjoys any musical or theatrical activities that we get involved with along the way and got the group fired up for our hike up Table Mountain.

Maia- truly embodies our "go with the flow" mentality and has managed to connect with every member of our group in a meaningful way. She volunteers for new challenges every day! Maia really loved our time at Rocky Road Backpackers.

Jazmin- got a lot out of our visit to the Kurland township at Rocky Road today. She instantly connects with young kids at all of our sites and brings a zest and enthusiasm to all of our evening activities!

Clara- the most even-keeled member of our group. She is always involved and attentive in every activity. We love having a non-American student on our program to give us some perspective on things and she helps us to practice our spanish whenever we get the chance. Clara has a lot of insightful comments during our Evening Discussions and tells us about her parents' development work in other parts of the world which inspires our group.