Day 55. Temporary Goodbye!

So I'm still out-of-date on this, but as I write this I am winding down my last minutes in the office and can only say that you'll have to stay tuned until I get back to the States and can fill in Monday-Wednesday and tomorrow through Saturday. It has been a good week and jampacked with work, surprisingly - and it has just flown by.

I can't believe I'm leaving. I know everyone says it and it's unbelievably trite, but it has not sunk in yet. Tomorrow is the march that I have been helping the Triangle Project prepare for for the last three weeks, and should be a fitting culmination of my work here. Just had my leaving speech from Theo, which is unbelievable because I've sat through so many and never thought I'd have my own. Friday night I'm not sure what we're doing for my leaving night, but hopefully it is a good time nonetheless.

For any who are wondering, I'm flying out at 635 PM on Saturday (Cape Town time) and will be arriving at home at noon on Sunday (EST). I'll see you all then :)

It's been amazing. I can't have asked for more this past eight weeks. I knew at the beginning that it would be good, that time would fly by, but I did not count on how very true that would be. I feel like after the first two weeks, every time I blinked, another 7 days would be gone. And now I only have one blink left!

Thank you so much to everyone who shared this incredible experience with me. I'll take it with me for the rest of my life.

Now to enjoy my last 72-odd hours in this spectacular, kickass city. :)

Days 45-51. Week 7, Spa, Muizenberg.

The time keeps passing more and more quickly!

On Monday, the weather was amazing yet again - even warmer than on Sunday - so after work I actually laid out in the Martins' backyard for a few hours ;) Not that it did anything, really, but the imagined effect was quite nice. Tuesday was Lavender Hill as usual - this week we did a workshop with the women on health and wellbeing. Something pretty awesome happened on the way back - we have a minibus driver to pick us up from Steenberg named Clinton, and when Clint came to get us for the way back, a guy was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Upon a short conversation with him we found out that he was a police officer with Muizenberg Police Station, which we've only been trying to contact for, oh, the last month and a half? So I jumped on that and got his number, and I think he's going to be able to come talk to our women next Tuesday. I was so pleased with that, you have no idea. How crazy is that?

Wednesday was yet another day with the Triangle Project and Alex's last night :( Can't say we didn't do it big for the little boy's farewell, though. Thursday I spent at Triangle calling partner organizations to remind them of the march next Friday. Friday morning was a planning meeting for the march, in which I found out something kind of spectacular: the poster that I helped design was featured in an article in a national Afrikaans newspaper called Die Burger. I was pretty much floored by that! (If I plan to go into publishing, can I say now that I've been published? Ha.) Friday afternoon we went back to downtown Cape Town and I got my haggle on in Greenmarket Square and finally bought some paintings! We'll see how they look in my apartment.

This weekend we didn't have much planned. I went out of my character a bit and went to a spa on Saturday ;) It cost less than half of what it would to get the same thing done back home so I figured I might as well take advantage of it because I don't think I ever would at home? Anyway, it was pretty much amazing and so unbelievably soothing. The spa was located in a really elegant hotel tucked into the mountains a little ways away from the main road in Newlands. Unexpectedly beautiful for being so close to malls and bars and such.

Sunday a few of the volunteers from the house went to Table Mountain, but as this is the third time that people from my house have gone to Table Mountain since I've been here, I went to Muizenberg instead to revisit the flea market and the beach since it was again sunny. It was really pretty:Can't believe that this was my last weekend in Cape Town, though. I'm getting to the point where every moment I think, "This is my last Sunday," or "This is my last train ticket I'll buy," or something else ridiculously sentimental. :'( The sadness approaches.

Day 44. Camps Bay! (BEACH!!)

Woke up on Sunday morning and went to Clay Oven, again (less than 12 hours after we'd been there previously, fact). God I love their pizza. :) After that, we finally did what I've been hounding everyone about since I checked the weather on Tuesday (sorry, guys). We went to the beach!

YAY.

So I finally used those damn bikinis I thought I packed for nothing. I've been kicking myself like crazy for packing useless clothes for the past six weeks, so I was so glad to get some mileage out of those. Not to mention it was just completely and utterly amazing to get out to the beach! The weather was one of the best days we've had so far. Camps Bay was beautiful, and we actually went in the freezing water a few times (props to Fergs and Ronni for manning up - and kind of Alex).




Amazing. After a few hours of enjoying the sunshine and the beach, we headed back home for another braai. It was just as delicious as the first one, and the perfect cap to a great weekend. I think this last weekend has very nearly checked off every last thing I came to Cape Town to do (even some that I didn't know I wanted to do). Even more than usual, I couldn't have asked for more from this gorgeous place and this wonderful country.

Day 43. SKYDIVING, Shaheed's Show, and Saturday Nights.

I finally went skydiving!!!!! And it was everything I thought it would be. Freaking mindblowing - I am so, so glad I went. And so glad that Emily talked me into it the first week I was here! I can't believe it took me six weeks to find a time and date that worked, but I also can't believe I was ever scared or that I ever thought I couldn't do it. From the moment I paid in the middle of June til the moment I landed on the ground this morning, I was just completely excited. I've got no words. Totally unbelievable.

Anyway, by 'no words' I mean 'lots of words,' so I'll keep writing about the experience :) Fergal drove me out to the jumpsite (30-min drive, way out past Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand) at 9 AM this morning and Alex, being the saintly, wonderful, amazing, kind and magnanimous person he is (sucks for you if you don't end up reading this!) came along to go up in the plane with me. Aw, boys - I couldn't ask for better friends, could I? :)

They didn't let me take a camera up in the plane with me, but for proof's sake here is a picture of the hangar: When we got there, I met my tandem instructor, a dashingly handsome guy with a scraggly beard and a pile of dreadlocks who reminded me of the hobbly old man that Jafar disguises himself as in Aladdin. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we got in the plane, which was barely large enough to hold me, my hottie tandem instructor, the other diver and his instructor, Alex, and the cameraman. The way they positioned me, I sat flush up against the plane door, which was an overwhelming comforting thing that looked like old Tupperware and slid shut with no apparent locks or bolts to hold it closed. As we were flying up to the appropriate altitude, I kind of wondered what would happen if the pilot tipped the plane - if the hatch just slid open and I just plopped out.

Well, that didn't happen, and after about 20 minutes, Julian put me on his lap (hot) and attached me to his harness. (Which means, yes, I wasn't attached to anything or any parachute of any type until 20 minutes after I was in the air and 2 minutes before we jumped. Dad, don't worry, this is all after the fact and I am obviously still alive). He told me the instructions - put my legs out over the edge of the plane and underneath the fuselage, hold onto my harness, and look up. After that, he put my goggles on for me, I waved to Alex, and he slid open the hatch (glad that that didn't happen earlier) - and we jumped.

The first few seconds were the only moments in which there was an acute sensation of falling. I remember I grit my teeth, hard, and thinking that if this was the way it was going to be the entire way down I was utterly and completely screwed. Not at all, actually - after the first few moments, we flattened out onto our stomachs and it was just simply like flying. It was the most exhilarating thing I think I've ever done. Julian shouted to me, "And now you know what the world looks like without the glass of the airplane between you!" We spun around a few times, and I was able to see all of Table Mountain, Robben Island, and miles of coastline. Unbelievable.

After probably 20 seconds of freefall, Julian pulled the parachute and we shot upwards (or so it felt). I hear for guys this is not the best part of the jump ;) For me, wind rushed up my pants and my shirt, which was slightly uncomfortable, but before I knew it we were floating down underneath a huge parachute and Julian had removed my goggles for me. Absolutely amazing.

While we were floating down, Julian put my hands into the handles of the parachute so that I could steer. At one point, he yelled to me, "Do you like rollercoasters?" My answer: "NO!!!!!" Nonetheless, he jerked one side of the parachute down and we went careening around in the air; I screamed my lungs out for him to stop and he almost couldn't get me to loosen my arms so that the parachute could float properly. Well, I did say no. He didn't do that again, anyway (having learned better) and after about 5-10 minutes of floating we landed back at the jumpsite.

Ha, with the exception of the rollercoaster ride I didn't ask for - and I suppose that was still fun, in a way - the entire thing was just as good or better than I could have dreamed. I am so unbelievably glad I did it - and thank you Emily for getting me to do this! One of the coolest things I've ever done.

After skydiving, we went back to Plumstead to watch Ronni and Fergal play soccer (football). Ronni scored and Ferg's a beast in goal ;) Love you guys!

That night was Shaheed's hip hop show. It was pretty much the best thing ever, made even more so by one particular thing: at one point, a small but sturdily built woman appeared onstage and began to sing. We didn't think anything of it - until someone tapped us on the shoulder and informed us that that was Shaheed. Yes, Shaheed was in drag, and yes, he was fabulous: Haha, I couldn't have asked for more. At night, we went out to Long Street and stayed in a hostel for the night, which was a good change of pace, I think. The new house is definitely a little crazier than the old one!

Days 38-42. Week 6.

Another week in Cape Town gone by! I can't believe it. Alex only has a week left now, though the other Alex might extend her stay :) And then after that it's my turn to go ... I honestly can't believe it.

This week was my first week working with the Triangle Project (ha, only took five weeks). I started off the week with a meeting with them on Monday morning - I was so very sad to miss the IRM - and then Monday afternoon, did a money management workshop with the women at St. Anne's as usual. Tuesday was Lavender Hill, though a brief transportation snafu (i.e. no trains arrived for a full hour) made it so that I only managed to make the last twenty minutes of the workshop with the women. Tuesday night's jazz lessons was good, as usual! The two Alexes and Philippa came along, which was fun. Alex learned the dip, courtesy of Shaheed, who makes a much better female partner than I think I ever could. ;)

Wednesday and Thursday were my first two days of work at the Triangle Project. If I haven't explained before, they are a gay rights organization in Cape Town. My focus while there is to help them prepare for a march they're organizing on August 7 - which is, fortunately, the day before I leave, so I'm able to participate. We are marching from the Grand Parade on Darling Street in downtown Cape Town to the Cape High Court on Wale Street in order to raise awareness for the murder case of Zoliswa Nkonyana, a 19-year-old lesbian beaten and killed in Khayelitsha because of her sexual orientation. The murder took place in Feb 2006 and the case has failed to go forward in the last three years, with more than 20 court appearances and subsequent postponements. The march is in order to advocate for the case to be transferred from the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court to the Cape High Court (which explains the venue for the march).

My job on Wednesday and Thursday was to help design campaign posters and flyers for the march. Here they are!

I don't know how much they'll change it up before they actually print them, but hopefully I've at least contributed something.

Thursday night was Tarila and Sandra's last nights :'( so we went back to Hemisphere (the view never gets old!) It was memorable, to say the least, but I'm really sad two more are gone. They keep leaving ...

Little to comment on with Friday's IRM. In the afternoon we were fit for nothing, really, so once we got back from work we spent a few hours just milling around the house. The power went out at night, though - Ronni scared the crap out of me (shocker) and made me knock Alex over onto the floor. (Sorry, Alex.) Other Alex was in the shower at the time and we forgot where she was until about five minutes later, when we heard a faint "I can't find my towel!!" from the recesses of the house. Ha. My idea of an exciting Friday night.

SKYDIVING tomorrow morning! Finally!

Day 37. Boulders Beach (Take 2) and Cape Point.

Absolutely beautiful day today. I have a new roommate, finally! She's a German girl from the UK named Philippa, and she arrived this morning just in time to come with us to Cape Point (reminds me of my first night). Along the way we stopped at Boulders Beach again for those who hadn't seen it yet; it felt strange to realize that it had been a full five weeks since I'd been there last, and all the people I'd previously gone there with had gone home. Nonetheless (or maybe because of that) it didn't feel repetitive - the weather was better this time around and we took a different route along the beach to see the penguins. As Nikki would say, it was absolutely gorgeous:
After Boulders Beach we drove on to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. I was told before we went that on especially good days you're able to see subtly the different colors of the two oceans and the line where they come together - wasn't able to discern that, unfortunately, but nonetheless it was a breathtaking view. To actually see Cape Point, you have to climb up to the top of a small cliff to a lighthouse, which some of us didn't do (I wonder why) but it was not a long or strenuous climb at all and the weather was just perfect. The view from the top was unbelievable:
Jen and Liz went out to Camps Bay when we came back to watch the sunset but the rest of us were too tired, so we just headed back home and had dinner at the Martins'. We met our other new roommate, a Danish guy named Ronni, and spent the night just talking and chilling. All in all, a wonderful weekend - I couldn't have asked for more. :) (Basically the entire story of my time in Cape Town!)

Day 36. Safari!

Safari today! We woke up at the godless hour of 515 and left at 540. Mishik drove us in a minibus and I burrowed under a blanket he’d brought (godsent) and my North Face and slept until we got there (Aquila Nature Reserve) at around 8 AM. The game lodge was, in a word, luxurious - there was a pool for the summer months and they served us hot breakfast before our safari at 9. (Best samosas ever!)

It was really fun! It wasn’t as natural or real as I thought it would be because Aquila was actually a game reserve where they buy animals from elsewhere and bring them there to have them all kind of just live in the same general area. To keep the animals from preying on each other and disrupting the "equilibrium" the game owners create, they fence off predators from the prey and your safari is basically you driving around that plot of land. Nonetheless, the area totaled 11,000 acres, and so it was at least more natural than a zoo. We saw buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, springboks, and lions. Pretty awesome. I won't post all the pictures of the animals, but here's one of the giraffes:



Halfway through the safari, our guide stopped the jeep and served us sparkling grape juice and wine in the middle of the reserve ... Like I said, swanktastic. When we got back, we sat around outside for a little while, ate lunch (it was actually warm enough to wear a t-shirt! I know, no way!) and then we headed home.

Went out to Long Street when we got back to Cape Town - Dubliners and FTV. Not a bad time, really.