This past weekend I experienced more in
three days than I have since we first arrived in Cape Town. On Friday we
departed for our brief tour of the Garden Route. Though the weekend was filled
with many thrilling activities, my favorite experience by far was probably the
drive itself. I typically get migraines when going on long drives, so I anticipated
that the driving portions of those three days would be difficult for me.
Surprisingly, the incredible views of rolling mountains and near infinite
stretches of farmland kept away the headaches and I was able to enjoy a long
drive for the first time in a while. Up to this point almost all of our time in
South Africa has been spent close to Cape Town and it’s surrounding communities
so it was both refreshing and interesting to see a different part of the
country. It wasn’t until we were in the quite of the countryside that I
realized how much I had missed that absolute quietness you cannot find anywhere
else.
On Friday our first stop was the
Cango Caves, which were absolutely stunning. We took an “adventure” tour that
required us to pull ourselves through very tight spaces. I didn’t know that I
had claustrophobic inclinations, but turns out I do! After getting through the
different tunnels it was very cool to get a good look at a cave so ancient.
That night at our first hostel I had a long conversation with some other
travelers from Austria and was struck by how similar our childhood experiences
were despite growing up in very different places.
Saturday was by far the most
thrilling of the journey. We got to spend some quality time with three
beautiful young elephants, kayak through a river, and bungee jump off the
highest bungee bridge in the world. I did not expect to be so frightened by the
prospect of jumping off the bungee bridge since I have been rock climbing and
cliff diving with much less by way of restraints, but I was. The walk on the
shaky pedestrian bridge to the jump point nearly scared me out of jumping at
all. I was the last in our group to jump so by that point I had overcome my
fear and was mostly just ready to go. I am glad that I didn’t chicken out
because it was one of the best/craziest experiences of my life and I do not
think I will ever look at fear quite the same way. That night and the next
morning I got to spend a lot of quality time with the Indian Ocean which was
relaxing after a day of thrills.
On Monday and Tuesday I
had my first two days of my new placement with Prevention in Action in
Khayelitsha. I was able to meet some of the most incredible and driven people I
will probably ever know. It has been an adjustment to go from the
well-organized formal offices of Rape Crisis in Observatory to one of the
poorest parts of Khayelitsha, but I feel as though I will learn a lot from
getting to work with Prevention in Action and help them plan for the future. I
was equally struck by how interested everyone that we met was in making sure
that we were comfortable. Despite most of the people we work with coming from
lives ridden with adversity, upon meeting Kayla and I many have been eager to
invite us to go out with them and buy us a soda or something to eat. This
experience has definitely made me increasingly aware of my own privilege. I
hope to return the generosity of everyone we have met by leaving some sort of
positive impact on Prevention and Action, whatever that may be.
Prevention in Action film clip
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