The other half of our group went on the
homestay this weekend. When Meg came back and told me all about her experience
I couldn’t help but to miss my host family and the adorable two kids I spent
time with at the swimming pool. My host family really wanted me to make the
trip out there this weekend to watch their son perform in the Variety Show and
to support them during the ballroom competition. I would have loved to go, but
unfortunately my family was in town only for the week and we were super busy
seeing and doing things all around Cape Town.
Rather than list everything I did
with my family, I’d like to highlight a few of my favorite moments throughout
the week. First, I’d like to talk about Chilly, one of our taxi drivers and a
new family friend. Chilly is a self-employed cab driver/tour guide whom myself
and my family have had the pleasure of getting to know this past week. She is
actually from Ocean View and although she didn’t know Chantel, she did happen
to know my host family, The Bowan’s!! That was pretty cool. It’s amazing how huge
Cape Town is yet that day it felt like such a small world. She took my parents
and sisters on a tour of the peninsula the first full day they were here. I
wasn’t there that day but I was told they immediately clicked. My parents
enjoyed the day so much that they booked her again towards the end of the trip
for wine tasting and vineyard hopping. I was there for that one so I finally
got to meet the Chilly that I had heard so much about! She was super sweet and
welcoming and just overall a warm person. She took us all around Stellenbosch
and the vineyards. The conversations we had in the car between each vineyard
are ones that I will keep near and dear to my heart. We treated her to lunch
with our family and that’s when she really opened up to us. I won’t go into the
details because her story is very personal, however I will say that she doesn’t
have many people to talk to and she really appreciated us listening to her and
offering her the best advice that we could. It brought me back to what Chantel
said during her presentation to our class—to bring love, open your hearts, and
let the people know you care about them. Later that night my dad was really
tired and didn’t feel up to going to the Kirstenbosch concert. We gave his
ticket to Chilly and brought her along! She absolutely loved it. At the concert
she said she had no intention of going to America at all until she had met us.
That was really special to hear. She even offered to drive my parents to the
airport just to say bye to them. I’m glad she felt so comfortable around us and
I truly hope she stays in touch.
My other favorite moment this week
was shark cage diving. I have never done anything like that before and it was
really cool to be so close to the huge sharks. I do have to admit it was a bit
nerve wracking at first, however it got less and less scary with time. The boat
ride was awesome because of the view and also because our crew took us on extended
trip to look for the big 5 of the sea which are dolphins, sharks, whales,
African penguins, and seals. We saw three of the five that day and enjoyed the
cruise around Gansbaai.
I took my family to all my favorite
places around Cape Town and they fell in love with this city for the same
reasons that I did—the people, the food, and the scenery. They already want to
come back!! Cape Town is a really special place and re-touring it a second time
with my family made me realize how truly blessed I am to be here.
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