My final days in Cape Town, South Africa

Hey everyone,

I know it's been about 4 months since I have left South Africa. I have been putting off this last post for quite awhile, and honestly I have not really had the time to sit down and complete it. The other day I was thinking about my experience there and I realized I had not finished the blog. I felt like it was my duty to you all to finish my amazing adventure.

My last week seemed just like every other. I went to work and finished the project I was designated to work on. On Wednesday Inyathelo threw us a little going away party. They all thanked us for the work we had done and gave us some snacks (which I enjoyed of course). Thursday, my last day, came quickly and it was so hard to leave. I wanted to cry when I hugged everyone goodbye. I had built relationships with everyone I worked with. They all had really cared for me and treated me like family. Leaving them was difficult, but they assured me that I was always welcome back. That night our director took us out for dinner at a fabulous restaurant. I got the best steak I probably ever had...no exaggeration. Friday we all went to Simon's Town, one of South Africa's oldest cities. It felt like my little town of Burton, Ohio. It was early when we arrived so we walked to a little coffee shop and then made our way to Boulder's Beach. Boulder's was famous for the penguins that lived and nested there. As many of you all I know, I absolutely love penguins. There were so many of them and there were also a lot of babies. They were so cute I just wanted to take one home. After walking through the boardwalks and taking lots of pictures, we headed to lunch. After lunch we were preparing for our tour to Seal Island, but sadly it was cancelled due to inclement weather. Instead we went to the naval museum which was definitely worth it. They had so many cool things inside the museum that really represented the history of the navy their in Simon's Town. We left after the museum, but stopped at Long beach. As always, the beach was beautiful and I wished it was a little warmer out. Later that evening, Jenny, Allison and I met up with Vivienne, one of the interns I worked with from Nigeria. She brought along her boyfriend and his best friend. The restaurant was beautiful and very classy, a great place for the end of our fantastic day. Throughout the dinner we talked about our lives, and Vivienne's boyfriend began to explain how he met her. After a long romantic story he PROPOSED! I honestly was speechless and of course she said yes. I had never watched someone propose before, and it was an amazing feeling to be there to watch a very important moment in two people's lives. This was a great way to end the perfect day, and I was looking forward to the weekend we had ahead of us.

 



 

Saturday we went to Kalk Bay. If I could live anywhere in South Africa it would be here. It was very trendy but quiet. It had the small town feel to it, but they were in with current fashions and trends. They had a lot of really cool shops. After walking around for awhile we got some fish n chips. I loved it of course, and that was my first time actually ever having it. We then walked out onto this concrete pier that had a lighthouse on the end and took a lot of pictures. Sunday was my last full day in Cape Town, so we did what any other visitor to Cape Town would naturally do...went to Mzoli's. Mzoli's is basically just a massive braai with food, drinks, music, and dancing all under a large red tent. Here we met up with a bunch of the local people we had met. I had so much fun here, and did not want to leave. We ended up moving to another township to eat, drink, and party more. We stayed until it got dark, then everyone convinced us to leave because it wasn't safe there after dark.

Obviously I was really excited about his shirt. I'm from Cleveland in case you didn't know!



I went to sleep that night thinking about my entire experience in South Africa. It couldn't have been any better than it was. The memories I made will last me a lifetime. Luckily, I still keep in touch with many of the people I met while in Cape Town. Hopefully I will be able to go back someday and share my experience with my family. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my blog and keep up with my adventures along the way!

xoxo,

Alexandra