So, as it turns out, I really had nothing to worry about. I managed to navigate my way through the airport with such ease that it even surprised me! I even made a couple of travel buddies on the way, one adorable South African lady who I met in London, and Thomas, a Norwegian film producer who I sat next to on the flight from London to Johannesburg. Even although Thomas inadvertently stole my pillow on the plane (which he felt terrible about later!), he did offer me some great advice about abseiling, surfing, shark cage diving, climbing Table Mountain, and lots of other activities to do in Cape Town. Most notably however, he told me a story about his wife's experiences as a student in Cape Town which, well, scared me a bit. So I'm glad I met him on my journey because even although my friends and family kept reminding me about how dangerous South Africa can be for women, Thomas's story has prevented me from thinking "...but that won't happen to me". So I guess that's a good thing really, it means I'll be more alert and much less likely to get myself into silly situations.
On a much more positive note, all of the volunteers are lovely and the volunteer house in The Observatory (or Obz as the locals call it) is really nice and safe! On my first night in Cape Town we went to a comedy gig at one of the local pubs to hear some comedians from South Africa, Mexico and NY. We took the usual comedy-precautions, like sitting at the back and avoiding eye-contact with the comedians, but the whole evening was great even though some of the jokes were slightly offensive...well very offensive but it was all taken in good spirits! On Monday I had my first day in the office as a social media and marketing intern and got to meet the African Impact team in Cape Town. It is pretty exciting hearing about all 70 volunteering projects and going through 100s of amazing photos from the projects to post on Facebook or the website. I have been in the office every day this week except for Tuesday when I helped the other volunteers at a 3 day camp for a girls soccer team. All of the girls were really shy at first but they soon came out of their shell once we started playing some ice-breakers to help us remember each others names. Learning 16 African names was not an easy task, and remembering the volunteers names was not easy for the girls either. I soon became Sierra instead of Sarah, Evalee became Tivalee, and Michelle became Mitchell, but I'm pretty sure I mispronounced most of their names for the best part of the morning too!
So that's it, my first week with African Impact is now coming to an end but there are so many exciting activities for me to look forward to this weekend. I'm super-duper excited about going sky diving on Saturday and checking that off the bucket list. I think stepping out of the plane will be the most terrifying part but once I manage that then there's no looking back really..! On Saturday afternoon we've also booked tickets to see the South Africa vs. Australia rugby match in Cape Town. It is very rare to have a rugby match in Cape Town so we are all really looking forward to that and painting our faces with the South African flag and all that! As some of the volunteers are leaving on Sunday we have also booked dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant and all of us foodies are really looking forward to eating with our hands and trying some spicy food. Sunday sounds a bit more relaxing but we're hoping to venture to Robben Island or check out the V&A Waterfront. Lots of pictures will be taken to keep you guys up to date and dad, I promise I'll text you before and after sky diving so you know I'm still alive! :)
Sarah x
