Cape Sunday and Monday Monday

Sunday's trip was to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope - there were 15 of us in a 14 person van (don't ask how that worked out), and overspills and hangovers aside, we had a pretty good time! Along the way, we stopped at Camps Bay, then went to Houts Bay to catch a boat out to seal island. The smell at the Bay was pretty unbearable and the seas were very rough but the water is clear blue and beautiful. It was like a roller coaster! It was amazing how many seals could fit on that one island..and apparently there were bunches of sharks around that area too (I have no doubt). We then went to Chapman's Peak (a nice overlook) and took a group photo. From there we went to Simon's Town and Boulder Beach, where we ate lunch and looked at penguins. All along Boulder Beach there are jug-like houses set up for the penguins and literally hundreds of small African penguins colonize around there. It was pretty touristy and at 30R to enter the area, I was a little put off, but if it goes toward the preservation and rehabilitation of penguins, then I have no problem with paying.

From the penguins, we drove into the Cape Point national park and first to Cape Point. Cape Point is the furthest point south in SA, and we were able to take a tram up to the top, then climb a few steps up to a lighthouse - the highest point. We took lots of shots there, then moved to the Cape of Good Hope. The famous Cape of Good Hope, which was marvelous to look at, was a little dangerous to traverse around because of the infestation of baboons - which, although incredibly cute and human-like, are very violent and dangerous. We witnessed them attacking cars, jumping all over them, and even breaking into them! They are used to strange people feeding them food, even though they are not supposed to be fed. I put a video of this up on youtube and will link it here.


MONDAY: Today we started back at the school, and although we normally have two groups a day, to our surprise there was an assembly this morning, so we were stuck sitting around until 11 (not so fun, pretty tiring in fact). We were already prepared, so we didn't have to prepare anything new. When the teacher came around with the group, she warned us "if anyone misbehaves, feel free to kick them out." This disturbed me a little, A. because that meant the group was likely to be rowdy, although I'm glad she warned me and B. what happens to them when they get kicked out? I asked her the latter question, and apparently the principal patrols the school and picks up anyone that is in the halls. A rather daunting fate, i imagine.

The group came in, and although they were particularly giggly, and all boys and one girl, they were pretty manageable. We had them all paint pictures of houses. One boy, who was particularly hyper (and tired at the same time?), who I will call "R," was rather difficult to motivate. After they finished their houses, some of whom spent a lot of care and effort on theirs, they were asked to draw a person. "R" said he could not draw a person, so we looked for other alternatives - for example, they had been talking about their graffiti tags so we asked "R" to draw one of his tags. He did that quickly and then drew his dream car - a sleek looking pink sedan with red fire detailing. He later covered up his car with watercolors. All of the houses were very interesting from this group, and most of the boys numbered their houses based on their jersey numbers in soccer. When asked who would live in his/her house, one boy answered he and his sister, and "R" said he and two women. "R" also said he had the hots for teacher Emily. :o. In attempts to gain R's interest, I drew the outline of a head and asked him to make a face. He drew a man smoking a joint. Red flag. R was also very giggly and tired at the same time. Another Red flag. After the session, Paul shared with me that he thought a few of the boys may have been high. This makes sense - i don't know if they were, but the suspicion could be valid for 13-16 y/o boys.

Lucky for Paul and I, this group spoke a lot of English, and although most of their chatter was in Afrikaans, we could tell what they were talking about, and one boy would translate for us with no problem. We chose him as one to join the mural group because he seems very interested in art work, and the deputy informed us that he had a very tough past and would very much benefit from the activity. When it came to sharing time, the group almost lost it with the giggling. We redirected them reminding them to respect each other and not speak when someone else is speaking. I felt bad for the one girl, who was very interested in the art work and really could benefit from it, but was being teased by the boys and clearly seemed left out. This girl drew very interesting people - including herself as topless, without breasts. Tomorrow we will continue with watercolor houses and people, and will have to make final decisions on who will join us in the mural making.

Today after work we went to BBQ lunch in Langa, one of the townships. It was interesting, and the food was okay - afterwards we watched a play/song/dance in the same township. The voices of the players were amazing - very operatic. The play was about abuse in relationships - both male to female and female to male.

k
Video:

Some photos: