Table Mountain: Conquered!

Yesterday was a pretty awesome friday. We started out with our two groups: Two groups of kids that we have seen before - yay! I actually remembered some of their names, and all of their faces. The first group we saw was a mixture of groups that we saw before because some of the children were absent. This actually worked to our advantage, because one of the really hyperactive boys was set in a group of mainly girls, which made him calm down significantly. This boy, "E" is extremely creative and raw in his work.

The groups first worked on watercolor paintings yesterday, then drawings of their own using silky crayons and markers. The first group worked diligently and were for the most part quiet. We had them do jumping jacks in the beginning because it was so freezing cold in the room. We asked the group members if they could please draw a house first. The group responded well to the watercolors and made very interesting pictures - some of the girls painted rather defensive pictures of houses with flowers and clouds, and the boys either painted abstract pictures or pictures of cars.

The next group was very talkative, mainly in Afrikaans. I think they realized that their teachers do not understand Afrikaans, so that gives them the free basis to gossip as much as they want around us :). The group was quicker with their pictures, but they were able to open up with us a bit about how they hated going to Mary Harding because they were made fun of outside of school. They said that other kids call them "mad" (crazy) and that they are in Mary Harding because they are "stupid." One girl said that she was in MH because she worked a little slower, and that one day she hoped to work at ShopRite - a completely realistic and feasible goal!

Yesterday, we spent half of the day doing the most amazing and hard thing ever - climbed table mountain! I can't feel my legs so much today, but it was amazing at the top. The weather was perfect, and we climbed early afternoon, so that by the time we made it down, the sun was setting. I made it up in 1:30 and down in the same time. OK - time to start the day..shopping and touring
k