Started From the Bottom: Lion's Head Hike

Challenge of the day 

The southern half of  the hemisphere is currently experiencing its winter season. Around this time of year, Cape Town gets a high of  only 63 degrees F/ 17 C. Since my time here, the temperature has got as low as  46 degrees F/ 8 C. During our first day in Cape Town (Wednesday, July 10th),  Clive, our program provider, suggested that we should hike Lion's Head Mountain due to the city's unusually warm weather of 73 degrees F/ 23 C. I really thought Clive was crazy. "Hiking a mountain on our FIRST day, you got to be kidding me?!? I'm sure there will be more warm days to come. We can definitely do this some other time," I kept telling myself. Let's see if my perception changes by the end of the blog...

Let the pain begin!

What did I get myself into?  This is where things started to get tough.

Ashley at the foot of the steep steps.

Somewhere along the way, a few of us took a quick rest stop to soak in the moment. Looking back at the photo today, I believe that the camera was able to capture me beside an obstacle but through it all, I have enough strength to smile because I was able to visualize myself conquering it.

Eboni and I thriving from the sun's energy.

Can't get this view in Tennessee

We made it. I'm in a cave, preparing to watch the sunset.

Can you see the 12 disciplines?

The moment is here

 

Well ladies and gentlemen, that was a little taste of my first day in the beautiful city of Cape Town. The hike up was well worth it. Whoever said going down the mountain was the easy part told a bucket full of lies and fairy tales. Sometimes while trying to retrace your steps, you focus more on looking down so you won't fall. You tend to miss the beauty around you. My experience at Lion's Head made me realize that the gift of life is what you obtain while working your way up to the top because at that state you are always looking forward. 

Day Seven Follow Up

Tuesday, July 16th 2013

Today marks my seventh night here in Cape Town, South Africa. The trip and my current living arrangement are a huge adjustment for me, therefore I was unable to blog any sooner. Below is one of my journal entries and  photos with captions about the first project.

                    Thursday, July 11th 2013 Reflection

My fellow classmates and I started our first day of service-learning. Our project is to build a vegetable garden for the Nomonde Pre-School in Langa, which is the oldest township in South Africa. While entering into the community, I was blown away by my surroundings. In a way, I got the impression that I was no longer in Cape Town. Prior to arriving to Langa, I noticed that Cape Town is fulled with a diverse population, but I was under the impression that black South Africans made up the minority. I did not see too many people of my complexion. Those of darker skin were usually not the shoppers at the local stores but mostly severing as employees. Once reaching the township, I realized where all the natives were hiding. The township is equipped with all of the community’s needs. There are several schools, hospitals, churches, convenience stores, salons, markets and repair shops. When I arrived this morning, many people were walking towards the transportation station to get a ride the city. There were taxis and buses full of people. Since school was out for winter break, there were not too many children out and about.

Words cannot describe how I felt when driving through the community. Picture a typical American shotgun house but smaller, made out of tin and wood. Without yards for the children to play nor vegetation to grow, the streets remind me of a zero lot line neighborhood.  The houses are very close together, many are adjacent to each other with neither front porches nor sidewalks. I noticed that there were a few homes that did not stand perfectly upright, with the outer appearance notably slanted. Many merchants’ butchered livestock like chicken and pigs out in the open. There was also a herd of cattle crossing the street with a man acting as shepherd. He carried a whip and encouraged the animals to keep moving. Once out of the van, I smelled a strong scent of meat. After looking down the street, I spotted a row of sheep heads, commonly known as Smiley,  cooking on a grill.

Later that afternoon, children began to roam the streets. While putting together one of the garden beds, I saw a group of boys playing on the other side of the gate. I decided to take a break and interact with them. The minute I got closer, I realized that they created slingshots by using clean condoms attached to the mouth piece of  cut plastic bottles. The boys played like their toys were the latest models from Toys R US. At first I was worried about their devices, for health purposes of course, but then I quickly became fascinated by their simplicity and creativity….

Watching the people interact with each other in Langa made me gain a greater appreciation for family and friends. For the most part, everyone spoke to each other in passing and they seemed so filled with life. A few members of the community came to the school to help with the garden to show their gratitude for our efforts. The experience has sparked my interest to create closer relationships with members of my community to build a stronger sense of unity. I look forward to see what else Langa has in store. 

After building and painting one of the garden beds, Alyce and Sara move the bed to the dirt patch.

Ashley and Shawna add a total of seven bags of soil and fertilizer to one of the beds.

With his experience in agriculture and forestry, Dr. Sall explains the proper way to plant vegetables.

The peach tree

Alyce is the first to water the plants.

Me with the bed that my team and I built.

The teachers are also taught how to take care of the garden.

A few of the pre-school children.

We're almost done.

Before

After

Twas the Night Before Capetown

Location: Knoxville, TN.

I am in the living room creating my first blog entry for Stories From A Traveler.  The buzzing of the A/C unit is the only noise I hear in the apartment. The place is empty. I am completely drained from a day filled of packing. I have moved all my belongings to a local storage, so I can check-out of my apartment right before I head to the McGhee Tyson Airport. There are a few suitcases and a backpack near the window facing the courtyard. The fridge now contains only my roommate's items and the pantry is bare. The kitchen counter tops are cover with cleaning supplies on one side and left over food on the other.  My bathroom sink is no longer filled with beauty supplies and hair care products. In my room, only the bed sheets remain. The shelf above the desk  is no longer stock with LSAT prep books, "door decs", and  Spanish material.

Due to the emptiness of the apartment, I feel alone even though my sister is near by on the couch chatting about one thing or another. I have tuned her out to enhance my meditation. This feeling is not depressing, more like a way to allow me to mentally prepare myself for the next segment of my life. By removing myself from the conversation, I am able to strip myself from all the things that absorb my energy, such as academics, current employment, future career plans, and the many other factors that play a role in My World.

  My thoughts have now shifted to  what is in store for the next 30 days as I embark on my journey to Capetown, South Africa in less than three hours. I am curious about the things I will do, the people I will encounter, the knowledge I will obtain and the memorizes I will make.  Today, I discovered that the estimated travel time will approximately 31 hours and 55 minutes, which includes a 10 hour layover!  Hopefully during the travel time, I will get some rest and work on an annotated bibliography which requires reading eight articles of my choosing, pertaing to several social issues affecting South Afica. Some of the topics include social justice, education and gender, HIV/AIDS, and poverty.  Did I mention the the bibliography is due on July 9th?

Well, I am about to re-check all my baggage to make sure I have everything.

Signing out,

Jasmine

Me and the empty apartment