at the tip of the world.

Yesterday I think I saw the most beautiful vista I have ever seen/ will see at the Cape of Good Hope which is the southern most point in South Africa. To stand at the light house after climbing millions of steps and then to and look out over the ocean knowing that only Antarctica lay beyond the horizon was a feeling I will never forget.
The Cape of Good Hope was only one stop along our journey touring the peninsula. We also stopped at Simon’s Bay and saw penguins and went to a township called Ocean View. In Ocean View the local kids put on a break dancing show that was unbelievable- these kids really know how to bust a move. At first I felt really awkward about the idea of going to a township- as if we were going to see animals in a zoo. However, the guide said that the people love to share their culture with others and that we were going to experience a vibrant culture, not one that should necessarily be pitied. The people were overwhelmingly welcoming and told us that we had a responsibility to participate in their culture as well as share our own beliefs. As much as this made sense to me, there was still something about it that didn’t sit right. Hopefully when I work in one of the townships through SHAWCO which is an organization at UCT where you go to teach in a classroom I will start to feel like I am bringing apart of myself and making an important contribution.
Today was our first real day of orientation at UCT. They welcomed us and began a series of presentations about culture shock, AIDS, and safety. Lets just say that a sex ed class in an environment where one out of four people has AIDS is quite different than the 7th grade joke that Mr. Wassel taught- it’s a serious, serious issue. In addition, they also spoke about safety and made everyone a bit paranoid about closing their windows at night and storing computers and valuables away and out of sight.
After the talks everyone was given a drum and led by professional drummers in a call and response type session. These guys completely rocked the house, and were legit rastafarians.
So far everything is just overwhelmingly great. At points I feel overwhelmed, anxious about security and frustrated that I have to take a bath in sunscreen before I go outside for even a minute, however, I know that the ups come with the downs and that is not easy; but that’s why I chose to come to South Africa.