This weekend was great! We toured the Cape Peninsula where we saw the African penguins in their natural habitat and we also saw Simons Town where the SA Navy is stationed! We then continued on to Cape Point where there is a very famous lighthouse that isnt really a big deal but was nice to see! We also got to see the Cape of Good Hope where we took lots of pictures in front of the sign, but there isnt too much else to see! Other than that the weekend was relaxed and enjoyable. I met some great new people one from the US!! Just tons of fun here! Thanks again for all the emails...makes being away from home much easier!! Love you all and miss you!! Libby:)

It's Monday, April 9th at 4:18PM here in Rondebosch East, Cape Town, South Africa and a scorching 90 degrees!!! Things have been going well here! This past week was my last week volunteering at Woodside Special Care Centre because I am finally switching projects! I don't know exactly where I am going or what I will be doing, but it has something to do with children affected by AIDS, so I am thrilled about that! My last week was actually great at my project. I finally was receiving some sort of response from the children. Thursday we had a social where the children get to all meet together and dance and have snacks and play outside. It was a great time and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves, which is always nice to see. It was difficult to say my goodbyes because the staff had been so friendly and the children were finally responding to me!! The one girl, Bianca, was in tears because she thought she would never see me again, but I promised her I would be back sometime! That only means that I HAVE to come back to South Africa:) Not a problem here!! Anyway, Im excited to be moving on, but i really enjoyed my time with the children and saw a great improvement in the individuals I worked with one on one. The 16 month old began to hold his head up and straighten his arms, which is a huge step for him!! And the three year old started to grip her spoon and play games with me!!! It was a very rewarding thing to see such improvements from these kids! I actually feel like I made a difference there!! Which I was unsure of after the first 3 weeks!

Tomorrow I move to my new host family with a friend of mine, Malu, from Denmark! We are both very excited to be working with small children affected by AIDS. We both have a strong passion for children and are planning on getting very attached and it being very difficult to leave! But we know it will be very worthwhile! I'll keep you updated on the new project as soon as I know more about it and experience the first week!

This past weekend was another great weekend. Thursday night two of my friends stayed at my host family with me and we cooked a great meal and relaxed for the evening. We then went into town early on Friday and checked out the Methodist Church in downtown Cape Town. I ended up staying for the Good Friday service and talking with the pastor. He is a great guy and is very excited about working with St. Peter's in the future. I got all their information and can't wait to get home and start some sort of relationship with that church. They need our help!! They do wonderful things there for the community, but are running out of funds, so hopefully I can get something started with them soon! On Saturday three of my friends and I went on a day trip abseiling (rapelling) and kloofing (rock jumping), which was amazing!! We started out with a 45 minute rock climb, which was intense!! We then got to a beautiful pool surrounded by rocks where my friend and I jumped off of a 10m high rock into a pool of water!! It was scary, but amazing to free fall into the pool! We also did some other smaller jumps! It was great! We then hiked for another 45 minutes (also intense) to the top of a waterfall where we rapelled down. I went first and got stuck in a cave of water, eventually pulling myself out and rapelling down the rest of the waterfall! It was amazing!!! We then hiked another 30 minutes to the second set of pools where there was a 24m jump, but there was no way I was doing that!!! So we just did smaller jumps and swam in the waterfalls!! It was beautiful! We then hiked another 45 minutes (even more intense) back to camp where we had some dinner and headed back to Cape Town! We were soooo tired and sore after hiking more than 15 miles and abseiling and kloofing off of many rocks, but it was well worth it!! Sunday two friends of mine and I attended Easter service at the Central Methodist Mission in downtown Cape Town where I spent Good Friday! The service was great and very uplifting!!! Afterwards we had some lunch and returned to our host families! Another great weekend here in South Africa!!

I hope all is well at home and am looking forward to emailing you with good news about my project and host family!!! Thank you everyone for your responses, it makes things so much easier here knowing you are thinking of me at home!!! THANKS SO MUCH!! Next weekend we have our Cape Peninsula tour where we see the African penquins and the Cape of Good Hope, so that should be great!!! Miss you all sooo much!!! Love, Libby:)

Yesterday was an amazing day, we went to Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town. It is the prison where Nelson Mandela and several other important political people of South Africa were held between the 1960's and 1991 when the prison closed. It was the most interesting excursion I have ever experienced! Our first tour guide was a very humorous black South African who showed us a general tour of the entire island, including the medium security prison, the graveyard, the chapel, the wildlife, and the current community living there. We then were sentenced to 45 minutes in maximum security prison! Our tour guide there was an ex political prisoner who served his time with Nelson Mandela and others! He was a fascinating man with tons of information to share with us! We were able to see Mandela's cell where he spent 18 years of his life...absolutely amazing! We also got to tour the courtyards and bathrooms where these political prisoners were allowed minimal freedoms! After a long tour around the prison and island we headed back to the Waterfront for some lunch at a nice restaurant.

Today was spent travelling around the townships surrounding Cape Town. We first toured the District 6 museum in downtown Cape Town to get an idea of why the townships are situated outside of the city. Whites came in and destroyed blacks and coloureds homes near the coast forcing them to relocate outside of the city. Today these people live in tin or wood shacks along the highways into the city center. There are no paved roads and limited water and electricity. Some shacks house up to 4 families...it is one of the saddest things I have ever seen! Children walking around with no shoes or shirts, women washing clothes in buckets and men sitting in the "pubs" drinking beer the women brew themselves. We visited a traditional township pub where there were 4 men sitting around a bucket of beer socializing. The pubs are strictly for men and is one of the only places they can go to socialize with other men. We got to taste the beer, which was disgusting, and talk with the local people. We then visited a township doctor or spiritual healer as they call him. He uses animal skin, urine and feces to help the mentally and physically ill. Quite different from the usual practices of American doctors! He was wearing animal skins and furs all over him....in 95 degree weather!!! We then went on to a Bed and Breakfast in one of the youngest populated areas in the township. It was called Vicky's Bed and Breakfast and she gets people to stay there from all over the world! It is still a very old run down cottage that only has two rooms available, but Vicky keeps it very nice for her visitors! Behind the B&B there was a pre-school where 50 children were learning in a room half the size of an average American classroom with only 2 teachers! There were Downs Syndrome children, HIV children, mentally ill children and "normal" children all in one area. I feel in love with a little Downs Sydrome boy who cried when I left:( These children have nothing....they barely have enough food to eat, but these women teaching them believe that education is the key to success/getting out of the township! They are very determined women, which was very nice to see in such a depressing atmosphere! All in all, the township tour was very eye-opening and made me realize how lucky we are in the US! The poor in US look like movie stars compared to the black and coloured communities here in Cape Town.

Other than that things have been great. We are preparing for our host families and projects to begin on Tuesday! All of us are very excited to start our volunteer work, especially after our tour today! The people here are so warm and friendly and accepting of the help we are offering them! I hope everyone is doing well back at home and I can't wait to write again about my adventures here in South Africa! Sorry if I can't respond to everyone's emails, but I don't have enough time or money, but I really really really enjoy hearing from home!!!! I love you all and miss you:) Love, Libby

We were transported to the lodge, which is amazing!! It is a backpackers lodge, so there are rooms of 6 or 8 beds and communal showers (Jessie you would love it...hehe). We had some lunch then swam in the pool and relaxed before our meeting at 3. We had a brief meeting about our week and then played some pool and really got to know each other. All together there are 12 girls, 4 from Denmark, 2 from Holland, 4 from Germany, 1 from Switzerland and of course me from the US!! We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, which was delicious!! Now we are just relaxing before an early bedtime, which I need desperately after two days of travelling!!

The girls are wonderful and the atmosphere is very relaxing!! A couple girls and I are already planning a Safari, skydiving, surfing, and tons of other fun excursions to take part in! The city is like nothing I have ever seen before...a city surrounded my mountains right on the coast!!! It is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to share my adventures with all of you!! Thanks for your responses...it's always nice to hear from home! If I forgot anyone on my list, please forward them my messages!! I love you all and can't wait to hear from you!! This week i'll be able to check my mail daily, but after this week it will most likely be weekly or biweekly!!

Love, Libby

I leave for South Africa today from Philly at 9:55PM and am so excited, but of course really nervous!  Thank you all for your continuous support throughout my preparation for this amazing trip!  You have really made it easier for me to take on this unforgettable adventure!  I will try to blog as often as possible throughout my 9 weeks down in Cape Town; and will look forward to your responses:)  If I don't return your responses I apologize, but I will be paying for online time so it will be limited!!  Well I have to get back to packing....SEE YOU ALL WHEN I GET BACK!!!! 

Love, Libby

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