To start with, it's already been nearly 2 months that I am in here and i didn't write anything until now.
Therefore, I have to start from the beginning!!!
The first week
I left my home mountains on the 16th of April with Pauline Morin. We flew from Lyon to Cape Town.
On the 17th, we were in our first backpackers lodge. the comments about this lodge can be a lot...
Without entering into details, we were in the middle of nowhere, Pinelands, on the direct train line which links the townships to the center of CT (= dangerous for two girls that ave no idea of the context)
Petrus Jacobus (he wanted us to call him PJ but we rapidly found out his real identity!), the owner of the lodge, didn't tell us anything about security, not even that it might be highly insecure to take this train when you are two girls. We had to discover by ourselves that the public transport here was a real mess (by the way, some efforts will have to be done before the 2010 Fifa worldcup). Once you're in the center, if you reach the center, there is no train anymore. It is not recommended to take the bus either (still for security reasons). So you're just stuck into a perimeter that relies on your abilities to walk far or not!
Luckily, the "city bowl" (that's how people call the center since it is surrounded by three mountains and looks like a bowl) is not that big so you can easily see things just walking.
Our first days were dedicated to the discover of this new world: the different neighborhoods, the waterfront, the culture, the FOOD!
Here, i have to open a parenthesis, because contrary to what people may think, the food here is delicious, and they have really good meat, which they usually cook on what they call a "Braai" (barbecue).
Pauline and I rapidly adapted to the several meals that you can find here, and were released to know that we wouldn't be on a diet for the whole period we're spending here!
SAEP
We started working on the 21st. Norton is the president of our organization called SAEP (South African Environment and Educational Program) and is divided into three main programs:
Therefore, I have to start from the beginning!!!
The first week
I left my home mountains on the 16th of April with Pauline Morin. We flew from Lyon to Cape Town.
On the 17th, we were in our first backpackers lodge. the comments about this lodge can be a lot...
Without entering into details, we were in the middle of nowhere, Pinelands, on the direct train line which links the townships to the center of CT (= dangerous for two girls that ave no idea of the context)
Petrus Jacobus (he wanted us to call him PJ but we rapidly found out his real identity!), the owner of the lodge, didn't tell us anything about security, not even that it might be highly insecure to take this train when you are two girls. We had to discover by ourselves that the public transport here was a real mess (by the way, some efforts will have to be done before the 2010 Fifa worldcup). Once you're in the center, if you reach the center, there is no train anymore. It is not recommended to take the bus either (still for security reasons). So you're just stuck into a perimeter that relies on your abilities to walk far or not!
Luckily, the "city bowl" (that's how people call the center since it is surrounded by three mountains and looks like a bowl) is not that big so you can easily see things just walking.
Our first days were dedicated to the discover of this new world: the different neighborhoods, the waterfront, the culture, the FOOD!
Here, i have to open a parenthesis, because contrary to what people may think, the food here is delicious, and they have really good meat, which they usually cook on what they call a "Braai" (barbecue).
Pauline and I rapidly adapted to the several meals that you can find here, and were released to know that we wouldn't be on a diet for the whole period we're spending here!
SAEP
We started working on the 21st. Norton is the president of our organization called SAEP (South African Environment and Educational Program) and is divided into three main programs:
- Early Childhood Development (ECD) works at the pre-school level, with creches
- High School Program
- Gap Year Program
Pauline and I were integrated into the Gap Year program, because the coordinator, Jane, was about to leave, so that we could replace her.
We work in an office of three rooms, with 11 kids (from 17 to 21 years old) who come from the CT townships (mainly Philippi, Nyanga, Guguletu and Kayelitsha). They already passed their Matric exam last year (=BAC) but need to improve their marks and to find funding to enter university. That's why they take a gap year to rewrite their exams, preparing them correctly, and learning how to develop in an other environment than the townships.
Our house in the middle of the street
On Tuesday we were entering our new house in Obs', quite happy to finally leave the doggy Petrus Jacobus and backpackers lodge.
Observatory is a neighborhood between the city bowl and the UCT (University of Cape Town), were a lot of students from everywhere live. In our house, we are only european students, so that a bit of a shame because we're not here to meet Germans, but they are lovely that's fine!
We have a big house on one floor with six rooms. We share the garden with two other student houses, and we have a swimming pool! The question is, ow can they call THIS a swimming pool?
1m large, 2m long and quite dirty, I'm not even sure that a duck could survive in it!
Anyway, that's a good atmosphere!
We work in an office of three rooms, with 11 kids (from 17 to 21 years old) who come from the CT townships (mainly Philippi, Nyanga, Guguletu and Kayelitsha). They already passed their Matric exam last year (=BAC) but need to improve their marks and to find funding to enter university. That's why they take a gap year to rewrite their exams, preparing them correctly, and learning how to develop in an other environment than the townships.
Our house in the middle of the street
On Tuesday we were entering our new house in Obs', quite happy to finally leave the doggy Petrus Jacobus and backpackers lodge.
Observatory is a neighborhood between the city bowl and the UCT (University of Cape Town), were a lot of students from everywhere live. In our house, we are only european students, so that a bit of a shame because we're not here to meet Germans, but they are lovely that's fine!
We have a big house on one floor with six rooms. We share the garden with two other student houses, and we have a swimming pool! The question is, ow can they call THIS a swimming pool?
1m large, 2m long and quite dirty, I'm not even sure that a duck could survive in it!
Anyway, that's a good atmosphere!
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