Day Two in Cape Town

Life won't always go as planned, but that doesn't mean life won't be good. 

Day two was another success. The group was clearly tired when we got started in the morning, but they picked up energy when we walked around the room like ostriches. Speaking of ostrich, I tried some at dinner. It was surprisingly tasty! We had spent quite a bit of time drawing ostriches on day one, so it felt a bit uncomfortable eating one, until we were reminded of how ugly they are. Fair point!

(Photo credit to Round We Go)

For lunch we went to a popular braii eatery, Mzoli's, which is located in Gugulethu Township. We were told it was originally just a butcher shop, but when customers came in, Mzoli's would offer to braii (similar to barbecuing) their purchases. We had a tour guide, Sabs (wiping his mouth in the photo below), join us for lunch. He gave us some backstory, helped us get to Mzoli's, and shared some more information about South Africa with our crew. Sabs explained that Mzoli's is not what Americans would consider a restaurant because you do not purchase a whole meal from them. However, as Mzoil's has grown, so have neighboring businesses. Houses have transformed into shops that sell beverages and trinkets to the large customer base and some folks have embraced the informal economy by creating parking jobs for themselves. While you go to the window to order, Mzoli's has also developed a large seating area for customers. Our group loved the food!

We tried to go to the mountain (again), but were disappointed to find that is was closed again. We're going to try again next week. Stay tuned! Life doesn't always go as planned. Traffic was pretty hectic, so we ended up heading directly to the house of a Penn State faculty member who is on sabbatical in South Africa. Brian King helped developed Parks & People and was so hospitable to our group. The Kings prepared a delicious dinner and he and his wife shared words of wisdom with our group. The Kings also let us practice our play in their front yard. I was hoping to upload the video of our dress rehearsal, but the file is too big!

After dinner, we had a great reflection with the group. Every student in this program is positive and exhibits the drive to learn. It's a neat opportunity to be in the classroom learning with them. I'm navigating this experience as I am helping the students navigate their experiences. I know there will be times this semester that the work may be challenging, but it will always be worth it. Life is good.