I'm Here!

I arrived in sunny Cape Town today - Monday, May 17. My plane was one of the last out of London Heathrow before another closure due to volcanic ash, so I am thrilled to be here instead of still waiting there! I am staying in a neighborhood called Observatory, very near the Groote Schur Hospital where the first heart transplant was done, and not far from the base of Table Mountain where the University of Cape Town is located. Obs is a very mixed neighborhood in terms of race and socio-economics, though not the very wealthy of Cape Town. It is home to local families with children, academics and international students, people with small to medium sized houses with fenced yards, and people who are homeless. During the early 90's Observatory witnessed some of the violence associated with the ending of apartheid, including a bombing. Today there are restaurants (one with a resident ghost), art galleries, book and clothing shops, internet cafes, and more. I am sharing a house with Volunteer Adventure Corps interns from around the world - Montreal, LA, Rome, Pakistan, France - and more coming in during the week. Those of you students reading who need some adventure and would like a volunteer experience tuned in to your own interests in South Africa for a few months, check out VACorps.co.za online! Those of you who have been on one of the UIUC study abroad trips with me - Steph in my house is doing her internship with Esther at the Health Clinic at Imizamo Yethu! To get to work Steph must take the train from Observatory to Wynberg and then the mini bus to Hout Bay, though today here a train workers' strike began so she was an hour and a half to work on two mini busses - careening down the streets - more than the usual sitting-in-people's-laps crowded due to the train strike. Everyone here is more than ready for World Cup Soccer (football here) - team flags everywhere and murals at the airport and in town. World Cup 2010 merchandise for sale everywere! I begin work with Jawaya Shea tomorrow morning and will then have a clearer picture of the training program we will design and when we will begin work with the counselors, foster parents, and mothers group. More tomorrow!