Today was filled with sightseeing. We had the privilege to meet Harry and Niki, who happen to be Clare's sister, a DeSales alumnus! Day after day we just keep finding new connections to South Africa. Harry and Niki began our walking tour through the city. Our first stop during our walk was at St. Mary's Primary School!
This is the school we will be teaching and helping the teachers and students. We stopped in for a quick hello and we were greeted with bright smiles. The children were standing at the windows waving to us. This absolutely made us look forward to the week ahead. We can't wait to be with the children. In just a matter of minutes, we were greeted with open arms, friendly smiles and love. We have a purpose here and they have confirmed it for us, just look at the picture below.
We continued our walking tour to Charly's bakery, a local and popular bakery. Harry told us this bakery is equalivalent to our Cake Boss in Hoboken, NJ. Charly's Bakery even has its own reality tv show! We couldn't jwalk away without trying a cupcake! They were amazing! Rich in flavor and decorated so well!
We quickly ate our cupcakes and began to walk to the District Six Museum. The museum houses the newspapers, clothing, photographs and many other artifacts that came from the time period in which colored residents had to move out from the district in order to pave way for a whites only district. Again we see the dark times that South Africa has experienced and we see the messages of those who visit and write of love, acceptance, forgiveness and hope that the horrors of the past remain in the past.
After the museum, we walked to Doppio Zero Restaurant for lunch. The food here is so good! We were so full! The best part about that is that we had food leftover and decided to give it to those who were homeless. We have had many blessing and needs that were meet. It was great to see each other quickly say yes to the idea and see the gratitude the people had when we gave them food.
We also had a chance to visit St. George's Cathedral. For many of us we had another chance to reflect and grasp the blessings that we have had during this trip. From the beginning we arrived safely and were welcomed from people that made us truly feel at home. We have experienced wonders many have never had the chance to see. There we stood and gave thanks to God for the privilege he gave us and the opportunity we had to say yes and board that plane.
As we started to make our way back to the Backpack, we walked through Company Gardens and admired the beauty around us. South Africa has a country surrounded in beautiful nature.
Our dinner was at Mama Africa! This restaurant is a stop every tourist makes. On their menu is crocodile, antelope and ostrich! We all were hesitant to try it but were only in South Africa for so long! So we each dared to take a bite of each and to our surprise, we loved it! We wanted more! Being on this trip means to integrate oneself in the customes, food and culture and that is exactly what we have accomplished. We ate so many things we thought we would never even try! It's such a pleasure to say we immersed ourselves in the South African culture. Who would have thought we would have liked crocodile! The dessert was amazing! I'm sure it didn't last 2 minutes on the plate. Mama Africa is just another reason to visit the beautiful country of South Africa.
We couldn't leave Mama Africa without saying and singing happy birthday to Lori! She was not expecting it!
Happy birthday Lori!
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