1 thousand words > 1 picture

I admit that attempting to depict this place is overwhelming at times. It goes beyond photos and any caption I might put on them. Cape Town is a huge mash-up of all of these great places I know combined with, well, Africa. Especially because many of you reading this most likely grew up behind The Orange Curtain with me, the ideas that were ingrained in us about what Africa looks/sounds/feels like will never be truly changed until you see it for yourself. Because you feel it all. You feel the entire city, everything - not just things you can see or read about. It's the things that just aren't quite tangible, the things that aren't written in the guidebook or even talked about at all. Small nuances. Funny quirks. A person’s life is a collection of a trillion intricate variables, countless details and moments and images. And my life here is so completely different than my life at home. It's difficult to swallow all of this up and put it into words that anyone who hasn't been here would understand.

But, for those of you back home that I know enjoy reading what I'm up to (Moms), I will continue onward and do the best that I can with just giving some insight as to what I'm doing and maybe not all of the complexities of what I'm feeling... that's where things get hazy.

School is fully in session. True, it has technically been going on for a few weeks now, but I wasn't quite convinced, I suppose. Until last week or so... then, something inside of me snapped. Vacation mode has turned off in fear of causing self-destruction, because now it's time to really put work into this whole "study abroad" thing. Darn. Papers galore and reading for days. Luckily, one of my classes is just teaching me how to play a PVC pipe for a flute. If anyone had John Yeiser, this guy is his missing French twin. To the tee.

These last few weeks, any time that I am not spending with my eyes glued to a class reader, I have been volunteering at PASSOP by hanging out with some weird, old German men. They're sweet guys that just need some friends... N0, I'm teasing, hanging out with the Germans is not a part of my efforts at PASSOP - David is actually the person responsible for getting me involved there. They are simply two crazy brothers I met at a braai and have spent heaps of time with lately at their beautiful home in Noordhoek. It was David's 25th birthday on Friday so I made a Gaines family favorite, and the most appropriate dessert I could think of: German chocolate cake. German friends visiting them also made amazing side dishes and cakes that filled me up before I actually got any meat. Then we braai'd and had a really fun time partying at their house with a crazy mix of people.

However, the next day was the day we had been waiting for: PASSOP's fundraiser for the Somalian famine victims. We had organized speakers, musical acts and spoken word artists to come out and put together an event that could help the starving Somalis. Although the program was a bit unpolished and at times, someone could have come out with one of those old-fashioned hook canes to drag off an act or two, it was all for a good cause and we raised 8,000 rand I believe... which is a little over a thousand dollars. Every penny counts.

So, life's been busy and it's been indescribably euphoric, but it has been undocumented as my camera has been stolen. David was kind enough to buy me a disposable, so I will have some documentation of all of our adventures that are sure to come. Until then...

Live passionately,

KG