Lazy day at the Beach in Llandundo :)

By the end of my first official 5-day work week, I had never been more happy to say hello to the weekend! Although it was a great week at work getting introduced to all the intricacies of the office, it was the first time I've worked a 9-5 job in a while from Monday through Friday so it took some time getting used to. The walk home from work on Friday was so relaxing and enjoyable knowing that I had 2 full days to continue exploring all around Cape Town! First things first, my roommates and I arrived home and poured ourselves glasses of wine to celebrate. The night was pretty low key just hanging around in the apartment because of the rain. Nevertheless, we had a great time. 

All my roommates and I on our deck before heading to the beach!

Saturday arrived with glaring sunshine and 67 degrees out...such a nice surprise! It was a former intern's last weekend, Sarah, here in Cape Town. She had been here since August and was leaving on Tuesday so we wanted to make her last weekend memorial. Therefore we packed our bags and hit the beach!!!! Keep in mind, it's winter here in Cape Town. It's nice quite warm enough for bathing suits but definitely still comfortable enough to sit on blankets with a t-shirt and shorts and enjoy the beautiful beach. 

Sarah swung by the intern house and picked the five of us up and we all headed to Llandundo. Llandundo is about a thirty minute drive away and much less crowded than the more populated beach, Camps Bay. It's a bit farther drive but definitely worth it. The drive there is absolutely amazing. Although I've never been to California, I couldn't help but think that I was driving along the Pacific Coast highway. The road curves all along the ocean front for miles and miles with beautiful waves crashing below. Good thing I wasn't driving because I certainly wouldn't have been paying attention to the road. Approaching Llandundo, you are greeted by hills of gorgeous houses with incredible views of the ocean. It was one of those moments that makes me think twice about the fact that I'm actually in South Africa rather than Laguna Beach, California. Then I saw the Caution sign in the parking lot.......and I remembered where I was:

My fear of swimming into a shark subsided almost immediately as I stepped out of the car and saw the aqua colored waves crashing on the shore, with beautiful white sea caps in the distance. This is a popular beach for surfing and I can see exactly why. The waves were forming magnificent tunnels. It was at this moment that I convinced myself when the weather gets warmer and the water temp rises a bit, I'm going to learn to surf! The minute my toes hit the white, soft sand, my body immediately relaxed and the smile on my face got even bigger. We all spread out our blankets and towels and sprawled out to soak up the gorgeous sun. 

We were greeted by a few other GRS friends and after a full afternoon at the beach climbing rocks, playing frisbee, snacking on wine and cheese, we took a few final group pics and headed on home. It was overall a wonderful, relaxing afternoon and a great way to bid farewell to Sarah. Oh and did I mention, also a great way to catch up on my tan!

Our attempt to build a human pyramid

Hooter, Alice, Sarah, and I (all GRS employees)

The 2 men of the house.....Charlie (Left) and Andrew

View from the beach....Para-sailer jumping off Lion's Head Mountain and landing on the Beach

Brushing off the 'ol Soccer Skills

Upon committing to serve a year for Grassroot Soccer, I was fully aware that soccer would most likely come charging back in my life. Although I am working in the finance office and do not go out to the field to play with the Program's Team, soccer is life here in South Africa. Plus, most people that work for GRS love playing soccer too. Having grown up playing Barrington Youth Soccer in the fall and East Bay competitive league in the spring, then winning New Englands with the Tabor Girls Soccer Team in High School, I have definitely had my fair share of soccer. Thus, when I was informed we would be having an inter-GRS soccer scrimmage every Sunday, I was at first very nervous. Would I totally embarrass myself with my rusty soccer skills? What if everyone is so much better than me?

All these worries were useless though because as 4 pm rolled around on Sunday afternoon, I was filled with excitement. Who cares if I wasn't any good...it would at least be fun to get outside and run around a bit! My roommates and I headed up the hill behind our house and arrived five minutes later at a mini-turf field in our neighborhood. We were greeted by fellow employees Hooter and Talia and two of their friends who would be joining us. Our senior bookkeeper, Vernon, showed up a few minutes later, shoeless, but ready to show off his 60-year old veteran skills.

I did some quick warm-up touches on the ball and the game began! What a blast the game was! We played 5 v 5 for over an hour a half! I even managed to score a few goals for me team! It felt so great to be running around and brushing off my old, rusty, Tabor Soccer skills. A lot of it came back so much more naturally than i thought! Plus, it helps when the view form the field is overlooking table mountain to the left and the sun setting over Lion's Head to your right. Not too bad! Everyone was pretty exhausted when we finally called the game. Nevertheless, we all had huge smiles on our faces and were so glad to have made it out here despite our fears and worries! I can't even remember which team actually took home the win...that's how much fun the game was...just playing for the love of soccer. Such a wonderful time! I'm already really looking forward to next Sunday's match!

Walking home with my five roommates and my arm draped over my roomy's shoulder, I couldn't think of a better way to have spent my Sunday afternoon. I felt so lucky being here with wonderful people, having lots of fun, and taking in the beauty of Cape Town. As the sun slowly set behind us coloring the sky red, we approached our Gordon Street House with smiles and laughter. Another fabulous day accounted for.

The Dubliner, Old Biscuit Mills, and the World's Biggest Food Coma

As Friday night rolled around, we were all very excited to explore the night life of the city. For our first official Friday night, my housemates and I chose to check out the Dubliner, which is an Irish pub located on Long street. Needless to say, when we went there we didn't feel like we were in South Africa at all. We met a lot of University of Cape Town students and some older Cape Town residents. The best part about the night was the live band, which consisted of an older couple playing all old American classics. They were really good and it was nice to have a little taste of home!

Saturday morning arrived quickly and all the roommates and I were up early filled with much excitement! The reason being.....we were headed to Old Biscuit Mills for the morning! Since I arrived on Tuesday, I have heard everyone raving about HOW GOOD old Biscuit Mills was and how you absolutely have to go there at least once while being in Cape Town. The reason being...they offer nothing but delicious, organic, farm fresh prepared food! Imagine the biggest farmers market that you've ever been to and multiply it be ten. Then maybe, just maybe, you'll have an idea of how great Old Biscuit Mills is. The market is open every Saturday all year round. Vendors sign up to set up there stations there. Once I arrived, I knew immediately why my friends said that you must go there with an empty stomach because by the time you leave, you will be so full but VERY satisfied. And boy were they right! I had to take a full 40 minutes to walk around the entire market just to get my bearings and witness everything that Old Biscuit Mills had to offer. I discovered not only wine tasting stations and cider distributors, but fresh fish vendors, baguette and cheese stations, oven fired pizza, an omelet bar, crepe stations, a Belgium waffle vendor, fresh fish sellers, organic vegetable retailers, smoothie companies, tons of delicious pastries from tens of different bakeries, bagels, Greek affair, shwarmas, sandwich stations, cheese samplers, etc. It was overwhelming but in such a good way! After taking in all that the place had to offer and tasting many delicious samples, I settled on the omelet bar and had a delicious egg white omelet with Norwegian salmon and sauteed coriander. Needless to say, it was delicious! It was so fun to be in such a great local environment. I felt like I was back at home at my own farmers market. The square was crawling with University of Cape Town students, tourists, and visitors from near and far. There were not many locals here which was a bit surprisingly but I get the feeling it is much more of a tourist destination that a regularly visited affair. Mini-taxis lined the streets ready to drop off and pick up all that needed transportation. Although it was a bit chilly in the morning and only a high in the 50s, it felt like a wonderful fall morning. My roommates and I gather together after each person had their hour and a half full of delicious food. It's not hard to believe that we couldn't stop talking about how great this place was and that without a doubt, we'd be back next Saturday!

The fun didn't end here though. Since we had been dropped of by the last year interns who took the car for the day, we were left to ourselves to discover the world of South African public transportation....called Mini-taxis. Taxis in South Africa are not quite like those in the United States. This is mostly because any New York Cab would feel like a five-star limousine in comparison. However, they are the most common mode of transportation all around South Africa and also very cheap. Any ride is only 5 rand, wherever you are going throughout the city (about 85 cents). Not a bad price! The Mini-taxis, shown to the left, are white vans that pack as many people as possible inside. When we flagged down our mini-taxi headed to Cape Town, I didn't actually think they would stop because the car was definitely beyond full. BUT, these drivers are like magicians and can make seats out of anything, including a black plastic crate which I sat on! haha. There must have been at least 15 people in the van. Once we arrived at our final destination about ten minutes away, my toosch was definitely sore from the plastic crate. But, it had only cost me 5 rand and so I was very satisfied! Plus, it's a great way to actually feel like you are part of the city because every single local uses these mini-taxis. The highways are filled with the white vans dodging in and out of lanes. It's quite an adventurous and exciting ride. 

Once we were back home around mid-afternoon on Saturday, my roommates and I all fell under the spell of a food-coma and slept for a glorious two hours. With a full stomach and the cheerful memories of fun morning, I had a wonderful sleep and woke up ready to embrace our first Saturday night on the town!

Khayelitsha Football for Hope Centre

Unfortunately, it was raining on Friday when we awoke but that did not deter our excitement for the day. Everyone couldn't wait to get out and actually see the FFHC after hearing so much about it. After a thirty minute drive, we arrived to the center. Driving through the township was really quite eye-opening and brought me back to reality that I was in fact in South Africa. Living and working right downtown in Cape Town sometimes tend to blind you to existence of the townships and the dire poverty that exists all around the country. We pulled up to the center and were greeted with such enthusiasm from the directors there, as well as the intern who worked there last year, Talia. She gave us a 20 minutes presentation on the history of the center and what programs are run there. Then the real fun started......

Khayelitsha Township

Every Friday, there is a coaches meeting at the FFHC which is a way to bring together all 23 local coaches and train them in leadership skills, check-in to see how the Skillz practices are going, and just have a chance to bond and create some lasting friendships. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to sit in on the meeting this week and it was great. Before the meeting, as we were waiting for the coaches to arrive, two of the Master Coaches led us through some of the Skillz practice drills such as Risk Field and HIV limbo. The purpose of these activities is to teach important facts about HIV while creating a fun and sporty environment. Coaches began to file in gradually as the afternoon wore on and in the meantime, we played a bunch of energizers. One of these such energizers happened to include making all the new American interns dance in the middle of the 20 person circle.....ALONE! Now, I have a semi-fear of dancing in front of crowds because I have no moves what-so-ever and get embarrassed really easily. SO needless to say, my heart was pounding as the singing and clapping got louder and headed my way. I jumped into the middle of circle and pulled out the sprinkler dance move. TO my relief, it was wonderfully receive and a bunch of the coaches even repeated it after me because they thought it was so funny. Embarrassing moment #1....success. Nevertheless, I recovered from my severe blushing with little to no real damage. I think it's going to be a requirement for me to get over my self-conscious dancing throughout the year and just let loose! It's something that I plan on working on Saturday night at the dance clubs. 

Meeting many of the coaches was really rewarding because these are the people who are interacting with the  kids and really making a change in their lives. It's not hard to see that they are magnificent, energetic, and caring people that really want to make a change for youth. Many of them grew up in the township and some were even participants in GRS programs when they were younger. It's inspiring to see that these individuals are as young as 19 and are making such great strides to help their community. During the meeting, the site coordinator talked about different leadership styles, an intervention called leadership compass. Having done the activity at orientation just a few weeks ago, it was cool to be able to sit back and just watch as these coaches recognized their leadership qualities, etc. After the meeting wrapped up, we said our good-byes and headed for home in the pouring rain. I was so pleased on the way home and felt really excited to be part of a community movement that is clearly so powerful and rewarding for not only the participants, but their mentors and everyone involved in the process. I hope to make it out of the office to witness some programs out at the center. In particular, I would like to check out Skillz Street, which is a girls-only program that reaches out to 14-18 year old girls and is run after school Monday-Thursday. The aim of the program is to battle gender-based violence and to empower female youth. 

I couldn't believe how quickly Friday passed and before I knew it, we were back home and ready to make plans for our first official Friday night in Cape Town!!!!!

Lion's Head

Lion's Head

As I have quickly come to find out, everyone that works for GRS not only works hard, but plays hard too. Thus, when there is a good time to be had, most everyone will take advantage of it. Such was the case today. After a half day in the office continuing with intern orientation, us 5 interns headed out of the office with Abigail, Hooter and Sarah to climb up Lion's Head Mountain. Lion's Head is just a quick ten minute drive from the city to the base of the mountain. All of Cape Town has a great view of not only Lion's Head, but Table Mountain as well from all corners of the city.

View from the hike up the mountain.....so much great water views!

The hike up the mountain circles up around all sides of the mountain and offers the most beautiful views of the city. Every single time I lifted my head up to take a look, I was blown away. With a water view on all sides of the city, you feel like you are on top of the world....incredible! And we weren't even to the top yet!

Hanging out on top of the mountain

45 minutes and a huge burst of adrenaline later, we reached the top! It was breath taking, with the sun lightly beaming on our faces. The view from everywhere I turned on top of the mountain was incredible with the city center to the south, incredible beaches on all sides, and Robbins Island off the north end. As we all sat around the top and reminisced, we enjoyed some hiking snacks and rejuvenated ourselves. I couldn't believe that I was sitting on top of this beautiful mountain when only an hour and a half earlier, I had been sitting in the office! I could definitely get used to this. The great thing about Cape Town is that awesome hikes and wonderful adventures like this are so easy to find around the city, even after work on a Thursday afternoon!! 

First Day in Cape Town :)

Table Mountain, Cape Town

Finally arrived in Cape Town! We landed in South Africa around 7:30 am on Tuesday morning. My five roommates and I were picked up at the airport by a previous intern from last year who brought us to our new home in the Gardens District of Cape Town. Our house is really basic but in a great neighborhood that is in walking distance to pretty much everything we will need, such as groceries, the GRS office, and the downtown scene. The apartment itself has two rooms downstairs which has been designated as the "Man Cave" and home to our two guy roommates, Andrew and Charlie. the upstairs has two double rooms and a single room, a full kitchen, living room, and a great deck that looks out to the street. After taking some time to unpack, I took a short run around the neighborhood to orient myself and enjoy the beautiful Cape Town winter. Winter here is nothing like at home, with blue skies and mid 60s forecasts. Absolutely incredible. Cape Town is also ALOT hillier than good 'ol Rhode Island. Nevertheless, it was awesome to explore my new neighborhood and take in the view of Table Mountain. We can see this right from our outside deck.

Kitchen

Living Room/Family Room

My room (my bed is the one with the orange pillows.....sleeping bad as a comforter in the winter is a MUST!)

Our first day in Cape Town was actually a national holiday, Women's Day, so the city was a bit deserted and quiet. However, I got a great feel for the city and was so excited for the first day of work....tomorrow! I couldn't wait. 

It was really incredible being back in South Africa. After having been here just a year ago, I was infused with a rush of wonderful memories from my study abroad experience during the World Cup. Although I was hundreds of Km away in Durban, I got the same feel in Cape Town and absolutely loved it. The best part about it was that rather than just six weeks, I would be here for a FULL YEAR!

London!

 

Amid all the excitement from leaving orientation and heading for Cape Town, sleep did not come easily on the overnight flight to Heathrow. But, I was rejuvenated after landing in London and the potential for a full nine hours to explore the city! Having never been in Europe before, I was going to take full advantage of this great opportunity!

Traveling with ten other South African interns, we all headed out to the city to explore. Luckily, one of our friends with us had been to London before so she led the way, showing us how to take the famous underground system and the great tourist spots to go to. We headed straight for Westminster but ducked into the Westminster Cathedral on our way to Westminster Abbey because of the all too famous London weather. Sunny skies turned quickly to rain showers but that actually happened to be great for me because I loved walking around the famous cathedral and checking out the beautiful architecture and age-old structures. Quite a wonderful experience. After saying a few quick prayers, we gathered the group and headed to Buckingham Palace to bid hello to the queen!!

   

Westminster Cathedral 

Buckingham Palace

Although we were a group of ten dashing-looking Americans, the queen did not come out to say hello to us. But, she was in the palace because the flag was at full flight. I got to see the famous guards and their furry tall hats which was fun.

After some photo taking and wandering around, we headed to St. James park to hang out, play some frisbee, and soak up the beautiful shining sun which decided to pop back in the sky. Relaxing in St. James Park was just what we needed to rejuvenate ourselves. It was a beautiful area and despite almost getting ripped off by a park manager trying to get us to pay for lounge chairs we didn't know weren't free, we all left with smiling faces. A quick lunch at Adams Rib and a underground trip later, we were back at Heathrow airport boarding our flight for Cape Town. As I held my boarding ticket in hand, ready to take my seat, I reminisced about the day in London and was so happy to have had that opportunity to explore the city. Had I not seen the news just days before, I would have had no idea that the city was dealing with so much unrest, rioting, and difficulty. As my dad pointed out, it's strange how much media portrayal can be different from personal perspective. I guess that just goes to show you that there are two sides to every story. Luckily, I was able to see the better half.

Hanging out in St. James Park

Orientation

There are 25 interns in the class of 2011, all assigned to locations where Grassroot Soccer operates, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and the Dominican Republic. All 25 of us met up in Hanover, New Hampshire a week ago for a four day long orientation. For the first two days, we stayed in a log cabin in the woods of New Hampshire near Moose Mountain. It was incredible getting to know each and every one of my fellow interns as well as learning more about Grassroot Soccer. We did everything from ice breakers to climbing moose mountain and playing the water drums in a nearby lake. Despite no electricity and running water in the cabin, we all survived and returned to Pierce's Inn in Hanover tired, dirty, probably really smelly, but very excited to learn more about our future with GRS.

For the next two days of orientation, we dove deeper into the business aspects of GRS and what was expected of us as interns. The highlight of the orientation was that all the Board of Directors were in town for an annual meeting so we were able to meet some really incredible people that are part of the organization. I have never been more impressed with a single group of people and all the amazing stories they had about how their involvement with Grassroot Soccer. Whether it was hearing from the founders of the organization or the ladies in the finance department working in the States at the Norwich office, each individual was inspirational and dedicated to GRS. It was really a great event.

Before I  knew it, Sunday arrived and we were all due to the airport to catch flights to our final destinations. It was very sad saying good-bye to all the friends we had just become close with. However, many promises were made to travel and visit the different sites and I certainly intend to uphold that commitment. The wonderful thing about getting to know all 25 individuals in our intern class is that although we will not be directly working with everyone, we have now developed an entire network of individuals who we can bounce ideas off, relate to, and stay with on our adventures around Africa! 

After lots of hugs and good lucks, I boarded the airplane at Logan airport for the six hour plane ride to Heathrow airport in London where I would have a nine hour layover until finally reaching Cape Town on Tuesday morning. The butterflies fluttering in my stomach was a sure sign of the excitement and anticipation for all that was to come!

Welcome!

Intern Class '11 at Orientation in Hanover, NH

For the upcoming year, I will be embarking on a year long internship based in Cape Town, South Africa. I will be working for Grassroot Soccer, a non-profit organization that uses soccer as a social vehicle to teach HIV/AIDS education and prevention. The curriculum focuses on behavior modification and empowering young African boys and girls with the knowledge and skills to lead a healthy life. Grassroot Soccer depends on local staff and coaches to implement the Skillz program and to serve as role models for the children. Often times, professional soccer players from around the area will volunteer their time for tournaments or even volunteer to be tested publicly at a VCT, a voluntary counseling and testing tournament. GRS aims to combat the stigma of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and help fight one of the greatest epidemics of our time. 

I will be serving as an operations intern, which means that I will not be in the field every day interacting with the kids but rather will be working behind the scenes at the Cape Town office. I will be devoting my time towards financial management of the budget, grant proposal and fundraising, and lending a helping hand wherever needed. 

Grassroot Soccer covers half of the expenses of my internship, and I am responsible for raising the second half, or $10,000. I would appreciate any support you might be able to give. If you donate to Grassroot Soccer through the Google Checkout button on my blog page, the funds will be used to directly support my work in South Africa. You may also send a check to Grassroot Soccer with my name in the memo, to PO Box 850 Norwich, VT 05055. All donations to Grassroot Soccer, a registered 501©3, are tax deductible.

Thanks so much for checking out my blog and please continue to do so throughout the year!