Following our "expectations workshop weekend" at an outdoor adventure camp an hour North of Cape Town, the health of the service learners quickly went South. Over the course of four days after our return from the camp, each and every one of us came down with varying degrees of this mysterious epidemic, attributed to "traveler's tummy" (a cute name for something that is- trust me- not the slightest bit cute in practice), food poisoning, stress of being in a new environment, and a stomach bug going around. Whatever it was, I'm glad it's over.
After recovering from what I affectionally dubbed "The Plague," we all finally felt up for doing something other than laying around in our sweatpants fighting with the spotty internet connection, so Kato, Noah, David and I decided to try our luck hiking to the peak of Table Mountain. Not much of a hiker, I was glad that David took on the role of trailblazer. He fearlessly led us through existing trails- and a few paths that we created on our own- on the outrageously windy afternoon. More than once I felt like I was going to be blown off the mountain by the force of the gusts of wind, but we ended up making it back all in one piece. The best part was discovering a hidden waterfall, which David and I were quick to point out made us feel like four of the characters on Lost exploring the island.
 |
| view from the top |
 |
| the waterfall |
 |
| me and Kato |
I don't think I'll attempt this hike on my own anytime soon, but I can definitely say that I'm quickly learning to love and appreciate this gorgeous scenery and am eager to see as much of it as I can over the next four months.
