As
I hiked up Table Mountain with Alyssa right behind me I kept wishing we had
done this earlier in the trip when I was in better shape. They aren't kidding
when they say it’s a tough hike, and that's the one they recommend the most. It’s
a 1 kilometer hike to the trail and then 3 kilometers up the mountain which
eventually becomes a giant staircase. We took a few breaks on the way up but as
we got closer we just couldn't stop. The end was in sight and we couldn't wait.
When we got to the top the view was overwhelming. The struggle up the mountain
was beyond worth it (which is exactly what we told the struggling hikers on our
way back down). As I looked out at the vast expanse I realized that hiking
Table Mountain was the perfect end to this trip. From our perch up top, we
could see all the places we had been over the past month: Signal Hill, Cape
Point, Cape Town, the Waterfront, Robben Island, the townships, District Six,
the World Cup stadium, the snowcapped Stellenbosch mountains, the beach and the
beautiful scenery we have come to know and love. This hike and the view were
the culmination of everything we had done and learned in our time in Cape Town.
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| View from Table Mountain |
South
Africa has seen its fair share of hardships and struggle but in the end they
came out better and are continuing to improve this magnificent country.
Although our hike is nothing compared to the apartheid, we were able to better
understand the view from atop Table Mountain given the historical, political
and economic knowledge bestowed upon us by every single person we met. Because
everyone in Cape Town has a story and it’s not hard to find them out. On the
plane from Jo’burg to JFK the next day, I sat next to a man from Durban and we
discussed being white during the apartheid, the need for a global change in the
training of athletes, our travels and the current government and what next
year’s election meant for South Africa. He was the epitome of a South African:
kind, welcoming, interested in my life and country, and open to discussing
anything and everything. This combination of characteristics can be difficult
to find in the US where everyone is so much more closed off and concerned with
being politically correct. I found that South Africans were also more open to
learning about people different from themselves in order to lessen stereotypes
within their country. I went to visit one of my previous coaches on my second
day back and although he was joking, the ignorance which he found humorous
landed on deaf ears for me.
When
people ask about my trip, I probably end up going into more detail than they
expected because I feel a need to pass on what I saw and what I learned. This
trip has affected me in more ways than one and if I don’t pass that experience
on then I feel as though I wasted my time and the time of everyone I met. I
have over 3,000 pictures to go through and to show anyone willing to watch.
There are pictures from the first few days of orientation when we went up
Signal Hill, Cape Point, saw the penguins and more but then there are the
pictures from the townships and these are the photos that I want to tell
everyone about. The pictures are shocking and heartbreaking and at times
overwhelming but the stories that go along with them is what makes my trip
real. The stories of despair and triumph, of strength and fortitude, the
positivity to make a better life no matter what their background is or what
others may think they are destined to be. At the Let’s Beat It! Concert for
HIV/AIDS Awareness a young man from Guguletu was presented with an award
for creating a printing business which started with R300, one computer and one
worker (himself) and became a flourishing company with five workers and a five
figure profit this past year. Every single person works their hardest to be the
best they can be even if the odds are stacked against them and that’s the story
I want to bring back and share with anyone who will listen.
It’s
been hard adjusting back into life at home, especially since I hadn’t been home
since Spring Break. I have everything from my dorm room and my trip to go
through which is a daunting process that I’m slowly getting through. One of the
most difficult changes has been waking up not surrounded by my housemates every
morning. We had a routine with our shower rotation and then breakfast rotation
before the day’s activities and then nightly meals with the Dinner Crew.
Although it was only four weeks, that routine was normal and now I’m not really
sure what to do. I know it’ll take time to adjust but for now just looking
through the pictures and talking about my experience is enough to keep it alive
as I integrate the “changed” me back into the life of the “old” me. I am beyond
grateful to have had the chance to live in Cape Town for a month, and see and
experience everything I did. This was the trip of a lifetime and one day I hope
I can bring my friends and family back to show them the place that changed my
life forever.
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| Maeve and placement supervisor, Sister Castle, at Thank You Dinner |
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