Today my roommates and I woke up bright and early and headed to the greatest place on Earth, THE OLD BISCUIT MILL! It is what we might call a farmer’s market in the states except for it is ten times better. You can find everything from crepes to locally brewed beer there. The food is so amazing that we went for breakfast and stayed long enough to have lunch too! This morning I had a crepe with Nutella and bananas. For lunch I had a thin crust pizza with, well I am not really sure what all was on it, but it was delicious. There is also a tent at the Biscuit Mill that has clothes and accessories. You can find some really unique pieces for good prices there. After we ate lunch, the student leaders for service week had to come back to the hotel to meet up and go to Sir Lowery’s Pass.
Before we left Courtney, Leasa, and Preston told us about our goals for the day, one of the most important being to connect with the boys and girls around our age in the township. We need to start relationships with the 18 to 22 year olds so that we can partner with them in helping provide positive role models for the younger children. Global Lead is only in the township for two weeks, so it is so important that we instill values of leadership into the older kids so that they can keep the work going once we have to leave. When we arrived in Sir Lowery’s Pass the children just started to flock to us. They are so precious! I just wish I could spend time getting to know each and every one of them. Ms. Cheryl, the soup mother who is close with Global Lead, lead us to the Cresh. The Cresh is a building where primary school for the children is held. All of the boys started playing sports and the girls gathered in different groups and played games like Little Sally Walker and other hand shake games. I found a group of girls who loved to dance, so I taught them the Cupid Shuffle and they taught me some of the dances that they learned at school. We tried to find the teenagers to get to know, but there were not many around. After a while, we left the Cresh and went to the school nearby to play and help prime the wall for the mural that we are going to paint during service week.
The hardest part of the day was trying to leave. The girls I got to know (Eberline, Callie Anne, Mary Jane, and Renee) wondered why we had to leave them. It was so hard to say goodbye, but they were excited when I told them that there would be a big group of us here for the next two weeks to play with them after school. I cannot wait until service week. I know most people go into something like this thinking that they will be doing all of the giving, but I know that will not be the case for me. I feel like I learn so much from the children and community when I am there. It reminds me to take pleasure in the more important things in life like family and friends. These children have next to nothing, but they still find the strength to wake up in the morning and put a huge smile on their face. Today was a great day, but I am exhausted! Time to get some rest and wake up to another beautiful day in Cape Town, South Africa!
Hallie Major
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