Hello from South Africa!!!

From our ship we can see Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak rising above the city of Cape Town and it is soooo beautiful! Unlike Namibia there are no sand dunes here, instead we have the mountains, trees and a city. The waterfront area near our pier is filled with people, music, food and three different malls- there is always something to look at! Here is some of what I have been up to... (warning- longish post ahead)

The first day we got here, Friday, I climbed Table Mountain and it was BEAUTIFUL! I realized how much I miss being active outside, and it was just a great time. It was COLD at the top, but we could see the whole city and our ship looked tiny in the distance. We ate PB&J while feeling like we were on top of the world. I managed to be the clumsy one on the way down and step on my ankle funny, but hey I can smile while wearing an ace bandage so it's all good :)

Saturday I visited a township, which several years ago started off being the area where they sent Black people to live when they were segregating the city and is now a poor collection of run down shacks and people wandering about on the streets. While on one hand it was a hard thing to see, especially when we saw the houses on the outskirts of the township that were so much worse that we would not even go camping in them let alone live in them, but we also got to play with some of the kids and they were smiling and laughing as I swung them up in the air :)

On Sunday I went to Hillsong church with a couple other people from the ship. It was AMAZING. It was good hearing the loud music and having people dancing by their seats and clapping as they sing, and then the pastor was really great... We sang the song "I am a friend of God" and the verse really spoke to me- I felt this great feeling like Jesus was home. No matter how far away I go He is there and He is more than enough :) as I left I picked up a brochure and all it said besides the name was simply "Welcome Home." Amazing.

Monday and Tuesday I explored the waterfront area and the further downtown- there were numerous markets to poke around in, sooo many people to talk to and different music performances everywhere to watch. I became friends with one guy named Hakeem who has a stall at the Greenmarket Square. His dream is to become an artist and we got to talk for a while and it was really cool. We exchanged email addresses and small gifts- he gave me a pair of earrings and a bag and I gave him a New Hampshire postcard and some candy. His email to me said "Don't forget friends."

Wednesday! That's today! Today a group of us got together with this amazing guide to drive down to Cape Point and several other places. We got to go on a ferry out to see Seal Island which was covered in (you guessed it) seals! We also saw lots of whales. Then we saw baboons on the side of the road!!! They were so cute. Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope were both pretty cool... we had a great view of the water and some mountains. Then we stopped at Boulder Beach where we saw PENGUINS! That was probably the best part of the trip :) they were sooo adorable. On the way back we stopped for food and he took us to a traditional African place to get... fish and chips! Apparently that's what you eat if you live at the sea front :)

Besides these things I have also watched people play with fire at a street corner, poked around in a bookstore, and eaten warthog and snoek (which is some fish that you can apparently only find here). We leave tomorrow night to head toward India! We will be at sea for 11 days, so I will be working hard and busy with classes :) I hope that you are all well and having fun with whatever adventures you are having!!! Let me know what you are up to!

Love always, -Bethany

PS: I will try to get new pictures up soon! And you should now be able to comment on these posts if you want but I probably won't be able to reply to them... just so you know. If you want to actually tell me something and get a reply then just send me an email (brwakeman@semesteratsea.net <mailto:brwakeman@semesteratsea.net> ) :-D

"who am I that you are mindful of me? That you hear me when I call. Is it true that you are thinking of me? That you love me? Its amazing... its amazing..." -from the song "I am a Friend of God"