Table Mountain

This morning we all had the opportunity to sleep in an hour later as it was the beginning of our first weekend here in South Africa. On our agenda today was a visit to Table Mountain as well as downtown Cape Town. Table Mountain is an absolutely beautiful ring of flat top cliffs that peer over downtown Cape Town. We arrived around mid morning and rode up to the top in rotating gondolas. The view from the top was nothing short of breath taking. We spent a couple of hours at the top snapping countless photos and just having a great time bonding as a team. After Table Mountain, we made our way into downtown Cape Town to visit the local African Market. We all had the opportunity to walk around for about an hour and shop for souvenirs.

After our visit to Table Mountain and Cape Town, we headed back to the Academy for "Guys Night" and "Girls Night". For Guys Night, we took all the Academy boys outside and had a ridiculously fun time playing capture the flag in the dark with glow sticks. In addition to capture the flag, we also hung out in "the shed" playing basketball, devouring chips, drinking soda, and doing typical guys things. In contrast to Guys Night, all the girls meet up in the retreat center to paint nails and do other girl activities. Below is an excerpt from Lailanie on what the girls were up to tonight.

Lailanie:


After being gone most of the day, we were so excited to see the students and spend a fun night with them. Girls night and Guys night is a Rock Harbor team tradition. After dinner, all the girls got in our pajamas, spread out some blankets,"bedazzled" little purses and bags, painted our nails, and had the special treat of chips and soda. The best part was when the Mariah Carey song "Always Be My Baby" came on all the girls literally jumped up, picked up a marker to use as their faux microphone, and sang each word at the top of their lungs. It didn't end there...we then sang and danced to Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys. The girls then had the idea of having each of us on the team to write our names and a message on each of their bags to remember us. We ended the fun-filled evening by praying and every single student gave each of us a very heartfelt hug. It definitely seemed that through the songs, dancing, conversations in our pj's, and "bedazzling", our bond and friendships with one another just continues to grow. As we continue to hear their stories and spend more time with these amazing girls, our love for them continues to grow as well.

(Phola (in the pink) led most of the singing tonight)