Kirstenbosch

On Tuesday afternoon, the host mom of one of the exchange girls from Hongkong took all the girls who wanted to come along out to Kirstenbosch after school. Kirstenbosch is one of the most beautiful and well-known botanical gardens in the world. When we arrived there was a ride ready for us to take us through the garden. The host mom had also organized a tour guide, who was very nice and funny. The garden was absolutely beautiful and I took a lot of pictures. We saw the oldest tree in South-Africa which was 350 years old. It was very impressive. From the garden there was a marvelous view on the mountains and the city. After seeing the entire garden, we went into the souvenir shop like real tourists.

The First Trip - Elandspad and Weekend 2

On Friday the day had finally come that we would visit the Elandspad. It was the first in a series of excursions that Herschel was organizing, together with the boys' school Bishops. We had to be present at Bishops at 7:15 and from there we went to the Elandspad by bus. We started a hike of about an hour until we reached a pool where we could cool down and refresh. We jumped off a 5 metres high cliff into the water, it was amazing. Our hike continued for about half an hour when we arrived at our tea break spot. We had a snack and a drink and then moved on to the next pool. We left our bags at the spot, because we were going to do some swimming. We jumped off an 8 metres high cliff to get into this pool and swam through a hole in a rock underwater. This experience was very impressive. The view during this trip was amazing, every minute of the day. We were in the middle of nowhere, climbing on rocks and swimming in little pools. After lunch we took another hike to a huge waterfall. It was a beautiful sight, and we swam under the waterfall, into a cave. It was the most exciting thing I'd ever done in my whole life, and after swimming back under the waterfall, I turned on my back and looked up to the waterfall. It was truly amazing, something you'd see in movies. The hike back was very tiring and in the full sun, so as soon as we went into the bus, I slept for an hour. On Friday night, I had a sleepover at Elise's house with one of the Chilean girls and the next morning we went to the beach with Lauren and a friend of hers. After the beach, Loren's father took Loren, her brother and me to eat a Gatsby. Gatsby is typical South-African food. It is a roll with literally EVERYTHING on it. French fries, meat, lettuce, tomato, onions and more. It was heavy on the stomach and I'm not sure if I really liked it.  The place where we got the Gatsby was in the area of Cape Town where, during Apartheid, the black and colored people were forced to live. Those people (their families) still live in this area. I didn't really feel comfortable there, because there was a fight on the street and I got scary looks. 

On Saturday night, me and two of Loren's friends went to the Mardi Gras, which is a huge carnaval in Cape Town. There were performances of Idols participants and of course there were some rides. One of the rides was a pool with big bubbles in it, for people to go in and walk over the water. It was a lot of fun. The Mardi Gras was quite a culture shock though, for I was one of the very few white people in the carnaval. 
Sunday morning was very relaxed for me, I slept late because I didn't have to come along to church. When the family got home from church I made sushi to take with to the concert we would be going to that afternoon. It was a concert at Kirstenbosch, which is one of the most beautiful botanical gardens of the world. There was an open amfitheatre and there were two typical South-African artists performing. The first artist was called Claire Philips and she's a singer and guitar player. The second artist was the well-known Jimmy DluDlu. He's a guitar player. During the concert, we ate from our picnik and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. It was a beautiful sight and a lovely day.

Lemon Merengue Pie - Consumer Studies Project

Week 2

The second week of school has started, and his has been a nice week so far. On Monday, my first hockey practise took place with second squad. At Herschel, first squad includes team 1 through 3, second squad team 4 through 6 and third squad is team 7 and 8. Me, Elise and one of the girls from Chili practised with second squad. It was indoor hockey, which we don't take very seriously in Holland. Nevertheless, it went quite well. On Tuesday we would hear with what team we had to play a match. Tuesday was just another schoolday, and I found out that I was on third team. The match would be on Wednesday. Wednesday was very chilled, we had three free periods, consumers and a double art lesson. We met the exchange girls from Colombia and Hong Kong, who had arrived the night before. We spent our double free period with them. At four o'clock my first hockey match for Herschel began. Loren and a friend came to support me, which was very nice. Herschel won by 1-0, and I scored that goal! It was good to play again after so long. On Friday we will have our first trip, which I'm really looking forward to.

Weekend 1

My first real weekend in South-Africa was spent anywhere but home. On Saturday morning we went to the theme park Ratanga Junction with all the Dutch exchange students and Loren. The first attraction we went on was the Slingshot. The Slingshot is a human catapult, reaching a height of about 30 meters, swinging you around in the air and making you feel like you can fly. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever done in my life. We went on a few other rides, had a drink and then left the park. We went to a HUGE mall afterwards, called the Canal Walk. We had lunch there on the Food Court, which was a square in the mall, containing food restaurants and take-aways. It was designed as if it was located on Times Square, with many lights and advertisements. It was a lovely day. That evening, I was going to have a sleep-over with Elise, at Lauren's house. We had a nice dinner outside and watched a movie afterwards.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast and then Elise, Lauren and I went to Stellenbosch with Lauren's dad to take her sister's stuff to her residence at University. On our way to Stellenbosch we drove past many shanty towns and that really showed the other side of South-Africa. Being at Herschel and living with a good family, doesn't really make you think about this side, so it was impressing to see. While Lauren's sister and parents were arranging the room, Elise, Lauren and I went into town. We went into a few shops and then had a smoothie at a nice old-fashioned café. We had lunch with Lauren's family at a Lebanese restaurant in town. The cheetah outreach Spier was next on our planning. Spier is a place where you can see cheetahs and predatory birds. We could stroke the animals and we took a lot of pictures. After Spier, I was brought home by Lauren's dad and we had an easy supper. The weekend passed by very quickly, and tomorrow we have to go to school again, where I will be playing hockey for the first time.

First Week of School

Wednesday was the day that our adventure at Herschel Girls' School could begin. Dress code: blue dress with off-white sleeves, off-white socks and brown shoes. This uniform hasn't changed since 1922! Rules: no make-up, no nail polish, no jewellery, except small studs or a small necklace with a cross, hair tied back, and MANY more. Herschel is in many aspects very different from Rijnlands. At 6 o'clock in the morning, my alarm went off and I started getting ready for my very first day of school. When we arrived at Herschel, there was great assembly, which usually takes place every Monday. During assembly all the Herschel girls come together in the theatre and the teachers and sometimes also fellow students speak to the school. After assembly the lessons started and Elise and I decided to follow our own exchange partner for the day in their classes and do our own subjects for the rest of the week. On the one hand I immediately felt part of Herschel, because my uniform was connecting me to the rest of the school. But being at a school for the first time and not knowing where everything is, on the other hand, makes you feel like "the new girl". School ended at 15:00 and Loren's mom could only pick us up at 16:30, so we had to wait at school for a little bit before heading home.

The second day at school was very different. The boring subjects were replaced by subjects as art, drama and consumer studies. From then on I had every lesson together with Elise. We got to know the exchange girls from Chili a bit better, which was very nice. What really striked me was the drama classroom. An average classroom would exist of a table and a chair for each student and a desk for the teacher in the front of the classroom. The Herschel drama classroom, however, has four sofas filling the room with comfortable cushions.

The last day before the weekend - Friday. On Friday Herschel was hosting the National Debating Competition of 2012, and during most of our lessons we were allowed to watch the debates. The first debate was between Argentina and Japan and the second debate was between Argentina and Canada. I was fairly impressed by the speakers of Canada and Argentina. Also, the Scottish debating team was present, wearing their traditional kilts. Also, there was a grade meeting on Friday, in which two teachers and a student talked to the whole grade about their futures and about grade problems. On Fridays, we end earlier than usual, so after school Loren, Lauren, Elise and I went to Cavendish mall, together with a friend of Lauren and one of the Chilean exchange girls. We went for sushi at Salushi's and afterwards we had a smoothie at Kauai. It was a lovely day.

During my first week of school I realized that life at Herschel is so different from the life we know at Rijnlands. The uniforms are obviously a huge difference, but also the behavior of the students and teachers is very different. I get the feeling that it is more competitive here, because the teachers are already preparing the students mentally for their grade 12 exams and putting a lot of pressure on them.

On Friday night, Loren and I went to the youth gathering at Loren's church.

Days Before School

Since my arrival I've done quite a few things. On Sunday morning we went to church. The service took place in a school theatre. I met a lot of new people, whose names I already forgot. In the beginning of the service, the pastor introduced me to the whole church and welcomed me to South-Africa, which was very nice of him, but a bit awkward. After the service, there were donuts and drinks, and we talked with a few of Loren's friends. Also, I met a Dutch couple who had been living in Cape Town for 15 years. It felt weird speaking Dutch to someone again. After church, we went to Llandudno beach, with Loren's family. The weather was very good. In Cape Town there are two oceans coming together, a cold one and a warm one. Llandudno was located where the cold ocean was, and I swam in it. It was as cold as the North Sea, or maybe even colder. We had a picknick on the beach with African food, which was very good. I ate pies with chicken in it, which is a typical South-African dish. Around 3 o'clock we left the beach to go to the Waterfront, which is a big mall. We went to the iStore to see if my iPhone could be fixed and then we had frozen yoghurt. After the Waterfront we went to Lauren Lester's house for a get together with all the exchange families. We had dinner there, and then we went home. It was a busy, but nice day.

On Monday, Lauren Lester invited us to come to her house and hang out with a few of her friends. It was a lot of fun, and I met many nice people. Also, the exchange girls from Chile were there. We were picked up by Loren's mom around 15:30 and we had dinner at home for the first time.
Today, we went to school to pick up books for Loren. Herschel is a beautiful school and Loren and her friend showed me around. I'm actually excited to go to school, which is weird. I also got my uniform today.

The First Day

After a long flight, we arrived safely in Cape Town, around 12 o'clock at night. Of course, my goodbyes hadn't been easy, but with the support of my friends, boyfriend, and family, I got through it. The view from the airplane was beautiful, we could see the lights of Cape Town from far above, and when we crossed Northern Africa, we could even see the deserts. When we got out of the plane, we saw that our exchange families were waiting to welcome us with flags and banners. Loren didn't live far from the airport, and after meeting her family and being showed around in their home, I went to sleep. I was very tired from the flight, so I slept until 12 o'clock the next morning. I looked out of my window and saw a clear blue sky, a brightly shining sun, and I even had a view on the back of the Table Mountain. I had breakfast with Loren and in the afternoon we went to the mall. After doing some shopping and looking around, we went for sushi with a few of Loren's schoolfriends. It was a lot of fun. Loren's mom drove us to and from the mall, which was kind of weird, being used to cycling everywhere. Tomorrow, I will go to church with Loren and her family, which will probably be a whole new experience.