Cape Town Orientation Day

After a long, long journey consisting of no less than 17 hours of flying, we arrived in Cape Town in the evening and then got settled in for our first full day of activities. Today we got to know our GVI staff and learned more about the community partners we will be working with in the coming days. Then, it was off into the hot sun to walk along Cape Town's waterfront to lunch and find shade for the afternoon. In the evening we were treated to a 3-course traditional South African meal (with many of us trying meats as foreign as ostrich, springbok and kudu for the first time) along with a calypso band which played a range of South African and popular music. 

While the heat may be a bit of a shock for us cold-blooded Canadians, I think it's safe to say that all of us at Crescent are really warming up to Cape Town!

Volunteer Day!

Today we kicked things off at Ladles for Love, a local food bank founded in order to battle food insecurity in the local communities. Here we sorted and bagged food and weighed grains of rice - all to be delivered to local schools and after-care programs. All together we packaged 2 tonnes of rice, just short of the weight of an African elephant and the amount of chocolate milkshakes Riley plans to drink by the end of the trip. 

The most eye opening experience for us (Thomas & Henry) was seeing the incredible amounts of need in the township of Langa. Most family "houses" are sheets of corrugated metal assembled together over time while other "apartments" are three floors of 25 rooms, each meant to house a family, 

As we arrived at VUSA, the after school rugby program in Langa township for 5-12 year olds, we kicked things off with a tour and a language lesson in Xhosa - one of the 11 official languages in South Africa, and a language that many of the children would be speaking. 

Afterwards, then we went to play some rugby with different age groups of school kids. The students were absolutely "smoking us" at rugby and literally making fun of us at the end - all in good fun!

• Thomas and Henry

Community Service & Aquarium Day!

Today, we started at Ladles for Love, which is a local food bank founded on food insecurity in the local communities. We made 740 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for local schools. We can see how excited everyone is, especially Mr. Davis, who seems ecstatic in this picture (we are laughing at him while making this post). After the sandwiches, we sorted and folded sheets and tablecloths, which were generously donated by a local hotel. Then we made little "love gardens" for the children in the area. 

This experience has given us (Arshan and Mateo) a new perspective on food insecurity and the importance of small acts of kindness.

Following the hard work was a fun excursion, where we went to the aquarium and explored the biodiversity of the two oceans surrounding Cape Town. Fun Fact: Cape Town is one of the few places in the world where two oceans meet (the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean)! The boys found the aquarium entertaining, especially the penguins! 

After the aquarium, we went to the V&A Waterfront to spend all of your money, Mom and Dad! Lastly, we went to dinner at Time Out Market to enjoy some burgers.

-Arshan and Mateo

P.S. Riley's current milkshake count stands at 3 milkshakes and two ice creams. It's been a slow few days for him after a strong start. 

Robben Island & Ladles of Love

Today, we woke up again to the wonderful, balmy Cape Town weather. After another early start ( 😭 ), we took a short bus ride to the pier where we caught the ferry to Robben Island! It was a spooky ferry ride through the morning fog (which half of us may or may not have slept through), to arrive at the site of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment. After a multi-lingual, educational bus tour of the island, we explored the inside of the prison. What I (Max) enjoyed most was seeing the garden outside of Mandela's cell, where he allegedly hid his manuscripts when writing A Long Walk To Freedom, his famous memoir. *Teacher edit: all the boys represented Crescent exceptionally well during this sombre part of the trip, showing excellent respect to the tour guides, asking great questions, and absorbing all the experience had to offer. We are so proud!*

Next, in the afternoon, we had what may have been the most impactful event of the trip, feeding members of the community at a local soup kitchen with our partner of the last several days, Ladles of Love. Even our wonderful bus driver (big shout out to Clive!) pitched in to help. It was incredible for all of us to see how far a meal can go. We (Max & Ilyian) enjoyed this experience the most because we got to come face-to-face with the people we were helping and see the appreciation in their eyes. It would not be an exaggeration to say it's a memory we will cherish for a long time. 

Finally, we ended the day off the day with a burger and milkshake-filled dinner at Hudson's restaurant. Riley, naturally, is in the lead of the milkshake count, now sitting at 4, but tonight, Iliyan, Henry, Thomas and even Ms. Gallagher joined the race. Riley will have his work cut out for him in the coming days to defend his title.  

-Max & Iliyan

P.S. Ilios has created his own Redbull consumption division, and  currently leads at 7. No one else is anywhere close. 

Kirstenbosch and Table Mountain 

Today we hiked! It started off at Kirstenbosch, a famous park/botanical garden within Cape Town, with our Duke of Edinburgh Award participants Arshan and Thomas (Merriman) leading the hike! This was their first practice attempt, with each leading a hike on their own in the coming days. Although we had some struggles along the way (we may or may not have gotten off track 3 times....we may never have been on the track at all), we made it in the end. Despite the ruthless adversity from difficult terrain (1 big hill) and the scorching heat, we made it back down for a tasty lunch at a lovely traditional African restaurant in the botanical gardens (although everyone did have burgers), and during lunch, most of the boys had their faces painted by the restaurant staff.

We then headed off to Table Mountain, which we discovered was a natural wonder of the world. While on the mountain, we had some amazing scenic views of Cape Town and Robben Island, which we visited just yesterday. After Table Mountain we had a loud car ride back to the hotel for some dinner. Shout out to Tommy for firmly establishing himself as the trip's most efficient napper!

Tomorrow we are excited to continue putting our hiking skills to the test, with two more big hikes planned for this trip. 

Ilios is proud to report he is at 8 Redbulls today, truly in a league of his own, with Hareth trailing at a distant 1. In milkshake news, all things were quiet on the Riley front, sadly having to resort to a chocolate ice cream cone at the top of Table Mountain.

-Ilios & Hareth

Hiking Newlands Forest & Braai Day!

Today we started off with a hike at Newlands Forest, a municipal park reserve about a 30 minute drive away. Arshan led his first official hike at a place where he had never visited. Despite some brief detours and a dead end due to the recent forest fires in the area, we (Donovan & Matias) had a great experience. It was also our first official hike on a trail! We were surprised by how red the dirt was and how different it is compared to Canadian soil - our shoes look like we had played tennis on a clay court for hours.

Afterwards, we stopped at a nearby park to have a picnic lunch and play capture the flag, one of the leadership activities Arshan and Thomas led us through. We also had a game of soccer. Shout out to Henry for finding Alex's lost earbud! After a much needed wash up back at the hotel, we finished the evening off with a traditional South African braai (aka BBQ in Canada). The big difference between a braai and BBQ is how the fire is started - with wood and charcoal. The teachers cooked us boerworst (sausage) while we played Name That Tune as the sun set. We're looking forward to seeing the Silvermine Nature Reserve tomorrow.

• Matias & Donovan

P.S. Unfortunately it was all quiet on the Milkshake division front for Riley while Ilios is currently on a hot streak in the Red Bull division - he is now up to 10.

Silvermine and Sandcastle Competition Day!

Today was so amazing for all the boys. We started the day off with another 2-hour hike along the Silvermine National Park Trail. Thomas Merriman led his first hike today, and it was a major success (cough cough Arshan)! He led us to some beautiful views and best of it being Elephants Eye Cave. Many of us agree that it was the most surreal scenery of the trip despite the difficult ascent up the mountain. In our opinion (Tommy and Alex), the trek down was the hardest and I (Alex) almost twisted my ankle 5 times.

We then had a competitive sand castle game at the Muizenberg beach, where Merriman's team easily swept Arshan's. They put up a good fight but at the end of the day, they were no match for our power.

Last but not least, we had an incredible dinner tonight (better than yesterday, therefore definitive proof that students are better cooks than the teachers), which included ribs, steaks, courtesy of Thomas Merriman and Connan, and mashed potatoes,  courtesy of Arshan. The boys did an excellent job feeding the group! 

Alex and Tommy

In other news, scientists are also starting to look into adding another time zone to the international clock. “Lafond Standard Time” is being proposed where everything runs at least 30 minutes behind whatever time zone in which you find yourself. The tricky part of this time zone is that one also doesn’t notice what time it is until no more than 1 minute before scheduled departures. 

Scientists on the trip are also looking into a new invention to prevent lost or misplaced belongings. “Gagnani Glue” (patent pending) is a skin-safe adhesive that can adhere to any personal item including sunglasses, cell phones, and newly purchased clothes. They will be seeking Health Canada approval for release to public following the conclusion of the trip.

Final Day :( - Bo Kaap & Closing Ceremonies

Today was our final day in Cape Town, but with our flight late in the evening, we still had time to explore. We started off the day by touring the colourful neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap and learned about its long history as the home of the Malay people. These were people originally from the islands of modern-day Malaysia, Singapore, Jakarta, Java and the surrounding area, brought to Cape Town as slaves. Since Cape Town was a stopping point on the European's journeys to trade with India, colonies sprang up and, over time, the neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap was established. These people, known as the Malay, wanted a place to call their own, but they weren't allowed to own their homes until the 1980s. At which point they painted them all in bright colours, after hundreds of years (for some families) of renting. My (Conan's) favourite stop on the tour was when the tour guide took us to his family home and we got to sit in the graden and try traditional food. I loved the somsas and the many others in the group also loved the Koeksisters (a Malay version of a fried doughnut). Another major hit during that rest stop were the cute cats!

In the afternoon, we spent more time shopping at a local market and then had our closing ceremonies with our GVI guides. My favourite part was the "Most Likely to..." Awards that were given out by teachers on a postcard. For example, Alex won Most Likely to be Asleep. Boom! Roasted.

Lastly, we finished our day off with a final trip to the V & A Waterfront. We had a view of Table Mountain as the sunset and the milkshake crew had a final chance to get in some outlandish milkshakes from Gibsons, a restaurant famous for having over 215 milkshakes. We were lucky enough to have a waiter who had tried them all! Even our driver Clive got in on the milkshakes. 

Now we are at the airport, drying our tears from saying goodbye to our GVI guides, Evelyn, Kyla and Richard, who have become our good friends. 

-Conan

P.S. We have lost all track of any milkshake/redbull/lost items count. We are tired.