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Justin

Today was a jam-packed day and we did a lot of exploring and visiting with Robert’s family, as well as having dinner with them. To me, the language workshop stood out the most because during our check in, we talked about why it’s important to learn a language. I got out of that that it is important so we can validate them. In my experience, I really resonate with that because I feel that I am beginning to lose the ability to speak my native language simply because I don’t use it enough. To me, there is a certain amount of pain when this happens. On the other hand, it gave me some time to reflect and to think about the importance and value that our own language has.

 

The Cape Point experience was amazing because I loved the beauty of the landscape. Being by the ocean at the tip of South Africa was an amazing feeling. Seeing the natural reserve and the wild animals was some of my exciting memories. Climbing the light house was not easy and I think I complained most of the time on our way up. But I was glad I made the climb! Overlooking the rest of the point and the waves crashing into the boulders was amazing to view. Also during our climb, we met two girls who were also visiting – one from California and the other from Kent, WA. What a small world!

 

The last part of our experience was having dinner with Robert’s family. It was amazing spending time with them and hearing about their story. I especially enjoyed meeting the kids – Isabella and Oliver. Isabella talked a lot about her school and how she had to learn different languages. Overall, my experience with them was fascinating and I really love the atmosphere and the welcoming feeling I had during dinner with them.

 

Jackson

My favorite part of the day today was going to Cape Point. We were able to hike up to the light house and the view was incredible. I was really cool to meet people from all over the world there. We people from Washington and California who were going to school in Chicago. That was cool to see people from the United States and even Washington at that point. The view highlighted the combination of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

 

The car ride was extra special because we saw wildlife. After this, we went to the farthest south west point of Africa. That was cool to visualize.

 

Kristin

It’s hard to pick the most impactful event that we did today. Today was very enlightening. I learned a lot from the language workshop – it was very cool to understand a culture through their language. We also learned about the importance of speaking another’s language in order to relate to them better. I was able to gain a lot of knowledge and understanding of the cultures. I really enjoyed the trip to Cape Point and being able to see more of the beauty here in South Africa. I think my favorite thing of today was the braai, where we were invited into a local’s home – Heather and her family – for a South African BBQ. It was neat to get to know the family and it symbolized how most South Africans live. I really enjoyed getting to know them and share a meal with the family.

 

Javier

Being able to learn Xhosa was one of my biggest highlights. This was easy, but also hard at the same time. The breathing and the clicking was hard, but it’s a beautiful language which I want to learn more Xhosa. It felt like you’re putting feeling when talking this language.

 

Nick

I really liked the experience of the braai with Robert’s family. They did a great job of making sure we were welcome. I felt at home there. The language experience was interesting as well. I wish they had spent more time on the history and language rather than the life of Craig. I also really enjoyed seeing the little bit of wildlife in the Cape Point area. I saw many lizards, a few ostriches and quite a few elands, which were the large antelope species.

 

Leni

My favorite part of today was being able to learn the Xhosa language. I think that it is such a beautiful language with the rhythmic tones and clicks. I am interested to learn more about the Xhosa language. One thing that really stuck and resonates with me was when our Xhosa language teacher, Craig, told us a quote from Nelson Mandela. Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” With this in mind, I would say that language is the great unifier amongst people. If you are able to clearly communicate with a person, you can move mountains