SAEP Camping Trip

My final weeks at SAEP were the highlight of my time in Cape Town. As much of my time at SAEP was spent filling in on a variety of tasks as outlined in my last entry, the last 2 weeks focused on planning and vacilitating a 3 day overnight camping trip for 40 highschool students. SAEP leads a variety of outdoor activities including day hikes and overnight educational trips for township students and following the cancellation of a trip in early Oct, Asanda, the volunteer coordinator at SAEP and I very quickly rescheduled and planned our stay at the Falsebay Ecology Centre through the Zeekovlei Environmental Education Program. The trip was highlighted by interactive teambuilding games, environmental awareness activities, a trip to a waste water treatment facility (thought of u Jan; I'm sure you are glossy eyed just imagining it), a trip to a conservancy with upclose encounters with snakes and other reptiles and a service project which involved removing invasive (alien) aquatic plants. The week was an amazing learning experience for all the children and me. While managing to not impose too much on the Xhosa dominated conversations I learned a lot about the childrens culture, traditions and perspectives on life throughout the 3 days.