"Vinos and Cheetos" By: Claire Shurley

Today was a beautiful day from start to finish. I woke up early enough to enjoy the serenity of an incredible sunrise from inside my apartment window. And again as I arrived home after all of the days events, I along with two others was stunned by the breathtaking orange and coral painted sky right before our eyes beyond the horizon and above the frothy waves that crash and cover the beaches here in Cape Town. Gorgeous. And a perfect way to end such an elegant day of wine tastings and cheetah viewings. This morning we Springboks got on the bus at ten and drove out to the Haut Espoir vineyards in Franschhoek. As we passed vineyard after vineyard, perfect row after row of grape plants plastered set in a background of rolling hills that lead to the beautiful peaks of South Africa, we noticed the stark contrast of our surroundings here from the valley of the township that we spent our time in these past four days. I and many of the others agree that we are so glad we ventured beyond to the more touristy side of Cape Town after our service week with the amazing people of Sir Lowry's Pass. We had a much broader perspective now, not only of the diversity of this city, but also of the real life situations and actual lifestyles of the people in and around the city. And with these new understandings we were able to fully enjoy and appreciate every little aspect of the wine tastings and tours as well as the cheetah viewings... and for the lucky few... cheetah pettings :). Everything is looking beautiful here in Cape Town!