Best Day Yet!

Today was my favorite so far! Our regularly scheduled activity was called off, so we went and saw penguins at Boulders Beach (Simon's Town) and also went swimming. In the penguin colony, we saw penguins swimming, fighting and walking down a hill at top speed. One of the penguins was missing a foot, but he stayed right with the others. They were super cute and had nests right up next to the boardwalk. Some of the penguins were shy, while others posed for pictures. At times, we would be less than a yard away from them. There were baby penguins, molting teenage penguins, and old penguins—they hid in the bushes and tunnel-like structures.

After a while, we left the colony to go to the beach. The water was gorgeous but a little cold, and there were a few penguins wandering around the beach. Not everyone went into the beach, but I sure did. We played ultimate frisbee and generally swam around. After we were done swimming some people got fish and chips. When I got out of the water I was so cold and my teeth were chattering. On the way home we saw a whale. It was huge! 

When we arrived back at Noordhoek we had a little bit of free time before rehearsal and a workshop with Bongani, a South African composer. During free time, we had a large game of Uno going with a rotating cast of characters. Some people read or slept or played pool. Rehearsal was a little longer than expected because things shifted during our day. We learned so much from Bongani, including 2 new songs, and got help with Thuma Mina and The Click Song. After Bongani left, we had a “braai," which is a South African Barbecue. The food served was Snook (a fish found in South Africa), steak, potato salad and many other things. Later on, in a post-supper haze we had a community meeting, and then a little bit more free time before we went to bed early.

-Maddy

Quote of the Day:

"My sister is so jealous that I’m going to see Penguins today…” said Luke as we were on our way to Boulders Beach Penguin Colony.