Caitlin appreciating the opportunities she's having

 I definitely have been having a busy few weeks here in Cape Town, especially this past weekend. On Saturday some of us hiked Table Mountain, an experience I'll never forget. We came up through Skeleton's Gorge, an intense hike which included stairs, ladders, and scrambling up wet rocks. It was challenging, but I was really proud of myself when we finished that part! As we got above the treeline we were rewarded with breathtaking views of Cape Town. I found myself thinking of all the people who live in Cape Town and have never been to Table Mountain, like some of the artists we met in Langa during orientation. I realized that I'm pretty lucky to be able to have the opportunity- the money, time, and physical fitness- to be able to experience natural wonders like that. Once we reached the top, it was another 3 hours to get across to the cable car. There were clouds hanging over the mountain and we were literally inside them! It was a little eerie because we were surrounded by mist and huge craggy rocks and it was dead silent for a while. It felt like we were on another planet!  We met a man in his 70s who told us that it was his 1,200th time climbing the mountain. He was the author of a book about wildflowers that we later saw in the gift shop, and he told us the names of the different plants along the trail. When we made it to the cable car the sky had begun to clear and there were more fantastic views. We took the car down, which took about 5 minutes, as compared to the two hours it had taken us to climb up! I would definitely love to hike Table Mountain again and maybe explore a different trail this time.