My time in South Africa is quickly coming to an end. Up until now I have been eager to got home, but now I find myself feeling very sad. This is mainly because I have met so many great people and it is likely that I will never see them again. Despite all the ups and downs I have had at my internship, the staff at Empilweni are the most genuine people I have ever met. They treat one another like family and they welcomed me like one of their own. It's going to be so weird to say goodbye! Besides some sadness, this week has been pretty good. VACorps got a bunch of new interns in and are continuing to get more, so our 17 bedroom house is full again!

On Thursday, Chelsea, Kelsey, Sarah, and I went out to dinner at Gypsy. Every month they change their theme. July was American and August was French. We ended up having a complete four course dinner and it was delicious! We decided to go all out since it was for Chelsea's birthday. Later that night we went out in obs. It was nice not having to take a cab and I was able to save some money!

On Friday we woke up to terrible stormy weather. The VAC activity was supposed to be a hike but we ended up going wine tasting instead, which made me happy because I did not feel like hiking in the rain. Later that night we got some food at a restaurant in obs that has a tree growing through it! I had an authentic African meal of rice, spinach, and potatoes. It was delicious but my stomach didn't feel too great after. The food here is always delicious but for some reason my stomach just hasn't gotten used to it. I am looking forward to getting back to my old eating routine at home. After dinner, we got ready and headed to Long Street. It was a fun night but I was really tired and not feeling my best, so I went home early with Kelsey and Emily. Chelsea stayed with the rest of the group and ended up getting her wallet stolen

Saturday morning we went to the Old Biscuit Mill one last time. I had a waffle with ice cream and a breakfast pizza (yeah, I went all out). It was my last chance ever to go there so I figured, may as well! Chelsea had to leave early to go file a police report about her stolen wallet. That afternoon we went with Mark, one of the UK medical students, to the UCT rugby game. It was freezing but still a lot of fun. The UCT campus is so beautiful! We were feeling tired and worn out after that so we decided to stay in and watch a movie.

On Sunday we went to Robben Island! Finally! We tried to go a few weeks ago but our tour got cancelled because of the weather. It was once again freezing, but at least it was sunny. It took about 45 minutes to get to the island from Cape Town. The tours are all given by ex-prisoners of Robben Island, so it was a very educational and interesting experience. Our first tour guide usually gives tours to high profile people, such as Obama, Bill Cosby, and Nelson Mandela himself. So we got lucky! Our second tour guide was brought to Robben Island when he was 18 and was there for a total of 5 years. Nelson Mandela was there for 18 years, although he was in prison for a total of 27 years. After we got back to the water front we did some souvenir shopping and headed home. This is my last full week of work. On Friday we are going to Hermanus for a few days for some fun in the sun. We bought an underwater camera for shark cage diving, so stay tuned It's going to be awesome!