My Week in Muizenberg, South Africa – Day 1: Arriving at the Volunteer House

From the moment I walked through the doors of 37 Albertyn Road, I knew that choosing to volunteer through International Volunteer Headquarters (IVHQ) South Africa program was one of the greatest ideas I’ve ever had. After postponing the trip for almost a year due to the typical anxiety of time and money constraints, I realized there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than traveling and helping others, and on Sunday night I found myself standing in the middle of the Albertyn House‘s bright and bustling hallway, surrounded by the friendly and exited faces of people from all over the world who felt exactly the same way I did.

“Hey! We’re going to Primi to get drinks and wifi, wanna come?” A petite brunette girl from Canada asked before I had even put my luggage down. Without question I threw my stuff in what was designated as my room and appeared back in the hallway in seconds. “Oh no no, you can’t take that.” She said, pointing at my Harvey’s Seatbelt Bag. I had heard it wasn’t safe at night in Muizenberg, so I wasn’t surprised at her remark, and had actually been planning on using the slashproof bag as a weapon. I shrugged, and reached in my bag to grab my iPhone and wallet, then threw my purse in the corner. “Here you can put your stuff in my backpack, let’s go!” She said, opening her bag for me to throw my wallet in while following the rest of the group out the door.

As we strolled and shuffled around the corner, down a narrow street of little houses, down another, across a busier street next to a bridge sheltering homeless people, and finally down another road that led straight to the beach and Primi – the local restaurant they all go to that stays open late, I tried to absorb all of the “new people” tips that they excitedly had to offer. Inside the adorable beach-chic yet modern restaurant, I continued to listen to stories, advice, and gossip, while trying to figure out who was dating who, since it seemed like many of them were. I quickly realized that I forgot about the natural phenomenon of a trip-relationship – someone you meet on a trip and have a passionate, die-hard, week-long relationship with, only to have to say goodbye (possibly forever) at the end of it.

I quickly scoped out the table, just in case there were some potentials, but immediately felt creepy and refocused on my conversation with the Sams (two girls both named Sam who had already been in the program for weeks), about how one of their phones got stolen earlier at Mzoli’s – an extremely local Sunday Funday spot in a township where fights and theft are the norm.

After everyone was done eating, drinking, and wifi cramming, we stumbled obnoxiously back to the Albertyn house, where some of us sat in the living room where I figured we’d watch a movie. “We only have these two, and we’ve seen them a million times so you guys can pick, and we’ll play it on the tablet”. Tablet? I thought to myself. “What’s wrong with the TV?” I asked in confusion, examining the turned-off TV on the cabinet next to the non-working fireplace. It was so cold that I could see my breath in the living room since the house had no heat, and I considered attempting to force the fireplace to work. “We don’t have any cable. Someone bought a DVD player but they took it with them when they left”.

I could hardly see the screen because I was tired, tipsy, and freezing, but didn’t want to seem rude to my new friends. Finally my GBF (‘gay best friend’) who decided to come with me on the trip last minute, got up and announced that he was going to bed. I plotted to follow suite and was about to stand up when a tall, dark and handsome guy came walking into the room. “Can you make a seat for me?” He said in a thick, foreign accent to the Sam on my right. Maybe I’ll stay a little longer. I thought to myself. Apparently GBF had the same thought too because he reappeared back into the living room seconds later. But my eyeballs couldn’t even focus on the screen, so I headed off to bed, making a mental note to get up early to actually do my hair in the morning before orientation.