Hi, Well its tuesday evening and i've just packed the last of my things as tomorrow morning were leaving gorgeous Cape Town and heading to Singapore! We've had a busy and cultured two days, on monday morning we went on a township tour, this trip took us to a variety of places in Cape town to show us how blacks were forced to live and the conditions they still live in! We went to the district six museum which explained how all the blacks had to move out of the towns and cities and live in the country side and what kind of life they had when they moved out there! After this we headed to the township, these places comprise of tin shacks all rammed together into the smallest of spaces! We called into the local "pub"which couldn't hold more that 30 people, women are not normally allowed in these places to drink but only allowed in to make the beer! To drink in the pub you have to pay 5 rand (50p) which lasts all day, you don't all get individual beers it gets put in a big tin pot and passed around the room - so yes i had to get over my major issue of germs and drink out of this tin with a load of strangers! It was gross and i don't just mean the beer! We continued looking round the township, we were able to go and look in peoples houses - which is more like a two room hut for a family or 5 or 6! Children would be running around and many of the adults didn't seem to work! It was hard to see people live like that but then i also had an issue with men being in the pub at 10am on a monday, and peoples houses having big screen tv's, dvd players etc while their children had no shoes and shared their homes with chickens! The goverment is trying to rehouse these people with buildings going up everywhere, but i feel they need to help themsevles too! Our last stop of the trip was to a nursery which was my favourite part, as soon as we walked through the door we were mobbed these kids were all over us! You would pick one child up and the others would be pulling their legs to get them down - it was such a great experience (except being snotted on and groped by a two year old boy!). I have some great photos with the kids - they were amazed with the digital cameras! The conditions of the nursery were supposedly good compared to other ones but you had over 60 kids being looked after by two people and they all just had to sit on the floor in the smallest space! It was crazy - it did make you appreciate what we have though! In the afternoon we lounged about the pool and just stayed at the bar that night, although nobody seemed to get to bed before 4am! This morning was our trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela (and many more political activists) spent far too too many years of their lives locked up and being treated disgracefully! You take a boat to the island then go round the island by bus with a tour guide, when you enter the prison though your taken around by one of the prisoners who served at the same time as Nelson, it was really emotional! Our tour guide was only 17 when he was arrested and although he was sentenced to 15 years only served 5 before the prison was closed! What he saw in those 5 years i can't even comprehend but it only worked to make the men stronger and educate themselves so that leaving prison they could attempt to change the way south africa was governed! I think visiting Robben Island is a most for anyone visiting South Africa! Well i really must go - two of the lads in our dorm have cooked us dinner - so i must go eat! Love Always Danielle xxxx