I think the only way to accurately comment on my experience in South Africa is to describe the cascade of emotions that I felt.  At first I was simply in awe of the beauty of Cape Town and the surrounding country.  There were towering mountains juxtaposed with sparkling beaches, and beautiful million dollar homes built comfortably into the scenery.  It really felt like I had stepped into a AAA magazine.

         However, simply within a few miles, you reached the township of Kayelitsha and everything changed.  Along both sides of the highway there were endless rows of tin shacks held up by cinder blocks and broken boards.  There were piles of trash covering the ground and swarms of kids running through the streets and playing futbol in their bare feet.  This transition from the astounding beauty of Capetown to the extreme poverty of Kayelitsha was truly heartbreaking.  How could such a beautiful place hold such humanitarian horrors?  How could some South Africans with enough money to build multi-million dollar homes live only a few miles from other South Africans who don't even have enough money to feed their families every night?

         While driving through the township towards the school where we were running our camp, I couldn't shake this heartbroken feeling.  As I looked out the window and saw the barbed wire fences and broken down cars, I started to feel irritated and almost downright angry.  How did things get like this?  Why aren't people doing something to fix it?  And what could I do?  I spent the rest of the bus ride staring out the window in disbelief.  I had read about Kayelitsha, and I had heard people talk about it, but it still just didn't prepare me for what I was seeing.

         As we got closer to the school, we started to see kids along the side of the road and older people sitting outside of their houses.  The little kids would run alongside the bus and wave to us as we drove by.  As I stepped off of the bus into the swarm of awaiting kids and started giving high fives, the eager and excited looks that they gave me transformed my anger into motivation.  I knew that I was here to help these kids.  By simply sharing the game of soccer with them, I would really be able to make a difference in their lives.

I thought everything was intense, but that was the only way we could fit everything in and I'm sure everyone was pleased we didn't miss anything. 

 I'm sure we made an impact and by continuing to help Khayelitsha we will make a difference for the growing kids and community. 

 All the players continue to talk about how nice, well behaved, and attached they thought the kids were and that the camp was their favorite part.  Seeing the students being excited to see us and becoming close made all of us happy to help. 

it has been such an overwhelming experience for me that everything is still sinking in.  I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I really feel that this trip has truly changed me and my course for the future. 

 I can not even explain how much joy and excitement I got from being in the schools and working with the kids, and just seeing a smile on the kids faces.  I really haven't  known what I wanted to do post-graduating since getting into school and I figured that it would just work itself out.  I knew that you had plans for having one graduating player from the team to go to S. Africa each year, and I really didn't think that I would like to be that person. 

 But after going to Africa I really feel that my place is going to be in helping other less fortunate people than myself, whether it be in the States or abroad. 

 I guess I just wanted to let you know that, and thank you for your vision and what it has done for me and I am sure many others on the team.