Saturday we took the 50 minute train ride down to Cape Town. We rode 3rd class (which had no white people aboard unlike 1st class). We stood squished extremely tightly between everyone else. I was hot, sweaty, and had abolutely no space. Here in America we refer to our personal "bubble" often, as if the space around us is ours and is a right. Personal space is not a right in South Africa it is a privilege if you can afford it.
When we arrived we visited the Castle, City Hall (where Mandela had his first speech after his release from prison), St. Georges Cathedral, Company Gardens, and statues at the Waterfront of Mandela and 3 other Nobel Peace laureates- Chief Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and former president FW de Klerk.
While downtown we watched a fight break out between our culture mentor and a random man on the street he said hi to over an issue of language. There is still a lot of racial tension in South Africa. I have to remind myself that it hasn't been that long since the Apartheid ended. There are still deep wounds, and despite the huge changes and progress I have seen in a lot of the country, there is still a long way to go.
Somehow we all got seats on the train ride back to Kalk Bay. After only a few minutes though, I couldn't handle sitting any longer with my heart aching a deep cry that I did not deserve a seat over anyone else. I stood up and gave it to a coulored woman and went to the other side of the train car and stood the rest of the way back. Right before she left for her stop, the woman who took my seat, pushed her way through a crowd of people to find me on the other side of the car to thank me. I was stunned. I became very aware of the color of my skin on the train that day.
Sunday I went to a church that is held at a wedding venue at one of the vineyards. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Later that day the whole group went to Kirstenbosh (famous breathtaking gardens) for a sunset concert. Although blacks are the huge majority in South Africa, this was one of the very few times that I ever saw upper-middle class blacks.
When we got back, a few of us had a bonfire at BI to make smores. We got out a guitar and sang Christmas songs and worship songs, and then we prayed for one another beneath the stars.
Tuesday, we spent the day in a township called Langa (which means sun in Xhosa) and then that night we went to watch theatre sports (improv competitions).
We learned about a music program they had for children. Then we learned about a pottery program they have in which people in the community learn how to make pottery and once they are done with the program they are allowed to use the furnace to try and start their own businesses. There is also a 6 week cooking program in the community. I was really impressed by all the programs that were in the township, but I am sad that so few take advantage of them. Although I have spent a lot of time in other townships, I still was shocked at the living conditions. We walked into one bedroom, which was smaller than any bedroom I have ever lived in, and it housed three families. In the room there were three small beds. On one bed lives a family with 3 children, on another bed lives a family with 4 children, and on the other bed lives a family of 6 children. My younger brother is too tall to fit on one of these beds, how can a whole family fit?
I thought it was really interesting to hear the guide say that he prefers living in the shantytown (shantys are areas in which the houses are made from collected trash) rather than more developed areas. He said it is simpler. He said they talk about wanting Bently’s and things but he never would really want it, although he does want to work for the best for his family. We often miss what matters most in life because we are so distracted by what we have or want.
Earlier that week my culture mentor mentioned that he didn’t like coming to the BI at first. I was confused because BI is gorgeous and in my mind “nicer” than a township. Then he explained that BI was boring. People have to make appointments to spend time with one another. This is true in America too. We build walls around ourselves. We like space and distance. We like control and schedules.
Below on the left is one of the music teachers for a children's music program and on the right is one of the pottery students we met.
Below on the left are "smilys" (a township delicacy) being prepared for barbequing. The building in the background is an apartment building the government built during the Apartheid for the few black workers they brought into the city to work. On the right is the shanty that our tour guide used to live in.
Tires can be LOTS of fun : )
Wednesday, we watched a documentary on protest music during the Apartheid. Music is such a huge part of South African culture and history.
Thursday, we went to Robben Island. We took a bus tour around the island and then we went to a cell where a former prisoner told us about his experiences, and the extremely harsh treatment they received. We then saw the courtyard where Mandela would work and garden. In the corner of the garden is where he hid a book he wrote. It is there in the courtyard where we also saw the photo that the government staged to make it look like Mandela was being clothed and treated properly, when in actuality he was not allowed to where pants, nor socks and shoes, or long sleeve shirts. It made me wonder what other things the media and government has skewed.
Seeing Mandela’s cell was what I was most excited for. It is hard to comprehend what 18 years must have felt like in that cell. I am completely in awe of how he did not leave prison with bitterness and hate and anger. The former inmate who did our tour also preached this. At the end he commented that we must forgive and have peace. It is true and I completely agree, but I also recognize that, although freeing, it must be so difficult after all the oppression they experienced. It is amazing and inspiring.
Below is the Waterfront (a fancy shopping area and harbor).
Below on the left is my friend Francie and I on the ferry to Robben Island, and on the right is the entrance to the prison.
Below on the left is the limestone quarry that the prisoners would work in, and below on the right is the former prisoner who shared his story with us.
Below on the left is the picture the government staged in the prison, and on the right is the garden Mandela helped make as a prisoner.
Below is the prison cell where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years incarcerated.
Below are the first penguins I saw in Africa!
Colossians 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Saturday, we climbed Table Mountain. It was one of the most physically challenging things I have EVER done in my life!!! It was INTENSE! I had cuts and scrapes on every limb by the time I reached the top, and I also had a nasty bloody bruise for the rest of my time in South Africa. It was worth it though. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Afterwards, I went to Amy (My homestay sister's) creche (preschool) graduation/ community Christmas party.
Tuesday, we went on a driving tour of the peninsula. The first main stop was the Cape of Good Hope. We took photos with the signs that designate it is the most southwestern point of the African continent. It was super windy! I felt like I was blowing away, in fact I did blow off a little rock at one point. I also could barely see because my hair was in my face the whole time, but what I did see was beautiful. We drove by a memorial in honor of Bartholomew who drifted ashore and claimed he discovered Cape Town. He origanlly named the Cape of Good Hope, the Cape of Storms. Due to the incredibly fierce winds of that week, I would say his name was fitting.
Next, we drove to Cape Point. On the way there we saw baboons, a few ostriches, and 2 antelope like animals. When we arrived, we walked up the hill to the lighthouse. It was still extremely windy at this point. I made my way back down the hill very quickly as to get somewhere slightly less windy. Cape Point is the touristy point where they say the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic ocean meet, but the "meeting line" is actually a 3 hour drive east of the lighthouse. Its confusing- I still don't quite understand.
Next we went to Boulders where we saw penguins! Although I already saw penguins at Robben Island, this was still one of the things I was most looking forward to in Cape Town. I loved seeing them up so close in the wild, and the boulders and water were beautiful.
Below is Reagan (one of the CLCs) and I at a random stop along our drive of the Peninsula.
Saturday, I went GREAT WHITE SHARK DIVING!!! ANOTHER DREAM COME TRUE!
I didn’t sleep the night before because I had an awful flu, but that wasn't going to stop me from seeing one of my favorite species of animals. We got picked up at 4:30am and drove a little over 2 hours to an inn where we had a lovely breakfast buffet. It was very windy that morning and we had to take a detour to get there because the wind had blown so much sand on one of the roads that the taxi in front of us got stuck in the sand. After breakfast, we saw a power point and listened to an informative speech about shark deaths, and the projects the organization we were with were working on-SAVE THE SHARKS!!! Then we got all geared up and headed for the boat.
I was in the first group to go down in the cage. We put on our hooded wet suits, our booties, weight-belts, and masks, and then one of the workers asked who really wants to see sharks, and all at once everyone yelled "SHELLY!," so I got to go into the water first. That posistioned me in the corner near the bate line of tuna heads. There was also a fake seal cutout on the other side of the cage. The water was FREEZING, but I didn't care. We saw HUGE sharks (biggest one was about 4.2 m long and super wide). They would go around my corner a lot looking me straight in the eye as they would past. I really had the perfect spot in the cage. At one point, one came straight at me with jaws wide open!!! It was AWESOME!!!
Afterwards I got to watch the next 4 groups go down and it was just as exciting because outside the water we could see them jump up. When we were done with all the groups, we brought up the cage and then sailed through shark ally (considered the world capital of sharks). Right now is the low season for sharks in the ally though because it is breeding season for the seals which means they are spending most of their time on land and not in the water, so the sharks go elsewhere for food.
