Meat, Meat & Some More Meat

Yesterday we had an amazing tour of the Cape Malay Quarter of Cape Town.  It started off by seeing the Slave Lodge, which was built in 1679 and was where Dutch East India Company slaves were confined.  After we continued walking through the neighborhood, stopping in an incredible spice shop!  There were many men on the street dressed in brightly colors and their faces were covered in glitter for a festival.  Walking into the older part of town we saw restored homes, which were painted bright colors.  It was such a beautiful area to walk around.  At the end of our tour we stopped for lunch at a home in the neighborhood.  The couple that lived in the home was delightful to meet and the food was prepared deliciously.  Finally, we stopped and went inside the oldest Mosque in Cape Town.  We all spent the remainder of the afternoon doing various activities and resting in preparation for our braai that evening (what we would call a barbeque). 

Today we had another tour but in some of the townships.  Our first visit was to the community of Langa, which was an area selected for blacks years ago.  We visited the local pottery shop, which was filled with beautiful mugs, plates, ect.  There were people selling various other pieces of artwork, all of which are simply stunning.  I ended up buying a small beaded keychain (for 20 ZAR—just under $3 US) and a painting of the townships.  We continued the tour walking around the community.  It was moving to see the harsh differences between the homes in the front of the community and the homes in the back.  Our guide told us about how the people were relocated here years ago and promised by the government to build new homes.  However, the government has failed to keep its promises.  Along the way we walked past people in the community selling sheep’s head on the street and were told it was considered a type of fast food.  None of us offered to try it though!  It was shocking to see the various shops including braiding salons, barber shops, and fruit stands all located in structures no bigger than my bedroom here in Cape Town.  Entering one of the shacks we were given a taste of the locally brewed beer and then led into the local ‘pub.’  It held one pool table and was not much larger than that.  Everyone was very welcoming and it was fun to talk to some of the local kids.  One young boy showed me his toy that was similar to a yo-yo.  The experience was simply amazing and I cannot wait to return for a weekend home-stay!

Next we drove to a colored community for lunch.  We walked into a large crowed gathered at a place called Mzoli’s Meat.  We were served a massive, now I mean really GIANT platter of meat and told to dig in—with our hands.  One thing I have definitely come to realize is South Africa is big on eating meat.  The motto seems to be don’t ask what it is, just eat (though it has mainly been beef, lamb, and chicken). I think we will definitely be making another visit there when we have more time to relax and spend the afternoon to hang around, as there were many vendors around.

This afternoon a few of us went out exploring on a hike.  The views were just incredible.  In fact, we were all inspired enough to decide to wake up for a hike tomorrow morning—at 6 AM!!  All of us are still in shock that we get to spend a whole semester in this incredible place!  Well I should get some sleep so I can wake up bright and early.

Sending everyone hugs,

Catie

Art in Langa

More amazing art

Beautiful little girl

Glitter face paint for festival

Colorful Malay houses

Hike to Rhodes Memorial

Boys running after our van

Laundry hung in the street

Inside the pub in Langa

Cooking the sheep head

Spice shop in Malay Quarters

Amazing tree on the hike

I'm not in Acton anymore...

       Today was incredible.  We went as a group (all 18 of us) to visit three of the service sites we will have a chance to work with.  First we visited a high school in a ‘black neighborhood.’  In South Africa the color of your skin used to define your rights and today we are still seeing the effects of these years.  Black townships were treated with fewer rights than the colored (meaning one parent of black decent and one of white or a similar mix—not just black skinned.  Also, these people were seen as superior to just blacks).  Whites were superior to all during the apartheid years.

Driving into the school we passed through the townships.  Homes were small shacks built of simple materials.  Walking into the high school I was all of a sudden aware of the color of my skin—something that had never struck me as being so utterly different before today.  We walked into the library during the schools recess with kids starring at us.  Some of the male students whistled, while other students stared at us with eyes full of hope.  The reality of the situation immediately hit me like nothing I have ever experienced before.  Next we visited the primary school in a colored neighborhood.  All of the kids here waved and smiled at us.  They looked at us with bright eyes, hoping that we would choose their school to come help at.  We were told that their class average was at leas 40 students per classroom.  This made crowd control a major problem teachers face everyday, with only 20% of the total day spent teaching.  Next we saw the youth prison.  We still have two healthcare clinics to visit and a week or two to decide on our final placement.  Each program has its own draw and it is definitely going to be a difficult decision as to where I should spend my semester doing service. 

This evening we were told we would be going out to dinner with the other 164 Arts & Sciences CIEE students about 40 minutes away in the wine country.  We were however unaware that this would turn out to be one of the best meals and restaurants that any of us had ever dined at.  The food was simply amazing.  A buffet of many different classic African cuisines was all of a sudden in front of us.  Complete with African music and dance for all!  Additionally, the grounds were amazing.  Trees were continuous throughout the property with lanterns hung amongst them (the pictures simply do not do it justice).  The sky was clear, allowing for an evening full of stars.  The night was simply full of magic (something Asher always reminded me was always around) and good friends!

Love to all,
Catie

'The Big House' (where I live in Cape Town)

(Dinner in South Africa wine country)

(Dinner tents)

(More dinner tents)

(Flowers in our gardens)

(Homes in the townships)

Hello From Africa!!

Hello from Cape Town.  I have finally reconnected to the internet (not going to lie, it has been really nice not being able to easily access the internet these past 5-6 days).  To be completely truthful, I still am really unsure how the Internet over here works, since we buy it by megabyte not time.  So far the trip has been amazzzing!  After over 21 hours of flying, two members of the staff who were so friendly and welcoming met me at the Cape Town airport.  It is definitely a challenge to learn not only all the names of people in the program, but also all the staff members as their names are rather different than what I am used to. 

Our first two nights were spent in a hotel right near Long Street (which is where people often go to at night).  We began doing orientation meetings and getting to know everyone, how the program works, etc.  They prepared us for boredom, but every talk only made me more and more excited about the upcoming months and assured me that I chose the right program!   We have all been quite pleased with the prices around this area as well.  The other night we went out for a delicious seafood dinner complete with drinks and tip for only $14 US.  We also strolled through a craft market while in search for an ATM and saw beautiful art, figures, jewelry, etc.  It all screamed my name and I cannot wait to go back and buy a few special things (Marissa, I think my room back in Boulder is really going to step up its safari décor after this trip!) 

This morning we left the hotel and moved into our house! It is absolutely beautiful.  There are three total houses on our property, so the 20 of us (18 students plus two RA’s) are split up.  I am in the ‘big house’ with 10 other people and couldn’t be happier.  I got a single bedroom on the second floor and the view out of my window is Table Mountains!  All of the bedrooms have their own charm, and some even have fireplaces!  I feel like I am on a vacation, not about to embark on a semester of college!  The yard has several small gardens, which a gardener comes and tends to everyday!  Additionally, there is a cleaning service that comes through and cleans all of the common areas—everyday.  Cape Town is definitely going to spoil me…

Off to bed since we have a busy day tomorrow!

Love to all,

Catie

Off to Africa TOMORROW!!!

I am currently trying to finish up packing my bags.  It is hard to believe that I will be living out of a suitcase for 5+ months!! I am definitely getting super excited to start my adventure.  Cape Town looks like an amazing city and I am just SO excited to finally be there.  Well I must return to packing so I can try to get some sleep before the 20+ hours of flying tomorrow.  Will try to post some pictures once I arrive! Goodbye America, hello Africa!!!