South Africa: 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