19 february 2009
my morning began early, at 0700. i purchased a day trip from a friend and met up with my tour at 0745. the trip was called cape town &the apartheid. mckendree, andrea, jake &i were all buddies throughout the day and had a great time though the subject matter was not always upbeat.
our day began with a drive through the malay quarter of cape town. in this area the houses are brightly painted in hues of red, orange, pink and blue. once family chose the house's color, it was to stay that color forever. the area has actually been deemed a historical area and is maintained very well. our guide was very informative and was able to keep our attention, which is not the easiest task when running on little sleep. the malay quarter is the muslim quarter and they have their own style of cooking and their own language.
i suppose now would be a good time to mention that south africa has ELEVEN official languages. this means that things get complicated quickly. the two main languages are afrikaans (based on dutch) and english. the remaining 9 languages are considered to be 'bantu' languages, or what we would describe as 'native languages,' like those of the native americans. each ethnic group seems to be multi-lingual. one might grow up speaking a bantu language at home, afrikaans in primary school and then english at the university and professional levels.
after we saw the malay quarter, we stopped at the district six museum. during the apartheid era, which lasted from 1948 to 1994, district six was a funky part of town made up of freed slaves, immigrants, malays and store owners. it was a lively part of town until the apartheid redistricted the city. under apartheid the city of cape town was divided into four areas: whites only, coloureds only, indian only and blacks only. the area of district six was determined to be a white-only area and everyone else was forced out. the museum commemorates the families that used to live there and included wonderful photographs of old homes.
my favorite part of the museum was the floor. there was a giant map of the old neighborhood and former residents could write in what used to be there. so each block had old family names, old stores and favorite hang outs. squeezed in the empty spaces were poems and quotations about how people felt when they were forced out of their homes. my most favorite quote, by langston hughes was written in red marker and stood out from across the room. i first heard the quote junior year of high school and it was meant to inspire us to dream big. it goes: "hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."
as far as i know, some of the land was given back to it's original owners after mandela was elected president in 1994. the african national congress (anc) pledged, when the apartheid was over, that it would work to restore the land to it's rightful owners and to rebuild their homes. the museum now acts as a forum to educate the younger generation about the long history of their country and as a community center.
after the district six museum we did a quick driving tour of cape town and hear a history of who discovered, settled and controlled south africa. we drove about 20 minutes from the center of town and entered the township, khayelitsha.(pronounced: kai-yeh-leet-cha)
townships are the most vivid remnants of the apartheid era, where the black population was forced to live. over 2 million people are said to reside in khayelitsha and over 99% are black. there are various types of homes in the township-- from tin &metal shacks to more substantial brick homes. there are schools, day cares, hair salons, medical clinics and restaurants tucked into all corners of the town. it is hard to describe exactly how the townships work, i don't think any outsider would ever be able to adequately describe the community that lives there.
there are dirt roads and paved roads. there are homes with satellite dishes on top and others without electricity. there are communal water pumps and food programs for children. cargo containers are used as store fronts and trash is everywhere. children run around with bare feet and ratty clothes while others don school uniforms. there are toys made out of wire and toy wheels and brand new action figures.
i guess one could say that the townships are a unique place to be.
we arrived at the township in two large tour buses. imagine two large buses pulling in and seeing all white students staring at you and your home, taking pictures. wouldn't you feel violated? mckendree and i felt extremely uncomfortable and felt like these communities were being exploited so that we could "see the real africa."i felt sick to my stomach.
we parked the buses along side of a pre-school and slowly trickled off the buses onto the dusty road. i left all of my belongings on the bus, including my camera. i didn't think it would be appropriate to take pictures and we had been advised not to, unless given permission.
just as we got off the bus, the pre-schoolers came running out for recess. i fell in love. about 25 or so 3 and 4 year old boys and girls came tumbling out of their one room school and rushed the gate. they loved to high-five and give thumbs up. there was no way to speak with them, their native tongue is a native language known as xhosa. speaking wasn't necessary to be enamored with the little boys and girls. they all smiled from ear to ear and just wanted to touch our hair and hands. i just wanted to hug each one of them and never let go, they were precious.
after tearing ourselves away from the kiddos, we made our way to khayelitsha's first bed and breakfast. run by a local woman named vicky, the bread and breakfast offers a glimpse into life in a township. we spoke to vicky who encouraged us to take pictures, to wave, to smile and to be friendly to all of those in the township. her words put my uneasiness to rest, i no longer felt like i was intruding upon the lives of the town. vicky, through the help of others, was able to begin a breakfast program for the children in her area. she also has created a christmas program and distributes pencils and underwear to as many children as she can.
after touring the small bed &breakfast we played with a couple of boys who had been wandering around the streets. they were playing soccer with all the big boys (and some girls, too) and it was so much fun to watch. i wish i'd had my camera.
soon, as we were preparing to leave, a sas girl broke out her stickers and the boys got SO excited. they were SO into the stickers, they wanted as many as they could get. as our caravan of kids, soccer balls, stickers and students meandered back to the bus, we walked by the pre-school and handed out more stickers. they were thrilled! they stuck them all over their bodies and kept trying to get more. sneaky little ones..
we got back on the bus and waved at all the kiddies, who waved enthusiastically from behind their playground's gate. i was able to snap a few photos from the window and made one of the girls promise to swap some pictures with me. i was in love with every last one and i wished i could have stayed and played forever. their little faces are burned into my memory.
we then drove through the township and waved at everyone we passed. women were walking with their children and some had babies tied to their backs. i'm not sure how to describe how they get the babies to stay on their backs! it looks like they are little baby koalas or monkeys, holding on tight. the bus weaved in and out of the small homes and we saw women preparing lunch -- lamb heads. i nearly got sick, but it is their way of life.
a stop at a community art center was wonderful. the goal of the center was to provide art lessons and a creative outlet for people in the community. the artisans then sell their goods and help to support their families. wire crafts are a signature south african souvenir, and there was a great selection at this center. also available were sand art pictures, beaded necklaces, carvings, earrings, etc.
at the community center i met a young woman named patience. jake, andrea and i were sitting on the amphitheater steps and looked over to see patience taking photos of us on her cell phone. we invited her to sit with us and to take a real photo. she was 21 years old and living on her own. she worked at the community center to keep herself busy, as her older sister was away at work. patience's sister works for royal caribbean (or some other cruise company.) and has been traveling the world. patience told us of how she longs to get out of south africa and to see the world. we talked about music (she loves american pop and r&b), how she learned english and her life in langa (her township). it was wonderful to meet someone my age and to realize that though we have a world of differences between us that our taste in music and dreams were so similar.
from the community center we drove to a restaurant. located in the heart of a more affluent township, the restaurant was quite the experience. all the food was cooked in the woman's home and the restaurant portion had been added later. there were approximately 100 semester at sea kids at the restaurant, as well as a large group of finnish vacationers. there was a live band playing a mix of american songs, with an african flare. the food was AMAZING.
there were 26 different dishes to try and i don't think i could even list half-- but i tried almost all of them! there was a potato dish, similar to mashed potatoes but it had little tapioca-esque balls in it. i liked that dish a lot, it sort of reminded me of grits. there were a few salsa like dishes made with corn and there was carrot salad, which was very sweet. everyone here thinks i'm crazy for eating plain shredded carrots, but its something mom used to make that i loved. a few kinds of sweet potatoes were on the line, as well as several macaroni based salads. there were little rolls, but they were deep fried, which is unlike any dinner roll i've ever had. i loved the fried chicken, but i think that is to be expected. i also tried a little ostrich meat! it was similar in consistency to corned beef, and hey-- at least i tried it. i absolutely loved the entire meal and i was positively stuffed to the brim.
a very sleepy and post-thanskgiving coma was about to set in on all of us and i think everyone instantly dozed off when the bus began moving. funny how every time we board a bus, everyone is asleep within a few minutes time. we drove back to the v&a waterfront where we had a little free time to get a coffee before boarding our ferry to robben island.
the day was heating up so mckendree and i headed into the mall to find some iced coffee. we ended up getting more of a coffee shake, but it was delicious nonetheless. while wasting our time in the mall i headed into the camera store to inquire about photo printing and portable printers. it was at the camera store that i decided i would probably be purchasing a camera in south africa.. more on that later.
after a nice walk around, we boarded the robben island ferry. there was a great movie playing on the screens that gave a great overview of robben island's history and why it was so important. the boat ride over was about 20 minutes and i felt very seasick! the smaller boat went very quickly and therefore bounced around more on the waves -- you would think i'd be used to it by now!
we arrived at robben island at around 345 and began our tour. the island is home to a world famous prison, where nelson mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. the island has served several purposes since its discovery, including a leper colony. during ww2 the island was built up to act as a defense for cape town. during the apartheid era, the island was home to a maximum security prison where public figures and political activists were held.
we took a bus tour of the perimeter of the island and took some amazing photographs of table mountain from a distance. we learned of the community that was created on the island-- there are people who still live on the island today. there is a church on the island where people still get married on valentine's day. there are many wonderful stories about life on the island but there is a darker history that looms.
there was a tour of the prison given by a former inmate and it was very interesting. the apartheid system was upheld in prison and it dictated how much food one would get as well as what privileges were available. the ranking of the apartheid system placed whites as 1st class citizens followed by coloured (defined as anyone of mixed race) and indians as 2nd class. not worthy of a class, blacks were excluded completely. all of the guards at the prison were white and lived on the island. the prison tour itself was eerie, and to think that nelson mandela walked those halls was overwhelming.
while in the prisons, mandela and his political friends were kept separate and discussion of politics was strictly forbidden. the men did work in a lime quarry on the island and were able to communicate while working. the prisoners, when placed into communal rooms, took time to teach each other and considered it necessary to their survival.
mandela, along with most of the political prisoners, were released in 1990. he was then elected, in the first truly democratic election, as south africa's president.
i thoroughly ennjoyed learning more about robben island and i am so very glad i decided to purchase the trip. our boat ride back seemed more rough than the way there and i was nearly sick. i felt instantly better once on land, and we headed back to the ship.
kelsey, ren, andrea, danielle, carrie, mckendree, caitlin and i decided to head out to a fancier dinner &wine. mckendree and i were exhausted from our long day and just wanted a good dinner. we walked, rather aimlessly, and found a great restaurant on the waterfront with live jazz called 'the green dolphin.' we had to split up tables but we still had fun. the band was great and the food was even better. i had spinach &feta raviolis and they were heavenly. after some wine and some phone calls home, we made a stop for ice cream and headed back to the ship.
so many things were crammed into thursday that i know i must be forgetting something. i wish i could have spent the entire time in khayelitsha, i loved those little kids. its incredibly eye-opening to see the conditions under which these people live and to know that 20 minutes down the road is a booming metropolis and luxury play ground. cape town has lamborghini dealerships and yet in the townships-- which many of the white population have never seen before-- the children don't have enough to eat. now i know what it means when they say that south africa has the largest disparity between rich and poor.
