Oh! The Places I Went, Things I Saw, People I Met... Cape Town!

Muizenberg Beach

I spent the last few days considering how much I have been able to do and experience this semester. I have done so many things since I've been here! Sometimes my weekend activities are more than one person might get to do in a lifetime. I am so lucky to have had this incredible chance to do everything I could have hoped. As time is winding down there are only a few more things left on my list. That's crazy! Table Mountain is definitely one of them.  When I started to show my students my pictures during an impromptu Life Orientation lesson I decided to make a list of everything I could remember that I did then pick out the important, memorable, influential things and compile them. We had a great time talking about  each place they recognized and learning about the others. Those are the lessons I like the most. Just for fun! It's been so exciting to recall all these exceptional experiences and memories and it's definitely given me some perspective. I have really loved reflecting on my time abroad and recalling the intense learning moments but also the tons of fun I had along the way. It's not just about living; this experience is also about learning and reflecting too. Sometimes time gets away from us and we can't slow down and recognize everything. We're always moving on to the next exciting thing. Each opportunity here has been unbelievable and I am so fortunate and appreciative. Yesterday I was walking along the beach and I knew it would be my last time at Muizenberg. We've past the "firsts" and moved on to the "lasts" and in some ways that is scary but it's also really encouraging. Although it's  only been three months this somehow feels like a lifetime of learning and opportunities!

Here is a list of some of my favorite places to eat, music I've seen, tourist attractions and more! If you ever come to South Africa hopefully this will serve as a guide for where to start your travels. Otherwise I hope it will show all the amazing, fun things I've been up to this semester! What a ride it's been! I am shocked that it's almost over but there is still some time left and I need to take in every last moment. :)

Waterfront

Places to Eat:

1. Rock Sushi - Newlands
2. Chan's - Mowbray
3. Mzolis- Guguletu
4. Fat Cactus- Mowbray
5. Eastern Food Bazaar- Cape Town
6. Coaca Wha Wha - Rondebosch
7. Charlie's Bakery  -Cape Town
8. Addis- Ethiopian Restaurant- Cape Town

Music and Theatre:

9. Freshly Ground- Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Series
10. Jimmy Dludlu- Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Series
11. Jeremy Loops - Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Series
12. Goldfish - Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Series



HoliOne Color Festival

13. Mahogany Room- Jazz Club/Restaurant

14. Swingers- Jazz Club/Restaurant

15. Poppys- Jazz Club/Restaurant
16. Blue Chip- Jazz Club/Restaurant
17. Beer Garden- Cape Town
18. Swedish House Mafia- Cape Town Ostrich Farm
19. Holi Festival- Grand Parade, Cape Town
20. Kat and the Kings
21. Curl Up and Dye

Tourist Attractions:

22. Boulder's Beach
23. Kirstenbosch Gardens
24. Cape Point
25. Signal Hill



Kalk Bay

26. Robben Island- Waterfront

27. Greenpoint Stadium- Bafana Bafana Soccer Match

28. Kalk Bay

29. Cango Caves

30. Bloukrans Bridge- Bungy Jump
31. Knysna Elephant Sanctuary

32. Fugard Theatre- Cape Town

33. Long Street (day and night)- Cape Town
34. Company Gardens- Cape Town
35. Waterfront

36. Nelson Mandela Square- Santon

37. Wine Tasting-  Altydgedacht Vineyard

Slave Lodge- Cape Town

History:

38. District 6 Museum- Cape Town
39. Slave Lodge- Cape Town
40. Apartheid Museum- Johannesburg
41. Holocaust Centre- Cape Town
42. South African Jewish Museum- Cape Town
43. Sharpeville Memorial - Johannesburg
44. Soweto- Johannesburg
45. Hector Pieterson Museum- Johannesburg
46. Constitution Hill and Constitutional Court- Johannesburg
47. Freedom Square- Johannesburg
48. Class @ UCT- Cape Town

Activism and Getting Involved:

49. Rally against violence against women- Cape Town

International Women's Day

50. International Women's Day rally- Cape Town

51. Rally for Safe Communities - UCT- Cape Town
52. UCT Gymnastics- Cape Town
53. Netzer, Temple Israel- Cape Town
54. City Mission Educational Services- Bridgetown
55. Homestead - khayelitsha
56. Silvertown Baptist Church Sunday Mass
57. Free Yoga on the Promenade- Seapoint
58. Oceanview Homestay
59. Human Rights Weekend
60. Sivuyile Baptist Church—Guguletu
61. Boys and Girls Club of South Africa- Soweto
62. It Gets Better South Africa- Click HERE to watch our video!

Shopping:

63. Old Biscuit Mill- Woodstock
64. China town



Old Biscuit Mill

65. Mr. Price- Cape Town

66. St. George's Mall- Cape Town

67. Green Market Square- Cape Town
68. Rondebosch Craft Fair
69. Muizenberg Flea Market
70. Clairmont- Cavendish Square
71. Hout Bay Market

Transportation:

72. Taxi
73. Cab
74. Train

Nature:

75. Lion's Head

76. Kruger National Park

77. Muizenberg Beach
78. Sunset on a safari
79. Sunrise  on a safari 

Bloukrans Bridge Bungy Jump- I DID IT!!

Fear is temporary. Regret is forever. 

My heart was pounding. The music was pumping. Everyone was cheering and so excited.  There was this intense build up. There was an incredible rush of adrenaline. I knew I was not going to back out. I was so ready to go. Ready to soar. My feet were tied together. All of a sudden I'm on the edge looking out. Mostly trying not to look down. It felt like I couldn't hear anything. I was listening for the cheering. The encouragement I needed. Then the countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BUNGY! I jump. More like flip, off the world's highest commercial bungy jump at 216 meters high! Flying through the air. Aware of everything but nothing. Then swinging down below. Time seemed to take forever. Then, Serenity. Tranquility. After the music was too far to hear, nature surrounded me and there was quiet. I was truly amazed. In between wondering when the person was coming to pull me up I could not believe the beauty that I was seeing. I listened to the sounds of the water rushing down below. I could not even comprehend what I had just done. So awesome. Totally unreal. Everyone asks if I was scared. I can't even remember if I was. It was unbelievable. 

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

A Blog about Blogging

During this whole semester we've been required to blog once a week as part of a larger class project. (UConn in Cape Town Blog) This seemingly easy task actually proved to be a bit challenging as I was constantly stuck with choosing which awesome part of my week to write about. Either that, or I was faced with the daunting task of feeling like I needed to recollect everything which was really overwhelming. I'm known for being wordy so I was so shocked when I found myself staring at the screen struggling to find the words to talk about this amazing experience.  Although initially I did not fully appreciate this assignment I have actually grown to love the exercise of blogging during this semester. Since I did not know how to recount everything I decided to keep my own blog to supplement my work for class. Surprisingly this became a fond hobby. I've even found myself dying to get my hands on a keyboard just so I can write about my experiences. I've spent hours writing and rewriting each post until I've felt it was perfect or relayed a particular message. This has been really exciting and the response has been so encouraging.

After a while I saw my posts change from events, activities, and tourist hot spots to big ideas, meaningful experiences, and reflections. It was really interesting to watch my writing shift as my experience became more intense and intricate. My focus changed also. Instead of trying to record everything in a sort of "look what I'm doing" mentality I wanted to write so that I could share with friends and families the important messages and questions which are crowding my mind and shifting my perspective each day. I felt that it was urgent to get the word out and share my experiences.

Over the course of the semester, we've talked a lot about the power of telling stories. I've learned from my peers, community members and co-workers and their stories have shaped my experience probably more than I have established at this point. There is incredible strength in appreciating each other and working to understand their lives. It is one huge component of being respectful but it can also really change someone. I think that actually boils down to being an activist and an active listener. I've learned the most when I've just observed and listened; when I wasn't in the dominant role or even planning on learning anything. One thing I've decided though is that it would be selfish of me to keep all this new knowledge and intention bottled up inside.  I need to share these experiences so that others can feel empowered too. So that's how this blog came about. I couldn't help but spread the word! I needed to share what I've seen and heard! I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to travel and learn and not everyone can be afforded this luxury. Therefore I must speak out!  I  have loved reflecting on and sharing these events with everyone.

With three amazing weeks left I am hoping to write so much more! Please keep reading and enjoying and spreading these stories and your stories. I will never know which conversations will change my life so the first step is to ignite those conversations and share and listen. 

Just Being There Can Mean the World to Someone! (Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa)

“I feel like a tourist. I want to really get to know the community and the people.”

 (my thoughts after two days in Johannesburg, South Africa)

On Monday we had a great day at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Africa in Soweto. I was all ready with my Boys and Girls Club Staff shirt and so excited to be somewhere familiar and comfortable. I love the work that the Club does and brining this initiative to South Africa could not have been more appropriate or necessary. Providing a safe space for youth in struggling communities doesn’t have a price and the benefits are endless when each day that a child walks inside the club it’s one more day they are not on the streets or in danger. Empowering youth to make the choice to get involved in something great is the best gift anyone could provide.

When we arrived the children were so happy to see us and even if we were tired I found a sense of energy and excitement.  We all thought we’d be playing with the kids the whole day but there was work to be done! Once we heard that we were ready to help in any way possible.  It was great to give back and soon we were painting, gardening, cleaning, creating and constructing alongside the kids at the club. We went full force intent on leaving a legacy and producing finished products. I think I had the best job of all. Since I had experience with Boys and Girls Club I was asked to help our supervising and making sure things were going well. In reality that meant that I should find odd jobs and just enjoy. My primary job was to take pictures but when that got tiring I had fun interacting with some of the kids from the club. Instantly they respected me and together we worked to water plants and clean some of the outdoor games while talking and having fun. They didn’t even want to let me help because they were so intent or doing the work themselves. When I saw the pride they had for their space I was so moved. Often we talk about how resources are being misused or that there is not enough. Although this building is small the opportunities it provides can never be stifled. For once this community wins! The kids win! It gave me hope where sometimes I’ve felt defeated.

 I loved this day because it was so fun. It was nice to see our whole group come together. Often we are all working on individual projects or getting together in small groups. This was a comfortable feeling. It reminded me of City Year (a year-long full time service program through Americorps) and all the times that a day of service changed my life. I loved working with the kids to change their “home away from home” and to leave my mark. It didn’t have to be big or extravagant by any means but knowing that our time and energy would help them in some way made me smile. This familiar feeling was just what I needed. It felt so good to be back there, even if just in my mind.

Leaving was the hardest part. After working, dancing, eating, singing and having fun just hanging out we had to get back on the bus. With our new Boys and Girls Clubs shirts and our hearts filled with emotion we slowly got on the bus. It was so hard to leave because even after only one day the kids were attached to us and we loved them so much; I’ll never forget their smiles even when I get  home. They asked us if we’d return the next day and some of the younger ones cried. I couldn’t believe that we had made such a big impact but I knew it felt good although at the same time it was so difficult knowing that this was only temporary. I guess everything is in some respect. Now that I understand the difficulties of growing up in the townships I realize how important and exceptional this day was for the kids. In a world where kids are expected to grow up so quickly and the boundaries between childhood, adolescence and adulthood are not always clear, it can mean the so much just to be a kid. I learned that there is immeasurable value in making a child feel safe, important and protected. I definitely got my wish and had a chance to be more than a tourist and I couldn’t be more appreciate of being welcomed into a community as an equal and made to feel at home. I am so lucky!

Curl Up and Dye. More Than Just a Theatrical Experience

On Tuesday night we all got dressed for dinner and the Theater at Nelson Mandela Square in Standon. We were going to see the play Curl Up and Dye which was a famous play written in 1989. This play was a radical portrayal of some of the challenges facing communities during the apartheid years. It depicted the relationship between two white women, a coloured woman passing as white, and two black women in a hair salon. They spend more time discussing life and politics than taking care of hair and this mirror into the world of 1989 was eye opening and shocking. While watching they show I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The scenes were electrifying and thought provoking and inspiring. I was at times confused but the overwhelming power of the performance reminded me that emotion can tell the story that words cannot. As we discovered the challenges of accepting the gray area as acceptable, I never expected to be impacted in such memorable way.

At the end of the show we had a chance to talk with the playwright and the cast. At first the questions were simple and I was still getting over the fact that we were meeting the cast, it was so unexpected! I was lost in their words and passion. We learned that this show has taken on many roles and as it’s being performed again years after the end of Apartheid audiences are responding very differently to this drama. When once the crowd would erupt in laughter they now sit quietly. Nothing is sugar coated and the accounts are realistic so now when people watch they are stuck. Should I laugh? Is this actually embarrassing? Are they in fact right? Is our society today anymore just? It is really difficult to see the oppressive actions of your life displayed for an audience since many people do not know whether to be proud or be distant. The playwright said that many people who see this play are “diseased” they are suffering from complacency and more so are those who are not in attendance at all. Those are the people who often need to see this. The mirror that this show created shared that the gray area still exists and when we stand up proud and pronounce that racism doesn’t exist anymore what we are actually saying is that silently we are still judging people and discriminating based on race. Everyone is. The world is still paying for the price that cost us during the Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid years. We create a new gray area each day we don’t talk about the issues that our society still faces today; we prefer to distance ourselves because that’s easier. But is it really? I was once again reminded that we often learn the most when we do not expect to be educated at all!

The set for Curl Up and Dye

This conversation was such a raw experience and when so often we are caught up, fascinated or tongue tied not knowing what to ask or say watching this organic exchange felt like I was practically watching a whole other show. The actors and actresses shared with us their experiences growing up in Apartheid. From those who unknowingly perpetuated the struggle as young children unaware of the consequences of their actions to those who faced its trauma each day it was an unbelievable conversation to whiteness! The emotion was real and hearing their accounts was better than the show. This was learning in its best form! I was shocked that I was watching this because for once I felt like people spoke about the things that were tough. As intense as it was, difficult to hear, I was appreciative for their accounts and honesty. I didn’t need to know what to ask because having the freedom to talk about the past was motivation enough to get this cast really going. I couldn’t say how much time passed because I was so engrossed and impressed by this conversation. I learned so much! Experiencing this shed a new light on the passion and impact of theater and I believe the cast was just as influenced as we were.

These conversations need to happen! We must talk about the tough stuff and more importantly, we need to learn from those around us and acknowledge their stories as a part of our own whether or not we understand how just yet. And, for those who cannot speak for themselves their voices still need to be heard.  I must advocate for what I am learning and help to bring awareness back to the apartheid history. The repercussions are far from over and turning the other way now will only intensify the consequences that everyone still faces. I have decided that I can no longer give into complacency. I must not! After having these amazing experiences, it is my obligation to continue the conversation and strive to make a difference.

The Stories We Need to Tell

Afrikaans: The Boer language. Adopted from Dutch when settlers came to Cape Town. Supported by the National Party. Used as a weapon to oppress and exploit black students during the Apartheid regime.

I couldn’t be more appreciative for the experiences I’ve had this past week. While we've been busy trying to put together the pieces of a story this week has helped complete the picture. It’s been amazing to learn about the history that has made citizens in the townships of Johannesburg proud. At first I felt uncomfortable being a tourist to someone else’s hardship but I realized that these stories among many others need to be told. There is pride in recognizing the history of a community. Each time visitors come to learn, one more person will begin to understand "black life". So I put my skepticism aside and went along for the ride. I'm so glad I did. 

Sharpeville Memorial Garden. There are sixty nine symbolic pillars.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of telling stories and I am realizing it is essential. This past week while we were traveling I was reading the book "Kaffir Boy". This autobiography recounts one family's story and experiences  through the perspective of Mark Mathabane as he recalls his childhood under the Apartheid regime. It was especially significant that I was reading this book in conjunction with our excursion because many of the places we visited were mentioned in the book. As I was standing at the Sharpeville Memorial Garden, I could recall the voice and the words of a young boy who didn't quite understand what his life really was about but he knew something bad had happened. On March 21, 1960 sixty nine people were killed in forty seconds when they were protesting the pass laws which were unfair. When we met people who had lived through that massacre I learned that everyone who was killed was shot in the back while they were running from the police. They did not press on or instigate the situation further but the police brutality was so harsh that many lost their lives and more were injured or imprisoned. I was shocked and disgusted to hear the less glamorous facts.  Similarly, when we learned about the tragedy of June 16, 1976 and the death of Hector Pieterson I was able to relate to the characters in the book. Mark also participated in the riots protesting the mandatory use of Afrikaans in schools and he spent a good portion of time in fear not knowing whether to be present at school or to hide in his home. Each were at risk of police raids and the chance of being imprisoned and there was nowhere that he was truly safe. The book chronicled a sequence of unbelievable, embarrassing events many of which were never publicized. This gripping story got me thinking about the thousands of people's stories which will never be heard because they live even to this day in fear or because they were murdered as a consequence of being who they were. Before meeting people in the townships we visited, I  felt like I already had a connection to a story and as I heard more stories and learned of more personal accounts something that once seemed quite easy to disconnect from became unavoidable. I had to stare history in the face and admit that these atrocities did occur and what was even more difficult was that I had to concede to the realization that this was incredibly recent. Many of the people we have learned about are an icon representative of something larger than one person. They depict the struggle of a nation, whether or not everyone felt they were struggling. The stories we are learning about and the deaths that we are remembering are of people who otherwise still would have been alive today and I realized that in a way this is everyone’s history. This is our lives.

It was overwhelming to recall the events that occurred during the struggle. We learned about Hector Pieterson who was only thirteen when he was killed at a protest that he wasn’t even attending out of political motivation. The students from Soweto and Orlando townships were protesting the mandated use of Afrikaans in their schools. They arranged to gather at one place and march forth in unity, peacefully to make their point. Hector was a child; he was curious and wandered off. His natural instinct caused him to be killed and for his actions and death he was called a hero. Hector’s sister commented that he should not be glorified in death when in life he was just ordinary. The mother of the boy who carried him away from the scene said he was doing "his duty as a brother".  The responses from the community shocked me and I gathered that this lifestyle was unfortunately customary to some and that made their statements “matter-of-fact” and also they were humble. Nobody protested to become famous. They wanted their voices to be heard. They wanted a change!

Outside the Hector Pieterson Museum. This photograph made history. 

They referred to Afrikaans as the “killer subject” and the language of oppression. Once again I found myself realizing the impact that language can have on a community or individual. Steve Biko said “It is through evolutions of our genuine culture that our identity can be fully discovered” and that holds true to language since language is a huge part of culture and expression. I learned that this issue was much deeper than language and language became the catalyst for protest on that particular day. Since I’ve been working at City Mission I have also encountered various forms of Afrikaans. The struggle came out of the use of “proper Afrikaans” which was forced on communities. This caused top performing students to earn failing grades and took away a sense of identity by stripping people of the right to learn in their own language. Instantly, language became a metaphor for oppression and the required Afrikaans lessons perpetuated class differences in schools in many townships even stretching to the Cape Flats. I realized that by having English as my first language I have a huge advantage in society because English is now practically everywhere. I haven’t traveled somewhere yet where there wasn't even a basic understanding of English by a majority of the population. That is a privilege which I never appreciated enough until I began to think about how language is deeply rooted in power. I wondered then, why isn't English the language of the oppressor?

Speak Up, Stand Out!

Hi Everyone!

If you've been following along you know that a few weeks ago we recorded a video for the It Gets Better South Africa Project. It has been posted on the Youtube page and I wanted to share it with you!

Please enjoy!

It Gets Better South Africa- UConn in Cape Town

If you are interested in seeing more It Gets Better videos you can click here:

It Gets Better South Africa

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