Above:
Marc went to Greenmarket Square during our class time and came back with many souvenirs and gifts for our family. While he did this, I fascinated discussion with our group. Again, Minnesotans, be proud of your students. They are deep thinkers, good debaters, and respectful both of each other and the culture we are surrounded by here. You can read their blogs – although they are also funny and written with 20-year-old eyes and humor, they are also very insightful.
Part of our preparation today was for Guguletu, and getting to know the people there. We felt this morning like we hadn’t really had enough contact with the people of Cape Town, and that perhaps because of our group size we have not been open to meeting others, and have perhaps intimidated others into getting to know us. We also talked about what is different from home, and how this place is not what most Americans would picture as “Africa” – no savannah, no huts, no elephants. This place is rocky and green, not wide open and brown. It also has some very distinctly European flavors to it and people of many heritages. This is really an interesting crossroads of the world and I encourage everyone, EVERYONE to visit! Yes, we’ve only seen the touristy side (and are excited for tomorrow’s safari!) and I have made fun of the tourist side, but still, it is worth visiting as a tourist just the same
A few observations of how things are “different” here:
The cabs – there is such a thing as a cab as we know it in the states (here it is called a metered cab), but there are also minivans that drive here with the door open, shouting out the destination and whistling to see if you want a ride. You pay depending on how far you go on their route. It’s sort of like a bus in that there is only a route, and you ride with others. But it looks treacherous and they are constantly honking and yelling as you walk along Main Road (the, uh, main road between where I stay and the students stay).
Traffic lights are called robots. This is good to know when getting directions from someone. Then when they say “turn left at the second robot” you’re not looking for R2D2 or C3PO.
Nothing ever dries here. Not the towels, not your hair, not yourself when you wear jeans on a boat ride and get soaked. But I haven’t needed hand lotion since getting off the plane.
Some of my thoughts (some that the students share as well) as we head into a week in the township:
I have never had dinner in the home of a black person and now I am going to stay with one. This is hard for me to admit, perhaps because it shows how sheltered I have been or shows how closed off I have been to such invitations. I am not sure if I have ever had a black person as a guest in my home. Is it a product of my mostly-white surroundings or of my lack of openness to getting to know people of races other than my own?
I teach a class related to poverty in America. What am I going to see here that is different from that? Poverty in America is often a product of both system failures and the basics of capitalism, which has by design some winners and some losers. What is poverty here – is it lack of opportunity for work, lack of education, laziness? Does it mean not having a floor? Not owning a car? Not having a job? Would a “poor” American be considered poor if he/she lived here?
We’re told by the people who come here last year were angered, saddened and frustrated about what they saw, all at different times and in different ways. What will those ways be for me? I have already cried a few times, just thinking about it (no surprise to my friends at home; I am an easy cry). Will I lose it completely and bawl my eyes out to the extent of making others uncomfortable?!
And mostly, how will I be changed by all this?
Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all the comments, Facebook notes, emails. I want so much to share this with everyone and love hearing that my writing has not gone unread.
I got my wish to get back to nature – both its wrath and its glory. We woke to pounding rain this morning, and considered having our tour of the Cape Peninsula postponed. I am so glad that we didn’t! The rain (which is to be expected at this time of year, we’ve just been lucky up until now) let up a bit and turned to a fine mist as we approached Hout Bay. From there we took a boat out into the Atlantic to see Duiker Island, area where fur seals hang out. Although the seals were many and cute, the rolling sea and spray were more of the story. Being dizziness-prone as I am I chose to stay on deck and get soaked, along with Ben (wisely wearing full rain gear down to his toes), Marc (unwisely wearing jeans and rain coat we learned was no longer waterproof), some Chinese guys wearing bags over their suits, and the totally unfazed crew of the ship. We all laughed about it, nobody puked (I took my Dramamine, Mom!) and the Chinese guys joined us for a few pictures.
Next we were on to see the African penguins at Boulder’s Beach – one of the things I was most excited about. They do not disappoint!! They hang out on a beach were we could walk down on the boardwalk to see where they nest, swim and hang out. We got many great snaps and all did our best to imitate their walk. We also dried out here in the sun and the wind, and had a beautiful lunch at Seaforth, overlooking the beach. Ingrid and Sophia would have wanted to spend the whole day there: we missed them terribly at this point!
On to Cape Point, where the most southwestern point of the continent is marked. As our guide said, if you swim straight south you’ll get to Antarctic. If you swim due west you’ll get to South America. But don’t swim, it’s way too cold! The drive out to this point is through a national park, where zebra, eland (a type of antelope), baboons and ostriches roam. We drove right up alongside some ostriches (they are big and I worried about the revenge the might take on me over last night’s dinner choice). We also saw three eland at a distance , 
and only the droppings of baboons, and no trace of zebra. The view from the lighthouse and the walk up to it was spectacular as we could see all the way across False Bay, and watched clouds roll in to soak us just as we were about to get back on the bus. Lots of pictures taken here!
Throughout the day part of the joy of being outside was seeing how much the students enjoyed it. They took tons of pictures, laughed a lot, never complained about the long rides, etc. They had been up very late the night before, some of which we continued at lunch, and back “home” at dinner. They are a sharp bunch who represent the University of Minnesota in a manner that should make all you Minnesotans proud. Tomorrow morning we have a lot of time for discussion of our first days here, and we’ll begin our mental preparations for staying in the township for five days. I am so looking forward to this!Our discussion then turned to more current politics, and it was really interesting to hear about what had to be done in this “fledgling” democracy to stabilize the nation before being able to move on to the social issues that face the South African people. Some of you know of the controversy surrounding the new president, Jacob Zuma (corruption charges, a rape allegation, the fact that he’s a polygamist!). Zwele’s assessment is that for all that Zuma had going against him going through the campaign, he has done all the right things since getting into office – particularly picking the right people. As the economic engine for the continent of Africa, all eyes are on what happens in South Africa. Let’s hope Zwele is right!
We illustrated some of the actions of the apartheid government by going to the District Six museum in the city center. This museum highlights the tearing down of an entire neighborhood of black and coloured people’s homes in an area that was declared to be “for whites only.” Not so unlike “urban renewal” actions in our own cities, people were displaced with little notice, moved to much lesser housing, 
and everything was torn down to make way for new nicer homes and buildings. The museum is dedicated to the stories of those who lived there.
We had free time to roam the area on yet another gorgeous day (sunny and in the mid-70s!). Marc and I chose the Cape Town Castle, the parliament building and the Company Gardens, all within a few blocks of each other. Some pictures for you of all of these. To the left, a Bird of Paradise flower found in the Company Garden, and me by a huge rubber tree. Below are the Parliament building and the Castle of Good Hope.
Maybe it’s just me but I think I have seen enough of
the touristy side of things here….I want to get back to nature and tomorrow will not disappoint – Cape Peninsula tour, complete with penguins and seals. Those who read the Star Tribune may have seen pictures last week of African penguins being released back to their natural habitat…this is where we are going tomorrow!! A second batch was released just yesterday.
Some more fun food exploration for us: our choices tonight were Ostrich and Angel Fish! Both delicious! One thing we love is that the side vegetable is often butternut squash – yum! And if your salad was made from rockets, what would you guess that would be? Nobody could explain it to us other than “it’s like lettuce” – turns out it’s arugula. Who knew? (Well, google knew, that’s how I figured it out). We haven’t eaten it yet but there are always pickles on the breakfast buffet – even pickled onions. Marc ordered a pizza last night and asked for pepperoni and the menu said this was a new option. However, the bacon and avocado pizza seemed to be a regular choice.
d. Luggage, however, for Jessica is in Minneapolis, London or Johannesburg (at least we hope as those are the airports she’s been to). Good old NWA…
big fancy malls with beautiful ocean views. This is a high-end tourist destination with lots of Gucci, Louis Vitton and the rest. Not that we shopped there… We did see some excellent street dancers and singers, but at one point I wondered out loud to Marc if we weren’t in DisneyWorld again – it seemed so staged. Yet these performers are indeed Africans, not Africans brought in to do African performing at Epcot’s re-created countries. The students decided to take a boat tour of the cape (tons of excursion boats waiting to take visitors out) and they chose the Jolly Roger – yes, a pirate ship replica, complete with eye-patched sailors and all (see their blogs for pics later). Marc and I shopped and did admire some great artwork, jewelry and fabrics but have decided to wait until we see what is in the market instead (both to find out about the authenticity and to buy directly from the maker, or maybe it’s just to be cheap?!).We had a wonderful dinner last night with NJ and Matt. NJ’s story is interesting: he was born in the US to South African parents who were living in exile in New York as his father was a political activist. He grew up in New York until they returned to SA in 1995 after the first “free and fair” elections here. NJ says he defies all notions of what a black man from America should be: he is well-spoken, in his words “not ghetto.” His university degrees are in media (journalism & advertising), law and performing arts. His hope is to go to the US to act…probably New York or LA, but we’ve tried to convince him of the thriving Minneapolis arts scene. Perhaps his 11 new friends from Minnesota will be there to host him?!
So we began Mo
nday with another nice breakfast (options of cold meats, hard boiled eggs, cheeses, fruit, yogurt, porridge and made to order eggs with bacon, fried tomatoes and mushrooms) and then we were off to see Edwin at the JL Zwane Community Center in Guguletu (pictured). Another test of my driving skills and Marc’s navigation skills…we found it with no problem (thank you for the directions, Jane!). Edwin met us, showed us the Center and we talked for a long time there about the needs of the community, and what I wish for us to see when the students come to stay. Edwin was so gracious and funny and demonstrates a dedication and heart for the community that was inspiring.
Edwin showed us around and I was so grateful to have a chance to see this with Marc, as I am sure I would not be able to describe it to him later. A few statistics Edwin gave us: of the 360,00 residents, 67% are unemployed and 60% are HIV positive. I will leave larger descriptions for when I return from Guguletu next week, but to get you started: we visited a school for children with physical disabilities, another primary school built out of a metal shipping container, a home where a woman takes care of 12 children in her two-bedroom home, another where the daughter is only allowed to live out back in a shack because she and her son are HIV positive. We saw a graveyard that goes on forever and it is now full. There are stories of despair but also glimmers of hope and certainly a feeling of 
welcoming and generosity. An example: as we peeked in on the kids in the Stormont school (pictured), they broke into song to greet us (they were not expecting us). As we left them, they all wanted to hold our hands and high-five us. Wow, that will stick with me forever.
The students who came here last year will be pleased to know that Edwin speaks of them with great pride and fondness, that they were the most mature and dedicated students he has met. And Aaron, he says, “Aaron is always welcome in my house. He is my brother.”
We returned to our car, and I took a deep breath, and cried a bit. I suspect this will not be the last time I cry.
And then we
drove into wine country, to estates that were as old as the 1652, built by Dutch and English colonists. The country is gorgeous, colorful with fall, winding roads, wood fire smoke in the air. We had lunch outside, tasted a little wine, wandered the grounds. I had a Julie Andrews moment to make my mother proud, breaking into song: The hills are alive, with the sound of music...
And all this only about 30 minutes away from Guguletu. I think there are people who live in this part of the Western Cape who never see what we saw in the township. And we know from Edwin that there are people in the township who have never seen the ocean, also only minutes away from their home.
We feel extremely lucky to 
have seen both.
time, but somtimes there was only the "table cloth" on Table Mountain.