Cape Town! Saturday January 28, 2012

I’ve found out what’s on the other side of the mountains: THE OCEAN! AND DOLPHINS! AND CAPE TOWN! 

We took a bus tour through Cape Town, passing the townships of Khayelitsha and Langa on the way.  I’m planning on going on a township tour of these areas on foot soon. And although they live in poverty, these people live in joy. Their close housing proximity is a reflection of the closeness of their friend and family bonds. The people sing often and I cannot wait to visit them soon. I’ll try to work on my Afrikaans before then so I can have a brief conversation.

One of the reasons I wanted to come to South Africa is to learn about the rest of the world and to find ways to volunteer within these communities to help in any way I can. I have seen a number of people begging for money on the street, but we learned in orientation rather than giving money directly to these street beggars, we should opt to donate to charities which aim to support them. I plan to learn more about these charitable organizations as well.

We had three stops while in Cape Town. The first was a beautiful garden where we stopped to have coffee and walk around. I saw more animals, and finally interacted with one. Are you ready for this? SQUIRRELS! I was actually worried I wouldn’t see any here. I do love squirrels. And these were the friendliest squirrels I have ever seen. They are used to tourists and people walking through the park so they’ll come right up to you. I fed a couple squirrels pieces of muffin right out of my hand! The garden was stunningly beautiful as well, with giant trees reaching up to the sky and thousands of bright fragrant flowers planted around. There were a lot of men and women napping in the shade of the park.

Yes, wildlife!!!

Before leaving the park, we witnessed a troop of four boys aged about 6 – 9 performing a rehearsed dance and dressed in animal-print underwear with jangles around their ankles. One of the boys drummed while the other four took turns doing solo dances for the audience of park-goers. They were incredible dancers, but I couldn’t help but see through their dance to the poverty they must live in. Walking around the park dancing all day in 85 degree weather? Where were their parents? Where were their water bottles? A few people tossed coins into the basket they brought around, but I didn’t have any cash on me. I was facing the question, where does this money really go to? Does it go to their families? Is this child labor? It was a beautiful dance, and it really made me think.

Our next stop was Victoria’s Wharf, where we climbed up onto the rocks and saw dolphins in the ocean. I was rendered speechless by their beauty. The dolphins must have known we were watching, because the put on quite a show, jumping out of the water and swimming about. I also saw the stadium where the last world cup was held. I nearly cried. Bofana bofana!

We stopped at the beach next, but no one brought their bathing suit. Instead, we strolled along the beach for a while and I bought a painting done by a local artist. The painting is of Zulu women dancing and it cost R300. 

There were another two troops of children on the walkway by the ocean. One group of girls, one of boys. They were dressed in tribal print and danced for the people eating at the expensive restaurants along the strip, putting out a basket for change after. Again, their dances were very well-rehearsed and my heart went out to these beautiful stone-faced babies dancing in the sun. I wanted to give them a jug of water and wondered when the last time they had a break was. I really want to talk to someone who can tell me where these children usually come from and how many of them are actually involved in this dancing for change. As I said, I’m not sure how to feel about it. A few of the girls I was with from my group took pictures with the girls, and a passerby called out at us “Look at these American girls. Taking photos with beggars so they can go home and show their friends!” It really made me feel ashamed to be as blessed as I have been with everything I have: my family, my health, and my living situation. I am so thankful for what I have, and I do keep those less fortunate in my thoughts and prayers. I don’t know what else to write.

 

Also on the street were various vendors of art, trinkets, and jewelry. All of the goods were beautiful, and it reminded me a lot of the streets of New York City. 

When I got back to campus, my bank card got swallowed by an ATM machine. Yup. I got my pin number wrong three times and the machine literally said “Your card has been swallowed” across the screen. Well, at that point, I swallowed my already swelling tears and talked to the man at the cash register at the convenience store. He told me to leave my phone number and he’d call when the bank came to open the machine Monday or Tuesday. Yeah, ok. I better be getting this back. I know it’s for safety purposes but I’m not ok with the ATM taking my card from me, I don’t care how many times I got the pin number wrong.

Later, I went out with an Austrian girl I made friends with. She introduced me to a group of students from Namibia who live on campus nearby our housing. Having a conversation with other young adults from Namibia was very interesting. A lot of things we had in common: their playlist featured songs by Paramore as well as Circa Survive and Kings of Leon. A big difference was that they seemed so much more cultured than me. For example, they had a conversation amongst themselves about all the plays they had attended and what plays they were planning on seeing. Telling me about things I should do, they mentioned a number of different shows I should attend and even jazz festivals. Jazz festivals? Do I listen to jazz? And the last time I was at a show, I was in it in high school. I’m truly jealous of their interests as compared to my own and most people I know back at home.

Later, we went to a few clubs and bars. One club had a dancefloor with electronic music on the bottom floor and the second floor played traditional Afrikaans music as well as classic American pop and rock songs and other mixes. The natives tried to teach me to dance, and me, not a dancer, had a lot of fun learning! It was a great night.