South Africa page 2 of 3
I will tell you all about the beauty that is South Africa.
We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday, February 19, 2003. My first reaction was, wow, this is great. Everyone speaks English! But the more I realized how much Cape Town was like America, the less great it seemed� wasn't I supposed to be experiencing different cultures? But even with the similarities, it was incredibly different. Maybe now I should go into one of my history lessons?
Cape Town, in my opinion, was more dangerous than Salvador (which we were all scared to death about visiting because of what they told us). While Brazil has a high amount of petty crime, South Africa has more violent crime� they have the highest rape rate in the world, as well as being the "most murderous country in the world."
One third of the rapes are of young girls by their teachers. Africa also has the largest AIDS epidemic anywhere. Almost 5 million people in South Africa are infected with AIDS. The life expectancy actually dropped from 68 years in 1988 to 51 in 2002, and may drop to 48 by 2010 due to the large percentage of the population that is infected. The president (Mbeki) has become a controversial figure today for believing that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. Therefore, he is not allowing the generic drugs to be brought into South Africa to help combat HIV, and only very rich South Africans can afford to have treatment.
There is a "rumor" in South Africa right now that by having sex with a virgin a man can get rid of his AIDS. The more "virginal" the girl, the more likely he is to get rid of the disease. This has led to the unbelievable statistic of 21,000 cases of child rape in South Africa in 2002� and the children keep getting younger. I almost cried while reading an article about "baby rape." Babies as young as just 3 months old have been raped, and this is a very large problem right now! It is such a regular occurrence now for young children to be raped that it often doesn't even make it into the news anymore. Recently a case made national news when a 9-month-old baby girl was gang-raped by six men. But most people around the world are still unaware.
The country also only recently ended its struggle against apartheid. For those of you who don't know, apartheid is pretty much just a fancy way of saying discrimination, segregation, and a belief that "whites" are better than "blacks" or "coloreds." Apartheid only ended in 1994 (!) and you can still see a lot of discrimination and hear many racist remarks. Okay, enough grim details� back to my experiences�
After our ferry to Robben Island got canceled on the first day (due to which the day up until about 1:00 was wasted), I spent the day looking around the shops with my friend Yumika and just getting used to the new country. We also planned out the rest of our stay. Cape Town was swarming with foreigners (I heard tons of German!) due to the fact that the Cricket World Cup is taking place there right now. I think I saw more foreigners than I did natives.
That afternoon, we went up to the top of Table Mountain. This is the famous mountain that towers over Cape Town. It has a completely flat top, which is often covered by a blanket of clouds known as the "tablecloth." While we really wanted to hike up, we didn't have 3 or 4 hours to spare, so we took the cable car. It was like a gondola with a rotating bottom so that you could have a 360-degree view on the way up. Once at the top, we realized we should have brought something a little warmer- it was cold! Our ears also began to hurt due to the altitude. But it was definitely worth it - the view was absolutely spectacular! There were paths on the top on which you could walk around and look in every direction. Looking out in the distance, it was impossible to tell where the ocean, sky, and clouds intercepted� the horizon had completely disappeared and the ocean simply faded into the sky. It made me somewhat homesick for the mountains.
After we came down off the mountain, we went back to the ship and had a quick bite to eat after which I rushed off on an astronomy trip. I was one of the very few on the trip who wasn't there because I was required to be due to taking the astronomy class. We went to the Cape Town observatory, where we looked though a humongous, ancient telescope (as in, this guy moved it by hand� it took his whole body weight� not like the new telescopes where you enter in coordinates and it moves there). The whole floor of the building moved up so you could look out of the telescope. Pretty cool! We looked at Saturn and Jupiter and Orion's Nebula.
Then we went outside to a smaller telescope where we learned about the constellations in the southern sky (like the southern cross) and looked at different stars� the three brightest stars in the sky can all be seen from the southern hemisphere, though not from the northern. I also saw Orion� but he was upside-down! His sword hung upwards. I felt special that I actually seemed to know more about a lot of the stuff than all then the people in the class (must be those two astronomy classes I have taken). Since I wasn't there on the trip for a school assignment, I went back up into the big telescope instead of going to the computer lab, and then we headed back. It was really fun.
The second day I went on an SAS trip called Operation Hunger. Operation Hunger is an organization whose main objective is to combat malnutrition. They actually weigh the children in the different communities to find out which ones are malnourished. They work with communities on developing schools, creating "feeding programs," etc. The program I went on was not actually a visit to places currently being helped by Operation Hunger, but rather to schools in some of the places that had already been helped.
Our first stop was a pre-school for kids 6 and under. The township used to have nothing for the children, and while the parents were working all day the children had no one to watch them or feed them, so they would wander down to the creek and dig through the garbage bags looking for food. One lady started rounding up the children into her own home and feeding and watching them until their parents returned. The community pressed her to open the "cr�che" and now it runs on donations and a small fee that the parents of the children pay.
The kids were a bit shy at first, because the only time they have seen white people is when they go to the doctor, so they have come to associate white people with injections. But once the bubbles and coloring books and stickers came out, they were all set to play. They even sang songs for us, and we did the hokey-pokey for them. We spent the whole morning there, and at about noon we walked through the neighborhood to another elementary school.
Here the choir performed for us, and then we were practically mauled by the 300 + kids that had just gotten out of school. You literally could not move, you were surrounded by so many kids. They taught us a special handshake that every single one of them knew, and they kept asking us to take pictures. I had them all writing their names on a piece of paper for me, but one of the kids stole my paper and pen! I didn't care about the pen. I just wanted the sheet with their names on it. We were not at that school long (which is good, because we were all somewhat claustrophobic being amongst so many people).
After that, we had lunch and briefly (like, 20 minutes) visited a school for the deaf. Our last stop was a high school, where we split into small groups and walked around with the high schoolers. We walked around the township and they answered our questions. It was really interesting. I was walking with 3 girls who have been best friends all their lives. They asked me as many questions about America as I asked about South Africa. We spoke about AIDS, poverty, and all the discrimination that still exists (for example, their school is all black. Even now, they cannot afford to attend the white schools, and even if they could, they are too far away and the girls would have no way to get to and from the school).
They still remember only 8 years ago when blacks had to have work passes to go into Cape Town, and they had to speak Afrikaans (the language the white Dutch settlers brought over). But we also talked about travel, and music, and boys� 16 year olds are similar all over� one girl's favorite singer was Brandy, and they giggled as they talked about boyfriends. It was a good experience.
That night Yumika and I tried to go to a place called Mama Africa that everyone recommended, but we didn't have reservations. (I'm actually glad we didn't go� we walked passed it later that night and it was so touristy� it was full of SASers). We ended up going to a place called Marco's. It was really nice, we had a candle, our bottled water came out in a wine bucket, etc. but it was still reasonably priced. There was a live band, and people got up and danced. Guess what I ate? The "Pan-African Platter," which consisted of ostrich, springbok, and kudu. It was actually good, especially the ostrich (and no, it didn't taste quite like chicken!). After dinner, we went out to a club and called it a night at about 1:30.
Friday was an experience. Remember the guy I met in Brazil who delivered boats for a living? (Mark). Well, he gave us his sister's phone number and told us to call her if we were going to be in Simonstown, where she lives. But he failed to tell us her name. The conversation, when Yumika and I called the day before, went something like this: "Hi. I'm calling for Mark Wannenberg's sister." "This is she" "Hi! My name is Christina. I'm on a trip around the world and I was in Brazil last week and I met your brother. He gave me your number. I'm going to be in Simonstown tomorrow and was wondering if perhaps you wanted to meet up for lunch" or something to that effect.
Now, while most "normal" people would be thinking, who is this crazy person, and should I meet her? And then planning how you will have a friend come with you, alert everyone about where you will be, etc. etc. Shirley was totally cool about it. She agreed to meet us. So, Friday morning Yumika and I piled into a taxi-van with about 12 or 15 other people (talk about being squashed� but hey, it cost 2 Rand as compared to the 20 Rand for a taxi). Then we bought our train tickets (only 23 Rand round-trip, first class!).
The ride was beautiful. We traveled through neighborhoods, and then some countryside and along the coast of a big bay. Simonstown was nestled on the side of a small mountain on the edge of the bay� it was like something straight from a storybook! Shirley actually picked us up from the train station and became our personal tour guide. She was so sweet! She was only 4'9" and she was one of the most talkative people I have ever met!
First we went to Boulder's Beach where we walked around and saw penguins! That's right: "Jackass Penguins" as they are called, and they were close enough to reach out and touch. It was actually one of only two mainland breeding colonies in the world. So cute! Then we went to a place called Smitwinklesbaai, where there was a beautiful view of the ocean and Cape Point, and then went to Bertha's for lunch, where I had some yummy fish and chips. We showed Shirley pictures that we had gotten developed the night before in a one-hour photo, and she was thrilled to see her brother, who has been traveling for three years but is returning home for the first time in as long later this month.
Next we walked around the town and did some shopping, and went on a boat tour of the naval base (in which we could not take pictures, due to security issues). We wanted to stay longer, but had to take the 4:25 train back because according to Shirley the later trains would not be safe for us. However, she was disappointed that we had not brought clothes along, as she wanted us to stay the night and see her house so she could show us around more the following day and we could meet her 21-year-old son. Her kindness and generosity still amaze me. Yumika and I returned home (in the dining car!) and grabbed dinner and spent the night making a few phone calls home and writing lots of postcards� it was a long day and we were too tired to go out!
Saturday was a busy day also, trying to fit in everything we hadn't previously had time for (sadly, I never had time to make it to the wine lands). The morning was spent walking to the market, shopping, doing last minute shopping in the mall near the boat (i.e. buying snacks to get us through the sea stretch), and trying to find somewhere to ship wine home from (which didn't happen� shipping rates to the US are crazy high, and each state then adds additional taxes).
In the early afternoon we took a ferry to Robben Island. Robben Island is a small island off the coast of Cape Town, which used to house lepers and lunatics, but more recently, during apartheid, it became a political prison. Nelson Mandela (the former South African president) was held on the island for 15 years, and we were able to see his tiny cellblock, as well as the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to do backbreaking labor and the dust from the limestone permanently damaged their eyes.
The tours were given by former political prisoners. It was very hard for our guide to speak about some of the things, but he was working there anyway by advice of a psychiatrist after nothing else had helped him face his past and get through the pain and anger. It was very sad but very interesting� you don't think about these things happening during your own lifetime.
Four days in Cape Town was much too few. There are so many things I wanted to do that I didn't have a chance to do, and many people I wish I could have had more time with. I guess I just have one more country to add to the list of places I want to return to someday.
I hope you are all well. Best wishes,
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Hey Fam!
My next couple days in Cape Town were just as incredible as the first two. And I forgot to tell you that the night before we went skydiving, a bunch of us went out to dinner. Four of us ordered weird things; I got ostrich, someone else ordered crocodile, another person eland, and the last shark. I ate all of my ostrich, it was good, but by far eland was the best. Crocodile was okay, pretty chewy, and shark just tasted like seafood to me, so I wasn�t a big fan. Anyway, I took a tour around Cape Point on Friday. That included taking a boat out to an island of seals, going to a tropical beach full of penguins, mountain biking to a beach for lunch, hiking up to the highest lighthouse in South Africa, seeing baboons, and hiking around Cape Point, the Southwesterly most point of Africa. It was beautiful, but yes very touristy. In our group though, Peter and I were the only Americans.
Everyone was a backpacker from either somewhere in Europe or Australia. Our guide was so interesting, she had spent 15 months backpacking Africa. I actually learned a lot on the tour, such as English is only the 5th most commonly spoken language in South Africa. Also, only 13% of South Africans pay taxes. It really shows you that the real South Africa isn�t the white, touristy parts making up Cape Town and Johannesburg. I know I should have gotten out of Cape Town, but the truth is we aren�t in port long enough to start backpacking around. What I know is someday I am coming back to South Africa and spending a lot of time there. I want to backpack Africa in general. There is an aura to Africa that I just love and want to be a part of.
Anyway, Project Hunger was amazing. Only a few people actually got to help weigh the kids; the rest of us were just there to get to know them. The Polaroid pictures went over both well and crappy. At first I just took a few for some parents with their kids. Then the swarm of kids got wind of what I was doing and mobbed me. I ran out of film quickly and went back to the bus to get more. When I got off they were waiting for me at the door. I couldn�t move at all and disturbed the weighing process which was right by the bus. I felt terrible about that. I pushed my way to the end of the line where kids end up after going through all the stages of Project Hunger.
I said I would only take pictures if they had their weights written on their hands indicating they had gone through everything. At first it worked well because most hadn�t yet gone through, but once everyone had I would have a mass of hands being shoved in my face. I always took the pictures of the mothers with their babies first. One Semester at Sea girl came up to me and said that there was a woman who wanted a picture with her baby but didn�t want to approach me because she felt bad for me. I found her and took a picture, and she was literally in tears when it came out. That was really cool. In the end though, I didn�t even use the last role of film. All the parents had their pictures and there was just the same group of kids around me screaming. I am pretty sure I probably gave a couple kids more than one and some kids didn�t get any. I just didn�t plan it well enough, I should have set it up to give them a mark so I would know. It wouldn�t have made much difference though, because I didn�t have enough for all the kids (there were over a hundred kids). When I finally ran out of the last thing of film I was going to use I wanted to cry.
Being at the center of that mob was heart-wrenching, and I was overcome with emotion once it dissipated and I had a second to think. After that I got out the digital camera. The kids would still ask to have their pictures taken. What I am going to do is get the name of the village from my professor and send the pictures there. I used almost an entire cartridge just of pictures of those kids. The kids themselves were unbelievably sweet. They are clearly starved for affection. Nina, who is a child psychology major, says it is because their mothers have so many kids that they have to start taking care of each other as she is always busy with the youngest. But they wanted to constantly be hugged, held, or to hold onto our hands. At every chance I had a free hand I was rubbing some little kids back. There was one little girl who attached herself to me, and at one point while I was holding two other kids� hands she ran up and pushed one of the kids away. She didn�t speak a word of English (some of the kids spoke broken English) but she continuously tried to talk to me. She had the sweetest little voice, but man, was she feisty.
After we left the first place, our Project Hunger leader took us to a couple other places just to observe. The first was to a township with a school that teaches the little girls a very impressive dance. Apparently it is very famous; Nelson Mandela always requests to see them when he is around. I have a bunch of movies of them. You will be amazed. After that we visited a witch doctor. I got the impression that he is a scam artist. He sells these herbs which are very expensive and claims that the only way a person can be a witch doctor is if they are "called." He treats everything, from AIDS to poverty. I was impressed though with the fact that he admitted AIDS is sexually transmitted. He said everyone does know that. And in the end I have to admit it is true that the mind is very powerful, and if someone believes it enough, those herbs probably do work. He said that is the only way they will work, and so westerners use them it doesn�t work and he gets the reputation of being a fraud. But apparently in the townships it works. I don�t know to what degree it works though.
After that we visited a Rastafarian community, where everyone was hippies and friendly. We were given a little reggae concert in a schoolyard where a bunch of little girls were playing basketball in bare feet. Then we came back to the ship. Once everyone was on, a local choir gave us a free concert which was also very impressive. I have to say that African music is very very good, especially after you learn a little about it and listen for the little nuances. But the choir was acupela and you wouldn�t even know it by just listening. They were jamming and dancing along with it. Everyone in the audience was cheering and clapping along with them. Needless to say, everyone was very sad to leave.
I am very excited for Tanzania, but I really wish we had more time in South Africa. Anyway, that is my trip.
Love Kirsten
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Jen [item 23]
Hi Mom and Dad!
South Africa was amazing. It was very beautiful. There is a beach here called Boulder's Beach on the Indian Ocean with little penguins. It reminded me of Virgin Gorda with the white sand and big rocks. I went there with my friend Doug from Coto de Coza and Megan from Michigan who goes to U. of A. Doug and I went on a helicopter ride together after the penguine beach. It was so fun. The helicopter is called a Heuy (I have a certificate saying I went on it to put in my scrapbook) it was shot down in the Vietnam war and in Etheopia, but put back together in S. AF. The only way a person could ride on a heuy is if you are in the US Marine Corps or at that office I went to in S. Africa. The Heuy went straight up in the air and nose dived down making my stomach drop and then it would drop side to side inverted. We rode so close to the ocean that you could reach your hand out and feel the water and we also rode right over the tree tops. It was alot of fun. The whole ride was 30 minutes and only cost like $90. I thought it was worth it because it was a lot of fun, Doug wanted to go, and I saw a bigger part of S. Africa. Most of the SAS kids went skydiving, but I didn't think that was a safe idea and some other kids went shark diving in cages...too scary. So I thought the Heuy ride was a safer compromise.
I went on a sunset sail on an old sailboat with Katie, Bethany, Chandler, Neil, and Eric. We came back and had dinner with some kids we met on the sailboat from S. Africa. We went to the Stellenbosch (winelands) the next day. They were so beautiful! I'm having the time of my life. I love you both! I wish you could be here to do this with me. Thank you again. I'll try to get in a picture with Andy so he can put it on the website.
love Jen
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Mickey [item 24]
We just left Cape Town, SouthAfrica, and let me tell you it was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, we were only there for around 4 days, but it was still incredible. The first day I took a ride in an huey helicopter from Vietnam. It�s the only place in the world where you can go in one other than in the marines, and it had bullet holes in it. They took us over all the city and th eocean, and at times we were 5 feet above the ground. They would fly us up hundreds of feet and then drop us down sideways with the doors off. That night we went to this chill little bar where these had guys with firesticks who wouldfling them around like yo-yos. These were regular people off the street, so they weren�t professionals, and one of them caught his facial hair on fire, but he was fine.
The next day I went to this famous place called Shark Alley which is where National geographic and the Discovery channel go to film Great whitesharks. Its in the middle of the ocean where the atlantic and Indian ocean meet each other and its very turbulent andyou can actually see where they meet because the water is 2 different colors. After the scariest boat ride ever (this dude was going like 60 over huge waves and we were catching air!) we parked the boat between 2 islands at shark alley. On the one island, which is called seal island, there were 60, 000 seals gathering on the land and swimming in the ocean. WE got up super close to them and they were all barking and waving andstuff. We also did a little hand fishing with nothing else but a piece of string and a hook that you toss in the water and pull up all these little fish. Unfortunately, we didn�t get to see any sharks, but we still got to goin the shark cage and look around.
The other 2days I went to a this large wineland estate where we saw how they make wine,from growing it to distributing it. Then went to this gorgeous mansion and did wine tasting of all the different types. After that we headed to these cabins and tents along a great river, called the Breed river, where we camped out for the night. The next day we got 2 person canoes and got to paddle down this 15 mile river all day. It was like a mini amazon river with the best scenery ever. All that was around you were mountains and lush tropical trees and stuff.
One of the other nights I went to the top of Table Mountain which is the most famous mountain in S. Africa. We had dinner up there and watched this gorgeous sunset overlooking the entire city of Capetown.
At nights, we would all go out and check out the night life here. We partied till 6am almost every night.
Right now im traveling to Tanzania,where were doing an African Safari for 3 days. Im psyched to see the zebras and giraffes and all that.
I gotta get going now, but plz email me and let me know whats going on with home. I miss you all PEACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
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Hello from Cape Town!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE I, AM, IN AFRICA. It really looks like the Lion King with Table Mountain and the funny trees (but I guess the industrialized part throws it off a little bit). We arrived into the harbor around 5:30 (our time) this morning. Coming into Cape Town was so amazing. We watched the sun come up over the mountains and city. The view from here is incredible and it was so cute, seals were swimming around our boat. It seems we take up the entire harbor. I cannot wait to get off the boat!
Love you all - - Roxy
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Laura K [item 26]
Hi Dad and Mom!
N/E ways�I really liked S.A. We docked in a very tourist rich place- the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. As I said it looked like Jack London- but more beautiful. There was a mall and a craft shed right across the way and I wish I had more time to shop. But I am so glad I went to Kagga Kamma. It was one of the most beautiful natural places I have ever seen. It was about a 4 hour drive - but we stopped in a little town called Prince Alfred. There wasn�t much to it just a place to grab some food� Then we continued on and drove on a dirt road for about an hour. It was a very steep windy road. Along the way we saw ostriches and zebras.
We drove up to the lodges and the little lobby/welcome house. They had a great buffet. The scenery was amazing with lodges built right into the huge red rocks and just forever beautiful lands of nothing. After lunch we had time to go swimming and relax. We also went to out chalets. They were amazing. I had 3 roommates who were all really cool. We had a great time together. I was lucky enough to win rock, paper, scissors, and get my own room and queen size bed. We then went on a 2 mile hike to a huge gorge. It looked like the Grand Canyon in some ways. It was so nice and we all were silent for a long time- it was the most peaceful silence I have ever heard. I really have never heard anything so quiet. I loved it- total silence.
We then went back to eat a wonderful dinner. There were 2 fires to eat around- and great food. Greek salads, crackers and cheese, fruit, milk!(I haven�t had milk in so long- it�s nasty powered here) , lamb, and the best thing- ostrich. It was delicious- kinda like steak, very tender and juicy. The night sky was the most amazing I have ever ever seen. The most, brightest stars, it was beautiful. I could see a complete milky way, a bunch of constellations, and Saturn.
We then went on a game drive. We didn�t see too much- some springbok, ostriches, zebras, wildebeest, rabbits, and a bunch of deer like animals- well I guess we saw a good amount. But it was fun anyway because the safari vehicles are cool to ride in and the sky was great. The night was great- about 12 of us sat around the fire and talked. I didn�t know any of them so it was cool. Then the safari cars drove us back about 1 mile to the chalets. It was nice b/c they would go whenever we wanted to. On the way back we stopped at a wine tasting place. It was good wine and very fun. Then we all slept on the way back. That night I had wonderful calamari on the waterfront and went out to a dance club with Callee (she is from Pitt) and some other people and we had so much fun! There were a lot of English people in Cape Town b/c it is the Cricket World Cup right now.
The next morning a couple of us walked around shopping and then walked to Long street- it is downtown where there is a market and some more shops. That afternoon I hiked table mountain. It was so tough- but absolutely amazing views. I felt so great when we reached the top. It was a serious accomplishment. I loved it. We watched the sunset behind the fog and clouds that quickly rolled in. We then took the cable car down witch was neat b/c it rotates in circles as you go down. That night I ate a great meal w/ some other people- there was 9 of us and we got so much- it was delicious and less than 55 US dollars.
The next morning I went to a township. On the way we stopped at District Six museum. It was a very interesting place. District 6 was an all black wonderful neighborhood and the whites decided to demolish it and move the blacks into townships. The museum had photos of the town, stories from people who lived there and much more. Then the townships were so sad. People lived in houses that were made of cardboard, tin, anything. Some were too small to stand in and others were barely big enough for a person to lay in. but the kids were so adorable. We went to a school like place. There was probably about 50 kids. They were seriously so cute. They loved our digital cameras and got a kick out of seeing themselves. They all wanted to take picture too- I was nervous but let them use it- but it just made them so happy. We were not there nearly long enough. I got back at I:30 and went straight to Robben Island. I liked that a lot too. They gave a great tour, it was very informative. We saw most of the island, which is pretty big- it is now a community of the former prisoners, wardens�and more who choose to live there. There is even a school w/ 40 students. We then toured the cells w/ a former inmate. We saw Nelson Mandela�s tiny cell of 27 years. Then we got to walk the grounds a little. We saw hundreds of penguins. They were cute. The whole trip was very moving. I kinda want to go see Alcatraz when I get home.
By the time we got back we only had a few hour b/4 on-ship time. I wrote about 10 postcards and ate a great last meal in Cape Town. I really liked my time there- definitely could have used another day. I liked how I got to see Kagga Kamma- a place that is more like what I used to only think of when I thought of Africa. I also liked to place we docked. I think this is definitely a place you guys would like. We should come back. Then on the ship an African township choir sang for us- they were great.
I love you so much and miss you. Take care.
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Hey guys!
Alright, going back to South Africa, I need to think a minute. The first day I wandered around the city with Peter and went up Table Mountain. We got lunch in downtown Cape Town at a Moroccan restaurant and followed up a great meal with a little Shisha (not sure how to spell that, but you get the idea). Table Mountain was just beautiful. We hiked around the top for about three hours. Neither of us were prepared for that since we were taking the cable car up. In shorts, tank tops and sandals we froze our buns off. We both ended up with rainy noses. Every once in a while the sun would poke out to warm us a bit it felt like heaven. But we worked our way along a trail that went to the highest peak of Table Mountain. We constantly wandered off course to take pictures and see what else we could discover. At points we were "hiking" (by hiking I mean climbing straight up on boulders) about six inches from a shear drop off. At this point I knew I was sky diving the next day, and it didn�t comfort me to see that I got a bit sketchy that close to the edge.
That night we met some other people for dinner. I told you in the last email what we ordered. Very tasty. Nina wasn�t brave enough to order anything weird, but she tried all of ours. After dinner we went out for drinks at a bar with a live jazz band (I was in heaven). After they were finished we headed out to a club that was absolutely huge. It had four floors, each with its own bar and dance floor. I stuck to the techno floor most of the night (and by most of the night I mean we were there all night), but most of my friends got tired of it and stuck around the bump and grind floor. There were some other Semester at Sea students there, so that was kind of a bummer, but the place was packed with European backpackers and local people. I really enjoy hanging out with South Africans; every person I met left a good impression on me.
I had an hour to sleep that night, but I couldn�t relax long enough to actually sleep. I was paranoid that I would sleep through sky diving. When I went to pick up Peter he was sleeping, so it�s a good thing I didn�t count on him to wake me up. At the drop zone Peter and I were put in the third heap of jumpers. Waiting around wasn�t the funnest thing I have done, but I was glad to see everyone else when they landed. The first group said it wasn�t scary at all, that we would love it, and the second group said they were all about to crap their pants it was so scary but it was still awesome and we would love it. I was pumped when they finally led us down the runway to the plane.
Right before I stepped onto the wing of the plane the guy I was strapped to said something to the effect of "I am about to witness the moment your life changed" (I was a bit too distracted to concentrate on, and remember, everything he said). I can�t really decide if he was right. Sky diving was one of the most exciting things I have ever done; hopefully I won�t turn into too bad of an adrenaline junky. But I wouldn�t say it affected me on any kind of a spiritual level or anything. It didn�t really change me as a person. Anyway, later I was talking to a girl on the ship who is a professional sky diver. Before we docked in South Africa she had warned everyone not to sky dive there, that the regulations weren�t good enough. I talked to her before making the jump and she was much more optimistic about everything after gaining some information first hand. But man, after I told her my story she felt a lot better about her warning. The agency I went up with didn�t send out a safety jumper (in case something happens to one of the guys the safety jumper can take care of the customer), there was no safety class, and at least one of the planes didn�t have a door. Haha, oops. These don�t sound like ultra serious concerns to me (the safety shoots will automatically go off if the normal one isn�t pulled) so I am okay with it.
Freefall itself was just too cool. At first I had to stand with both feet on the wing of the plane and hold onto my safety straps while I waited for my guy to let go of the plane. When he did we somersaulted a few times. He was supposed to tap my shoulder when I could let go of my harness and spread my arms out, but I never felt it. He just ended up grabbing my hands away. I think he thought I was freaked out or something because he gave me two thumbs up. I quickly responded with my thumbs up. That took some concentration because the wind was coming up at me so fast that I really couldn�t move much of my body. I had my legs spread out, and about half-way through I remembered that I was supposed to keep them together tucked up between his legs, so I moved them. I heard that when a person is tense they spin the whole freefall; if that is true I must have been relatively relaxed because we went straight down. When he pulled the shoot I couldn�t believe how fast the ride was over. After such a long anticipation (I am talking about the years I went through wanting to sky dive) the whole thing was done in the blink of an eye. I don�t remember really feeling scared on the way down. The only thing that was uncomfortable was the difficulty I felt breathing. I had my eyes open the entire time (after the initial couple seconds waiting to fall from the plane) and the ground looked so intense. It didn�t look as it did from the plane; its like the difference in looking at the view from an elevated place after driving up, and then seeing the same view after hiking up. You feel more a part of it in a way. It didn�t feel like I was falling for most of it because you hit terminal velocity pretty quick. Basically I was just hovering there, like a bird (I know, could I be any more clich�?). Anyway, I can see I have rambled about this long enough, but I just want to add one more thing. On the ground, as soon as I was unhooked from my guy I turned around and gave him a giant bear hug. Its funny how quickly you become attached to someone when your life is in their hands.
So I guess this is long enough. After skydiving, before where my last email begins, nothing much really happened. I wandered around by myself for awhile and slept a whole lot. But I am sending a picture of the little girls who danced for us in one of the squatter camps during Project Hunger. Until next time, I miss you and I�ll talk to you soon!
i
Love Kirsten
PS � Tanzania in two days baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Courtney [item 28]
Well I am afraid that y'all are in for another long one. I do not have the foggiest notion of how to begin my descriptions of South Africa, and so I will just tell you to travel to Cape Town and see for yourself. The country is amazing�and should be seen by all! Go...go now!
Okay well enough of that. Four days in South Africa was hardly enough to satisfy my curiosities of Africa. I ported in Cape Town on a Wednesday and departed on a Saturday. Not a minute was wasted in this country (as will be made quite clear by the end of this email), because sleep is way overrated when in Africa!
The first day in the country served as one of the most exciting days in my entire life. I stepped off of the boat, after nine long days, and onto a rather westernized piece of land. I say westernized because Cape Town suffers from such an intense state of modernity that you often must remind yourself that you are in Africa for goodness sakes! There were numerous shops and boutiques, millions-or what seemed like millions-of eateries and restaurants, incredible malls comparable to Short Hills, The Mall of America, and also Bloomingdale's (my personal mall shoved into one terrific department store). The majority of the stores ventured towards the upscale side, although I suppose that made sense due to the high tourist attraction of Cape Town. To give you a better idea of the area, I would just say it closely resembled the Baltimore Harbor, but much bigger and in my opinion much better.
I did manage to tear my eyes away from the stores for two seconds to analyze the population demographics. It is unbelievable to see how tightly South Africa's former apartheid government choked the diversity out of Cape Town. Apartheid simply means "apart" (segregation), and this government ruled until 1994. The system basically set in stone a race classification system that would place people into four different categories: Afrikaners (white British and Dutch), Indians, Coloureds (mixed races) and black Africans. Afrikaners represented the highest class, followed by the others respectively. Under apartheid, most people of color were not permitted to travel into the cities of South Africa-these laws were called banning restrictions. To make a long story a bit shorter, the blacks, coloureds and Indians never established themselves in cities like Cape Town. Therefore, what I saw when I arrived in the port were Afrikaners and thousands of tourists (Europeans and Australians). Even though blacks represented the highest percentage of people in South Africa, I had to actually search them out.
Racism still very much pervades the country. I had many discussions with the South Africans about their feelings towards other races, and what I realized was that 1994 basically paralleled our Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is just going to take time to work out race relations. For example, (almost 10 years after the abolition of apartheid) one of my friends sat down next to a black person on a bench. He offered the black person a cigarette and the man just stared at him. He said "why are you sitting next to me?" My friend had no idea what he was referring to and so he just shrugged. The black man continued to say "no white person ever sits next to me�let alone offers me a cigarette."
Okay so I managed to completely diverge from the topic at hand-let me give you a little reminder of the topic, my exciting first day in South Africa.
I WENT SKYDIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My friends Molly, Jake, Eric and many others took a little trip to a rural area in South Africa to throw ourselves out of a plane. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I went tandem and so I had a guide clipped to my back. It seems like such a blur now. I arrived at the skydiving center, was thrown into a harness with a quick intro into skydiving, and before I knew it I was in a small plane flying over the most incredible sights. There were only three tandem groups in our plane, and to spare you all from irreversible grey hair growth I will refrain from describing the plane to you.
Our plane ride was about 15-20 minutes, and we flew over the ocean, islands, the coastline, Table Mountain and many other geographical features. Our peak height was 9,000 feet�woah! I was actually the last to "fall out of the plane," which was interesting I thought. When I watched the other two girls exit, it looked exactly as though a large vacuum sucked them out of the plane. I can hardly explain it�but the air just pulled them right off of their behinds. Less than two seconds later it was my turn. Andre (my guide) and I flipped out backwards when the time came, and I began my 4,500 foot free fall. The free fall was the biggest rush I have ever or probably will ever have.
The feeling was nothing like the "roller coaster" feeling you are probably all imagining. My stomach wasn't in my throat, I wasn't scared or sick�just borderline sensations of euphoria. The free fall lasted for about 45 seconds (obviously it seemed like an hour) until the parachute snapped out pulling my shorts to what felt like my neck. Can anyone say wedgy machine?? Riiiight. As soon as we had control of the fall, Andre began to spin us. We would whip around at about 45 mph in all directions. I was definitely having the time of my life. The entire dive was about two minutes�two minutes of heaven. Without rambling any further about this topic, I will just conclude by saying I plan on doing this again. Any takers?
As if the first half of my day was not action packed enough, a group of us decided to hike Cape Town's most notable feature, Table Mountain. Our intentions were to reach the top by sunset. What a complete hassle! The hike took us 2.5 hours and we were all speed hiking. The path was extremely challenging and involved enough rock climbing to spur asthmatic breaths, which almost led to my popping a lung. Despite almost passing out due to exhaustion and muscle overuse, the hike was worth it. The sunset that welcomed us at the top of the mountain was indescribable. The sky was full of color and the sun was radiating across the horizon. Unfortunately, we may as well have been in an arctic tundra. The top of the mountain was absolutely freezing, with winds that paralyzed one's entire body. (I am sure all of you Northerners have no sympathy at all for me after the winter you have had to endure). Luckily there was a restaurant and wine bar on the top of the mountain awaiting us. I will just let you guess which one I chose to enter. Thankfully, there were cable cars that ran up and down one side of the mountain. Our group jumped into one after our fair share of South African wine, and descended the mountain for more tolerable temperatures.
After the hike, Molly, Lacey, Lucas, Jaime, Rusty, myself�well a lot of people that you don't care about, all went to a Mexican Cantina near our ship. We had the most incredible dinner, and believe me we all ate enough for a small country. The cantina was most notable for its specialty drinks (non-alcoholic included). I give them two thumbs up. The atmosphere was very exciting because it was mostly filled with tourists. I spent the evening conversing with a group of guys from England. They were all cricket players in South Africa for the World Cup (cricket). One of the most exciting parts of this trip is the opportunity to meet people literally from around the world. Even though I have been in Cuba, Brazil and South Africa, I have met many Europeans, Australians-well people from everywhere. It is still odd to me that I must ask where in the world someone is from, rather than which city or state.
The next day came around, for me at five in the morning, to go shark diving! I am not attempting acts of suicide in this country, but rather I am just exercising my adventurous side. A small group of us traveled about two hours outside of Cape Town to a town right on a bay. We arrived at a house and were all served breakfast before we got on the boat. The boat was about 18 ft. long and was equipped for fishing.
Of course the day we elect to venture out onto the water in a fishing boat would be the day that the water was angry at the world! "The sea was very rough that day my friend." The boat may as well have been a waverunner, because we were tossed about as if the ocean was trying to throw us back on dry land. Needless to say, I had a great time. The funny part is that we were also traveling with a group of guys from Ireland. You know the big, tough Guinness drinking kind. Well they all became seasick! I guess the little American girls showed them.
Unfortunately, no sharks were seen that day. I was frustrated, however I did see some of the largest fish ever, 50,000 seals (no exaggeration) and numerous sea turtles. Wouldn't you know�the very next day a group saw two great whites. Argh! Enough said.
Later that night I went to a restaurant near the ship. Of course I had fish and chips (chips = fries), because what else would one order in Cape Town? Our dinner was about three hours long due to a slew of unidentifiable appetizers, drinks and desserts. It was wonderful.
The next day will probably be most appreciated by my family. I definitely went to the winelands in southern South Africa! This trip was organized by Semester at Sea and about 40 of us were on it. On the trip I toured a wine factory and learned the process of wine making, as well as sipped on the various tastes the factory had to offer. After the factory, we traveled to a mansion (similar to the Gone with the Wind house) for two quality hours of wine tasting. White, red, brut and blush were all on the list for tasting�and I believe it is safe to say that one was better than the next. My personal favorite (assuming that all of the flavors did not run together in my mouth) was a red wine by the name of Shiraz. It is easily found in the States as I have had it before, however the South African Shiraz had much more body to it. Yummy!
Still on the SAS trip, we went to our campsite for the night. The camp site was right on the Breede River, and was equipped with chalets, tents, fire, kitchen/eating section and toilet thank God. We were camping through the night, because the next day we were all going white water rafting down the Breede River. Once again, do not fret�the river was quite calm. If you do not believe me just ask how sore my neck and shoulders still are from paddling when there were no rapids and when my partner decided to stop helping. I am not at all bitter. On our trek, which was two sets including a four hour one and a two hour one after lunch, we saw many exotic birds and other animals. I can also remember at one point see some tribal people�I'm sorry--people from ethnic groups�come out from behind the brush. They looked as though they stepped out of the National Geographic magazine. What a sight! Overall, the rafting experience was incredible and quite refreshing. It was a nice breather from the city of Cape Town (y'all know how I need my country locals).
For the most part that wraps up my agenda in Cape Town. However, there are a few more words I would like to say about South Africa. If you have an uneasy stomach, please stop your reading now and end on a somewhat jovial note. I just want to mention a little about the African Townships and the AIDS epidemic. The Townships and the AIDS virus are just such a large part of the South African culture now that I feel I cannot properly talk about the country without talking about its two major problems.
To begin with, South Africa is infamous for its Townships. These are plots of dusty land that extremely lower class citizens (blacks) were once banned to. The Townships are still very much full, because most of the people lack the means to better themselves. From afar the land plot just looks like a battle camp for an army. There are what looks like thousands of shacks lining the dirt roads of the town. Each shack is composed of no more than corrugated cardboard, garbage bags, sheet metal, mud, etc�Each shack takes a mere 24 hours to build, and that should provide you with some sense of how poorly built they all are. These homes are all the Township people have to protect them from the elements. Whenever it is too windy the shacks fall down, if it is too rainy the shacks float away�and so forth as with any extreme weather condition. There is far from enough food in the Townships, clothing is a luxury, and schooling is of the poorest level. Disease and poverty rule their lives. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the Township is the fact that most of these people will never get out of them. The families are so suppressed by society that moving up is hardly an option. Furthermore, with the lack of proper schooling, I am afraid that the children are also subdued by the government. Most of the children will never succeed in moving out either. It has become their way of life�actually we in the States may not even term their daily rituals as a life at all.
These Townships in addition with other areas of poverty have enabled the AIDS epidemic to spiral out of control. As you may or may not know, South Africa has the highest AIDS population in the world. The disease began mostly as a result of ignorance. The people were not at all aware of contraceptives or testing procedures. The government-for the most part-denies the problem, and most certainly denies our belief that HIV causes AIDS. In addition, the government holds that testing does more harm than good. You figure it out, because I certainly cannot. Progress has been made however, and in fact government officials were seen handing out pamphlets on AIDS along with condoms. Here's the kicker�the condoms were STAPLED to the pamphlets. I will let you decipher the problem. AIDS is hardly the heartbreaking problem in South Africa today however.
Because 1 in 5 people contract the disease, rape has also leapt to high levels. South Africa currently has the highest rape rate in the world. This rape, however, is not restrictive to teenage-adult women. In fact, the only incidents of rape on this demographic is usually tied with other crime such as robberies. Unfortunately and revoltingly, infants are suffering from the highest incidence of rape. Infants are the target, logically, because they are without AIDS. In addition to their health contributing to their being targeted, an awful myth has been created by the South Africans. It is believed that if someone with AIDS has intercourse with a virgin (infant), then he will be cured of the disease. This myth has spread so widely throughout the country that now (on average) one-three infants per week are raped. A large percentage of these rapes are gang rapes as well. In most cases, solo or gang, the infant dies shortly after the event. I have been told that the problem is worsening every year, because the government does not recognize this as a crisis either.
I know a handful of Semester at Sea kids that went on an AIDS epidemic trip. They visited a Township and spoke with some of the infected South Africans. The kids could hardly report about their experience, but they did manage to question why "the infected people are scared, hurt and now destroyed. They are now knowledgeable about the AIDS disease and are looking to help. Where is the government in all of this?" We should all ask the same question.
Again, I apologize for the last two topics. If you were to travel to South Africa you would then understand why I discussed them.
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Greetings-
I am now halfway around the world and I don't think I want to come back. I told my mom and dad that I might have to move to South Africa! For the last four days I have been traveling around South Africa making many new memories and experiencing some crazy things. I guess I will start with day one, Wednesday February 19th.
After being on the boat for 9 days we were all ready to get off and explore Cape Town South Africa. One of my roommates was lucky enough to have her boyfriend meet her here, so I ran off the boat with her to meet him. Then they were off and I met up with some others and we headed for downtown Cape Town. The directors on the boat had told us not to take taxis because they are very expensive and dangerous. So we decided to get in a mini van, which holds 14 or so people. The funny thing about these is that they won't take you where you want to go until they are full. So, we drove around for a while trying to fill this thing up and finally we got to Long Street. Once on Long Street we walked around and did a little window shopping.
I was back to the boat by 1 and went on a trip to see a township. WOW what can I say; I don't think any one would understand this experience unless you see this with your very own eyes. These people live 5 to 6 people in a shack made of pieces of wood, cardboard, tin, anything you can think of. All the kids are bare foot and had torn ragged clothes on. I don't even know how to explain this experience; it was something that I think everyone should do. We got to walk around and see in all their 'houses' and Semester at sea gave these people a few boxes of goods. The thing that shocked me the most is that these people don't think anything of the way that they live. Their parents and grandparents lived here and so that is all they have experienced.
About 12 of us decided to go to dinner at a restaurant called Blues. I had Ostrich, which tasted very good. After dinner we went upstairs to a bar. This bar was incredible it was outside and overlooking the beach, it felt like we were in Southern California. Except the people here have a beautifully distinct look and accent. While we were there we met this old man that bought about 6 of us girls drinks, it was a great time. One of the girls with us, Palatie, recognized one of the South African bar tenders, and then she realized that she had met him last winter in Vail. WE live in a small world! After this bar we went to another place called The Fes, where we met a lot of interesting people. Our first night out and of course it was a late one!
DAY 2- today we got up very early and had breakfast then we went back to Adventure village to try to go kloofing. Kloofing is a combination of cliff diving and repelling down waterfalls. Once we got to the village there were already some SAS kids there that had signed up the night before. Mae and I signed up with Brian, Steve, Lindsey, Cassie, and Chris and got ready for the adventure of a life time. Once our guides got there we were off to the canyons. We had about an hour drive through South Africa, which was nice because we got to see a lot of the sights. Then we had a quick breakfast at a bed and breakfast, which was at the base of the canyon.
At about 9 we started out for our day of fun. We hiked for a few good hours then jumped off two cliffs which were 20 and 30 feet high. It felt good to be wet after a long hike. Once again we were hiking, and it wasn't easy hiking we were pulling ourselves up rocks and around boulders. Then we came to a waterfall and left our stuff at the bottom and climbed onto the top. At the top there was a pond that led to the waterfall. We went swimming while the guides set up the abseiling equipment. I think we were all getting a little scared. I hadn't been repelling for a few years and I had never done it down a 200 ft waterfall. What can I say�.It was amazing! Such a thrill! I wish I could do it everyday. Then after we had all gone down the waterfall we hiked back down and hit three more cliffs that we jumped off. The tallest one was 70ft, and I didn't jump from this one. My friend Mae was the only girl that jumped. After we made it out of the canyon we had dinner at the bed and breakfast. Our guides for this adventure were great. They reminded me of my friends from last summer, my rafting friends. The reason why they remind me of them is because every story that they told us was a lie. We were too gullible. I figured they were telling us lies and I didn't believe anything they were saying but most of the guys believed them. They had some really good stories!
At about 7 they dropped us off at the boat and we quickly showered and met up with some kids. We were now off to the wine lands. When we finally got there it was about 10 at night. WE had nowhere to stay and we were all starving. Finally we found the cutest bed and breakfast/ guest house that had two rooms. They didn't really have two rooms, actually the rooms were already taken but the people were out of town for the night, so the man that owned the place let us have the rooms for the night. Once we got settled the owner took us out to dinner, then to the local bar. He even stayed and had a few drinks and rounds with us. I think he enjoyed the company of all us young adults! He stayed with us till the place closed at 2:30, then he drove us home in his land rover. He was the nicest old man. To bad he wasn't about 25 years younger! Then we slept 8 of us in 4 twin beds. I think the guys enjoyed this! There was one guy with three girls in the bed I slept in.
DAY3-.I can't believe that our trip is already half over! We got up at 7:30 and had breakfast prepared for us by our new friend Freddie. Then we were off to the wine lands and wine tasting by 10. The wine land country was beautiful, it looked like northern Cali, but there were mountains in the back ground instead of rolling hills. We traveled around to about 5 different vineyards and tasted the wine at each one. At the nicest place we even had a formal wine tasting. Here we also got to see cheetahs, zebras, and some other wild life that I had never dreamed of.
DAY4- how sad our last day in Cape Town! Today we were going to go skydiving. So we were out the door by 8 trying to find the place to go. After about a half an hour of convincing this women that 9 of us could fit in a mini bus to the drop zone she let us sign up. We were on for 10am. All of the kids that I was going with had never been before and a few started to freak out. This humored me because I knew exactly how they were feeling. I tried to tell them good things to calm them but nothing really helped. Finally we got there and then we had to wait. There were already about 10 SAS kids there. It took a few hours but I finally got to jump again, making it number 4. I think every time it gets better and better. I got to jump out of the plane with Troy and Mae. For some reason this time I was very calm and just the tiny bit nervous. I had my disposable camera duck taped to my hand so hopefully I got some good pics! I think I am ready to get certified to go by my self. I'm telling you if you haven't been you should go it is the biggest adrenaline rush. WOOOOO I get excited just typing about it.
Well after this rush we hustled off to the Cape of Good Hope. This was a breath taking drive along the side of huge mountains that emerged into the surrounding ocean. Once we entered the cape we hiked to Cape Point which is the southern most point of Africa. This was a huge cliff that was surrounded by the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. The beaches below were breath taking. I think I have fallen in love with this place. Next Jen, Mae and I were off to Boulders Beach where the beach is covered in Penguins. This was our last stop of the day and I think it was a great ending to an amazing trip.
It was sad to leave South Africa, what can I say except that it was an eye opening experience. I am now half way around the world on a ship traveling to new countries by the week. I have learned more in the last month than I have learned during my whole time at college - maybe even my whole life. Meeting new people and learning about their way of life and values is such an amazing thing that you can't do at home. I wish you could all be here with me experiencing all the things I am doing. I guess you will have to live them vicariously through me. In a week I will be meeting up with my dad in Kenya. I have been looking forward to this safari since last year. I miss you and love you all�..
Brie
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Tara C [item 30]
I woke up with help from my friend Lisa at 5am and yes I willing did this to see the most amazing sight the sun hitting table mountain and to see us pulling into port. It was still night and the moon looked huge and then we slowing saw the light emulated the mountain. When were able to get off the ship I ran off with no real plans but to pick up presents and try to repel table mountain, I suggest you do a yahoo or goggle search for a picture it is amazing. I unfortunately was unable to repel Table Mountain due to the wind that was a bummer.
We arrived in Cape Town during the Cricket tournament and when we got lost on our way to the market stopped in a hotel and it was the one they were staying at that was kind of neat. We finally made it to the market and you all know me a quick shopper so we left not to long after we stopped at a poppies like restaurant but south African style and the people were so nice they came to talk with us that was nice and the food was so good� seeing as how I have been a little sick from the Amazon, I don�t care I loved the Amazon I would get sick again to go back. Anyway we went back to the ship dropped off our bags and Heather and I were going to hike table mountain now if you looked at the picture you see it is a hall to get up there, we took a taxi and the people told us it would 3 hours so we did not want to get stuck up on table mountain which later other SASers did, they had to get search and resuse for them. We went up on the cable car and watched sunset it was so nice the colors and the clouds then the city was lit my little ant like lights it was like a bug city. Then we all went to dinner and many little kids wanted to join our outdoor table. Then we came back to the waterfront were we are docked and had ice-cream and a drink then I called home and went to bed at 2or 3.
I went on operation hunger with the school visit it was a service activity. I wanted to go and see how they helped the children; I thought it would influence me to get more involved at home with soup kitchens. I heard the other groups were able to weigh the children, write how much they weighed on their hands and monitored to see if they were malnutrition. That was not quite what I did, I was a little disappointed at first but I really enjoyed the day, I had an eye opening time
My trip begins at Luthando which is a preschool, one of the nicer ones that operation hunger helped them start up. We arrived not knowing what to do, they told us to just play with the kids. We were given two or three boxes of toys and stared to play. Some people were coloring with them others were giving them bouncing balls. The children absolutely loved the bubbles we had it was so cute they were all around us and were jumping up and trying to grab them. The kids were singing their songs and I knew a couple but some were in Xhosa their language. There were some of the out going kids that always get your attention. They were all so cute. My favorite part was when I taught the children the hokey pokey. I also was giving the children horsy back rides and airplane rides. When it was snack time we sat down with the women who ran the school, she also started the school. She built up the school she used to have it in her own house. The school is open five days a week and cost four Rand a day (about 7.5Rand equal one dollar). She was very grateful we brought toys. After our talk we said our goodbyes and took a group picture and headed to the next school
After the preschool we went to Chuma a primary school. At this school we had a school chores sing to us it was great. The school was a little overwhelming, the students were like wolfs because they gave us stickers to hand out so all the kids were pushing and grabbing and hitting to get these stickers. I know when I was younger I would have wanted a sticker to. Our visit there was short compared to our time at the preschool. We got back on the bus and ate lunch on our way to the other schools
Later we arrived at Noluthando a school for the deaf. The women told us it was for blacks. Saying whites have other better schools for the deaf. They have all the grades and also have a technical school as well. The students are bused in from all over. We went into a first or second grade class and the children were happy to see us and waved and said hello. I learned there that for girls to wear shorts was odd, because the kept moving there hand to there thigh. The head master was saying it was difficult for the parent to learn sign language they offer classes but not too many can make it do to the distance and working, so the kids love to come to school to talk with people and be understood. She was also telling us that one of the boys� who was seven, mother just past away. She stopped up to visit him and found there was no bread or milk in the house. She said the house had six other children and there is only one bed and they all sleep on it. The older sister goes to the neighbor and asks for bread, that loaf is split between all six and it is their meal for the day. She said she gives him any leftover food from the school. Kind of makes you think of the lunch you just ate and threw some food away. We had to get back on the bus and go to our last school.
After the school for the deaf we went to a high school this was the most intimidating of all the schools. I just remembered how I was in high school. We were broken up into four small groups and were going to walk around an informal settlement. We started to walk and I began talking with a seventeen year old girl named Confidence. Almost the first words out of her mouth were people around here are so ignorant about Aids and how there should be a nursery in school because so many girls are having kids, she had a strong opinion telling me people have to be responsible. She was a very smart girl. She opened up to me very quickly; I wouldn�t have been so open with some one I met five minutes ago. She told me she lived with her aunt because her mom lived in an informal settlement and could not support her. She told me she hopes she can go to Johannesburg for university she wants to be in advertising, radio because everyone even if you are not rich can listen to it. She went on to tell me she was a victim of rape by her uncle when she was little and hasn�t told her mother yet. She said she is involved in many activities to keep her mind off it. I could not believe how composed this girl was, she had more strength and determination then I ever will. The operation hunger was a great experience
We arrived back at the ship and heather and I were determined to climb Table Mountain we did and it was amazing. We looked down at were we started it was such a rush and feeling of accomplishment, but I was just remember Confidence telling me she would love to see it and she lives maybe 20 minutes from the mountain and went up twice, I think she impacted me more than I did her.
The next day I left for Kagga Kamma which is a national park. It was nice I never before went off roading in a huge bus it was fun. We arrived and got our rooms and I was staying in a cave it was really neat it was like a honeymoon suite, we all hiked to this huge gorge and the view there was amazing as well, then we came back for a campfire dinner. We looked up at the stars and out there you didn�t realize how many stars there are, I didn�t know there were a bunch of stars all around Orion�s belt. I was able to look in the telescope and see satern and Jupiter and you can even see the two closest galaxies, the Milky Way I laid on my back for so long just staring up in amazement and I saw a shooting star or falling (laurel) and asking the astrometry questions. Then we went on our night game dive it was fun we were all singing the theme to India Jones while we left the camp area. I saw an owl and oestridge, antelope, scorpion and manta backs. Then we came back and got ready for day two for kagga kamma
We woke up backed our bags what was great about there was it was so quite you couldn�t hear a thing it was nice. We went on anther hike and ran into a Zebra and me and some others walked up slowly to it and I got so close to him it was so cool. We looked at cave drawings then made our way back to Cape Town
Then I ran around getting last minute things like groceries and making quick calls not wanting to leave so many things I didn�t get to do, Robin island where Mandela was, Bolder Beach were the penguins were and sky diving and clufing and I wanted to talk to more of the people. Even though apartheid is over people are still so racist and many people are surprised at you being nice to them.
I will always remember what I saw and heard in South Africa
