Saw penguin's on Saturday.
Went to a game farm yesterday & today. Drove around on Land Rover. Saw elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetahs, buffalo, wildebeest, & other animals. Slept in really amazing bungalow huts that are perfect for a romantic vacation or honeymoon!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Beautiful Cape Town
We spent last Saturday the 23rd on a Peninsula Tour of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Here I am at Cape Point, where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean currents meet. Reppin' New York from 12,541 KM away! It was a gorgeous day, but started to rain and get quite dreary as the day went on. We saw some baboons, ostrich, and a bunch of birds attacking people's food as they dared to sit outside at the restaurant.
I was at the South-Western most point of the African continent this day!
On Sunday, a bunch of us hiked up Lion's Head, one of the prominent mountains in the Cape Town landscape. It was a super intense hike. Here is Jackie and I about halfway
up the mountain! In the back are the mountains known as the "12 Apostles." In order to get up the mountain, we had to scale the rocks by using chains and ladders! It was intense but so worth it once we got to the top and had a 360 degree view of the city. We made it just in time to see the beginning of the sunset---but the sun goes down fast and we were slightly afraid that we wouldn't be able to get back down by the chains & ladders. As we got a little lost going down, we were lucky enough to meet up with a great group of locals & their friends from around S. Africa who gave us a lift home, instead of making us hike home in the dark for another hour.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Human security is more important than human rights
"Human security is more important than human rights."
That's a very bold statement that was made at the end of one of our lectures this week by Elrena van der Spuy at UCT, who spoke about Crime and Public Safety in S. Africa. As a liberal American, I personally believe that my right to privacy and treating criminals humanely--even after being convicted of heinous crimes--should be upheld in the name of protecting human rights. Because - how can you convict a criminal on the basis of using evidence obtained after using torture on the individual? However, I tend to sway on the issue when people persuade me into thinking that it is because we fight to protect our democracy (aka protect human security first), in order to protect our freedom of speech (aka protecting human rights guaranteed in the Constitution).
This past week, President Obama spoke about his plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay prison and moving high profile terrorists to maximum security prisons in the U.S. It was interesting to see the minor comparison between this speech and my lecture, realizing that the issues of human security are vastly different in the two countries. I don't believe that human security is more important than human rights, but I am inclined to believe that it must be established first in order for human rights to thrive.
The UCT Main Campus
"Those two cars are racing."
Over a delicious dinner dinner (avocado & cheeseburger) & South African white wine, I looked to my left and saw two cars speeding down the road, engines revved. Rather nonchalantly, I said to the other two girls, "Those two cars are racining." They both took a glance and I turning back to my meal when suddenly we heard a BOOM and then nothing, and then a large CRASH. The car closest to the meridian must have skidded on the wet road (winter in Cape Town = a lot of rain and no snow), crashed into the palm tree on the meridian, flipped over, and landed on the hood of the car. Everyone in the entire restaurant instantly rose to their feet, an
d some scrambled across the road to see if the driver was okay. Frantickly, I yelled, "Someone call 911!" Yeah-- remember, I am in South Africa--It didn't even occur to me that this would'nt be the number to call. I don't know how the man did it, but he crawled out of his car, and was walking around as if he was just going for a stroll (my likely conclusion was that he may have been in shock). The police, ambulance, and fire truck arrived fairly rapidly, which helped to ease any concerns over the speed of medical help here in Cape Town. But honestly, that driver was a dumb-ass.
Deep Democracy Convention
On Saturday, May 23 I had the opportunity to sleep in and go shopping at the markets, or sleep in and go hiking up Signal Hill (really close to our B&B). Or, I could opt to par-take in the Deep Democracy Conversations across the Social Divide conference along with a broad spectrum of people representing many of the socio-economic (and racial) groups in South Africa; high-level and other representatives from the Education Department, management level business people and professionals, ordinary middle class South Africans, and many impoverished members of the community in Mitchells Plain. This "conference" was nothing like what I expected it to be.
I expected to be sitting around a table all day, discussing the issues and solutions to economic inequalities amongst the classest. Instead, I found myself to feel completely emotional and passionate about the people I met, most of whom were high school "Peer Leaders/Educators" and also impoverished adults in the neighboring communities. Most of the discussions were conducted with the entire group standing up, moving around what could be considered a "wreck room." We spoke using the "two-foot shuffle," which allowed a person to state his/her belief. If you agreed with the statement, then you would shuffle your feet across the floor until you agreed. If you did not, you stood in the same spot.
At lunchtime, a group of adults eagerly introduced themselves to myself and the other three students from my class who also went to the conference. It was amazing to listen to their stories, but exciting to see that they were equally interested in ours.
At the end of the conference, I not only felt a deep connection with the other people in the room, but myself and some of the others who came with me, also had a slight feeling of unease about our place in the conference that day. By the time I walked out the door, however, I knew that it was important for me to be there that day, as it gave me a face-to-face perspective of those who are living in underdeveloped conditions, and it allowed me to get a feeling of what they invisioned should be the solutions to their situation.
Here are some of the major notes I took down as I reflected at the end of the conference:
I am glad that I took this opportunity. I can go shopping at the market or hiking any other day. This past Saturday was about really understanding South Africans.
That's a very bold statement that was made at the end of one of our lectures this week by Elrena van der Spuy at UCT, who spoke about Crime and Public Safety in S. Africa. As a liberal American, I personally believe that my right to privacy and treating criminals humanely--even after being convicted of heinous crimes--should be upheld in the name of protecting human rights. Because - how can you convict a criminal on the basis of using evidence obtained after using torture on the individual? However, I tend to sway on the issue when people persuade me into thinking that it is because we fight to protect our democracy (aka protect human security first), in order to protect our freedom of speech (aka protecting human rights guaranteed in the Constitution).
This past week, President Obama spoke about his plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay prison and moving high profile terrorists to maximum security prisons in the U.S. It was interesting to see the minor comparison between this speech and my lecture, realizing that the issues of human security are vastly different in the two countries. I don't believe that human security is more important than human rights, but I am inclined to believe that it must be established first in order for human rights to thrive.
The UCT Main Campus
"Those two cars are racing."
Over a delicious dinner dinner (avocado & cheeseburger) & South African white wine, I looked to my left and saw two cars speeding down the road, engines revved. Rather nonchalantly, I said to the other two girls, "Those two cars are racining." They both took a glance and I turning back to my meal when suddenly we heard a BOOM and then nothing, and then a large CRASH. The car closest to the meridian must have skidded on the wet road (winter in Cape Town = a lot of rain and no snow), crashed into the palm tree on the meridian, flipped over, and landed on the hood of the car. Everyone in the entire restaurant instantly rose to their feet, an
d some scrambled across the road to see if the driver was okay. Frantickly, I yelled, "Someone call 911!" Yeah-- remember, I am in South Africa--It didn't even occur to me that this would'nt be the number to call. I don't know how the man did it, but he crawled out of his car, and was walking around as if he was just going for a stroll (my likely conclusion was that he may have been in shock). The police, ambulance, and fire truck arrived fairly rapidly, which helped to ease any concerns over the speed of medical help here in Cape Town. But honestly, that driver was a dumb-ass.Deep Democracy Convention
On Saturday, May 23 I had the opportunity to sleep in and go shopping at the markets, or sleep in and go hiking up Signal Hill (really close to our B&B). Or, I could opt to par-take in the Deep Democracy Conversations across the Social Divide conference along with a broad spectrum of people representing many of the socio-economic (and racial) groups in South Africa; high-level and other representatives from the Education Department, management level business people and professionals, ordinary middle class South Africans, and many impoverished members of the community in Mitchells Plain. This "conference" was nothing like what I expected it to be.
I expected to be sitting around a table all day, discussing the issues and solutions to economic inequalities amongst the classest. Instead, I found myself to feel completely emotional and passionate about the people I met, most of whom were high school "Peer Leaders/Educators" and also impoverished adults in the neighboring communities. Most of the discussions were conducted with the entire group standing up, moving around what could be considered a "wreck room." We spoke using the "two-foot shuffle," which allowed a person to state his/her belief. If you agreed with the statement, then you would shuffle your feet across the floor until you agreed. If you did not, you stood in the same spot.
At lunchtime, a group of adults eagerly introduced themselves to myself and the other three students from my class who also went to the conference. It was amazing to listen to their stories, but exciting to see that they were equally interested in ours.
At the end of the conference, I not only felt a deep connection with the other people in the room, but myself and some of the others who came with me, also had a slight feeling of unease about our place in the conference that day. By the time I walked out the door, however, I knew that it was important for me to be there that day, as it gave me a face-to-face perspective of those who are living in underdeveloped conditions, and it allowed me to get a feeling of what they invisioned should be the solutions to their situation.
Here are some of the major notes I took down as I reflected at the end of the conference:
- use "less fortunate" instead of poor - the people in the townships may have their fancy cars and HD TV's... but their circumstances are less fortunate
- its hurts the girls when others say "all girls are baby-making machines in order to get governmental grants"
- it is important not to generalize. not all blacks without jobs are "lazy"
- we cannot "forget" about Apartheid even though it ended 15 years ago. it is a major player in why the inequalities today still exist
- one of the women in the group said that she had been working since she was 14 and still doesn't have enough money
- we will always have the poor among us. But, what is God's perception of poverty? Some parts of the debate got very Biblical--which was very persuasive for much of the members of the community.
- One of the students claimed "I do expect things to be done for me." - reflecting on the issue that S. African jobs were taken because people from Zimbabwe would work for less and work harder to succeed.
- girls in south africa have resorted to selling themselves as prostitutes to make a living
- some do not want hand-outs from foreign investors/foreigners
- someone said that "we didn't demand handouts before and now we are because the president is black" another girl reminded that before, under apartheid, they didn't have a voice... so they were unable to ask for anything.
- one older man regreted that he hadn't made use of the educational opportunities offered to him - slightly reflecting on the ability for the 4 of us to study abroad in S Africa
- another woman reflected that uneducated people have lost their dignity because they must resort to washing other peoples panties.
I am glad that I took this opportunity. I can go shopping at the market or hiking any other day. This past Saturday was about really understanding South Africans.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Robben Island
Although the sun was glaring and the ocean breezes helped to keep Robben Island refreshing, I still felt a slight chill run through my body as we walked off the boat to experience Robben Island.
Our afternoon began with a bus tour of the island, which explained that it began as a Leper colony from 1836 to 1931. It was then vacant until 1939, when it served as a military site during the Second World War. However, by 1959, Robben Island changed hands and became the maximum security prison for which it is widely known.
I was overwhelmed by the experience of walking through the Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years before being released during the breakdown of Apartheid. It was definitely a surreal experience to see Mandela's jail cell and have a tour guide who also had been a prisoner after being arrested and tortured for fighting to end Apartheid. Our guide had been arrested after partaking in some civil unrest, and was found guilty of illegally leaving and then re-entering the country without the proper permission of the White Apartheid government (which wouldn't have been granted anyways).
It is quite an atmosphere to take in, especially when trying to picture the cells, overcrowded with inmates and prison guards roaming the halls.
Take-home Message: One of the most touching parts of the tour was from our first guide on the bus. Before we exited, he asked each of the people on our bus what country they are from. He concluded by saying, "if the whole world can fit and get along on this bus, please go out there and do the same." He went on to ask us to make sure that what happened in South Africa does not happen again, and that it is our responsibility to make changes in the inequalities in the world.
Our afternoon began with a bus tour of the island, which explained that it began as a Leper colony from 1836 to 1931. It was then vacant until 1939, when it served as a military site during the Second World War. However, by 1959, Robben Island changed hands and became the maximum security prison for which it is widely known.
I was overwhelmed by the experience of walking through the Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years before being released during the breakdown of Apartheid. It was definitely a surreal experience to see Mandela's jail cell and have a tour guide who also had been a prisoner after being arrested and tortured for fighting to end Apartheid. Our guide had been arrested after partaking in some civil unrest, and was found guilty of illegally leaving and then re-entering the country without the proper permission of the White Apartheid government (which wouldn't have been granted anyways).
It is quite an atmosphere to take in, especially when trying to picture the cells, overcrowded with inmates and prison guards roaming the halls.
Take-home Message: One of the most touching parts of the tour was from our first guide on the bus. Before we exited, he asked each of the people on our bus what country they are from. He concluded by saying, "if the whole world can fit and get along on this bus, please go out there and do the same." He went on to ask us to make sure that what happened in South Africa does not happen again, and that it is our responsibility to make changes in the inequalities in the world.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Taxi Cab Wars & the Townships
Prior to the end of apartheid, the two major taxi cab companies in Cape Town held a great deal of power within the townships. But, sometimes they got themselves into a bit of trouble by driving into the other taxi cabs “turf.” There were literally taxi cab wars in which one company would drive over to another companies fleet of taxi’s and begin shooting them down. It got so intense that the taxi drivers used to drive around with body guards to help protect them. If people in the community were upset with someone else, they would talk to the head of the company to get the issue “taken care of.”
Need some issue resolved? Call 1-800-Taxi-War!
Monday, May 18 – We had our official campus tour of CTU today. At the very beginning, we watched a promotional video that the school uses to recruit 11th and 12th graders deciding if they want to attend CTU for their undergraduate degrees. The acting and cinematography were absolutely hilarious, but my favorite part was when the narrator was explaining the thrill of going to the campus gym. Then, covering the entire screen was a picture of a guy’s 8-pack abs while he’s lifting weights. The narrator’s comment – “Hey girls… check out those muscles!” Oh dear.
However, although I have yet to see whether the 8-pack abs are in fact adorned by every CTU student, I am not in the slightest bit shy to test it out to see if it is true. haha... They surely have quite a lot of hot South African men walking around this campus. The English and Afrikaans boys are absolutely gorgeous.
Tuesday, May 19
Totally forgot yesterday was my parents 30th wedding anniversary. Luckily I gave them the gifts before I left! Hope you guys enjoyed it all!
After our lecture this morning, we had lunch at the Noon Gun restaurant after watching the cannons fire the 12 noon shot that goes off everyday.
Today was the most emotional day so far. We visited the District 6 Museum, which is dedicated to the forced movement of a black community located near the city bowl to the outskirts of the city when the area was declared "whites only" under apartheid in 1966.
After the museum, we went to another Township, where we went on a walking tour through the community and met with some people who are living with their entire families in one room - approximately the size of half a dorm room. Some of the houses have 8 rooms and can hold 32 people. But the people we met, especially the children running around on the streets, seemed especially happy. It was close to dinner time so we saw a mother feeding her two young children on her bed, another woman cooking stew dinner for her family, and others selling meats right on the streets--pigheads too. It really was quite an experience and very eye-opening. It gives me another check on the reality of the world and the extreme inequities our world faces both economically and racially.
The irony is that in the driveways of some of the houses were nearly brand-new Buicks and even a BMW here or there. While many blacks in the townships continue to face extreme poverty, there have been a few who have struggled to the top to become lawyers and doctors. But rather than leaving the townships and moving to a "better" community, the families stay in the townships-- the cost of living is cheaper so they can then afford to send their children to private schools in the City Bowl. But most importantly, they can maintain their sense of culture and community --- the children running carelessly on the streets, the meat being cooked on the streets, the loud music and dancing at night -- That's what they live for, by caring for and looking after each other for all of the years during apartheid... a cultural connectivity that has lasted until this day.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Acclimating to South Africa
Thursday, May 14
I have officially arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been quite a surreal experience because while I can completely tell that I am in a different country, it is still hard to believe that I am on the African continent between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
After an 8 hour flight to London, 7 1/2 hour layover in the Heathrow Airport, and another 12 hour flight to Cape Town, I arrived safely and only slightly exhausted. I immediately saw my two suitcases circling around the baggage claim and was extremely relieved. I have never lost a bag on a flight yet--knock on wood. Another girl in the program, Jackie, was on the same British Airways flight to Cape Town with me, but neither of us even saw each other so we didn't know!
A slight mishap
When I got out of customs to the transport area, I did not see anyone with my name to pick me up. After waiting approximately 20 minutes, i decided to go to the information station and asked the man at the desk if there was any phone I could use to call Romer Tours, the company that is in charge of driving us everywhere during our stay. He kindly used his phone to call, Rithwann, who is basically our personal driver. Apparently my name was missed on his excel sheet because it was the first name on the list of students to be picked up. But not a problem! As he had picked up Jackie already, they simply turned around and came back to get me. Then we were off driving through some morning traffic through the City Bowl down to Sea Point, the area in which we are staying.
Stonehurst
Our group, along with my professor, David Hirschman, is staying at the Stonehurst Guest House. It was quite a splendid place with a lot of character. There are a couple of permanent residents here who have been extremely gracious in welcoming us. As Jackie and I were the first to arrive, we were given a grand tour and basically asked to pick any room we desired for our stay. Initially I chose a room with two twin beds, as the rooms with double beds require two students to share. (The house is relatively small and there aren't enough beds for everyone to have his/her own). However, as we were ready to go to lunch with Professor Hirshman, Jackie and I fell in love with two of the rooms by the entrance. We are in separate rooms (I share with Megan) and Jackie with Ashley and Cydney. However, these rooms are two level "flats" where each floor has a double bed. I lucked out only having to share with Megan, so I have the entire upper level to myself. We share a shower (on my level) and a bathroom (on her level). My bed is extremely comfortable and I have sleep pretty well so far as well.
The house itself have a quaint sitting room with a huge flat screen TV which seems rather silly juxtaposed to the older furniture in the room. We also have a cute kitchen with all of the essentials and more where I will soon be cooking. Jon (pronounced as Yon) -the manager- has been extremely gracious and is providing cornflakes cereal, apples, oranges, bread, butter, and milk for our group whenever want it. The owner and his son also live in the house as well and have been great hosts and continue to work to accommodate every request we make.
The rest of Thursday included a lot of exploring: eating brunch at a local cafe, walking approximately 4 miles up and down the coast of Cape Town with just my professor, unpacking, then out to dinner at a local Indian/Pakistani/Chinese/English restaurant - what at interesting mix!
Friday, May 15
We had a breakfast from the professors at the House and discussed the week, blogging, and our internships. I was extremely excited to find out that I will be interning with Grassroot Soccer starting June 1st! The office is in the City Bowl, right in the center of everything exciting in Cape Town!!
We then went to Cape Town University (now after referred to at CTU) for our first lecture from our Professor Hirshman about the history of South African democracy and apartheid.
After the lecture, we began our "transportation exercise" which allowed us to learn all of the means of transportation which would bring us from CTU to Stonehurst. We began by taking the Campus shuttle to the train. After riding the train, we arrived at what could be considered the "Grand Central Station" of Cape Town. From there we took these really ghetto bus taxis which cram a lot of people in--but are super cheap. Finally we arrived back at our house.
For dinner we went to Mama Shiela's in Lelapa, Langa which is a black township created during the apartheid. The food was absolutely marvalous. This woman has created her own business by struggling from the very bottom by working two jobs and going to night classes to learn how to manage and finance. She now only takes groups by reservation and creates an entire story with the dinner which is a lovely African Buffet. Everything she made was delicious and throughout our dinner we were entertained by a lovely xylophone trio of three men who would sing songs in Xhosa (one of the national languages of S. Africa).
Saturday, May 16
We visited the South African Slave Lodge. It was quite interesting to see the influence of Malaysian and Indonesian slaves brought TO Africa, rather than the US traditional study of African slaves brought to the United States. It never occurred to me that the Dutch colonies in Cape Town would have brought slaves from other countries instead of enslaving the indigenous already in the area.
We went to the Castle of Good Hope which was built by the Dutch to protect themselves from a potential battle by the British who were also settling in Cape Town. Ironically, there was never a
battle but it is now the oldest building still standing in Cape Town.
We had originally planned to travel to Cape Point of a peninsula tour, but due to poor weather conditions, our professors booked ourselves for a wine tour at the oldest and largest wine estates in S. Africa. We then had a lovely wine tasting, but many of us did not particularly enjoy the wines enough to purchase a bottle. However, we were excited to see baboons on the estate!!
Sunday, May 17
Finally to today. Today was a very simple day that we had completely to ourselves. We only had one task at hand- to read some South African newspapers and prepare an issue we find interesting for a group discussion as 7pm at Stonehurst. I picked an article directed to the new Minister of Sport, explaining the problems of money administration, management, and distribution. It also covered the issue of the need to increase grassroot sports development in order to create more organized sports at the club level. Finally, it emphasized the financial inequality between women and men in sport. Women's sports in South Africa lack sufficient funding and are not supported equally. Additionally, sports teams have become owned by corporations rather than the government, leading to potential to create human rights abuses when corporations allocate sponsorship to sportsmen without allocating assistance to sportswomen.
I have officially arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been quite a surreal experience because while I can completely tell that I am in a different country, it is still hard to believe that I am on the African continent between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
After an 8 hour flight to London, 7 1/2 hour layover in the Heathrow Airport, and another 12 hour flight to Cape Town, I arrived safely and only slightly exhausted. I immediately saw my two suitcases circling around the baggage claim and was extremely relieved. I have never lost a bag on a flight yet--knock on wood. Another girl in the program, Jackie, was on the same British Airways flight to Cape Town with me, but neither of us even saw each other so we didn't know!
A slight mishap
When I got out of customs to the transport area, I did not see anyone with my name to pick me up. After waiting approximately 20 minutes, i decided to go to the information station and asked the man at the desk if there was any phone I could use to call Romer Tours, the company that is in charge of driving us everywhere during our stay. He kindly used his phone to call, Rithwann, who is basically our personal driver. Apparently my name was missed on his excel sheet because it was the first name on the list of students to be picked up. But not a problem! As he had picked up Jackie already, they simply turned around and came back to get me. Then we were off driving through some morning traffic through the City Bowl down to Sea Point, the area in which we are staying.
Stonehurst
Our group, along with my professor, David Hirschman, is staying at the Stonehurst Guest House. It was quite a splendid place with a lot of character. There are a couple of permanent residents here who have been extremely gracious in welcoming us. As Jackie and I were the first to arrive, we were given a grand tour and basically asked to pick any room we desired for our stay. Initially I chose a room with two twin beds, as the rooms with double beds require two students to share. (The house is relatively small and there aren't enough beds for everyone to have his/her own). However, as we were ready to go to lunch with Professor Hirshman, Jackie and I fell in love with two of the rooms by the entrance. We are in separate rooms (I share with Megan) and Jackie with Ashley and Cydney. However, these rooms are two level "flats" where each floor has a double bed. I lucked out only having to share with Megan, so I have the entire upper level to myself. We share a shower (on my level) and a bathroom (on her level). My bed is extremely comfortable and I have sleep pretty well so far as well.
The house itself have a quaint sitting room with a huge flat screen TV which seems rather silly juxtaposed to the older furniture in the room. We also have a cute kitchen with all of the essentials and more where I will soon be cooking. Jon (pronounced as Yon) -the manager- has been extremely gracious and is providing cornflakes cereal, apples, oranges, bread, butter, and milk for our group whenever want it. The owner and his son also live in the house as well and have been great hosts and continue to work to accommodate every request we make.
The rest of Thursday included a lot of exploring: eating brunch at a local cafe, walking approximately 4 miles up and down the coast of Cape Town with just my professor, unpacking, then out to dinner at a local Indian/Pakistani/Chinese/English restaurant - what at interesting mix!
Friday, May 15
We had a breakfast from the professors at the House and discussed the week, blogging, and our internships. I was extremely excited to find out that I will be interning with Grassroot Soccer starting June 1st! The office is in the City Bowl, right in the center of everything exciting in Cape Town!!
We then went to Cape Town University (now after referred to at CTU) for our first lecture from our Professor Hirshman about the history of South African democracy and apartheid.
After the lecture, we began our "transportation exercise" which allowed us to learn all of the means of transportation which would bring us from CTU to Stonehurst. We began by taking the Campus shuttle to the train. After riding the train, we arrived at what could be considered the "Grand Central Station" of Cape Town. From there we took these really ghetto bus taxis which cram a lot of people in--but are super cheap. Finally we arrived back at our house.
For dinner we went to Mama Shiela's in Lelapa, Langa which is a black township created during the apartheid. The food was absolutely marvalous. This woman has created her own business by struggling from the very bottom by working two jobs and going to night classes to learn how to manage and finance. She now only takes groups by reservation and creates an entire story with the dinner which is a lovely African Buffet. Everything she made was delicious and throughout our dinner we were entertained by a lovely xylophone trio of three men who would sing songs in Xhosa (one of the national languages of S. Africa).
Saturday, May 16
We visited the South African Slave Lodge. It was quite interesting to see the influence of Malaysian and Indonesian slaves brought TO Africa, rather than the US traditional study of African slaves brought to the United States. It never occurred to me that the Dutch colonies in Cape Town would have brought slaves from other countries instead of enslaving the indigenous already in the area.
We went to the Castle of Good Hope which was built by the Dutch to protect themselves from a potential battle by the British who were also settling in Cape Town. Ironically, there was never a
battle but it is now the oldest building still standing in Cape Town.
We had originally planned to travel to Cape Point of a peninsula tour, but due to poor weather conditions, our professors booked ourselves for a wine tour at the oldest and largest wine estates in S. Africa. We then had a lovely wine tasting, but many of us did not particularly enjoy the wines enough to purchase a bottle. However, we were excited to see baboons on the estate!!
Sunday, May 17
Finally to today. Today was a very simple day that we had completely to ourselves. We only had one task at hand- to read some South African newspapers and prepare an issue we find interesting for a group discussion as 7pm at Stonehurst. I picked an article directed to the new Minister of Sport, explaining the problems of money administration, management, and distribution. It also covered the issue of the need to increase grassroot sports development in order to create more organized sports at the club level. Finally, it emphasized the financial inequality between women and men in sport. Women's sports in South Africa lack sufficient funding and are not supported equally. Additionally, sports teams have become owned by corporations rather than the government, leading to potential to create human rights abuses when corporations allocate sponsorship to sportsmen without allocating assistance to sportswomen.
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