A Typical Week...

I've had some requests for more updates about life on a day-to-day basis here in lovely Cape Town. So, here is a recap of my past week:

Thursday - Class in the morning from 10 - 12. Neither class is particularly stimulating...there really isn't any point or content to Thinking in the Social Sciences, and Advanced South African politics has nothing to do with South African politics specifically. But oh well. Practice piano at the College of Music for an hour, then go to lunch with house mates at the local soup/sandwich/salad place. Come home and get reading done while laying out in the sun with the other girls in my house. Three mile afternoon run around Rondebosch. Come home, shower, have a quick dinner, and get dressed to go out. The girls and I decide to have a Girls' Night Out at Tiger Tiger, one of the ritziest clubs in Cape Town. It's where Prince Harry hangs out when he is in South Africa. We all meet at Danielle's house to swap makeup and try on each other's high heels, then head down to mainstreet where we barter for a cab to get us to the club. I will post pictures of this crazy/fun night soon!

Friday - I only have one class on Friday from 11:00 to 12:30. Once it's over, Kelly and I catch one of the jammies (free UCT buses) down to Long Street, which is downtown. We walk around, check out the flea markets, grab coffee, and just generally take in the people and vibes. Eventually it's time to head back to Rondebosch and take a quick afternoon nap. In the evening I head to a contemporary ballet performance at the UCT Baxter theater with a few house mates. The company is from Joburg and they are definitely not bad. We grab dinner after at Cafe Sophia (good tapas and seafood), then head back out to Long Street to celebrate the birthday of a girl on the program. We go to The Waiting Room, which has a wonderful roof balcony with a view of all downtown. But there isn't time to stay out late, because people are surfing and river rafting bright and early Saturday morning. After a quick late night ice cream stop at Steers, it's time to go home and get to bed.

Saturday - After a morning run and a few errands (groceries, room clean up, etc), it's off to Camps Bay to enjoy a day at the beach. The wind isn't bad, and I get a nice tan as well as some reading done. We get sushi in the evening and watch the sunset. To cap off the night we head to the Dubliner, which has great live music. When we request "an American song," the band plays a funny rendition of James Brown. Everyone dances and just generally has a fun Saturday night out.

Sunday - A few of us take the UCT jammies downtown to spend a morning walking through the Company's Garden and peeping in the museums. The Cape Town festival is going on, so there is live music and lots of people. The Company's Garden is one of the oldest parts of the city - it was planted as a vegetable garden in the 1600s to provide fresh produce for sailors rounding the cape. The afternoon is spent getting school work done and relaxing. My house cooks (pasta night), and everyone goes to bed early.

Monday - Wake up at the crack of dawn to hike Table Mountain. Even though we've done it before, Kelly has a friend visiting who wants to see Cape Town from the summit. We do an easy route that takes only an hour and a half, then take the cable car back down. I just make it to my 11:00 AM lecture. After a few hours of classes, it's time to head straight to volunteering at Baphumelele. The kids are a little hyper, but they enjoy playing an animal matching game, having an alphabet quiz, and learning the names of shapes. Mosie gets a yellow face for the day (instead of a perfect green) because she refuses to help clean up. We get home from Baph at around 6:00. Mindy is home after being in Kreuger for a week, so we have a relaxing welcome home dinner for her.

Tuesday - A light day of classes that ends at 1:00. I practice piano for a few hours in the afternoon, then go to my Step and Tone class at the local gym. In the evening Alex and I head over to Baxter for a free UCT Symphony concert. Afterwards we grab coffee from CoCo's and 50 cent DVDS rentals from the neighborhood video store.

Wednesday - Classes and Baph. I get to plan the lesson for today, so things go particularly well. It was a math lesson that involved counting and adding various animals, as well as cutting out some farm animals and pasting them in their barnyard in the proper numbers. In the evening most people head to Stones, which has lots of pool tables and 2 for 1 drinks. I play two games of pool (win one, lose one), but then it's time to head home for an early morning tomorrow.

Thursday - Go for an early morning run before my 10 AM class, and now I'm sitting here in the computer lab! This afternoon I will probably get errands done and begin research on a paper that is due in just over a week.

Anyway, life is busy and fun here in sunny Cape Town, and I feel so lucky to be in such an amazing place. We've done most of the mandatory touristy stuff, but it's remarkable how much I continue to learn and absorb here simply by living life and observing everything. I've picked up the slightest South African accent when it comes to asking questions - the intonation is different, and everyone understands you much better if you use the local phrasing. I know how to catch a minibus, the differences between the major South African political parties, and where the locals go to get cheap food. My experience here has been both increadibly eye-opening as well as tons of fun. Now it's off to enjoy another sunny afternoon...
Cheers!

Pics of the Baph Kids

Here are some pictures of the children I work with at Baphumalele! The time I spend with them each week is just such a meaningful part of the trip, and I already can tell I will be devastated to leave them.

After a game of animal bingo the students are practicing writing the names of the animals.

Thembi (left) and Sishle (right) are very serious. 

Mosie working hard. She is one of the brightest students.

Nxo Nxo! He is missing his two front teeth and I love him. His name is pronounced with a Xhosa click on the "x" - ask me to say it for you!

Mandoza is a sweetheart and always does a great job with a big smile on his face.

We have a nice space to work at...right now we are in one of the cluster home's kitchens.

Sipho is the one I want to take home with me. He was feeling sad today because he wasn't going to earn his behavior prize, and so he refused to look at the camera. But I love him to death and always have long cuddle/tickle sessions with him before the study group begins.

Me and Nxo Nxo

Fololo being silly and making me help her eat her after school snack

Unelana is a sweetheart

Fololo (right) and Sishle (left)

As I mentioned, we are given a cluster home where we can work. Cluster homes are mini orphanage houses that simulate family living with a permanent care giver and about 10 to 12 kids living together. They eat their meals together and share a small living room and bathroom. The teenage kids live in dorm style living, and the very small kids all live together in a nursery. The cluster homes tend to be reserved for kids from ages 6 to 10. 

There are nine students that I work with in my group, and they are mostly 7 and 8 years old. We work on homework, practice English, do arts and crafts, and play games. I definitely miss working at Weemes (my elementary school in Los Angeles), but the time I spend with these kids each week has been really special and rewarding.

Top Five!

Beaches....

1. Camps Bay - The view of the 12 Apostles speaks for itself.

2. Clifton - Consists of four different beaches separated by spectacular rock formations. Vendors sell cheap ice cream up and down Clifton Two, and you can rent beach chairs for 5 rand.

3. Fish Hoek - Quaint and quiet, with warmer water cause it's on the Indian Ocean side of the mountain.

4. Knysna - Brenton on Sea - Our own private Jurassic-Park style beach that we discovered on the Garden Route.

5. Muzinberg - It gets windy, but the colorful beach houses and good surfing definitely get it a place on the list. (Yes, I've been surfing! Watch out L.A...)

Restaurants

1. Coco WaWa's - A 3 minute walk from my house in Rondebosch, it's actually a little too good which means I eat there a little too much. You get free internet with your food, and they have the most amazing mango-mint-lychee fruit blend drinks and burgers/salads/sandwiches. Ohhh and coffee which comes with a mini brownie...

2. Mr. Pickwick's - An eclectic Long Street cafe with really funny menu names that stays open LATE.

3. Cape to Cuba - Also on Long Street, Cape to Cuba has decent Cuban Food and THE BEST strawberry mojito that I could ever imagine.

4. Marcel's - Ok, so it's not a restaurant, but it's an amazing frozen yogurt and ice cream place in Rondebosch. The strawberry froyo plus chocolate chips and double fudge crumble has been my order there lately...

5. Lola's - It's an actual vegetarian restaurant in Cape Town! The wraps and pies are soooo good.

(Poncho's) - I can't actually list a "Mexican" place on this list, but sometimes you are just craving guacamole and margaritas, and then Poncho's gets the job done.

Bars

1. Roots - Where I celebrated my 21st birthday! Indoor/Outdoor island vibe with tiki torches, vines, and sand everywhere. 

2. The Waiting Room - Cute little upstairs place on Long Street with multiple balconies / lots of nooks and crannies to relax and hang out with friends.

3. Cybar - Ok it actually kind of sucks, but it's our local (and virtually only) neighborhood bar, so I can't hate.

4. Stones - There are a couple around time, and they all have their own vibe. But basically there are always lots of pool tables and 2 for 1 Wednesdays.

5. Dubliner - An Irish pub on Long Street! Fun live music, although not that much of an authentic Irish flavor.

Clubs

1. Tin Roof - BEST PLAYLIST OF ALL TIME. All the popular current club songs, as well as funny 90s American flashback music and much-loved oldies. I could dance all-night here (and have, a few times.)

2. Springbok - Kind of like a maze, with two outdoor areas, a dance floor, and a pub area. Girls can dance on tables!

3. Cubana - A chilled out, diverse place with good music and flaming drinks. It's more of a bar/restaurant during the day, but at night it has a fun Latin flavor.

4. Hemisphere - A club on the 30th story of one of the downtown buildings. 360 degree views of the city. Girls have to wear heels, and it's kind of swanky and pretentious. But still...

5. Zulu - Zulu has a really African vibe with great music and a vibrant crowd. Plus it stays open later than some of the other places on Long Street, which makes it a perfect place for "lasties."

Ocean View Homestay

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I just got back from a packed weekend including a homestay in a coloured township called Ocean View! Ocean View was created during the forced resettlement of the 1906s, and several hundred coloured families from neighboring towns were moved there. Today the township is still a poor area, but it has respectable houses, water and electricity, clean roads, and stores/parks/public facilities/etc. 

Many of the students on my program had amazing homestays with wonderful, welcoming families. Unfortunately, I was a lot more ambivalent about the youngish couple I was placed with. They were in their mid-30s and had just been remarried to each other about a year ago. I think they were kind of desperate to prove to me and the other girl placed with them that they are "cool" people, so they made us stay out until very late both on Friday and Saturday night. They and their friends all drank way too much for middle aged people, and I got the impression that the children of the community constantly have to entertain themselves while their parents get drunk and ignore them. On Friday one woman (who had to be at least 50) actually puked in the yard where we were sitting, and one of the kids had to go get her water. When the children start getting ridiculously tired (usually around midnight), they wander into whoever's house they happen to be at and pass out on the couches or floor, despite the loud music inevitably playing from the speakers. I was just really upset to witness the way these kids are being raised, even though I know I'm supposed to be open minded and experiencing different cultural habits. Additionally, I learned that most coloured people are extremely racist against black South Africans (they would use the n-word). During the apartheid era, coloured people had a preferential status in the Western Cape and were allowed to still work and travel where they wanted. They were considerably better off than the blacks. After the democratic transition in 1994, blacks have made great strides, and black affirmative action programs have been implemented, but the coloured community has been completely forgotten and left behind. (Now remember from several entries ago - a coloured person is a mixed race person, usually both black and Afrikans). 

Of course during the day we had a nice time. On Saturday we went to the beach in a quaint town called Fish Hoek, and on Sunday there was a large international cycling race around the Western Cape that Matt Damon was participating in for charity. I watched and cheered for a couple hours down with the rest of the Ocean View community, but didn't see Matt :(

Anyway, things were just a little intense for me, and I didn't get the quiet weekend of cultural exchange and interesting chats that many other students did. But it was still an important experience that got me way outside my comfort zone, and in many ways I'm glad I did it.

Thing continue to go well at Baph, and my students' confidence level and English skills definitely grow each week. I will soon be able to post pictures of them - volunteers have to wait a month before photographing any of the children at the home. 

I realized I rarely post about my day-to-day experiences during the week at bars, clubs, restaurants, and tourists sites, so next entry will be a recap of my favorite spots in Cape Town. Until next time...

Township Pictures

Ooops the township pictures weren't properly uploaded in my last entry...

Surrounded by Beauty

I still cannot believe that I am living in such an amazingly beautiful place.

View of Table Mountain with its "Table Cloth" - Cape Town rolls down from the mountain all the way to the sea.

Beach in Knysna, where I went on the garden route.

The entrance to the UCT campus as seen from the rugby field! The actual campus is carved into the mountain and has tons of steps and different levels. From the top of upper campus you can see the entire city...all the way down to the Water Front.

The Cape of Good Hope (the most southerly point in Africa).

I know it looks like a fake background but it's not...just a fabulous pre-sunset scene out on the dock.

Last week was an important week for me here because I began my volunteer work at Baphumalele. I met my group of seven and eight year olds, and we had our first After School sessions. Many of the kids at Baph are orphans, but others have been placed there by social services because their parents are sick or abusive. But despite the unimaginable circumstances these children come from, they are basically energetic and happy kids. Getting to interact with UCT students will give them a chance to improve their English skills and get a glimpse at the possibilities that life has to offer. There are several bright high school teenagers at Baph who are studying on scholarship at prestigious schools in Cape Town, so there really is hope that some of these children will receive the education necessary to continue on to university. 

The township where Baph is located is called Khayelitsha. There are between 500,000 and 2 million people living in this colorful conglomeration of shacks, shops, brick houses, parks, garbage heaps, and shanties. Right now I don't think I could adequately paint a picture of township life in modern South Africa, but here are a few pictures:

What amazes me most is the colorful vibrancy and joy that is present amidst all the poverty. Raucous impromptu soccer matches and constant music and dancing are part of life in the townships, and my initial impression suggests there is not a pervading sense of hopelessness or  despondency. 

In other news, I went on my first wine tasting tour yesterday. It was the most beautiful day, and I learned a lot about the wine making industry in South Africa as well as the proper meals to pair with a gewurztraminer vs. a pinotage. And with such an abundance of delicious, high quality wine for around 30 to 40 rand ($3 to $4), I'm not sure how I will survive returning to box wine in the states.

Upcoming: a look at university life and attitudes in South Africa and how they differ from the states...