Adolf’s birthday
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Our dear Zimbabwean bud from UCT had his 23rd
birthday and officially finished undergrad. You better believe he was ready to
boogie down. We had a lovely time going out to all of our favorite spots:
Stones, Dubliner, etc.
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I guess that in African culture, the birthday
person is supposed to give to their friends instead of the other way around,
which I think is pretty damn lekker.
Rhodes Memorial
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I went for another night hike with Jason,
Stuart, Mary Claire, and Jess Burkard
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Fireflies! Again!
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We walked up to Rhodes Memorial to partake in
some view and some wine. There were also three other people up there. Enter new
friends Khethiwe, Kat, and TK. They just finished their fourth year of
economics at UCT and were up there celebrating.
Imbasa part two
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I went back to Imbasa Primary school!
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It was Stu Lo’s last day there (Mary has one
more after this), so he threw a going away party for his kids.
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It was really great; they performed skits,
poems, and read farewell letters to him. It seemed as though, despite all the
stress and hardship that Stuart has experienced here, the kids really
appreciated having him there and that he was a very meaningful part in their
classroom community.
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HOWEVER, a party is a nice idea. Giving forty
kids cups of custard inevitably ends in custard all over everywhere.
Everywhere. They were holding out bits of plastic and cardboard so that I would
give them more! Custard is apparently crack for kids. Who knew?
Khayelitsha overnight
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Everyone assumes that the townships are
dangerous, and they are, particularly for ignorant foreigners like us. But, not
in the extreme way that most people (myself included) seem to think. So, to
prove this certain people have set up Bed and Breakfasts within the townships
to bridge the gap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khayelitsha: It is the largest township in the cape flats (the large flat area just outside of Table Mountain etc.). Check out the panorama shot on the wiki site!
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And because of this, I took a long trek out to
Khayelitsha with Stuart, Shatevia, and Sarah to spend the night in one such bed
and breakfast.
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We got in a little after sundown, and we were
famished, so the lady who owned the house took us to a market nearby and we had
some delicious fat cooks (fried dough balls, sometimes filled with meat or
veggies).
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Afterwards, we hung out at the house and spoke
with the woman who owned it. She was incredibly interesting. She had gone to
school in Chicago and worked for woman’s liberation groups, yet she came back
to South Africa. It seems to me that everyone that lives here loves it too much
to leave permanently.
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The following day we went across the way to a
small kresh (daycare). And these kids were a bundle of energy that ran around
and around and enjoyed all the songs and games we had learned from other kids
(tomatisolisol, fire on the mountain, etc.)
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We then took a kombi (public taxi) to a local
market. I think this would have to be my favorite market that I’ve been to in
South Africa. Simply for the fact that it was really small (I had to ask an
armed guard where it was), and so it felt like all the money I was spending was
going directly to the community. There were the four of us and then three shop
keepers. It was also neat because the shopkeepers were telling us about how
they made all of the different jewelry, pottery, and artwork. I got presents
for Sam, Jess, and mom and dad here, but I wanted to buy a whole lot more!
Khayelisha day Part II
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It was discovered upon our return to the K house
that Stuart had left my cellular at the B&B in Khayelitsha. So the day
turned into a retrieval mission.
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First, Jason, Stuart, and I walked to the Kombi
station, but the one that goes all the way out to Khayelitsha was on a lunch
break. So, we took a meander through the neighborhood and stumbled upon the
Center for Conflict Resolution, and they had an entire library dedicated to
peace studies from around the world, but mainly focused in Africa. So that was
a pleasant, educational adventure.
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We then took a forty minute, hot, squished kombi
ride with screaming babe and all, out to Site E and gathered my phone from the
B&B.
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Jason has been working with a woman from
Khayelitsha as part of an internship to help her start an orphanage, so we
decided to go check her place out. We went back to the big Site C kombi station
to wait for her daughter. An hour later, no daughter. It was starting to get a
little awkward because we had just been standing there for this whole time, and
as the only white people around, we stuck out a lot, soon people came over and
were introducing themselves and talking to us. I’m not sure if it was out of
curiosity, or they thought we were lost, but I guess I shall never know.
Thankfully, the daughter, Beauty finally did show up and she walked us to her
mom’s house. She was telling us that everyone at school (she was in 12th
grade) the next day would be talking about her and what was she doing with
these random Americans. At the house, we met with Florence, and she told us
about how she cares for about 17 children from around the neighborhood. Most of
them have lost, or have parents that are affected by HIV/AIDS and have no one
to feed them and care for them. Really interesting lady, I will be interested
to hear how successful this project turns out to be.