3.01.10
it seems like so much has happened since I wrote last.
we just flew into capetown about a week ago and have been staying in an anglican guest house. (on the way in, they served us lunch on the plane at like 9:15, which was weird, unless you consider chicken sandwiches breakfast...) the place we're staying is so peaceful and all the rooms open up to the center courtyard, which is fun. the city is beautiful. the water is soo blue, and their are mountains right nearby.
our time here started out rough, as a couple thousand bucks and dr. maher's computer were stolen within the first hour or so. at least no one was hurt, and they didn't take all the money. we went to the slave lodge museum shortly after our arrival, which was eye-opening. we had a marathon class then sat out in the courtyard area of where we're staying for a long time hanging out.
the other day, we visited a museum about the forced removals from district 6, talked with a TAC (treatment action campaign) activist, had a lovely traditional meal, and walked through a township. then some of us went to a market, where they had SO many cool things. tonight a group of us are cooking at the mission, which should be fun.
that afternoon, we went to table mountain, which juts up right beside the city, forming a drastic contrast that is so unexpected. we took a revolving trolley to the top and then hiked around. there were so many amazing photo ops. the views from all sides were unbelievable. you could see the ocean from the top, and the water was the most beautiful shade of blue. the mountain is actually one of the most biodiverse places in the world.
that night, we all went out for dinner and a show, which was fun. it was a tragi-comedic play about a couple in poland during ww2. i really enjoyed it. that night, people started dropping like flies, throwing up and getting diarrhea. i didn't have it too bad, but bad enough to have to stay home with the sick crowd the next day while the rest of the group went to cape point, saw penguins, and heard from bishop peter storey. it was good to be able to chill and rest though. i got a quality hammock nap in. (i just left it up in the courtyard and everyone has been taking turns chillin/sleeping in it.) by now, most everyone is doing better, but we still have a couple who aren't feeling on top of their game. :(
that night, 4 of us decided we wanted to grab dinner on the waterfront. it was a decent walk, and on the way, victor had a guy come up asking for money. he showed victor his knife to threaten him to give him more money. the rest of us didn't even see that the guy had a knife, he was so sneaky. luckily no one got hurt and the mugger left us alone after getting about $15 out of victor. it was scary though. (we took a taxi on the way back). we had dinner right on the water with live music. it was so much fun, other than the mugging part.
yesterday was our free day. a few of us took a picnic (and by picnic, i mean we took some produce and bread with us and ate it on a street corner on the steps of some building), went out shopping at the open air booths, and got so many fun things. once we got back after that long and painfully hot, but rewarding, shopping trip, we got word from ali that the fair trade indaba design expo thing that a few of them were at was incredible. sarafina and i headed back out to go to that. it was one of the coolest things i've ever been to-- a huge collection of amazing artisans/designers from the area who were displaying and selling their stuff. i bought a couple things, but it was so incredible to just walk around and look at everything.
as we had an exam for dr. maher's global health class this morning, last night was a crazy study time. we were all together throughout the guest house/ courtyard, and needless to say, were getting so distracted. we had some tasty watermelon and took turns in my hammock. it was really fun (and almost worth the late hours of actual studying).
we have been on tours of a couple different townships since my last email, including one today. we also visited the bo-kaap museum (which describes the history of muslim life in cape town), and visited a spice market, which was interesting- i've never seen such huge quantities of spices in my life. afterwards, we went to a home in the area for a home-made middle eastern lunch. we got to each try our hand at making samoosas (little pastry-type triangles stuffed with meat and vegetables). the food was so delicious and different from other home-cooked food we have had on our trip.
tonight, we are going to africa cafe (original, i know) for dinner, which is supposed to be really good. tomorrow morning, we leave around 5:30 am (ugh...) for the airport to go to windhoek, namibia.
it's crazy to think we've already been here about a month...
~sarah
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