Cape Town 4

Wednesday was another full day of activities with a focus on learning about conservation along the Cape Peninsula.  First was an overivew of key environmental issues with Patrick Dowling from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA).  WESSA focuses on conservation and education. 

We headed to Kalk Bay for World Wildlife Federation marine site visits.  This area is big with surfers and is also a hot spot for white sharks.  Surfers and sharks don't really have a good relationship, so surfers started training the locals who found parking places for people to spot sharks for them.  The surfers would all chip in to pay them.  Shark spotters now also help collect data for researchers.  We stopped by a shark spotter's stand to have a look for ourselves, but we didn't see any sharks, only surfers.

We enjoyed a presentation at the Save our Seas Shark Center by Paul Miller, and then went to explore the tide pools.



A piece of leathery kelp in my hand.

Gail picked up a sea urchin for me to hold. 

I took a few moments after lunch to run outside and snap some photos of these changing huts on the beach.

As I was taking pictures of the beach, this man wanted to pose for me.

I am fascinated by the women who carry their babies like this.  I can't figure out how the babies stay up.

When they think about African wildlife, most people probably don't think about penguins, but they are there, and I was really looking forward to seeing them.  We drove to Boulders Beach, home to a large colony of African Penguins (also called Jackass Penguins) and one of the few places where they can be seen at close range.

Penguins in action.

Craft sellers at Boulders Beach.  Sharon was a champion shopper.

Some local talent.



We ended the day back at the V&A Waterfront and a brief visit to Two Oceans Aquarium before dinner. 

Cape Town 3

From the first time I read about it, I wanted to take the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain. 

I knew I would have to be brave, because that kind of thing scares me to death, but I was going to do it.  We had a free morning Tuesday, so some of us took a cab to the mountain.  When we got there, it was too windy for the cable car to run, and I was soooooooo disappointed.  I had to settle for these views from part way up the mountain. 

Three of our group decided to hike to the top, but Kathy and I knew our limitations and took the cab back down to the waterfront to do some shopping instead.  We had a great time buying souvenirs for friends and family back home, and wandering in and out of stores like Gucci, Prada, and Jimmy Choo pretending we could actually buy something if we wanted to.  However, I did learn that I could learn to like $1,000 shoes!

Our afternoon was spent at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (KNBG).  We met up with local teachers who would be sharing in our program for the rest of the week, and toured the garden in small groups getting to know each other.

Andrea and I were teamed up with Gail Neethling, a high school natural and life sciences teacher. 

KNBG sits at the foot of Table Mountain.

My favorite thing in the garden was a silver tree.

Calla lilies are everywhere!  If only I could bring them home for Karen's wedding.

Dinner was at Idasa's (the Africa Democracy Institute's) Cape Town Democracy Centre.  There was a book shop and restaurant in front where I had my first malva pudding (yum!), and a large meeting room in back with Desmond Tutu hanging from the ceiling.

Cape Town 2

These are pictures from the prison on Robben Island that I couldn't get uploaded before.

 Mandela's cell.

Our second day in Cape Town was very full.  We started out at MaAfrika Tikkun, an international organization that helps people in disadvantaged communities.  (Tikkun is a Hebrew word that means to correct or repair.)  The Western Cape branch works with the people in the Delft and Mfuleni Townships providing basic needs such as education, health care, and social services.  The community center we visited was very busy, with people coming and going all the time.  We toured the facility, including the garden where they grow many of their own vegetables, the computer lab where basic skills are taught, and the kitchen where cooks were preparing lunch in the biggest pots I have ever seen.

After a brief orientation, we divided into small groups to visit people in their homes in Delft and learn more about what their lives were like.  We decided before we went that we would designate one photographer, so we weren't all snapping away taking pictures.  Those pictures haven't been posted where I can download them yet, so I don't have photos of the home visits.  I will add them later, but this picture shows a typical street in the area.

My group visited two homes.  We walked through an open field and then down some roads into the housing area.  In the first home lived an elderly woman, her daughter, and her three great grandchildren.  The children's mother was away receiving care.  We stood outside talking in the sun about what their needs were while the children played around us and curious neighbors lingered nearby.  Getting by on just her small pension, the elderly woman said she washed the children's clothes every day so they could wear them again the next, because they didn't have any more.  She also said she shared her blanket with them at night because they didn't have enough for everyone.  We were invited inside the front room, which was very neat and showed efforts to decorate and keep it nice.  There were large, framed photographs on the wall of each of the women in younger days with their husbands.  They looked very happy in the photos and were very well dressed. 

The second home we visited was a little larger, but not by much.  At home were a mother and several of the 11 children who lived there.  The father, a truck driver, was at work.  Because of several moves, some of the kids' birth certificates had been lost, so they had not been allowed to attend school for three years.  One of the boys led us through the house to the back to show us where he had built a makeshift pen for his six pigeons.  He was very proud of it.  Then the mom asked her two youngest girls to sing for us.  She told them to sing the Jesus song from church.  I was expecting "Jesus Loves Me," but instead they belted out Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel."  Mom was very emotional while talking to us, especially when she said she was glad none of her kids had committed suicide yet. 

We went back to the community center to share our experiences and eat the lunch that was cooked in those gigantic pots.  Then we were treated to a demonstration from the Iqala Ngam Dance and Drama Group.  These girls come after school to learn dance from leaders who were themselves part of the group when younger.  After they danced FOR us, the girls danced WITH us, trying to teach us some of their moves.  FORTUNATELY, I don't have any pictures of me dancing; that would just be too painful for anyone to see, but here are some of the kids.  They were so excited to have us there.  I should add that the dancers are all girls.  Those boys just wandered in to see what was going on.



Later in the week on our free day, a couple of the teachers traveling with me went back to spend more time with the girls.  They have since posted a couple of videos on YouTube if you want to check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dArk-IPjwdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JbGpg5omWo

 

Cape Town

(Internet access for the past week has been practically nonexistent, so that's why I haven't been posting for a while.)

We flew in to Cape Town on Mango Airlines.  It was an orange airplane, and I liked that for some reason.

Cape Town is gorgeous.  It has stunning views of the harbor on one side, and the backdrop of Table Mountain on the other.  If I could only visit one city in South Africa, this would be the one.  In the 16^th century, this was where the Dutch East India Company ships put in on their way to India and China, and where the Europeans established their first port in South Africa.  It is the second largest city in South Africa, and is its legislative capital. 

From the airport we drove directly to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront for lunch on our own.  The waterfront was a very busy place, with all kinds of ships in port, and smaller boats coming and going. 



After wondering around for a while, I found Steers, a local hamburger chain restaurant, and enjoyed a cheeseburger.  It came with barbeque sauce on the bottom, and something resembling Thousand Island dressing on the top, but it sure hit the spot.

Our first destination was Robben Island.  A former leprosy colony, Robben Island became a maximum security prison for political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela.  We took a ferry that had once been used to transport prisoners.  I rode in the front, and enjoyed the feel of the sun and wind as we made our way to the island.  We were guided through the prison compound by a former prisoner who was able to give firsthand accounts of what life there had been like.  They were terrible stories of deprivation and inhumane treatment. 

On the ferry to Robben Island.

View of Cape Town from the ferry.

Dinner was at The Africa Café. Wow!  This was fun.  As we were led upstairs, we kept looking all around at the fantastic decorations.  When you looked closer, you could see they were made from recycled materials.  So creative! 

 

Once we were finally seated, a server came around with a bowl and a pitcher of warm, scented water for us to wash our hands.  Then we were served one dish at a time and could eat as much as we wanted.  I took pictures of every food item they brought, but here are just a couple.  After dinner, several of the servers sang and drummed for us.  It was delightful!

Durban

Goodbye, Pumla!  You were a wonderful guide in Johannesburg!

Four a.m. is much too early to get up, but that’s what we had to do in order to catch our plane to Durban.  It was a short flight, albeit rather bumpy, but we flew over the Indian Ocean coming in to land, and that made up for everything. 

Durban is the largest port in Africa, and there are always ships lined up (queued up) waiting to get into port.  Toyota is the sponsor of our trip, and they have a manufacturing plant in Durban, so we got a plant tour.  It’s very similar to the tours I’ve had of the GM plant in Wentzville, but Toyota stamps some of their parts here, and I had never seen that before. 

We visited two landfill projects.  The Bisasar Landfill is one of the busiest in Africa.  It is also Africa’s first and largest project to convert methane gas to electricity.   

The Buffelsdraai Landfill Community Restoration Project is reforesting indigenous trees  in a buffer zone around the landfill to offset CO2 emissions resulting from the World Cup last year.  They recruit local people to grow the trees, and then they trade in the trees for basic food items, clothes, school fees, or construction materials.  Local who grow 250 trees also earn a day trip somewhere, and 500 trees earn an overnight trip.  We were told about a 76-year-old woman who earned a trip and cried when she saw a dolphin because it was the first time she had ever seen one.  In the process of planting indigenous trees, they are also working to remove the sugar cane fields and eucalyptus trees. 

We had a session with a group of facilitators who work with local teachers involved in Toyota Teach.  Their goal is to improve the effectiveness of the teachers and teaching methods to increase student achievement.  

We ended our last full day in Durban by going to a rugby match.  I’m not sure any of us had ever been to one before or if anyone really knew the rules, but we had a great time.  My favorite part was the remote control dump truck they used to take items out onto the field. 

 

We had an early departure on Sunday, but I managed to sneak down to the beach before we left and get my feet wet in the Indian Ocean.



Soweto

Soweto – “Backbone of the Struggle”

Under apartheid, black South Africans were segregated into townships.  Soweto (South Western Townships) is the biggest and probably the most well known township in South Africa.  This is where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu still live, and where so much of the political history we are learning about took place.  

We started at Freedom Square, where a monument stands to mark the place where the Freedom Charter was adopted.  I thought the cross at the top was a Christian cross, but Pumla said it represented the mark people made when they finally had the right to vote and cast their ballot for the very first time. 

 

It wasn’t on our itinerary, but we noticed people setting up a line of tables and merchandise to sell nearby, so we went rogue and wondered over to check it out.

I played peek-a-boo with this baby.

We visited the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum which is dedicated to those students who died on June 16, 1976 in a peaceful march to protest the mandatory change to Afrikaans as the instructional language in their schools.  One of the students was 12-year-old Hector Pieterson.  

Regina Mundi Church, where people met when political meetings were banned.  There are bullet holes in the ceiling.   

Mandela House, where Nelson Mandela lived until his arrest and imprisonment in 1962.  Our guide at the house told us that when he was released 27 years later, people didn’t know what he looked like.

The last picture of Nelson Mandela before he went to prison.

There is a great disparity in housing all over South Africa.  Some homes have no running water or electricity, and some are big brick homes with maids and gardeners, and some are in between.  And they are, many times, only a street or two away from each other.  But ALL were kept as neat and clean as resources would allow.  There is a great sense of community and pride and hope among the residents.  These are examples of Soweto homes.