Kristin on her first week in Cape Town

Kristin's arrival at CPT airport

This first week in Cape Town has been incredible. It feels like we have been here even longer because of all the things we have done so far.  I have definitely felt the pains of being a bit homesick, missing friends and family, along with a bunch of the other students I’m living with.  Although it has only been a week, it is amazing how fast us students have gotten close to one another, of course we don’t know everything about each other but we have formed friendships with everyone. 

Seventeen of us are living in one house (including myself), and four students in a flat closer to downtown Rondebosch. The house has a pool and an awesome view of Table Mountain from the upstairs common room.  Both places are overseen by our dedicated and understanding RAs, Ben and Greta.  The specific area I’m staying in with seven other girls is called the pool house and we have had our share of critters already; we’ve seen a gecko, a couple slugs, a relatively large black and white beetle, ants, and last night we found a huge spider. I mean HUGE. I usually don’t freak out about spiders, and I almost never kill them if I see them in a house. This one was a different story. None of us girls wanted to be the one to kill it but we did NOT want to be asleep knowing that’s around! So we sought one of the boys and graciously asked for his assistance : )

There’s been so much we have done already I don’t know where to begin! To become a bit more acquainted with the beautiful city we will be living in for the next 3 ½ months, we traveled all around Table Mountain one day, stopping at different beaches and sight-seeing areas where we took many pictures.  Some of which included wildlife like the springbok, baboons, ostriches, seals, penguins, and a cute little chipmunk at the restaurant we ate at that day.  As we were driving around we were told of various activities and attractions like biking, hiking, horseback riding, taking a ferry around Seal Island, cage diving with sharks, paragliding, and many others.

Kristin, Rina & Rebecca at Addis Ethiopian Restaurant

In the evenings, we have eaten at a couple of jazz restaurants including Swingers and The Blue Chip.  Both of which had very talented musicians, good food, and great company! The other night, our group was pleasantly surprised when our friend Brittany got up and sang. She has an amazing voice and everyone loved it! Our first meal, though, was at Addis which is an Ethiopian restaurant.  We were seated in small, wooden chairs around a little round table and all shared from the same food. There was a lot of delicious food but we couldn’t stuff ourselves anymore to finish it.

There are some obvious differences we were told about and have noticed when it comes to dining in Cape Town versus dining in the US.

  In South Africa, dining can take from one to three or more hours, depending on how social you are and how much food and drinks you may order.  Sometimes the waitress or waiter won’t take your order for up to an hour after you have been seated and usually does not bring the check to you unless it is asked of them.  This is done because dining here is not just about getting your food, eating, paying, and leaving, like it is many times in the US.  Here, it is an extremely social setting where people go to spend quality time talking with people, which is why waiters do not want to be rude and rush you by asking your order right away or giving you the check without request. I have also noticed that people’s meals will be brought out at different times from the same party; it seems like an entrée will be brought out right when it’s finished rather than waiting for all the others to be done at the same time.  We do have a very large group right now so maybe it would be different in a smaller one.

As a group of US college students, we were also warned that Americans can sometimes be known as being loud and obnoxious.  There have been times already where we have noticed our volume getting to the point where it might be drawing attention : /  In general, I have noticed how the people from Cape Town really are much more soft spoken than my friends and me.  Even when ordering at a fast food restaurant or checking out at a store, sometimes we ask them several times to repeat themselves because they speak so quietly.  We were also informed that it is a good idea to ask how someone’s day is going or how they’re doing if they are waiting on you, where ever you are, and that they might see it as being rude if you do not, especially if they asked how you are.

We have seen many beautiful things in Cape Town, but we were also reminded of its dark history when we visited the District 6 Museum and the Slave Lodge Museum.  District 6 Museum is dedicated to those who were identified as African and coloured that lived in that area and were forcibly removed by the apartheid government to areas much father from the city where there wasn’t much of anything and no one they knew before.  The white government did this because they had the power to and they wanted the land to be cleared of any non-white people. In District 6, there were different cultures and religions living harmoniously before the evacuation. The apartheid government strategically separated these cultures and religions upon their removal. Some may have been given more or less privileges than others which were meant to further separate the people in a psychological way along with the physical.  The different cultures and religions that once lived harmoniously together, then began seeing each other as enemies and fought between themselves instead of the group who actually caused them unhappiness and misfortune.  It was a very sad story and we had the privilege of hearing it from someone who actually lived in District 6 and was removed from his home.

Yesterday was our tour of the townships which really brought our attention to the other side of Cape Town that we had not yet been shown.  Townships are where the apartheid government relocated classified African, black and coloured people (like those from District 6).  These areas of the city provided almost nothing to the people and so they built shacks made from scrap materials which can still be seen today; these are the remnants of the apartheid era.

We also visited Elonwabeni Child and Family Centre which is a place where HIV positive children who come from low socioeconomic status and traumatic family experiences.  A lot of us had a fun time playing with the children and we were so wrapped up in it that we didn’t notice something very curious and surprising that was going on.  

 The young black children would readily run to us students who they may have seen as white, but they seemed to specifically avoid our two black friends in our group.  It’s very surprising because you would think that a child would be more receptive to someone who looked like them.  That clearly was not the case here, so, our group came together and talked about this phenomenon. Although the children may not realize it, society has already influenced their perceptions of different races; that some are seen as more likable, beautiful, and/or more privileged than another. So, naturally, a child might go toward what they have been told to be “better” or more desirable.  It hurt all of us to realize that our two friends felt so rejected by these children who looked the most similar to them. It hurt us to see these children, at such a young age, acting in such a way that only makes one think that if they are rejecting people who look like them, then they also might be rejecting what they look like and who they are.  It is sad when even a child may not believe in their own beauty and quality of life.  This reminded us of the Clark Doll Experiment that took place back in the US (there are YouTube videos of this); children halfway across the world from each other are influenced by the same social constructs.

Today we came home on a happier note; we went wine tasting at a couple vineyards and got to pet a cheetah and take lots of pictures!

Kristin at Moyo

So we have seen the good, the bad, and the beautiful as well as already played the role of co-educators in this short time here in Cape Town. It’s been awesome so far and I can’t wait for more! I am so thankful for the support from my family and friends upon coming here, I miss and love you : )