Now that our trip is in its last week, we have been spending every single day to the absolute fullest. Last week we went to an Ethiopian restaurant with our professor, who happens to be a native Ethiopian! It was such an experience—if you haven’t had Ethiopian food before, let me explain: Everyone sits in low chairs at a small, round table. The table is covered with a spongy, crepe-like bread and on top of the bread are the specific types of “stews” that you order. At my table, we split a fish stew and two vegetarian stews. After the waiter washes your hands with water from a ceremonial gourde, you rip the spongy bread and (with your hands) grab the stew and put it in your mouth. We accompanied our meal with classic Ethiopian “honey wine” which our professor explained is the mead that was consumed in biblical times.
Later in the week, we were privileged to take a walking tour of a section in Khayelitcha. Although in the past we had been working with children and adults in the SHAWCO centers, we hadn’t fully seen the streets of the township without looking through the window of our bus. Local residents gave us a tour of their neighborhood in the township, and soon enough our group of eight Americans was joined by about 20 little kids who wanted to follow along. We walked to a lookout point with a view of the entire township, and it was very interesting to see the different socioeconomic levels of the neighborhoods within Khayelitcha. After the tour, we ate dinner at a home in the township that belongs to one of the SHAWCO volunteers.
As a part of our curriculum for the SHAWCO Community Engagement course, we took an academic excursion to Streetwire: an art gallery and factory that employs impoverished people from the Cape Town community, giving them a stable income and job experience. Streetwire specializes in bead and wire art, and after the tour of the factory, one of the employees taught us how to make a beaded flower keychain. It was interesting to see a grassroots community effort to create and maintain jobs in the city, since unemployment is such a huge problem in South Africa.
On Wednesday evening, the eight of us and our professor went to the local movie theater to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! We purchased tickets in advance (they were only three dollars) and waited in line for the movie. We were able to see it two days before it came out in the United States, which was probably the most satisfying part J
The next day, our group moved from the dorms at University of Cape Town to a hostel in Observatory, a trendy little community about ten minutes from UCT. We were so excited as we drove up to the hostel and passed countless ethnic restaurants, hole-in-the-wall shops, and small cafes. Living in the hostel is a very different experience than living in the dorms. First of all, instead of each having our own rooms like we did at UCT, the six of us girls share a single room with three bunk beds. The limited space has been hard to deal with, since we all have huge suitcases and there aren’t enough closets in the room. Second, it’s tough to crack down on the studying when we aren’t in an academic environment. We have a final exam in a few days, so we have been attempting to do our reading and studying in the lobby of the hostel and in our bunk beds which is pretty much impossible considering there are always a ton of people around. Third, the food is absolutely AMAZING. They cater all the meals from a local café that uses only fresh, organic ingredients. It is so much healthier and more delicious than the food we have been subjected to at the UCT dining hall! Lastly, the hostel is right in a community with enjoyable nightlife, whereas we previously took cabs each night into town. It has been very safe and extremely convenient, and hopefully we will be taking advantage of the location of the hostel in our last days in Cape Town.
Our Friday morning lecture was cancelled at the last minute, so the eight of us decided to take a little trip to the Aquarium at the Waterfront. We called our driver, Denver, and used our UCT I.D.s to get a great discount on tickets for the aquarium. The aquarium had so many exotic, beautiful fish that I had never seen before, having lived on the other side of the world for 20 years. Some of the fish were as big as people, and they even had a tank filled with sharks. It was pretty incredible to think that days ago, we were shark cage diving with these creatures and here they were behind thick glass. Additionally, the aquarium had a special exhibit of penguins and frogs, which was really cool. The museum was extremely interactive, so we were able to pick up starfish and sponges and use special touch-screens on the walls to learn more about the animals. After the aquarium, we walked to a local craft markets and looked at unique African art and jewelry. It was so tempting to buy everything, but I knew we would be visiting an even bigger market on Mandela Day later in the weekend.
Later in the day, we experienced our final afternoon with the kids from the township. SHAWCO planned a huge event at a local campground, so we enjoyed the traditional Braai BBQ, played games like volleyball and jump rope, and took a nature walk through the forest. It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed our last few hours together. During lunch, we were all sitting around eating when we hear shrieks. Spinning around, I see a wild baboon grabbing one of the volunteer’s lunches. Baboons around this area are aggressive and dangerous, so everyone jumped into the buses for safety. Luckily, no one was hurt, but we (the Americans) had quite a good laugh at the whole experience of a baboon attack during our picnic in Africa. When we had to say goodbye, everyone was teary-eyed and there were endless hugs. My three students thanked me so much for all my help with their mathematics and English, and it was very sad to leave them. I can only home that they continue to study and eventually go to college and move out of the township, but I guess I will never truly know.
Only a few days left!
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