Did We Just Go In A Circle?

Kelly and I got lost today. It was raining, and we had faulty directions and we got lost. We were supposed to be heading to this place called Spier in the winelands, where they have a little cheetah sanctuary. The whole point was to see the winelands, even though none of the wineries were open, and then end up at this place. Well... that took about two hours because we ended up back near the airport in a colored area that all the farmworkers live in (not so nice) and then back in Stellenbosch (the big "town" of the winelands). It was quite the trip, and we ended up at Spier as well as seeing a farm with a pack of wildebeest, some springbok (funny that you should mention that, Auntie Lorrie), a few ostriches and some cattle. It was a very uneventful day, but nice to be able to see more even though it rained all day.

Tomorrow I head to Khayelitsha (pronounced kai-a-leet-sha) for a night. Khayelitsha is the largest township in Cape Town and the second largest in all of South Africa. It is also in particularly bad shape, if it is even possible to compare the quality of almost nothing. I am staying with a woman who has created a B&B for tourists, so that instead of touring a township on bus and treating the residents as zoo animals they could actually experience life there. As you might imagine, I probably will not be able to post again until Monday or Tuesday, as Monday I have a long bus ride to Plettenberg Bay along the Garden Route. I'm not even sure that I'll have internet again until I get back to my guesthouse in Cape Town, but I'm hopeful.

Now let me clarify a few things for you, as I realize very few people know the history of South Africa and what I'm talking about...

A government system known as apartheid (Afrikaans for "separateness") was installed in South Africa in 1948. Its basic tenet was that the South African races should (1) live separate and (2) they should be treated on a caste system. The minority whites held the highest position in this system- the lived in the best areas, were allowed the most education, had the best jobs. They were essentially treated as first class citizens. Then there were the Indians, who did not hold as high of a position as the whites, but had a adequate standard of living. The coloreds (mixed races) were next, and were segregated to colored townships where they could only works in certain jobs and attain a certain level of education. While they were packed together in small areas with lots of flats and small houses, they did have roofs over their heads and food to eat. Blacks were considered the savages of the country, and they were alloted fields to live in and little or no employment or education. These fields then developed into black squatter camps and shanty towns, and some permanent housing. Whites, Indians, coloreds and blacks were all made to live apart from one another as part of the Group Areas Act. While the apartheid system was finally dismantled in 1994 (when South Africa had their first democratic election and Nelson Mandela was elected president), much of this segregation remains. Sometimes it is by choice- a person's family or job keeps them there. Most of the time, though, it is for lack of employment and education. While there is a small middle class developing in the country, the poor tend to remain poor while the rich tend to remain rich. The government is trying to give as many people housing as is possible, but change is a slow process and requires a lot more than the government can currently give.

As another quick aside, having nothing to do with townships, baboons are incredibly dangerous animals. They look all cute and fun, but they are far stronger and meaner than any man. Visitors to the Cape Peninsula started feeding the baboons years ago, and since then the baboons have been conditioned to believe that humans carrying food are fair game. It's rather interesting, as well, because this particular species of baboons generally has a diet that consists mainly of shellfish, which they will roam the beaches for as the tides move out. If you don't carry food, they really want nothing to do with you. They may sniff you, but will move on. I had one about 18 inches away from me, and it had absolutely no interest. I, on the other hand, was terrified because it's hard to realize how predatory these animals actually are until one is walking straight at you with that evil little stare.

Anyway, a new day ahead of me tomorrow and most certainly a new experience. I will post as soon as I can, and definitely with pictures so that maybe you can take note of what the majority of the world is really like.

Love you all.

When Baboons Attack

I will keep the writing to a minimum, as photos will tell so much more of the Cape Peninsula than words ever could. It was a long day, and other than the horrible Frenchman berating America and Americans 6 inches away from me, it was a great time. Just as a quick aside, we watched as two baboons attacked a car of tourists with food at the Cape Point... probably the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Hout Bay

Seal Island, on the Atlantic Ocean outside of Hout Bay

Just another untouched beach between Hout Bay and Kommetjie

Boulders Beach, where the African Penguin colony is

Penguins!

Me and penguins!

Mama penguin and penguin chicks

View from our 6 km. bike ride through Cape Peninsula Reserve

View from the path up to the Cape Point Lighthouse of the Cape of Good Hope

Baboon on a BMW

Me at the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

Mama and baby baboon on the side of the road

Vukuzenzele

Directly translated from Zulu, vukuzenzele means, "Get up and do it yourself!" It has been an initiative started country-wide for township residents to not just expect the government to better their lives, but to be proactive and contribute to their community. It is so much as planting a garden with vegetables that can be sold by the side of the street, or teaching the men and women a trade so that there is some form of economy in the community. Today I was lucky enough to visit Vukuzenzele, a township development that is adapting to this concept.

It was quite an early morning... Kelly picked me up at 7:30 to take me to her cousin Tania's house. Tania and Pierre (her husband) live in a quiet, dry (as in no alcohol sold there) suburb of Cape Town called Pinelands, and their house sort of acted as a homebase for the day. I was able to spend some time with her two eldest: Rebecca, 10, and Jarrod, 7. And then there was Shannon, one of the funniest little 12 month olds I have ever met. She and I bonded quite a bit over the whole of the day. Tania's friend, Amy, picked me up around 10:30 to go to a preschool in Vukuzenzele. Amy and her husband and kids moved from the Carolinas as Baptist missionaries, but it's amazing how very little their actual work has to do with "religion." It was nice to finally meet someone from the States who isn't the least bit afraid of the ugly truths of this city.

Visiting the preschool was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life. The conditions were appalling. The majority of the 50 or 60 kids were sick, with runny/crusty noses and packed into two little rooms in a tiny township house. Metal gates separated the little ones (1 & 2) from the older ones (3 & 4, with a few 5 year olds) and the outside "playground" was a joke. In some many ways it was utterly depressing. I mean, how is life so cruel that these beautiful, innocent little children are forced to live like this. But in all of it, they were so alive, so vibrant. You can tell they've seen so little good, so little love in this world that all they want is to love and be loved. Amy spent the time teaching them about their sense of taste in English, though they really only speak Xhosa (pronounced kosa). The whole concept is to teach them English so that they are more equipped and empowered to better their lives with education and employment. As a stranger, they were fascinated with me. They climbed all over me, giving me hugs and kissing my hands and cheeks, sitting on my lap. At any given time I had 2 kids attached to me, and at times as many as 5 or 6. As much as I tried to be in the moment, I kept looking at these children and thinking.... How many of these are AIDS babies? How many are being abused at home? How many are the product of rape? How many are impaired in some way because their mothers abused drugs and had no prenatal care while pregnant? In so many ways, it is completely devastating. In the end, though, all I could do was smile because they were smiling... and if they can find a reason to smile, then I sure as hell have no reason not to smile.

After Amy dropped me back off, Tania took me over to a preschool she works with in Manenberg (a colored township- just for the record, colored is not derogatory in South Africa... instead it refers to people of mixed races). This preschool was structured, with classrooms, and protected from the harsh realities outside. It was something to be happy about, especially seeing people do so much to get these kids to a good start. But never in my life have I seen children so despondent and shy. Apparently the school is run with an iron fist, which is being changed, but even in a much better situation than Vukuzenzeli they suffer. I was far more disturbed visiting Manenberg than I was visiting Vukuzenzeli.

I spent the rest of the evening with Kelly, Tania and the kids and had my first taste of biltong (the South African equivalent to beef jerky). My first bite, I wasn't all that impressed... but then I kept eating it and to be honest, it puts beef jerky to shame. And they make it from all different meats... beef (which I had), ostrich, kudu (an antelope-like animal), springbok (looks like a small deer, but it jumps), you name it. I'm pretty sure my diet for the rest of the trip will consist mainly of biltong.

I was so tired last night that I couldn't finish writing and post- I kept falling sleep at my computer. Again, I am exhausted after a full day of traveling down the cape. I am going to hop in the shower and I will hopefully have enough energy to post a little bit later.

There Are No Words

There are absolutely no words to describe what it is like to be here right now. After my first day in Cape Town, I am in complete awe. But let's start with London.

I like London. It's a beautiful city, and a few hours time isn't nearly enough to explore. I was frantic all day, just trying to fit in as much as possible with the time I did have, and was able to "see" some places, but really only got to explore St. Paul's Cathedral. I like churches (I picked that up from my mom)... I love the concept of building a monument that is meant to represent all that a faith has to offer. And if ever there were a time God commanded a work to be done, it was St. Paul's. The history of the place alone is hard to fathom, but the intricacies of the architecture and the murals are unbelievable. And after a 434 step hike up a tight winding staircase built hundreds of years ago to get to the whispering gallery and observation deck at the top of the dome... well, there's just nothing to say.

So London, I liked. The Brits... not so much. In fact, after my very limited experience with them, they kind of suck on the whole. The customs agent was an ass, people continually bumped me out of the way without so much as an "Excuse me," and God forbid one might open the door for a female. Plus, I'm pretty sure they don't understand the concept of signage or trashcans. Otherwise, London was great.

Both flights were uneventful, though I probably only slept 3-4 hours on each leg of the trip. We landed in Cape Town just as the sun was rising. It's a beautiful land. Mountains everywhere, some even with snow right now (which is apparently rare for the mountains outside of Cape Town). As we were just coming into the airport, our flight path took us right over one of the squatter camps (or what we might call shanty towns). My heart broke a little as I saw what these places really looked like. No running water or sewage, let alone electricity. Pictures will never do justice to the adversity so many of the people here face every day. An education, a talent, a livelihood are all beautiful things, and I'm starting to see just how much we take that for granted.

As I've said previously, Norah and Kelly are amazing. They've practically adopted me as one of their own, carting me around in their tiny little car (so strange, compared to my monstrous Explorer) and showing me the little bit of Cape Town we could catch tonight. We went to the Waterfront (which is a huge tourist destination) for dinner, and saw some of the local African men performing. Unreal. We drove around for a while, and I was very glad to not be alone on my first night in Africa.

Anyway, it's 11:30 PM here and I need to get some sleep. I'm being picked up at 7:30 AM to spend part of the day with Norah's friend in a township, and possibly a school, then off to take the cableway to the top of Table Mountain, assuming the weather permits.

And just to correct myself, South Africa is now only 9 hours ahead of LA... it's that American narcissism that made me totally forget that Daylight Savings isn't the norm worldwide.

Love from South Africa. (PS: That's me with the country's 4 Nobel Prize winners. I'm leaning on Mandiba, who you may know as Nelson Mandela.)

A Quick Hello From Cape Town!

Don't have much time to post, as the Westermans (the extended Mitsubishi Elevator family) will be picking me up in a half hour or so for dinner at the V&A Waterfront. London seems like a blur, but arriving here in Cape Town has already been so eye-opening. When we landed, we landed right over a small squatter camp. It broke my heart a little bit to see, first-hand, how so many people live. Everyone I've met has been so nice and welcoming, which is a far cry from the people in London. It's obvious they want you to love their city as much as they do.

In other news, I do have wireless internet where I am currently staying, so I will be able to access email and this thing rather frequently. I have also rented an international phone, and incoming calls are free for me... just remember the time difference! The number is:

+27 (0)82-858-8133

Lots of love from the Mother City, and I will post more in depth (hopefully with pictures) later.

2 Days and Counting

I can't believe it's finally here! Almost, at least. I'll be landing in London on Tuesday at about 10 AM local time (2 AM Pacific), and spending the day frantically touring the city thanks in part to my cousin Stacy, who has hooked me up with Tube passes and an open-top bus tour. My layover is something like 9 hours, so hopefully I'll get a little taste of London before getting on my flight to Cape Town. I land in Cape Town at 7:50 AM local time on Wednesday (9:50 PM PST, Tuesday), where the wife and daughter (Norah and Kelly) of my dad's boss' business contact are picking me up. Kelly is in her second year at University of Cape town, and conveniently on winter break, so I may have a friend to show me around and help get me acquainted with the city. And I guess it'll be nice that there will be people on the continent who know my face and who I am.

Alright, just to get a few technical questions out of the way that everyone seem to have...

Cape Town is 10 hours ahead of Los Angeles. It's winter down there, but the climate is pretty similar to winter in LA. The flight is 11 hours from LAX to London-Heathrow, and another 11 hours from Heathrow to Cape Town... for those counting, that's 22 hours each way. Cape Town is arguably the most metropolitan city in Africa, so I will not be without running water or electricity despite what many people would like to think. Yes, most everyone speaks English, though there are also 10 other officially recognized languages. And yes, much of the country is still in a desperate state- around 20% of the population has AIDS and the life expectancy is a mere 43 years.

I know a lot of you that will be reading this will worry about my being abroad alone, but I hope that my being there will perhaps open some eyes as to what is going on in the rest of the world... not just what's happening in the States or in Iraq, though those remain important issues, but the basic human rights and needs that are still not being recognized or fulfilled. And of course to get as close as possible to animals that could feasibly eat me in one bite.

See you all in London!

Lots of love!