Tuesday we took a tour of the District Six Museum. Going through the museum definitely caused a lot of emotions and it was really a great educational experience. For those of you who don’t know, because I didn’t know before this week, District 6 is the area where non-whites were forced out of by whites. Whites wanted this land because it was excellent real estate due to the view of Table Mountain and the close proximity of the ocean and downtown Cape Town. When we got to the museum Joe, a gentlemen who once lived in District Six, gave us a little history about District 6 and what happened when non-whites were forced out of the area and onto the Cape Flats. It was heartbreaking to hear the stories from Joe and read about the events that happened during apartheid. Once I get faster internet I will put up a lot of pictures of the museum on facebook or another public site so everyone can see the different artifacts that I was able to take pictures of.
After the tour we went over to Charly’s for lunch. Ben told us on our second day that Willy Wonka and Disneyland met and created Charly’s. I cannot think of a better way to describe this lunch and the bakery itself, except I might add that it is bakery for a princess! For my meal I had roasted vegetable and cheese quiche. After our lunch we had two cakes come out for Vernon’s birthday, a scrumptious cheesecake with chocolate swirl and icing and a delicious chocolate chocolate cake! I still cannot decide which was better, the surprise and huge grin on Vernon’s face or the outstanding food, I think it was a tie J.
After Charly’s it was definitely time to walk off the cake around the astonishing downtown Cape Town. Vernon gave us a tour of all of the main spots in the city and where to go for great food, fun and shopping. There were so many little stands on the streets that were selling artwork and I am so excited to go back and bring some home to the US! After our tour with Vernon we went with Parks (another one of the gentlemen who has been helping out with bringing us around and looking after us) to see how to use the public transportation. It was definitely hectic in the Mini Bus station but I am so excited to get the cultural experience of taking a Mini Bus. Mini Bus (taxis) look like white works vans but they have rows of seats inside and pack in as many people as possible in. While driving through the streets of Cape Town the bus drivers and passengers yell and whistle to people walking on the streets to get them to ride the Mini Bus. Unlike the US, taking a Mini Bus into the city or to the beach will only be about R7 ($1 US)! I will definitely blog all about that experience when the time comes.
For dinner we went to an Ethiopian restaurant and I have to admit I was very skeptical at first. At the restaurant you share a table and food with the people sitting with you. You don’t eat with silverware so the first thing the servers do is bring over a pot of water for you to wash your hands with. It is hard to explain the food and how we ate it (pictures will go up of course later on). For an appetizer we dipped bread (kind of) into a feta and spinach dip, along with a hummus tasting dip. For our main course we had a variety of “mush.” Lamb and beef (which I am still not adventurous enough to eat either of), chicken, shrimp, chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach mush. We took a piece of bread (kind of) and used it as a wrap with our hands to pick up the mush. Our professor described the bread substance, as looking like gauze, which is true but only a nurse would say that! Overall, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the food, and the experience of the Ethiopian atmosphere only added to the amazement!
This morning (Wednesday September 7) we departed for Robben Island. I was so excited all morning because I have really been anxiously awaiting this adventure. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandella spent seventeen out of his twenty nine years in prison and where many political activists were sent to prison. This was so they were further away from their families and others during apartheid. We took a ferry from the waterfront over to the island and even though it was windy and a little chilly it was beautiful! We took a tour of the whole island by bus, saw some interesting wildlife and all of the different buildings, and then took a walking tour. A prisoner who was on Robben Island for five years for political activism led the walking tour. He told us all about what it was like to be a prisoner on Robben Island and showed us all around the cells, courtyards, etc. We were able to read different quotes from the prisoners and we got to poke our heads into Nelson Mandella’s jail cell. While reading his book, A Long Walk to Freedom, I was constantly picturing what it was like on Robben Island while he was there and it was amazing to see what it is really like first hand. As you can see I wore a perfect shirt for the tour of the prison!
After our bumpy ferry ride back a few of us had delicious chicken paninis on the waterfront. During lunch there were people dancing and singing on the sidewalk and we were able to watch and listen the whole time. It was really great to have free South African entertainment while we ate our meals! Subsequently the girls and I walked around the waterfront to see all of the different shops and enjoyed sitting outside in the beautiful 80-degree weather with our frozen yogurt!
Over the past few days I was able to skype more than I ever thought I’d be able to, due to the South African internet! Tuesday night I talked with Katie and Abby when they got out of clinical for 40 minutes and it was great to see friends from back home! Tonight I was able to skype with Karen and Olivia a little bit until we ran out of electricity (yes, in South Africa you just run out). Then later on this evening I skyped with my mom and Erin. I loved skyping with everyone, it makes me feel like we are so much closer than we really are and I love to know what you are all up to as well! Thank you for reading my blog, I really hope you are all enjoying it!
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