October 3rd, 2010: South Africa knows how to hit back
We docked at 6am which meant that our alarms went off at 4:30am in order to keep the tradition of rolling into port alive. Tyler and I walked into Sam and Jules’s room singing “Happy Birthday” to wake them up. Still not sure why Tyler chose that song. As we walked outside we could see the lights on the horizon with the moon still in the sky. The closer we got, the lighter it became and progressively we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I will probably ever see in my life. Slowly but surely Table Mountain appeared in the backdrop of the city and the world cup stadium was visible on the waterfront. We were finally in South Africa!

Before we left the ship we had a diplomatic briefing from two U.S consulates. The guy that addressed safety and security made everyone a little uneasy about getting off the ship. Yes Cape Town has one of the highest crime rates around, but contrary to what the consulate said, it cannot be compared to Afghanistan. He threw stories at us about people being mugged on hikes up table mountain, women being raped in the bathrooms, and people being slammed in the side of the head on the streets and then stripped of their possessions. Did it make us nervous? Yes. Should it have? No. I found that Cape Town is like any other foreign place we went. If you’re stupid, then yes you will in fact leave yourself vulnerable, however if you’re smart about the way you go about you’re traveling then you will be perfectly fine. His final advice was to stay in the V&A Waterfront area after dark. This is the most secure location in the city as security is at an all time high. We found this to be a true fact as security guards were positioned around every corner. If anyone touched you or even looked threatening there would be a safety officer on the scene within two seconds.

The port we docked in was… weird. Not in an odd sort of way but in a it was way too westernized kind of way. As soon as we walked out of the port gate we were in what is probably the most extensive mall I have ever seen in my entire life. Geez. It goes on forever. The wharf is lined with restaurants, street performers, souvenir stalls; definitely not what I expected from an African country. It was like America had shipped Boston or San Francisco over to Cape Town and to be honest, it was disappointing to feel so comfortable there. In the city there are huge skyscrapers. The LG building is the one that sticks out the most and there are KFC fast food restaurants on almost every block. Even the music was too westernized for me as all we heard was songs that had come off of America’s Top 40 list. It was disappointing because I thought I had finally escaped Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum for four months. Apparently not!

Being the soccer fanatic that I am, I dragged my friends over to the Green Point Stadium which built and used for eight games during the World Cup this past June/July. Since we came in on a Sunday, most things were closed, including the stadium, but it was still awesome from the outside and we were able to find out tour dates.

After that failure we wandered back into town. On the way, we noticed a cricket practice that was going on at a club. We walked through the gates and up to the fences to watch the practice. It was people of all ages. Young children, teenagers, even some adults. Now I don’t know the rules of cricket by any means, but it was still nice to sit there and watch a culture interact with each other. Everyone would high five and laugh with each other. There was no tension or aggression from the coaches; only positives. It’s the simple things in life that keep people happy and the cricket seemed almost like a family affair. Everyone took interest in it and everyone enjoyed it.

We continued to walk into the city. The main difference was that they drive on the other side of the road. I’d pass all of these taxis that I thought were empty, kind of look in, and be freaked out when I make eye contact with a man sitting on what we call the passenger side, but is their driver’s side. Crossing the street definitely took some getting used to as well. Mom & Dad: I now know why you forced us to learn to look both ways before crossing the street…. For one way streets in countries like South Africa. Our rule became to look the uncomfortable way because several times we would look to the left for oncoming traffic that would actually be coming from the right. Thank goodness for the painted arrows in the middle of the streets.

Two hotel bellhops suggested this place for us to have lunch at that was situated right by the Green Square market where bartering was the norm; yes! The restaurant seemed a bit nicer but the exchange rate is so well that a chicken fillet with a small side of potatoes and mineral water only cost around $10. The tiramisu for dessert was the best I’ve ever had. There was a cherry sauce drizzled on top that added to the taste. After that we headed over to the market. Everyone was friendly and it was the same idea as Marrakech in Morocco, but a completely different feeling. Yes, the people would say “have a look, please” and “take your time” as well as the all time favorite, “America!? I love Obama!” The difference was that they weren’t overbearing with it. If you said no thank you, they would reply “no problem brother, have a nice day.” They did not try to grab at you or hunt you down and find every way to coax you to look at their products. It was easy to strike up conversations with these people and form relationships. The man I bartered with for my soccer jersey was very nice and the more we talked, the more his price went down. The thing that struck me most is how much people idolize America. It’s disgusting. They’d ask our impression of Cape Town and Africa to which I’d respond “I love it. I want to move here,” and they’d stare blankly back at me. The man with the jerseys was very straightforward and posed the question as to why we would ever want to give up a place like America for a place like Cape Town. He went on to explain that nearly 90% of the vendors were actually people that traveled all the way from Zimbabwe in order to sell their crafts in a better economy. We wondered where all of the incredible amounts of beaded jewelry came from and Zimbabwe was our answer. Literally almost every piece of jewelry you picked up would have beads on it one way or the other.

After several hours in the market place it was time to head back to the ship for the Township Homestay trip through Semester at Sea. I was very much looking forward to this trip because I felt as though it would open my eyes to more than the city life. I thought this would help me scratch the surface and better understand the issues that South Africa faces as well as get to hear apartheid experiences. Sadly, none of this happened. The trip was through a tour operator called 2Way Travel. The guy in charge was named Mike and he was very informative about his experiences in the Townships. He explained that ew shouldn’t be surprised if people refer to us as “sir” or “master.” That was a shock, yet goes to show the remains of apartheid still affecting everyday life. His assistant, Heather, drove with us to the Gugugletu Township about five minutes outside of the city. The quick difference between rich and poor was painstakingly obvious as we continued our drive. We were told that we would be split up into a house with a “Mama” which is what we were told to call them. As we arrived at Mama Knocks house, who is the township coordinator, a group of kids were waiting for us. During the time we waited for our Mamas to pick us up, we were all outside playing with them. They sang pretty violent songs about killing and burning, which showed the differences in how we were brought up. We were late informed by Mike that WWE wrestling is always on the only free channel that people get in the townships so it’s always what the kids are exposed to. At one point, one of the little children fell asleep while I was giving him a piggy back ride. All of them were obsessed with being tickled, which sounds weird, but they’re not used to affection like that. As soon as I’d raise my hands they would run away from me screaming with smiles on their faces.

Jamal and I were the last people to be picked up by our Mamas. As we waited, I started talking to Heather about the area and about my future in a place like this. I found out that she used to be a certified Occupational Therapist until a bone disease took over and forced her to change jobs. She now runs a Children’s Home for abandoned kids almost single handedly while working for 2Way Travel on the side. I told her how I was double majoring in PT and AT and that after 7 years I’d come out with my doctorate in PT, but I wasn’t sure how useful that’d be for the things I wished to accomplish with my life. She informed me that in Cape Town as well as the South Africa area it’s extremely rare to have a doctorate, in fact she was certified with her masters and that put her right on the top. I was told of the numerous opportunities for going into the township areas to do rehab work. By the end, she had me thinking about transferring to the University of Sports Medicine in Cape Town, but I figured I’d start with her e-mail first and seeing if I can manage to swing some clinical hours abroad. I’m still crossing my fingers for that one.

The Mama that finally came to pick us up an hour later was named Mama Beauty. For whatever reason she was in a rush to get us back to her house so after few goodbyes we were walking down the street to a little gated house. This township was one of the best in the Cape Town area. The houses weren’t made of tin or tarps. They were by no means shacks. Every house was made of cement and had running water and electricity. The first room we walked into was the living room with two couches centered around the television. This led into a long, narrow kitchen with bedrooms and a bathroom stemming from that. Mamma Beauty had us sit on the couches and she went into the kitchen to cook dinner. We were silent because there was nothing to do and no one to talk to. We didn’t want our host to feel like she couldn’t talk to us so we offered to help with dinner. She declined. We continued to sit on the couch and one of her sons joined us. I don’t remember his name, but what I do remember is that he is studying to be a doctor out of the University of Cape Town. He’s basically living in Cuba to do his medical hours and what surprised me the most was how passionate about the country he was. He went into about how much he didn’t like living in Cape Town, but he had to force himself to like it since he was born there. When asked about apartheid he said it didn’t affect him at all even as a child. He thought nothing of it which is kind of sad to me that he grew up thinking that treating people separately like that was acceptable. During all of this we still heard nothing from Mama Beauty. We couldn’t tell if she felt as though she couldn’t talk to us because of our sense of false superiority that everyone seemed to think we came with or what. Either way it was very uncomfortable. Finally she brought out dinner, but declined to eat with us. Our plate was full of chicken, spinach, carrots, and some corn concoction with onions (yes mom, I was polite enough to force the onions down my throat).

The part that I failed to mention was that Jamal decided to not spend the night, except he hadn’t arranged this ahead of time. Now not only is it extremely rude to sign up for a homestay and then decide you don’t want to stay, it also incredibly rude to not plan it in advance and inconvenience everyone else. His excuse was that he had to leave at 4am for a safari that next day which is weird because when we got back to the ship at 10am he was getting into a taxi. Due to his lack of planning, not only was I spending the night alone, but the entire evening was consumed with trying to get him out of the townships safely and back to the ship. Both Mama Knocks and Mama Beauty even took offense to the fact that he was leaving so I felt as my reputation had been dragged down with him. Mama Beauty would be throwing all of these numbers out for Jamal to call, her son was offering advice, and even Mama Knocks came down to make sure he got off alright. It ended in Mama’s son personally taking Jamal to get a cab back to the ship. After he had finally left, I talked to Mama Beauty for about ten minutes before she took a shower and went to bed. She had offered no opinion on apartheid other than “it was bad and separated.” Not exactly what I was looking for…

The rest of the night I sat there in silence watching television with Mama Beauty’s two sons until I went to sleep. I felt horrible because Mama Beauty gave up her king size bed for what turned out to be one guest. If I had known that Jamal wasn’t staying the night, then I would have pushed to stay on the couch or something. It wasn’t right. I felt trapped and alone in the room. It was as if I was stuck in there with guards at the door. There was no way I felt comfortable enough to get up and walk out of the room without being judged as the white supremacist, which I whole heartedly hate. That’s how my cat must have felt when we suddenly took her from living outside to living in my room; lost, confused. I remember for the first couple of days she hid out of sight until she grasped her bearings. That’s exactly how I was feeling here.

Monday October 4th, 2010: Cape Town at my fingertips

The next morning I woke up and stayed in the room for a bit as the feeling of isolation and separation continued. I finally mustered enough courage to open the door and walk out into the kitchen. As I did, Mama Beauty was still lying in bed but as soon as she heard my footsteps she perked right up and was making my breakfast. For those of you who know me, you know I hate to be waited on. I hate to be an inconvenience. Well that’s what it felt the entire time. Just as I sat there while she made dinner the previous night, I sat there as she made me breakfast. It was basically a granola bar that is dunked in warm water and made into this oatmeal type substance. You then add milk and sugar as you please. It was pretty good at first, but then the taste stayed the same and started to get a little bit old. Good thing she left me with an entire bowl of sugar because I made that oatmeal taste like brown sugar the best I could.

After breakfast it seemed like time was dragging on and she finally entered the family to sit and watch her morning soap operas in silence. FINALLY she looked at me and started talking. She asked about my school work and I in turn asked her about Cape Town. She was yet another person that said she had to like Cape Town because it’s all she has known. She expressed her want to move to America for opportunity. When I asked what her favorite part about South Africa is, she said she didn’t have one. She responded “I’m too old. All I do all day is go to church and sleep. That is what I like doing so that is what I do.” After a few more awkward minutes of conversation, I handed her my thank you note on the back of a Niagara Falls postcard and headed back to Mama Knocks house.

I met up with the rest of the group and heard everyone’s amazing experiences. Many people had the opportunity to explore the township the night before and get to know their families. I’m not going to lie, it sucked hearing about all of this since mine was such a bust, but I was still happy to hear that everyone else had a good time. At Mama Knocks’ house she was selling her handmade jewelry which is her only source of income so of course many people chipped in to buy some. All in all, although my personal experience sucked, it was a great trip planned by SAS. Very eye opening. The best part is that a huge chunk of money we pay for the trip goes directly to the Mamas so that they’re able to afford repaired ceilings, washing machines, etc.

As we arrived back to the ship we saw Jamal getting in a cab to go somewhere. Lame. We ran into Becca who is in charge of the field office and is also one of my awesome bosses. I felt bad because she felt terrible about what happened on the trip and told me she was going to make it up to me personally. Little did I know that she ended up crediting the amount of the trip to my shipboard account and writing Jamal up since it’s against ISE policy to sign off of a homestay. What a lady.

I still had five more days in South Africa so I was determined to not let the homestay ruin my trip. We grabbed a quick lunch on the ship and then Sam, Tyler, Johnny, and Dhara all headed out to hike Table Mountain. We decided to walk there from the port. This took two hours and the walk actually turned into sidewalks that rivaled San Francisco as far as steepness goes. This provided for some amazing views of the city and we weren’t even at the base of the mountain yet! Finally we made it to the base, met up with some other SASers and started the hike. It wasn’t very steep or rigorous; in fact, we made it more difficult for ourselves at times just because we could. The view as we gradually went up was spectacular along every step of the way. There was a path the entire way up so that wasn’t an issue at all. At one point we passed Tommy, Leah, Liz, and Jeremy which, believe it or not, has become completely normal to pass my bosses and staff members around port. After about an hour and forty five minutes we reached the summit as the sun was setting over the ocean. It was beautiful. As we walked around the top, Cape Town came into view. We could see all the way out to Robben Island as well as all the way down the Cape Peninsula. The view was endless. It was absolutely breathtaking and no pictures that were taken do it justice. I could’ve spent all night up there. It was truly like holding all of Cape Town in my hands.

After some more exploring and relaxing we took the cable car back down as night was falling quickly. From there we walked the two hours back to port as the lights in the city came on below us. Yet another breathtaking view. We finally made it back to the ship, headed into port for some dinner and wifi, then called it a night.

October 5th, 2010: Let death begin

This morning I woke up feeling like crap. My throat had closed, making it difficult to breath and it felt like it was on fire. Despite all of this, there was no way I was going to miss my soccer stadium tour so I forced myself out of bed and headed up to breakfast.

Tyler, Johnny, Sam, and I took the fifteen minute walk from the wharf to the stadium and arrived a little bit early. We sat on benches around the outside of the massive structure. It was crazy to try to envision thousands of people flocking to the stadium for a game just a couple of months ago. The backdrop to the stadium was the ocean one way, and then Table Mountain and Lion’s Head the other way. It was very much a picturesque place.

Once inside, they took us to their visitor’s center. The most interesting thing there was Desmond Tutu’s quote and pictures. Then again, everything about that man is interesting. The way he laughs, his thought process; just everything. It was also crazy to walk around Cape Town and see how his own country views him. He’s up on a pretty high pedestal there. Finally the tour began. We walked in the entrance gate and into the stadium on the 2nd level. It was massive and the grass was perfectly green. It was picture perfect. You could still feel the energy and emotion from June and July during the games. Not to be “that guy” or anything, but I’m fairly certain I got the chills.

The guide explained to us the logistics of Green Point Stadium. It was actually built specially for the World Cup. During the games the stadium held 68,000 people and since then they had removed 13,000 seats from the upper level to accommodate plans for a restaurant, so capacity is now at 55,000… still huge! There were special seats marked in red for the medical team (maybe I’ll wind up in one of those some day) and it was very handicapped accessible. As we continued walking around we went into the photo gallery which included pictures from construction on up until the inaugural match at the stadium with two local teams. It was so beautiful.

We continued up the stairs to the “VIP Lobby” area. Currently it stands as a long empty room, but during the games, players and coaches would have pre and post game meals there while discussing tactics and strategies. Then came the VIP seating area. We walked through another lobby with private bars and table, down the red carpet and out into the VIP seating that had plush seats located at mid field.

Finally the tour guide took us to the ground level. There we saw the parking garage where team buses and coaches would pull up. Teams such as the Netherlands and Robben and England and Rooney had walked through those doors. It was crazy trying to envision that. The next stop was the holding cells for rowdy fans. If someone became too drunk or too rambunctious, that’s where they would be held until the end of the match. According to the guide, there were only three incidents during all eight world cup games played there. I asked him if he remembered any and he said there was definitely one during the England v.s Algeria game and I laughed to myself. You would, England.

Next was the press conference room set up with the interview table, backdrop, and all. After taking the cheesy “we won the game” pictures at the podium, we moved onto the locker rooms. I’m not sure what I expected to see, but they looked like any other locker room in any other stadium. Nothing out of the ordinary for the world cup. There were rehab tables, showers, bathrooms, everything. I sat in one of the lockers and tried to picture all of the great players that had once been present in that room. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Robben, Van Persie… holy cow.

After exiting the locker room it was time to take the walk of glory out of the tunnel and onto the field. Even with an empty stadium, no nets, no player benches, and a field you can’t walk on, there’s still a lot of emotion that builds up when you walk out of that tunnel. Even the people that weren’t exactly soccer fans felt the emotion. I got to touch the grass which kept in pristine condition. I wish we were able to play on it, but to just be at field level was pretty incredible.

That was the end of the tour and I headed back to the ship to take a little nap since my throat was becoming increasingly painful. After laying in bed for an hour I figured that I wasn’t going to let myself sit on the ship for five days while in South Africa so I forced myself up and walked around the wharf with Sam.

There wasn’t much to do except sit and enjoy. We watched boats of all sizes come into and out of the harbor while enjoying the street performers’ music. There was the most amazing soft serve ice cream I have ever had as well. Finally after a couple of hours we tossed around the idea of climbing Lion’s Head. Normally I would not recommend climbing a mountain when you’re having trouble swallowing and your fever is peaking, but in this case I didn’t want to be the kid to hold the group back and I would only be here for so long. We headed back to the MV Explorer, met up with Tyler and Sarah and then headed on up to the mountain via taxi this time.

As we started our hike, the sun began to set. We followed the dirt path that spiraled around the base of the mountain for several levels until finally we hit solid rock. At one point we were confused as to where the path went. It seemed to just vanish. That’s when we realized the so called hike had actually turned into a climb. We basically needed to formulate our own path to scale the rock walls and climb through a maze of boulders. It was awesome. Every time we turned around the sun was setting a little bit more over the city. As we continued to climb upward the trail disappeared even more and it was a free for all to the summit. Take the path you think you can handle, basically. We made it to the top just as the sun was setting over the ocean and Camps Bay. It was a view I’ll never forget. The entire way up we had witnessed paragliders flying off into the sunset. There something so peaceful and calming about it that I had forgotten about how horrible I was feeling.

We met three local South Africans and a dog named Simba Chips on the top. We told them of our travels as they told us of theirs. Two of the three of them came to Cape Town as backpackers and just never left because they enjoyed it so much. When asked what the locals like to do they responded “Get pissed over there, get pissed over there, and again over there,” while pointing in three separate directions. Not exactly what you think of when you think Africa, but that’s truly the vibe you get when you step into Cape Town. It’s so much like the western world that it has a major party scene that’s impossible to ignore.

We headed back down as dark was approaching and all around us the lights of the city were turning on before our eyes. It was yet another beautiful sight. The hike down was a bit of a challenge in the dark, but still very manageable. At the bottom we parted ways as my mind was completely out of it from being sick. It was hard to breath and my fever was at an all time high. Needless to say I went to bed for the rest of the night.

October 6th, 2010: Robben Island

The ferry for Robben Island broke before we arrived in port so many of the SAS trips were cancelled. The company hired two private ferries so tours were limited but somehow Sam and I managed to get tickets to the 9am tour. The major downside to this was that since the faster ferry was broken, it now took an hour and fifteen minutes one way to and from the island, so it took up almost all of our day.

As we approached the island, penguins and birds lined the breakwall. We were surrounded by little school children that kept singing these crazy songs. This made me feel terrible for any person that had ever been around one of my school field trips back in middle school. It was cute the first time but the next twenty five times were downright annoying.

Everyone piled on buses and began the tour. When I thought of Robben Island previously, all I thought about was apartheid. That’s a major part of it, but there’s so much more. During the leper period, they isolated the lepers on the island and we passed several leper graveyards. It was chilling to hear about as we were told that they were buried sometimes two or three bodies deep one on top of the other. Robben Island also served as a key point in World War II. Apparently if the Germans had conquered the island they would have had a clear pass to the rest of the world due to the strategic position. Because of this, there are two of the largest guns on the Earth located here that are currently being restored. It was said that while these guns were fired, all windows had to be open since glass would shatter and everyone needed to cover their ears on the island.

As far as apartheid on the island goes, there used to be black security guards there until the blacks were the people shipped to the island. This is when it turned to white guards because they were afraid of the guards befriending the prisoners. Many people were shoeless as they came to the island. They were all forced to work in the quarry harvesting stone and were given little to no medical treatment. Each prisoner was a on a specific diet which at one point was so strict that they weren’t allowed bread until the doctor prescribed it to them. They were given one pair of clothes and a sleeping mat which was basically two layers of thick blankets.

My guide was in the maximum security prison on the Island for five and a half years. He had been charged with sabotage. He said he never had a bad experience with the guards. In fact, many of them came to the island illiterate and uneducated but in the end, they ended up leaving being able to read and write thanks to the help of the prisoners. Many of the political detainees earned degrees while at the prison thanks to donations from organizations such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International. People would study while in the quarry all day and help each other learn. It’s almost as if this prison backfired because as the white government tried to suppress these political prisoners, they actually became more educated and well rounded in the end.

Our guide took us by Nelson Mandela’s cell in which he lived for twenty seven years. It was very tiny with the only light source being a window to the courtyard. There was a tiny wooden table, no chairs or anything, a sleeping mat, and a garbage can to do his business in. How he managed to keep his strong sense of hope and determination while in those conditions for as long as he was, I will never know. I ended up buying his autobiography so I’m very much looking forward to reading that.

That night Sam and I ended up catching dinner on Long Street and calling it a night pretty early since yet again I was still not feeling better.

October 7th, 2010: Sick, much?

Today was a very low key day as my cold moved to my head and my mind was spacing out. I wandered around the wharf for a while watching the waves crash on the beach during the mini storm we were receiving. Other than that a bunch of us found wifi later that night and that’s pretty much all that happened. Nothing really big. Just more wandering and more observing as well as attempting to feel better.

October 8th, 2010: So long, Cape Town

Today was still low key. I was unable to go to operation hunger and work with the malnourished children because I was so sick and if I had went and spread my germs to kids with low immune systems, well that wouldn’t be good so that was a major bummer. But due to me missing out on all of these things such as the townships, operation hunger, and a safari I have a good excuse to go back now! I really enjoyed South Africa, but I didn’t love it. I like being out of my element more than I was here, but it was still quite the experience to see the racial divide go hand in hand with the poverty divide.

We went back to the market, said hey to our friend that sold me the jersey, and spent the rest of our Rand on some more keepsakes and food. After that it was back on the ship and time for departure.

Currently we’re about 1 day outside of Mauritius and I’m on day eight of being sick! Yes! Also, I bought Desmond Tutu’s quote book so here’s his quote of the day:

“A leader is there for the sake of the Led” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu