Differences

Today is Sunday. Since most of the shops and restaurants are closed throughout the city, the street life was pretty quiet and there were lots of people hanging out at the hostel. I did get out down Long Street again, mostly just wandering down toward Strand Street. My tentative plan for tomorrow is to get to the Bo Kaap neighborhood, a traditionally Cape Malay (Muslim) area. There's a museum there I plan to get to, as well as wandering around the neighborhood. It's only about a 10-15 minute walk from my hostel. Then on Tuesday, my goal is to get over to the District Six area that I mentioned in some of my previous posts.

Tonight at the hostel, they're serving a free vegetarian potjie, or traditional South African stew. The hostel workers (who are are SUPER friendly - I'm impressed) were starting to prepare it as I was leaving just a bit ago and it smelled amazing! Though I hear it's really delicious, just like the braai, a big part of the potjie is the preparation and cooking. People sit around the fire and chat and have a few beers. If you want more information, check out the Wikipedia page. I'm looking forward to it.

Something interesting I've heard from multiple people that is common here is that when you park your car in a lot or on the street, often a local will come up to your car and put a little sticker under your windshield wiper. This claims your car as "theirs" - they say things like "If you park here, your car will be safe." Then while you're away from your vehicle they "watch" it and prevent people from messing with it. When you return, they expect you to tip them a few Rand (less than $1).

I've also been impressed by the number of city workers present here on Long Street. They have LOTS of city cleaners, just sweeping up and bagging garbage all throughout the day. The streets are thus very free of garbage - better than in Minneapolis! There are also lots of "public safety" workers - I think similar to a police officer but not officially one. I think Long Street is different from other areas of town in this regard. I'm sure part of it is that it's a somewhat touristy area so the city wants visitors to feel comfortable. See picture of public safety workers below.



But I also wonder how much it has been affected by the BEE (black economic empowerment) program which seems similar to affirmative action in the States. The government wants to be sure the employed demographics match those of the general population, in other words, that Africans make up ~80% of the workforce. It's really controversial because many white people have lost their jobs, and in many cases, the white people have more education/skills that would be applicable to jobs but cannot find work. Interesting how all that also relates to the recent xenophobic events, where black South Africans have been staging attacks on other African immigrants, claiming they are taking their jobs (see one of my earlier blog posts). Let's hope the US economy stays strong...

Last night I had dinner with Lotta, a girl from Holland who is staying at the hostel. She's my age and also traveling on her own. We talked a lot about differences between life in the US and that in Holland. Perhaps I will get into that another time. Anyway, she's very friendly, like literally every other person I've met here. But talking with her just brings to mind the fact that by traveling here I'm not only learning the South African way of life, but I also get to trade experiences/insight with people from other countries. I've only met one other person here who actually still lives in the US (two others were from there but not living there anymore).

Most people here are surprised to learn I'm staying Cape Town for 6 weeks. I think mostly that has to do with the fact that I'm staying at a hostel - most people are only there for a week max. But so many people I've met here are either traveling throughout SA or even all throughout Africa. I think it's just the European way of life; so many of them are used to traveling to other countries because things are so close for them.

One of the other things that has been confusing for me is the street layout. Some of it is gridded, but a lot of it is not. I was talking to one of the Europeans here and she is much more used to streets not being on the grid, but it's new for me being used to the Public Land Survey System in the US, haha. Even where it is gridded, the blocks vary in size/length, usually much smaller than blocks in the US. And also the street signs here vary from being in English on one block to being in Afrikaans on the next. And street names vary from one block to the next in some places, not only from English to Afrikaans, but completely different names even if they're both in English. So it has taken some getting used to. Finally, the maps are just different and more hard to read for me than ones I've seen in the States.

Well I think that's it for now, gotta go get some of that potjie at the hostel. :) Pictures below! And as always, thanks for reading!




Some amazing aerial views from the plane of the Cape. :)


A view of my room at the hostel. Mine is the lower left bed.


Metropolitan Methodist Church.


The part of the city I'm staying in is known as the City Bowl because it's really surrounded by Table Mountain (you can see some of it in the background here) and Lion's Head and Rump. :)


Looking down Strand Street, one of the bigger thoroughfares in this part of town. Note the development on the mountainside in the background.


Long Street again.


Many of the streets are really narrow here.


Nice! Love it.


I love how the mountain can always be seen peeking out amongst the buildings. This is Wale Street.


Sunset from the balcony of my hostel, over the Lion's Rump. :) Only complaint is that it happens too early - 6:00pm - since it's winter here in the southern hemisphere.

Video Blog #1

Here's a short video blog I made a bit ago. The embedded video below should work, and if it doesn't work now, it should work soon. Otherwise check it out here. Perhaps more to come... enjoy! :)



And some more pictures for your perusal:

Here I Am!

I'm in Cape Town! Last night was my first night here. I got in and got to my hostel where I'm staying for at least 6 nights. It's really cool. I love it - I love that it's designed for warm weather... definitely makes me want to move somewhere warm in the US so I can design my future house similarly! :) It's been pretty nice. Last night was a bit chilly in the hostel's courtyard but still very nice considering it's winter here right now - nothing at all like Minnesota's winters! This morning I was too warm walking around in a sweatshirt.

So far everyone I've met has been very friendly and helpful. I've met three from Holland, three from Sweden, one from France, one from the US (Missouri), and one from England. There's probably about 30 people staying at my hostel, and I think they're pretty much all Europeans. Last night there was a braai (similar to the US barbecue) at the hostel in celebration of Mandela's 90th birthday. I just hung out there and had a few beers with some of the other people at the hostel. Beers here are cheaper than they are in Winona, even! haha.

My flights were fine, but kinda long, as one might expect. When I got to the airport I found my driver waiting with a sign with my name on it. Driving to the hostel we passed some of the townships (shantytowns), so I feel like I've already seen a good variety of types of the city. The area I'm staying, Long Street, is full of boutiques and little restaurants. This internet cafe I'm at now is less than a five-minute walk from my hostel. Later today I hope to get out a bit more, perhaps making it over to the District Six area. There's a renowned musuem there. District Six was a racially-mixed part of the city that was demolished when the apartheid was enforced. Many people were forced to leave the vibrant neighborhood they grew up in and raised their children in, so I think it will be very interesting, as well as relevant to my research here. I see similarity between District Six and Rondo in St. Paul for those of you who are familiar with it as in they were both demolished under racially-motivated reasons.

I plan to get a cell phone sooner or later, but it depends when I can justify the expense to myself. haha. It will primarily be for calling South African numbers or for emergency purposes. I have called some of you using my phone cards and will continue to do so - so long as you don't mind! :)

It's nice - most things are pretty cheap here. You can get a decent meal for under R50 which is about $6. I haven't bought that much, and I've only eaten one meal, but people I've met in the hostel said things are pretty cheap. Though they're coming from Europe, where things are a bit more expensive than the US... We'll see, I guess.

I uploaded some pictures below. Check them out! The first one is a view down Long Street from the balcony of my hostel. The second is a view of the courtyard area inside the hostel. I love all the live plants!

Ahhh

Hey guys. Just a warning: this post isn't a factual update on my trip preparations, nor is it a commentary on events in Cape Town or South Africa. Rather, it's just a release of what I've been thinking the past couple days about going. I just thought I'd warn you; if you're not interested in my personal reflection I will not take offense (or even know) if you stop reading now. That being said...

Wow. I can't believe I leave in 2.5 weeks. I'm sure the actual day of departure going to be here before I know it. It is starting to set in that I am actually doing this, but part of me still doesn't believe it. I don't think it will even set in when I'm boarding the plane here in Minneapolis. Maybe when I'm taking off at JFK for Cape Town, but probably not even until I set foot in South Africa.

I realize for many people this trip might not seem like that big of a deal, but for me, it's going to be one of the biggest single experiences of my life, if not THE biggest. I realize it's *only* six weeks, but it's going to be 6 weeks of something like I've never done before. Many people will never have an opportunity never like this, and I try to remember that when I am nervous about leaving or sad to be missing people/events while I'm gone. I don't mean just the opportunity of spending 6 weeks abroad, or even in an amazing place like Cape Town. What is really powerful to me and both excites and scares me is the fact that I'm going to be completely on my own. Sure, I expect/hope to be in some contact with you all back here in the States while I'm in Cape Town, but it's hard to know how much. I have yet to decide whether or not I'm going to be taking my computer, and even if I do, I'm not sure how much internet access I will be able to come by. If I don't take my computer, my internet access will be limited to internet cafes. And even regardless of how much contact I have with all you loved ones over here, I still am going to be completely on my own.

To be perfectly honest, that is one of the first ways this fellowship appealed to me. I remember last fall hearing about my friend Erica's (who was granted the fellowship last summer) independent travel through Europe and thinking that's something I need to do, too. I think this trip, in addition to having a reason to live abroad for an extended period of time, being a representative for the University in another country, learning and exploring some interesting urban issues, and being able to make a trip I would otherwise never be able to afford, beyond all that is the fact that this is an incredible personal growth experience. As you may or may not know, I've typically considered myself a pretty independent person, but I still remain in close and regular contact with my friends and family. I am quite certain this experience will help me grow in so many ways, including helping me learn a little more about myself.

It's hard to know what to expect, really. Who knows. But I suspect that this will open up so many areas of life (or at least thought) for me as a person.

It's not going to be easy. Life is vastly different in South Africa than it is here at home in Minneapolis and Minnesota. I'm not going to be able to continue my usual phone call / IM / e-mail / call / visit / hang out routine that I am so accustomed to now with you guys. That alone will certainly take some getting used to. I'm not going to have lots of loved ones in a 20-minute radius or even a hundred mile radius. More a like 9000-mile one. (Though maybe the distance would be less if I could travel through the Earth instead of around it. haha)

Anyway, these recent reflections are no doubt only the start of things for me as July 17th comes closer and closer. 17 days, 5 hours, and 20some minutes. Eeek.

A Summary of My Interest

I checked out a new set of books about Cape Town today from the library. The first one I've delved into, World City Syndrome: Neoliberalism and Inequality in Cape Town by David A. McDonald, contains an introduction that I think captures the key points of my interest in Cape Town. Let me share it with you:

I must admit to a love/hate relationship with Cape Town. On the positive side, there is much to love about the city. It is a fascinating mix of African, Malay, and European cultural heritages, with a strong Muslim influence and an increasingly cosmopolitan flavour. From Xhosa initiation rights in Langa to mosques in Mitchell's Plain to outdoor concerts in Kirstenbosch Gardens and the fish braais on the Cape Flats {all of these places are written into my itinerary -Beth}, Cape Town offers a rich tapestry of traditions, sanded by centuries of grit, determination, and resistance.

The built environment is equally wonderful. From the decaying but vibrant Victorian working-class housing of Salt River to the art deco facilities in Observatory to the Dutch colonial estates of Constantia and the bright colours of the Bo-Kaap, the city has a wide range of fascinating architectural streetscapes.

And, of course, there is the city's stunning physical beauty - possibly the most beautiful natural urban environment in the world. Table Mountain is the most obvious (and most photographed) physical feature. With its 1000-metre cliffs framing and cradling the city centre, visible from up to 80 kilometres away, it is the focal point of the city.

But it is not just this northern face of the mountain that is spectacular. The Table Mountain chain runs from some 70 kilometres south to Cape Point, along which there are seemingly endless nooks and crannies for exploration, and an equally remarkable coastline. It is these smaller, less well-known spots which I enjoy the most, and into which one can disappear from the city in a matter of minutes. The sights and sound of urbanness vanishes, with a sense of wilderness that is achieved more quickly than in any other large city I know. From the hiking trails in Silvermine to the hidden mountain forests of Newlands to the sandy beaches of Cape Point, one could spend a lifetime exploring new and interesting corners of the this city's amazing natural setting.

But it is exactly this physical beauty that makes it such a painful place to be. I find it impossible to see the natural splendour through the city's social ugliness. Much of this stems from centuries of colonialism and apartheid, but contemporary neoliberalism is leaving its own unsightly imprint. One third of the city's population lives below the poverty line in makeshift or overcrowded housing, and another third are just getting by. HIV and AIDS are ravaging many of the city's townships, and Cape Town has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis in the world - due in part to poor quality housing in cold, damp winters. A quarter of the city's population in unemployed, thousands do not have access to basic services such as water and electricity (or cannot afford to pay for these servcies), and public transport in the townships is underfunded and dangerous. Life for township-based women is that much more difficult, struggling to work and take care of their families while also being the targets of crime and rape.

As a result of these inequalities, the natural amenities of the city (its beaches, parks, and hiking trails) are populated largely by wealthier, white Capetonians and tourists. There are black faces in some of the more accessible attractions - e.g. Muizenberg beach - but for the most part Cape Town's natural splendour is for those who can afford to enjoy it, with Table Mountain little more than an imposing outline in the sky from 30-40 kilometres out in the townships.

Ironically, it is largely black Capetonians who have built Cape Town's beauty. From the colonial facades of Long Street to the stone steps up Platterkloof Gorge, the city is haunted by centuries of invisible black labour. And this is still the case. Black workers clean the streets, remove dead seals from the beach, water the plants in the parks, and clean the dishes in the restaurants - most of it unacknowledged by the people who benefit from it.

Cape Town is not alone in this regard, of course, but it is arguably the most uneven and spatially segregated city in the country, especially with its unique white, coloured, and African demographics. It may be the most ghettoized and spatially uneven city in the world.

Underlying this inequity is a smug, white liberalism that permeates all manner of activity in Cape Town - from the pedantic treatment of black store clerks, to a suburban sense of entitelment, to policies that keep the poor 'in their place'. Cape Town smacks of a privileged elite that feels it has little to apologize for, while at the same time suggesting it has all the answers for future development. Cape Town may have been the most 'liberal' city in South Africa under apartheid, but it is exactly this liberalism that has made it such a neoliberal place today.

It is for both these reasons then - love and hate - that I have written this book. I hate what the city has done (and not done) since the end of apartheid, but it is because Cape Town is such an interesting and dynamic place, and one that has been a second home to me, that I want to contribute in some small way toward positive change.


I feel like this offers a pretty good summary of why I find Cape Town and South Africa as a whole so interesting.

I leave one month from today - it still doesn't seem real.

I guess I'm helping start a new flight route...

I'm flying Delta from MSP. Then I leave NYC 3 pm local time and arrive in Cape Town at 3 pm local time the next day. Gonna be a long one!

This article caught my attention. I didn't realize that it was going to be a new route. I also didn't know that we'd be stopping in Dakar.

I leave in 6 weeks, almost to the hour.

My friend Karen who also was awarded the fellowship just embarked the other day on her trip to Morocco. I kinda wish I was leaving sooner, but it still hasn't hit me that I'm actually doing this.

Youtube vid

This video has been one of my favorites on YouTube since I found it a few months ago.

It's really well done in my opinion. Definitely creates a sense of discomfort for those who are used to seeing the racial dynamics reversed. It was an advertisement by the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) that was supposedly banned. I don't know any details; I'll see if I can dig some up.