In Case You’re Still Considering, You Should Go to Cape Town!

I’m not sure I can think of any other place I would have rather spent my 2013 summer and birthday than in Cape Town. Though the preparation was overwhelming for me, the 2 weeks we spent studying in Cape Town were the best times I had at SIS (oops!). And so in case, like me, you were unsettled about making this trip, I hope you make the decision I did and explore the tip of Africa.

 Just a few things you should know:

University of Cape Town

Perhaps the most beautiful campus I have been to is the UCT campus. The beauty that surrounds this school makes you want to learn all day!

Learn to click

I’ve never heard as much clicks from one conversation than one that involves Xhosa. It’s such a fascinating language that people always admire your ability to click along.  

Climb Table Mountain

Anyone who tells you it is a hike is not being entirely truthful. Table Mountain is a CLIMB! And for someone who has never hiked, my bones were not expecting what it involved. But after hours, it was the most exhilarating experience I’ve ever felt. Not only did I meet so many people who chose to inspire me with a smile and an “You’re almost there”, but I realized how greatly this mountain brought together men and women from every part of the world. Even though I felt I might pass out a couple of times, I didn’t and it was truly a beautiful experience.

Observe the most beautiful African behinds.

Lol... Seriously, they were the most beautiful I had ever seen.

Hold a snake!

Yes, indeed you should, especially if you're afraid of one. Elisa was a pro with just one attempt. 

Food!

If you’re like me and your belly can take anything, explore all the food Cape Town has to offer. Mama Sheilah’s Lelapa restaurant is a must-go for food and music. Be ready to consume a lot of meat, though there are vegetarian options also. Also be ready to explore the different tastes of liquids ;)

Taxis!

Unfortunately, not all taxi cabs drivers in Cape Town are honest. Some of them notice your foreign accent and choose to take longer routes to your destination just so they can get more money off you. Once you get accustomed to the city, you can easily avoid this. Fortunately however, there are some good ones out there. And once you meet an honest one, be sure to get his personal number, not just the cab company’s number.

Weather

Pack up for some rain and winds, you will most likely get some.

                                         

AND JUST HAVE FUN!

Longmarket Street: South Africa's Immigrant Entrepreneurs

It’s almost impossible to experience Cape Town, and not seek a memento of your trip, or at least something with which to brag to your friends and family about. I may not have been to many cities in my life to judge, but I dare say that Cape Town is more beautiful than DC… :D. So when Lakeshia and Elisa told us they had stumbled upon a flea market where we could get African souvenirs at very affordable prices, I was very interested in visiting. I reminisced on my days in Lagos’ markets and put on my bargaining armor, ready to score some African trophies at the least possible price. I knew vendors loved tourists because they could always charge tourists double the price of their goods. I kept that in mind, and recalled that women were often easier to negotiate prices with.

Longmarket street is a plethora of artworks, jewelry, accessories, clothing and much more. Most shops carry the same or similar merchandise so it’s easy to find another vendor to compare prices with. It makes bargaining easier and keeps competition high. I expected to see South African women and men showing off South-African goods, but most vendors were from other African countries, like Ghana, Zimbabwe, the DRC and Senegal. After studying about the challenges most immigrants face with employment, I understood why entrepreneurship was a likely option for many. It was likely that Longmarket street was the only survival for these men and women.

I left the market that day with 3 beautiful necklaces, after over an hour of scouting and bargaining. As we walked back to the lodge, we showed off our new assets, also discussing how difficult it was to bargain with these folks. Unlike others, I felt no guilt from bargaining. Call me stingy or economical, but I’m always proud to show off a new accessory I acquired at a bargain. Nazgol explained how she had pleaded with a vendor that she was just a poor student and he should bring down the price for her. He had looked at her and said, “You don’t know what poor is”. At that moment, I felt a pinch of guilt. I thought of my new necklaces and wondered what value my purchase had over the value of the vendor’s sale. For me, it was just another souvenir to keep or give out, but for him, it probably meant another meal or rent.

When I got home, I looked at the necklaces, appreciating how beautiful they were, and deciding then that whoever received them would cherish them and not toss them aside. That day I learned that even though I maybe a poor student, there’s a poorer man at the other end of the merchandise.  

Peace, love, and Apartheid: Cape Town's District Six

The conspicuous vestiges of Apartheid are woven into the fabric of everyday interactions in Cape Town. Seemingly benign street corners hold symbolic significance, and the raw emotions of a scarred and violent past surface readily and without warning. Few places capture this as well as District Six, the now empty plot of land that cuts through the city's heart. The neighborhood of District Six, once a bastion of multiculturalism  and an icon of inter-racial harmony, is a source of both pain and pride for South Africans. The District Six museum preserves the memory of this well loved neighborhood that was bulldozed by the National Party under Apartheid precisely because it blatantly represented everything that Apartheid was not: inclusion and the celebration of difference. Race, peace, and equality are complex issues in South Africa and it is this complexity, a violent trauma kept at bay by a ferocious hope in peace and humanity, that has made me fall for Cape Town. Despite a past marked by hatred, Capetonians are in many ways the embodiment of love, and although they may struggle to live up to their astoundingly progressive Constitution, their hope in a peaceful future seems unwavering.