Politics Discussion and District Six Museum

Yesterday morning we had our first lecture from Zwelethu Jolobe, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Cape Town. He lectured to us about apartheid and issues surrounding it and the current status of the governmental structure in South Africa. He enlightened us about a lot of the technical information and all of the deep political issues facing South Africa. I don't necessarily understand all of the technical jargon associated with politics and don't always go abaove and beyond to do it. But what I do understand is that a formal governmental structure implementing laws to "legally" oppress a population is absolutely wrong. It is unfathomable to me that that was the case not even 20 years earlier.

After the lecture we had lunch in the cafeteria, and yet again, it felt that we were easy to pick out. After lunch, we went to the District Six Museum, which is a living memorial to the people who were removed from their homes by the government and relocated to other parts of the surrounding areas of Cape Town. Again, an unfathomable action that I cannot begin to express the emotion this issue brings out in me.

The museum had many exhibits and a lot of information about the whole relocation of the colored population who resided in District Six. It was hard for me to wrap my head around what it would feel like to be removed form my home by the government. As Americans we have security in our belongings and would never even ponder that happening to us. More than saddening.

After our time in the museum, we walked around downtown, stopped in a few stores and visited the street markets where people come each day to sell either crafts or pre-produced goods on the street. People carry all of these things with them everyday back and forth form wherever they live to downtown to make a living.

When me and TJ were on our way back to meet the group, a police truck drove by and there were people who had presumably just been arrested yelled out of the holding container, "Go your home!" This comment was again, presumably directed towards us, two, young college students looking to help the people in the community in which these people live. It hurt me to hear that. I felt that I was not wanted. How do they even know why I am there? They don't. Don't they know that not all Americans fit the stereotype of the typical American? I am here, in your community, trying to do something good. It was frustrating.

After that, we turned onto a street and saw some of our group up the block being directed towards going down another street. The feeling was tense in the area. People looked nervous and were trying to understand what was going on. We were then directed again to not go down this street, that had a lot of commotion and a lot of people being detained by Policemen. We came around to the front of the building and saw what was going on. We still do not know what was going on but it had something to do with the recent issues going on in South Africa. Surrounding countries are having difficulty with their economies and job markets. The directly effected people are coming to South Africa to find a better job. The South Africans that are in somewhat of the same situation as the people for example, Zimbabwe, are unhappy with people coming here trying to take their jobs. There have been demonstrations and riots in Johannesburg and one or two in Cape Town, in which people were injured as well as some accounts of death.

There were people arguing and yelling and police were trying to hold them back and control the situation. Again, the feeling in the area was tense and knd of scary. We were waiting across the street from this because that is where our vans were picing us up. I felt that something could have happened. Violence could have become an issue very quick. We saw people wearing shirts that demonstrated the different sides of the issue. That makes it sound like it was planned and with the low probability of the situation becoming uncontrollable. Again, I don't know exactly what was going on but there were people being arrested and an ambulance was there, suggesting that someone was hurt. Pure speculation. Some people in our group felt uncomfortable to be in the vicinity of something that we know of as only news; we just brush things like that off all the time. People say, "oh, thats terrible." Then they go back to whatever they are doing. We don't understand the raw emotion that was being expressed there. It was an eye opening experience for me.

However, our vans came and picked us up. We are all safe and hopefully everything turned out okay after we left. To see that in real life somewhat put it into perspective, on the news, you don't get the feelings. We felt it and it was real.

Again, the African sun feels amazing. The air feels different; there is more to it than what I am used to feeling. The air really feels different here . A lot of feelings have been and will continue to go through me throughout the next couple of weeks, regardless of where I am feeling it. I am ready for it.

Peace.

JB

Arrival in Cape Town and First Day at V & A Waterfront

We arrived in CT at our houses a little after 9:00 PM Monday night. Everyone was very excited to be here and see where we will be living for the next three weeks. The houses are right across the street from each other on Welgelegen Road in the suburb of Mowbray. The houses are absolutely nicer than any of the houses we stay in while studying in Minneapolis. part of me feels uncomfortable staying in a neigborhood and a house such as this, when the majority of people we will be working with here lives in something a fourth of the size of this and definitely not as appealing. However, I am very content with the living situations and am excited to see more once we we get into the "meat" of our class.

In the morning we woke up to an eneregetic group of people. We started the day on the campus of the University of Cape Town, which is just below Table Mountain. The mountain looks over the whole city and can be seen form everywhere. We had orientation with the Interstudy staff and then were guided on a tour of the campus. A diverse group of people make up the student population. As we walked through campus we received looks from everybody who was able to easily pick us out as Americans.

Campus is absolutely gorgeous and is currently being invaded by students doing last minute studying for final exams. Walking through a campus such as UCT was interesting, as students are similar to us at the U of M in Minneapolis, but also so different as well. I feel that the students have a much more unique story as to how they ended up studying at UCT than what the general story behind a student attending the U of M does.

After the campus tour, we went to downtown Cape Town to eat lunch at Primi on the V & A Waterfront. Primi had delicious food and overlooked the ocean. The one thing that I felt the most, even more than anything you notice while in a foreign country, was the sun. I couldn't get over how good it felt. For me personally, being in the bright, warm, and welcoming African sun was the one of the most amazing things I've felt in awhile.

Over the past year, I have become intrigued with Africa as a whole. And finally feeling the warm rays of the sun on this continent was very relaxing yet energizing; I can't even describe it. However, the Waterfront is not what you think of when you think of Africa. Being the first place I saw since arriving, save campus, I did not feel like I was in Africa. This place is the ritzy part of town; enough said. The Waterfront kind of looks a little bit like Europe, maybe London, or maybe even Miami.

While shopping in one of the stores at the extravagant mall, we were talking to some of the shopworkers who asked what we will be doing. We told them that we will be in the Township, which is essentially the ghetto. They said, "Ooohh man, the townships eh? You gotta be careful in the Township." I was taken aback. I realized that the people who live in Cape Town have basically the same perspective of the Township as we, as Americans do, if not a worse one. In America, we will probably never hear of a place called Gugulethu. As people living in Cape Town, not willing to step outside of their comfort zones, hear about Gugs, but only the worst of the worst. My classmates and I are able to go in with an open mind and no expectations; partly because we have minimal amounts of information about Gugs. This was very interesting to me. Essentially, I learned about perception and reality today.

Me, Brian, and TJ made it a point it to shoot (photograph) the sunset. It was setting right over the water with Table Mountain iright behind us, looming over us like a gentle giant. Absolutely gorgeous. The sun, about ten minutes before it faded away, was coming through the Cape clouds magnificently. Great shots. Hopefully pictures up soon. Again, for me personally, it was amazing to feel the African sun on my skin. It is something I have wanted to do for awhile and hope to do on other parts of the continent. There is something about Africa that intrigues to the nth degree. I absolutely have a great amount of compassion for the people and the land here. It very messy in town, lots of litter, even in the green parts of town. It saddens me.

I cannot express to you enough of how excited I am to go into the Africa we hear about. I don't know if excited is the right word, maybe just plain ready to see it and experience it--coincidentally allowing myself to grow and learn from the the things I see and do.

More from under the African sun soon.

Thanks for reading. Peace and love.

JB

One week and three days before departure...

I am excited. I have started to think about packing and what I will need in order for me to get the most out of my trip to South Africa.

I am unsure of what to expect. Keeping an open and brave mind has been a priority of mine and will continue to be. Again, I am more than excited.

Expect to hear more interesting things from me in a little over a week.

Peace.