I never thought I would visit South Africa - it held zero interest. In fact, it had negative appeal. I grew up in an era of international condemnation of South Africa - their athletes weren't allowed in the Olympics, our cultural stars wouldn't perform at their venues, visitors from the country were suspect - I mean, why would anyone choose to live in a country that supported apartheid, the forced separation of races? A country where the tiny white minority controlled the huge black majority? I remember one South African that I met in college saying, with great frustration in her voice, "You simply don't understand. You don't live there." It's true, I couldn't understand.
I first learned about apartheid as a high school sophomore. The required text in English Class was Cry the Beloved Country and we were all appalled by what we learned about conditions in South Africa. Of course, the following year, in U.S. History, I learned about our own Jim Crow laws and, in my lifetime, watched the Civil Rights Movement unfold - how quickly one can judge others while not recognizing what goes on throughout one's own land?
But travel to South Africa? Why, when there are so many other more interesting places to visit on planet Earth? But then the opportunity to visit Cape Town arose as a post-trip extension of my safari. I vacillated. It wasn't an expensive addition. When would I ever be back in that part of the world? Apartheid had long since ended and it might be interesting to see what that looks like. And so on. But if I am completely honest, I must admit that my final decision was based on my past as a geography teacher. I wanted to stand at Cape Hope and see Table Mountain. I didn't imagine that much else would interest me.
How wrong I was. I found Cape Town fascinating. It is beautiful - perched at the bottom of the continent, with its stunning backdrop of Table Mountain. It is in transition - it has had to deal with many challenges related to the scars of apartheid. What I appreciated was that these problems were not hidden away. We were able to speak freely with Cape Towners about apartheid's after-effects and I am grateful that Overseas Adventure Travel planned such a wide range of experiences for us. I learned much from each. I also know I have much more to learn - I only have the most basic overview from my 5-day visit to this beautiful city.
First impressions:
The City Itself - Think San Francisco (the hills, the surrounding water, Fisherman's Wharf, the sparkling light - when SF is sunny, the neighborhoods), glitzy Southern California (the expensive condo areas at Cape Town's best beach neighborhoods), and Slum Dog Millionaire (the slums surrounding the heart of the city, called "Townships"). Such a mixture.
The People - I was surprised that, in every conversation I had with Cape Towners, they used the language of apartheid when speaking of race. People were white, colored (mixture of races), Indian (from India) or black. Even though these divisions no longer officially exist, they are still used when talking about issues in Cape Town. For example, Overseas Adventures arranged for us to have dinner with a colored family at their home. It was a fascinating experience. Carol and Lionel moved into their home during the apartheid era when it was a new neighborhood developed for coloreds. You had to be colored to qualify. Here is where it all gets tricky. To me, Lionel looked black and Carol looked Indian but, whenever their families were put through the classification process, they were both identified as colored, the second highest category of races, and colored they remained. It brought them some benefits during the apartheid era.
They were warm and welcoming and dinner was delicious. We met their children and talked about their lives pre and post apartheid. They are worried about their economic future (Lionel's job is not terribly secure) and they have some concerns about their son - he is college age. Sound familiar, eh? What they regretted most from the apartheid years was what they called the lies they were told about blacks. Because apartheid greatly limited interactions with blacks, there had not been opportunities to change these views. Today there are no restrictions on where you live or work so there should be more interaction however, when we asked if blacks could move into their immediate neighborhood, they said they could but only one or two black families have moved in since the fall of Apartheid in 1994. What was interesting was their comment that being colored has been problematic. During apartheid they weren't white enough to get the privileges that whites had and now they aren't black enough for the perceived privilges of the post-apartheid world.
Our tour leader for this portion of the trip was Gregg, a white man, early 40s I would guess, with a British (as opposed to Afrikans/Dutch) background; his family has lived in South Africa for several generations. He lives in a suburb of Cape Town that was developed for white families and remains mostly white. He has a tricky job. He loves his country, is proud of it, and wants to share the mix of Cape Town history and culture but is often dealing with visitors, like myself, who arrive with viewpoints based on a history of condemnation of the apartheid policy. He stated that he believes apartheid was wrong and that white citizens who hold a grudge about the ways things have changed need to get on with life; move with the time. But he also firmly believes in what Nelson Mendela (and official government policy) says - there should be no discrimination against anyone - whites as well as blacks. He spoke about the feelings expressed by many against Oprah Winfrey's school in South Africa. "Why is it only for girls? And mainly black girls? Shouldn't both boys and girls of all races be educated to be the leaders of tomorrow? That is what South Africa needs." He then added, "I know she can do anything with her money, it's her's, she earned it, but it's not following the new policies of South Africa." Oprah has been vocal about her reasons for creating the school. Here was another viewpoint.
And then there was the rather eye-opening experience of touring one of the black townships - the most famous one, Langa. It is where the black people of District 6 were forced to move when their interracial neighborhood was razed in the 1970s so it could be rebuilt as a white neighborhood. If you saw the Sci Fi movie, District 9, it was loosely based on this experience. Langa was hard to witness. It was such a slum - houses built of crates, outdoor facilities, apartment houses composed of floors with single rooms per family with small shared common spaces. I remember thinking about one of my mother's favorite sayings, "Bloom where you are planted" and wondered how hard I might find it to bloom if planted there. To be fair to Langa, there were parts that, relatively speaking, were nice. Not many, mind you, but there were some.
Our guide lived in Langa and planned to stay there. I wondered why. Thankfully he shared, without my asking. He has a decent job. He could, perhaps, afford to move out but he stays because his family is in Langa. It is his personal history. He hopes that government promises to improve housing will happen but, thus far, not much has been done. There has been much corruption and little to show for the money spent.
As we drove away on a slightly elevated road, you could look back and see how huge Langa was and that it was surrounded by other Townships, each equally large and horrifying. What a challenge for the government. I don't know how long residents will be content with waiting for basic improvements. We got a taste of this impatience on our way to the airport on they day we left Africa - people from a Township were demonstrating their frustration. They stopped traffic by burning piles of tires on the highway.
Other Experiences:
There was one particularly fascinating experience at Lunga that I want to include. Our guide took us to a local medicine men. His "office" was tiny - maybe 6 x 12 feet (a packing container). We all crowded in to sit on two benches, our knees almost touching, while he described what he did. He dealt with all types of issues, both medical and personal. He used ointments, herbs and elixirs.
The fall of apartheid is honored throughout Cape Town. A popular tour is the boat trip to Robben Island, off the coast of the city. Think Alcatraz. It has been a prison and a leper colony for centuries but is best known for housing the political prisoners of apartheid, most famously, Nelson Mandela.
And let's not forget the geography. Oh, it was beautiful.
We toured the wine country outside of Cape Town and even we somewhat jaded wine folks who live near the Napa Valley were impressed by the wines and the wineries. Much fun.
And, finally, we were able to add another species to our list of animals seen on safari:
I truly loved my time in Cape Town. The people are lovely, the town is gorgeous, the surrounding land is inviting - they have much going for them. I wish them well as they continue to deal with the ramifications of apartheid.
An afterword - I just saw a wonderful movie, Searching for Sugar Man. It's a documentary that describes the search for a man from Detroit, Sixto Rodriquez, who thought his music career was long over. In the late 60s, critics thought he would be bigger than Dylan, the next big thing, but he never caught on. His contract with the music industry ended with his second album in 1971. He resumed low paying work in Detroit construction.
Well, he thought he never caught on. Unbeknownst to him and the rest of the world, he became "bigger than Elvis" in South Africa, where his music was taken up by the anti-apartheid movement. I won't tell you the rest but to see him finally arrive in South Africa for a concert in 1998 is amazing - the reaction of the South Africans (who thought he was long since dead) and how it affects Rodriquez and his family. How could this amount of fame be unknown by the performer? And for so many years? Of course, the Economics teacher in me wondered about the trail of money. Where did it go?
Amazing film that will leave you a bit speechless. He has planned an upcoming concert tour.
I first learned about apartheid as a high school sophomore. The required text in English Class was Cry the Beloved Country and we were all appalled by what we learned about conditions in South Africa. Of course, the following year, in U.S. History, I learned about our own Jim Crow laws and, in my lifetime, watched the Civil Rights Movement unfold - how quickly one can judge others while not recognizing what goes on throughout one's own land?
But travel to South Africa? Why, when there are so many other more interesting places to visit on planet Earth? But then the opportunity to visit Cape Town arose as a post-trip extension of my safari. I vacillated. It wasn't an expensive addition. When would I ever be back in that part of the world? Apartheid had long since ended and it might be interesting to see what that looks like. And so on. But if I am completely honest, I must admit that my final decision was based on my past as a geography teacher. I wanted to stand at Cape Hope and see Table Mountain. I didn't imagine that much else would interest me.
How wrong I was. I found Cape Town fascinating. It is beautiful - perched at the bottom of the continent, with its stunning backdrop of Table Mountain. It is in transition - it has had to deal with many challenges related to the scars of apartheid. What I appreciated was that these problems were not hidden away. We were able to speak freely with Cape Towners about apartheid's after-effects and I am grateful that Overseas Adventure Travel planned such a wide range of experiences for us. I learned much from each. I also know I have much more to learn - I only have the most basic overview from my 5-day visit to this beautiful city.
First impressions:
The City Itself - Think San Francisco (the hills, the surrounding water, Fisherman's Wharf, the sparkling light - when SF is sunny, the neighborhoods), glitzy Southern California (the expensive condo areas at Cape Town's best beach neighborhoods), and Slum Dog Millionaire (the slums surrounding the heart of the city, called "Townships"). Such a mixture.
Photos - of course from Anna. I had given up taking photos at this point.
Such a fun Cape Town neighborhood to stroll.
The harbor area
Beautiful parks - oh, I don't think I shared that besides the screamingly bright,
neon yellow jacket I wore, I borrowed my sister's bright purple day pack - the
combination was simply gorgeous. At least on safari it was tossed at my feet
in the Land Rovers so it couldn't upset the animals!
The interior of Bishop Desmond Tutu's church - a bit of English architecture
in the middle of Cape Town.
And Table Mountain as backdrop to it all.
The People - I was surprised that, in every conversation I had with Cape Towners, they used the language of apartheid when speaking of race. People were white, colored (mixture of races), Indian (from India) or black. Even though these divisions no longer officially exist, they are still used when talking about issues in Cape Town. For example, Overseas Adventures arranged for us to have dinner with a colored family at their home. It was a fascinating experience. Carol and Lionel moved into their home during the apartheid era when it was a new neighborhood developed for coloreds. You had to be colored to qualify. Here is where it all gets tricky. To me, Lionel looked black and Carol looked Indian but, whenever their families were put through the classification process, they were both identified as colored, the second highest category of races, and colored they remained. It brought them some benefits during the apartheid era.
Dinner with Carol and Lionel, Lionel sits at the head of the table,
Carol is in the back, to Lionel's left.
They were warm and welcoming and dinner was delicious. We met their children and talked about their lives pre and post apartheid. They are worried about their economic future (Lionel's job is not terribly secure) and they have some concerns about their son - he is college age. Sound familiar, eh? What they regretted most from the apartheid years was what they called the lies they were told about blacks. Because apartheid greatly limited interactions with blacks, there had not been opportunities to change these views. Today there are no restrictions on where you live or work so there should be more interaction however, when we asked if blacks could move into their immediate neighborhood, they said they could but only one or two black families have moved in since the fall of Apartheid in 1994. What was interesting was their comment that being colored has been problematic. During apartheid they weren't white enough to get the privileges that whites had and now they aren't black enough for the perceived privilges of the post-apartheid world.
Our tour leader for this portion of the trip was Gregg, a white man, early 40s I would guess, with a British (as opposed to Afrikans/Dutch) background; his family has lived in South Africa for several generations. He lives in a suburb of Cape Town that was developed for white families and remains mostly white. He has a tricky job. He loves his country, is proud of it, and wants to share the mix of Cape Town history and culture but is often dealing with visitors, like myself, who arrive with viewpoints based on a history of condemnation of the apartheid policy. He stated that he believes apartheid was wrong and that white citizens who hold a grudge about the ways things have changed need to get on with life; move with the time. But he also firmly believes in what Nelson Mendela (and official government policy) says - there should be no discrimination against anyone - whites as well as blacks. He spoke about the feelings expressed by many against Oprah Winfrey's school in South Africa. "Why is it only for girls? And mainly black girls? Shouldn't both boys and girls of all races be educated to be the leaders of tomorrow? That is what South Africa needs." He then added, "I know she can do anything with her money, it's her's, she earned it, but it's not following the new policies of South Africa." Oprah has been vocal about her reasons for creating the school. Here was another viewpoint.
And then there was the rather eye-opening experience of touring one of the black townships - the most famous one, Langa. It is where the black people of District 6 were forced to move when their interracial neighborhood was razed in the 1970s so it could be rebuilt as a white neighborhood. If you saw the Sci Fi movie, District 9, it was loosely based on this experience. Langa was hard to witness. It was such a slum - houses built of crates, outdoor facilities, apartment houses composed of floors with single rooms per family with small shared common spaces. I remember thinking about one of my mother's favorite sayings, "Bloom where you are planted" and wondered how hard I might find it to bloom if planted there. To be fair to Langa, there were parts that, relatively speaking, were nice. Not many, mind you, but there were some.
Our guide lived in Langa and planned to stay there. I wondered why. Thankfully he shared, without my asking. He has a decent job. He could, perhaps, afford to move out but he stays because his family is in Langa. It is his personal history. He hopes that government promises to improve housing will happen but, thus far, not much has been done. There has been much corruption and little to show for the money spent.
Here we are in the District 6 Museum - I am walking on a map of the area
prior to the razing.
prior to the razing.
First impressions of Langa
Common area on apartment house floor shared by 6 families
Young resident in the common area.
As we drove away on a slightly elevated road, you could look back and see how huge Langa was and that it was surrounded by other Townships, each equally large and horrifying. What a challenge for the government. I don't know how long residents will be content with waiting for basic improvements. We got a taste of this impatience on our way to the airport on they day we left Africa - people from a Township were demonstrating their frustration. They stopped traffic by burning piles of tires on the highway.
Other Experiences:
There was one particularly fascinating experience at Lunga that I want to include. Our guide took us to a local medicine men. His "office" was tiny - maybe 6 x 12 feet (a packing container). We all crowded in to sit on two benches, our knees almost touching, while he described what he did. He dealt with all types of issues, both medical and personal. He used ointments, herbs and elixirs.
Look carefully at the surroundings in his "office" and his outfit. My yellow jacket makes
me recognizable and I am hoping it was my proximity that made me the recipient of a
special head tapping with his multi-haired wand. Just as we were leaving, he looked
at me closely, tapped my head and said "Good Luck." I was the only one he blessed.
What does he know? Should I be nervous? Or, perhaps, all is well
because of his wish of luck. I am keeping that thought.
The fall of apartheid is honored throughout Cape Town. A popular tour is the boat trip to Robben Island, off the coast of the city. Think Alcatraz. It has been a prison and a leper colony for centuries but is best known for housing the political prisoners of apartheid, most famously, Nelson Mandela.
It's hard to show its small size - but here are two views of his cell.
The guides were former political prisoners - interesting insights.
An unexpected sight in Cape Town - Germany sent Nelson Mendela a piece of
the Berlin Wall as a celebration of his achievement of political office.
And let's not forget the geography. Oh, it was beautiful.
A drive outside of Cape Town - the scenery was magnificent.
Yes, here it is - Cape Hope. The geography and history teacher in me was thrilled.
I can't remember how many times I taught about the voyages of Diaz
and de Gama around this cape and now I was here!
We toured the wine country outside of Cape Town and even we somewhat jaded wine folks who live near the Napa Valley were impressed by the wines and the wineries. Much fun.
And, finally, we were able to add another species to our list of animals seen on safari:
Penguins!
I truly loved my time in Cape Town. The people are lovely, the town is gorgeous, the surrounding land is inviting - they have much going for them. I wish them well as they continue to deal with the ramifications of apartheid.
An afterword - I just saw a wonderful movie, Searching for Sugar Man. It's a documentary that describes the search for a man from Detroit, Sixto Rodriquez, who thought his music career was long over. In the late 60s, critics thought he would be bigger than Dylan, the next big thing, but he never caught on. His contract with the music industry ended with his second album in 1971. He resumed low paying work in Detroit construction.
Well, he thought he never caught on. Unbeknownst to him and the rest of the world, he became "bigger than Elvis" in South Africa, where his music was taken up by the anti-apartheid movement. I won't tell you the rest but to see him finally arrive in South Africa for a concert in 1998 is amazing - the reaction of the South Africans (who thought he was long since dead) and how it affects Rodriquez and his family. How could this amount of fame be unknown by the performer? And for so many years? Of course, the Economics teacher in me wondered about the trail of money. Where did it go?
Amazing film that will leave you a bit speechless. He has planned an upcoming concert tour.
Fascinating, Donna. And good for you, going against your first impulses to jump into this area. We all need to be as aware of the rest of the world as we can, I think. Thanks for sharing!
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