Craziness in Cape Town

May 2

We left pretty early in the morning to catch our 9:00 ferry to Robben Island. The ferry is about a 30 minute ride through the Cape Town harbor. I sat on the top level of the ferry with some other people from our group. I figured I would get a better view from the top, but it was pretty cold. The V & A Waterfront is beautiful, and we were able to see it from the ferry.

view of Table Mountain on our boat trip to Robben Island. As you can see, it was a cold morning!

When we arrived at Robben Island we were immediately shuttled onto tour buses, which took us on the first half of the tour. We drove around Robben Island with a tour guide speaking about the quarries, the old town on the island, and the other buildings we drove past. One the bus tour we saw our first penguins! At one point we were able to get out and look in a small museum, get some hot drinks (it was really cold), and take some pictures of Table Mountain. After the bus tour we were taken to the main prison, where we had a little bit of time to walk around on our own and look at the exhibits in individual cells while we were waiting for our guide. At Robben Island they have former prisoners take tours around the jail, explaining how the jail worked and what it was like to a political prisoner in South Africa. We saw Nelson Mandela’s cell, the courtyard where inmates gathered, and the gardens Mandela planted during his time at Robben Island. After the quickest tour ever, we were rushed back to the ferry, with hardly a chance to glance in the gift shop. Although I was glad to get a chance to see Robben Island, the tour was one of the worst tours I was on in during my semester. I felt like I was just herded around, and just barely skimmed the surface of Robben Island. Robben Island is remembered as such a prolific scene from the apartheid era, but the tour was just disappointing.

Entrance to Robben Island

Quarry where the political prisoners worked

Nelson Mandela's cell

After a lunch on our own at the waterfront, in which we had a little time to look around the mall, we headed back to St. Paul’s Guesthouse where we met with Tim Jenkins. Tim Jenkins, author or Escape From Pretoria, was a white Afrikaaner who was active with the ANC in the fight against apartheid. He was eventually arrested and put into a prison for white political prisoners. He broke out, and returned to work for the ANC. Today he works on a new currency system, the Complementary Currency Movement, which aims to be a local alternative to the money system. Jenkins was really inspiring, because all semester we’ve been hearing about the evils of apartheid, and talking about privilege and oppression, so it was good to hear about white South Africans who were opposed to apartheid and fought to end it.

May 3-4

The next couple of days were a blur. So much happened, and I can’t remember exactly what the order of events is anymore.

One morning started with what was supposed to be a walking tour of the history of the slave trade in Cape Town. Cape Town was a large slave port during its colonial history. We started at a museum in downtown Cape Town, where we met our tour guide. My impression of her was that she was going on and on with bitter rants about how women and the gay and lesbian community were not treated well in Cape Town. Although her comments had some merit, she was just so bitter, and I wanted to learn about the slave trade, which I felt I did not really learn about. We walked to all sorts of places in downtown Cape Town, so I at least felt like I got to know downtown better!

Cape Town felt very European in the architecture. Views of downtown

Another exciting experience was our trip to the District 6 museum. District 6 was a mixed community, where whites, blacks, coloreds, Indians, etc. all lived peacefully together under apartheid. However, the apartheid government did not want any evidence that people of different races could live together, because that would undermine the entire principle of apartheid. This museum has collections of photos and mementos from the people who were forced to relocate, along with a map of the entire district. People are slowly starting to move back to District 6, but not everyone has that option. Some people don’t have the money to return, and other homes were bulldozed to make way for new buildings. When we were at the museum there were all sorts of cameramen setting up big cameras in the museum. Obviously, we were all curious about why they were there. One girl overheard that they were setting up one of the stations for the TV show the Amazing Race! Of course, being the travel nerds that we are, we got really excited and wanted to camp out and wait for the contestants to come. Unfortunately, Romanus made us leave the museum and head to our next appointment. We saw the camera crews again when we were walking through the Green Market to get to another destination. This time I think they were just filming some of the background color for the show, but we still wanted to follow the camera crews until we found the contestants. So although that was sad that we never got to camp out and wait, I’m excited to watch the show this fall, so keep an eye out for Cape Town!

Another morning we spent taking a kombi tour of some of the sites a non-profit works with. One part of this non-profit works at training unemployed youth, to give them necessary job skills so they can find work. Other places work to provide services to the community.

One meeting that really stood out to me was meeting with Alan Storey, a pastor at a large church in down town Cape Town. He was a white Afrikaaner, but was another example of how whites in South Africa really can work for change within the community. He works to make his church as inclusive as possible for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income level. In addition to that, he also spoke about the burdens of privilege, and how hard it was for him personally to work on giving up his privilege so that others could have more. I think everyone in our group was very impacted by this, because it is something we have been struggling with during the semester. How do we bring social justice about in the world? And further still, what privileges do I personally have to give up in order to “level the playing field”, and make things more just?

Table Mountain

May 1

First day in Cape Town! It was so exciting to be in Cape Town, which I had been looking forward to all semester. Although it was hard to leave Windhoek, Cape Town is a good transition point from the academic semester abroad to being home, and being back in my “normal” life.

After a morning spent at a church in Khayelitsa, a group of us took the afternoon to climb Table Mountain. We weren’t able to get started on our climb until about 2:30, so I was a little nervous about either getting back down before dark, or about making it to the top before the last cable car down (both at about 5:00). So, because we were under a time crunch, getting to the top was more stressful than it should have been, and we weren’t able to enjoy the way up as much as I wanted to.

View from the start of our hike

part of the trail

I ended up climbing with Tamara and Lee, and we brought up the rear. But I like to think that means we got the most out of our climb, because we took the time to stop, take in the view, take pictures, drink the ever important water. The trail up was really rocky, and essentially like climbing stairs. It was kind of intense (the trail climbs an impressive 2100 feet), but the views of Cape Town were incredible on the climb up. The trail was in shade for most of the time, and it cut through the rocks so sometimes you couldn’t see much, but then it would cut out and the city of Cape Town lay beneath your feet. There were lots of other people climbing Table Mountain when we were, and there was one man hiking with his daughter who started talking to us when we took one of our many water breaks. He had already talked to the other people in our group who were climbing, so as he was talking to us he asked if we were part of the group going to Robben Island the next day, and he knew all about our trip. Apparently the group of college age Americans were pretty distinctive on Table Mountain.

views of Cape Town during the hike

Lee and Tamara on the hike, it was pretty hot and intense!

We finally reached the top, and it was so amazing! Once we reached the top we were in the sun again, and the views were so incredible. You could see all of Cape Town and the ocean in a couple of different directions. Unfortunately, we had to rush a little bit on the top, because we only had about 30 minutes before the last cable car going down the mountain, and I had no desire to hike down the mountain in the dark. But the cable car was fun; it rotated as the car went down so you were able to have views of Cape Town and the ocean. There were about 8 of us who rode the cable car down, and we figured we would have to wait for a couple hours for the rest of our group before we could get Passat to come pick us up. But Passat came through for us, and came early because he figured we would be done.

views from the tope of Table Mountain

Me and Katelyn

That night I went to dinner with my Cape Town roommates, Katelyn, Lee, and Amy. We wandered down Long Street, looking at all the different restaurants we had to choose from. We started in a big group, but then split up when it became apparent we all had different tastes for dinner. The four of us got pizza for dinner, which was great, and had a good time watching people walking down Long Street. All in all, it made for a good first day in Cape Town.

Goodbye, Namibia

We left Namibia for Cape Town on April 30, so the last week in Windhoek was pretty full of fun and memories. Katelyn and I presented our final integrative project on Tuesday the 26^th, which marked the end of my academic work for the semester! For part of our presentation we made fatcakes, which were delicious! We added apples and cinnamon to some of them and it was a hit. If you bribe me enough, I might make some for you. Anyways, on both Tuesday and Wednesday morning we listened to everyone’s presentations. Some of them were really entertaining, like the one based on Namibian soap operas, and one that was a comic book. But mine had the best tasting food.

Katelyn making fatcakes

Our Integrative Project

Thursday was full of cleaning, packing, and partying! We spent the morning attempting to clean the CGE house thoroughly, pack everything that had gotten scattered around the house, and preparing for our goodbye party. Different CGE-ers shared their various culinary talents for the party, which included cheese pizza, chili, and a cupcake cake shaped like Urbanus. All the faculty and staff were present, and a the party ended with a dance party with Eveline, Junobe, and Sarah. It made for a great send-off!

On Friday I walked into Windhoek with some of my friends for some coffee and last minute souvenir shopping on their part. It was probably a good thing we left when we did, because a lot of the girls in the house spent most of the day watching the royal wedding. Now, I enjoy a good wedding as much as the next girl, but I don’t need to spend my last full day in Namibia sitting in front of the TV, watching an hours long wedding thousands of miles away. But we were at least in the same time zone, unlike all those crazy people at home who were up at 3 in the morning to watch the wedding. Even some of the German touristy shops had the wedding on their TVs. The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out by the pool, and then the party thrown by the Cardboard Box in our favor.

Saying Goodbye to 5 Simpson Street

Saturday morning was bittersweet. We were all looking forward to Cape Town, but we didn’t think Jessy was going to be able to come with us, and most people were sad to be leaving Namibia. I don’t know if/when I’m going to be back, and it was hard saying goodbye to 5 Simpson Street and Tom Thumb. If I do make it back, it won’t be the same at all. Although I was sad to be leaving, I was more at peace with it than most people were. I loved my time in Windhoek, I loved walking the streets, but I think I got out of the trip what I needed to get out of it, and I made my peace with the fact that I might not be back. We checked out of our rooms, and then climbed into the kombis for one last trip in Namibia. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any last baboons on the ride to the airport, but the flight was pretty uneventful. Hosea Kutako airport is pretty small, but there were no problems getting through security or immigration.

Walking onto the tarmac to leave Namibia

Easter celebrations and the end of a semester in Namibia

My time in Namibia is coming to an end. I leave on Saturday for Cape Town, which is the last travel seminar of the semester. After a week in Cape Town, I will be heading home, forever changed by my 4 months in southern Africa.

The last few weeks have been pretty uneventful. After our trip to the South all my time has been spent in Windhoek. Classes wrapped up last week with reflections on all we have learned and what we still have questions about after our semester. Brief highlights:

· Debate in religion class about whether or not religion is essential to the structure of society

· Further discussion about the legacies of apartheid and segregation in Namibia and the U.S. How can I fight institutionalized racism at home?

· Recognizing in development class that there is always more to the story, and that no one can start a development project and think they know all sides of the story or how everyone is going to be impacted. Amanda also brought up that sometimes during these discussions she feels hopeless, like there is nothing that can be done to actually change anything. But it’s times like these when it can be helpful to look at the smaller picture, and remember that good IS being done, even if it is on a small scale. You can change the world in some small way, as long as you have the courage to get up everyday and do something.

· Final days of the internship! Followed by internship presentations, which was accompanied by delicious snacks. I feel like I learned a lot about how CCN is run, and what they are doing in Namibia, but I felt like my time was wasted a lot of the time.

· I turned in my last paper for the semester over 2 weeks ago! It’s a good feeling, knowing that the only “work” I have left for the semester is my integrative project, while everyone at PLU still has a few weeks of class left, and then all the stress of finals.

I have also been spending some time on my summer research, attempting to interview Lutheran church leaders as part of my Kelmer Roe fellowship. I have learned the hard way the difficulties that come with trying to get hold of people here. I have called the same leaders over and over, attempting to set up interview times. It’s difficult to figure out where people want to meet when they give directions like, “go straight down the road by the church, go straight through the first two 4 way stops, turn right at the roundabout, turn left at the next 4 way stop.” It has also been tricky because it’s Easter weekend, and Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays, so absolutely nothing is open and people don’t want to meet or are busy with Easter celebrations.

I’ve also been spending time walking around Windhoek when the weather permits. These walks of course include time shopping at the different craft markets, and stops for gelato or pastries at my favorite bakery. Who knows when I’ll be back in Windhoek, so I need to eat all the pastries I can, right? We’ve also had lots of movie parties in the CGE house. We watched Pride and Prejudice last week, and I think someone has watched it every single day since then. I feel some people are getting a little obsessed…

One night we went out to dinner at a restaurant in Post Street Mall. Four of us split a large pizza, devoured it, and ordered a second one. It was delicious! I have missed pizza here. Last night we went out for dinner at a Cameroonian restaurant to celebrate Siobhan’s birthday. Tamara and I split a vegetarian peanut dish, and it was a great change from the CGE food. After dinner we all headed to Zanzibar for some dancing in celebration. Six of us walked there, and it was good to be able to walk through Windhoek at night, and to know the city well enough that we didn’t get lost. It was an entertaining night, but I have definitely never started an Easter Sunday that way before.

This morning some of us went to church at the Inner City Lutheran Congregation. It was an interesting experience for me. Some of the liturgies were very similar to ones I grew up with, and some of the hymns were similar to Easter ones I’m used to, but it was not the same as being at home for Easter. I miss eating brunch with my family at church, and the great music that my church always has at Easter. I miss celebrating Easter at home. It was a beautiful day today, but it was a lazy day for the most part.

This week is my final week in Namibia. We have integrative project presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and on Thursday we are cleaning the house and having a going away party. The rest of the week is pretty open. I’m trying to have a couple more interviews for my fellowship, and will hopefully have time to go on a few more long walks around Windhoek. It’s bittersweet, to think of leaving on Saturday. I’m excited for Cape Town, and to go home and see my family and have my exciting summer start. But at the same time, I have changed so much here, and have made so many new friends. I’m going to miss everyone, and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this beautiful country, especially when I don’t know if I’m ever going to be back.

Some random pictures from around Windhoek:

in honor of Earth Day

my favorite bakery!

crafts at an outdoor market

Climate Change in Namibia?

The weather has definitely been changing over the last few weeks. We are in the middle of fall now, and it has become very obvious with the weather. With fall, sunset is early. We had a beautiful Easter Sunday today, but it was tempered a bit by the fact that it was completely dark by 6:00. The rainy season was supposed to be over at least a month ago. But try telling that to Mother Nature! For the last two weeks or so, we’ve had frequent cold rain/hail/thunderstorms. I can deal with the slightly cooler weather, but not with cold weather and rainstorms. During the rainy season it rained every day for an hour or so during the afternoon or at night. But now, it will rain most of the day, and a lot harder than it has been. I feel like I’m back in Washington! We’ve gotten so much rain that Windhoek doesn’t seem to be able to manage it. The bedroom on the first floor is flooding because there has been such an increase in groundwater, that it is seeping through the floor and into the house. Houses in Windhoek are not built to withstand this much rain. Is this the future of Namibia with climate change?

Who has climbed a mountain before 7 am?

Over the weekend, we had our last travel seminar in Namibia. We traveled to southern Namibia on Thursday afternoon for a weekend full of camping and learning about community based land management. All of our camping sites were beautiful, and it was exciting because the last time I went camping was in high school, and it was fun to sleep in tents and braai outside. On the downside, there were a lot of weird bugs everywhere. There were these little flying green bugs that swarmed the tent in Berseba, and we ended up bringing some of them back in Windhoek because we couldn’t get rid of them. We also saw some little scorpions, and several African armored crickets, which are huge!

African armored cricket

Brukkaros Mountain

this is all you can see for miles and miles

oh camping...

Our second campsite was just outside of Berseba, next to Brukkaros Mountain. On Saturday morning we did not have any activities until 10 am, which meant we had time to climb the mountain in the morning! We left a little before 6 so we would have time to get to the top and still make it back in time for breakfast. Although I’m not a big fan of waking up at 5:30 in the morning, it was nice to be hiking in the dawn, watching the sun rise over the ridge. The first part of the hike was pretty easy. It was uphill, but there was a “road” up to a different campsite, and then a fairly well defined path. At one point there was a small troop of baboons sitting on the rocks above the trail, barking at us and slowly advancing. Amanda barked back at one point, and then realized her mistake as they started moving closer. She was prepared though, and had a rock ready to throw at them. After that point we made sure to hike in groups.

About 40 minutes into the hike, the trail ended and the mountain just rose straight up. But did we let that stop us? Of course not! We started scrambling up the rocks. Some were big, some were small, some were really loose and we started a few small rockslides. There were times we had no idea how we were going to make it to the top, and it was exhausting. The group I was hiking with made sure to take water breaks, and stop every so often to catch our breath and take pictures. After almost 30 minutes of climbing up this mountainside, we made it to the top!

this is how steep the mountainside was!

It was so incredibly windy at the top, but the views were so worth the effort it took to get there. You could see out across the Kalahari for miles and miles, with only one small town in the way. It was also crazy to realize that we were on top of a mountain, and it was only 7 am. It made me feel like I actually accomplished something.

view from the top

Going down was a little more difficult, as I was worried about slipping and falling all the way down the mountainside. But we all made it back safely, although a few people sacrificed their water bottles to Brukkaros. The next day I was extremely sore from climbing up the rocks, but it was a fun activity!

simple pleasures

I am learning to appreciate all the little things here. Today I went on a long walk by myself after another long, dull day at my internship. There are so many things to love here! Warm air kissing my face. Pink sunsets over the mountains. Solitary joy during my walks. Knowing that when my internship is over next week, I don’t have to work in an office again if I don’t want to. Walking to Tom Thumb to buy delicious chocolate bars a few times a week. Friendships. Laughing. Beautiful birds flying away. Knowing that I can go home soon to family and friends and beach and mountains, but take home good memories and knowledge and a new perspective on the world.

Windhoek is a beautiful city, nestled in green mountains. I love my walks through Windhoek. It’s still warm when I go walking at night, and I usually see beautiful sunsets. I love wandering the streets and neighborhoods, discovering new gems. I have come to terms with the fact that my favorite thing to do here is go on leisurely strolls throughout the city, taking everything in, rather than going out at night. I struggled with this at the beginning of the semester, because I felt isolated from the social activities of most of the students here. But now I just enjoy my walks, and I know I’ve seen more of Windhoek than many of my peers here.

I’ve found a bakery/gelateria in downtown Windhoek, and every time I go into Windhoek I stop and buy gelato, a donut, or a pastry (or sometimes more than one). But who knows when I’m going to be back in Windhoek, so I might as well enjoy all the gelato and German pastries I can, right?

I know that this post doesn’t take into account any of the social issues that Namibia has to deal with on a daily basis and that I have been confronted with during my time here. But I think sometimes it’s good to focus on the little things that make me happy, and try to carry these into the rest of my life.