School, Vineyards, and Church

It might be impossible to capture the sights, sounds, and tastes of the last few days but I will attempt to do so. Now.


As you gathered from the video update, our orientation week has been just shy of insane.


Day 1 (Friday 8.28):
We woke up to our glorious view of Table Mountain and Vernon gave us a run-down of all the zany things we would be up to for the next two weeks. It was pretty chilly, but we were soon deceived by this California-like weather – by the afternoon we were sweating up storms. As we were awaiting our transport, I decided to take a look around the blooms of our front yard (if you can call it that) and take photos. Boredom? Nay. Fascination? Absolutely. It should be even more beautiful when spring rolls around.

We then hopped aboard the van and set off for Rondebosch, which is where the University of Cape Town is located. The entire campus is on a hillside, making for a really incredible view and photogenic scenery, but I did not snap any shots of it just yet. We proceeded directly to the School of Law (where our classes will be taught) and were given yet another security briefing by the CPS (campus protection service). They said that if you say “security” or “police” to refer to them, NO ONE will know what you’re talking about. So we all tattooed CPS to our brains. On the bright side, the law school was real pretty:

After seeing UCT and being gazed at by students who all look like they are starring in an Indie film (think dark, bohemian clothing, everywhere), we set off for lunch at Charly’s. All Vernon said about it was “I want to know your comments about it” and “know what you want to order, then run to the counter.” We arrive at this bakery that looks like it’s edible – bright pink paint frosted with white and bubblegum lettering. An inscription on top of the main door says (only for mature audiences) “MUCKING AFAZING.” I had a veggie quiche slice and a very decadent chocolate cake for dessert. Ah, the first of many glorious meals paid for by UNC (aka my tuition, whateverI’moverit). Don’t have any photos of this either, but maybe one day you can come back with me to Cape Town and we’ll have some Charly’s.


Speaking of coming back to Cape Town, at Charly’s we met an alumnus of the program who now lives and works in the city organizing study abroad groups from UConn. He was picking up a cake at the bakery. How awesome is that?! He seemed really cool, and is coming this week to talk to us about his experience. Very excited.


When we were all way too stuffed from lunch to think, we returned to Tamboerskloof (our neighborhood) to make some purchases. For me this consisted of buying 8934 pounds of groceries which should at least last me the next week or two. We bought mostly everything at Woolworth’s, which is a nice grocery store in town that has a good selection of organic/natural products. I even got a reusable orange shopping bag for R7.8 (about a dollar!). Great success. We also just walked around Long Street and got to know the area a bit more (it made me love city life).


The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, until Vernon informed us that instead of dining at Da Gama’s that evening, we would go to Addis on the Cape (I believe that was the name) for Ethiopian cuisine. It was right in downtown Cape Town. At the restaurant, we sat on wicker chairs around these table-like stands that had woven conical covers on top (a picture really would have helped, but Dianita was not thinking at this point). The waiters removed the covers and revealed the plastic table surface with a really interesting design. Basically, they used these holders to put our dinner plates on them, which were actually giant bowls we all shared out of. Dr. Lee (the UNC professor for the trip), said that since she liked it, it must not have been real Ethiopian food (in Ethiopia the food was much “stronger”).


They had us wash our hands with water poured over them and into a bowl, then eat with a spongy white bread that reminded me of very soft pita. It came in rolls, and we were instructed to tear off a piece and use it to grab the different foods on the main bowl. We ordered one of their group specials, so each table got eight different dishes made from chick peas, lentils, lamb, prawns, chicken, beef, tomato, and other ingredients. Needless to say, we were lethargic after all the free food, and almost had to be carted out of the place. Good times on the cape.




Day 2 (Saturday 8.29):
Warning: these details might be fuzzier than the rest because we awoke still fairly tired from the night before. We decided to explore the nightlife on long street, but really only got as far as Rafiki’s. Some friends and I chatted with a South African couple (the woman was a Cape Townian working with autistic children and the man an actor from Jo’burg now studied economics or something) and a Berliner who also spoke Spanish (si, pude practicar un poco – I thought Honduras would be the end of my Latina streak). Even though we did not stay out very late, we were still groggy in the morn.






Anyway, this day we were to go on vineyard tours, which make up a huge part of Cape tourism. We began with a family-owned farm called Altydgedacht in Durbanville, South Africa. Dare you to try to pronounce the name. Our van rolled up to this estate that was reminiscent of a plantation in the South (of the USA, that is), and we were greeted by the owner and his horse-size ridgeback dog (the breed has this line of hair down the back that goes against the grain, making for a Mohawk-like ridge). The winery is surrounded by hills with rows and rows of grapes, as well as a small nature preserve that they are trying to develop.


We arrived freezing to death because we were under the impression that when it is cold in the mornings it gets warm by noon (see Day 1). How terribly wrong we were. Shivering the entire time, the owner gave us a history of the farm, beginning with a cute story about how the Portuguese settlers were the first on the cape, which was not developed until the Dutch East India Company turned it into a stopping point on the way to the East Indies. He neglected to mention the millions of displaced natives, but maybe the wine has blocked out the memory over the years. Moral of his story: the vineyard has been passed down for centuries and the women on the farm have an important role (they kept emphasizing this for some reason). His lil’ speech was followed by a tour of the farm, conducted on an old army truck (a Jeep-looking khaki thing) by the owner’s brother. It was really bumpy and we definitely didn’t fit (especially with the horse dogs squeezed between us), but I enjoyed hanging off the front and getting a look at all the vines (and by looking at the vines I mean conversing with Professor Lee and the owner’s brother).


If my parents were not reading this, I would say that afterward we had a delicious wine tasting, beginning with a Sauvignon Blanc (which DEFINITELY sounded like “Seven-Year Blanc” in an Afrikaaner accent) and including a Pinotage. The bottle to my left describes it as a “full-bodied dry red wine. Plum and raspberry flavours combine with gentle oak overtones, to create a complex wine with soft tannins and a lingering aftertaste. Cellaring potential: 8-10 years.” It’s a wine native to South Africa, because it is a mix of two varieties whose names escape me right now. All of this may or may not have happened.


Following Altydgedacht (it’s taxing to type that, I promise), we took our maybe wino selves over to Spier Estate. Vernon included these on the tour to serve as contrasts. The following description of Spier will likely not do it justice. First: picture Disney World. Second: remind yourself that THIS IS AFRICA. It was completely different from the humble family-owned estate. I was told that there is a resort and other amenities at Spier which I could not even see from the parking lot. Upon entering, we were greeted with a huge lake flanked by picnic tables and children riding ponies (not making this up) and a gorgeous restaurant/store called Moyo. Moyo is… ridiculous. There is a gift shop with goods from all over the continent, and the food boasts the same kind of variety. You can sit in tree houses overlooking the estate or in these tented lounge areas or in the main dining area, which has a stage on which African singing and dancing is performed. A gentle woman goes about painting everyone’s faces with a simple white design. It was outrageous. The food was amazing, but I did not try the wine. Vernon insisted that I have try this cakey pudding dessert with custard on top that is very South African, and by that point I wanted to explode. Everything felt unreal. Again, I failed to take many pictures of the heavenly place, but I bet we’ll return. Definitely an unexpected place for lunch.

While trying to walk off the 80 pounds of food rolling around our bellies, we headed over to the cheetah reserve compound to check out the rehabilitation efforts of Spier.

One thing led to another, and since I was not thinking very clearly after all the food, I thought it would be brilliant to pay the US$12 fee to touch a cheetah. Yes, I touched a cheetah. I went with two other ladies from the group. We were told to use firm strokes and keep our fingers together. Apparently one of us tickled Hemmingway (our cheetah’s name) because he reared his head around and growled menacingly. Luckily, we had all perfected the stance the trainers told us to use, because we sprang up instantly. Yeah, we were pro’s. We kept petting him for a bit longer and did a little photoshoot. Towards the end we felt kind of guilty for bothering Hemmingway, since he seemed tired of all these humans stroking his left side.

While waiting for the entire group to meet up by the parking lot of Spier, we had some good times with Dr. Lee. Some good jokes may or may not have been told. Basically, we ended the day as BFFs (best friends forever). See photo for proof:

That evening we returned to Tamboerskloof and dined at the café down Brownload road (same one our guesthouse is on). For reference, below is a photo of our guesthouse during the day, taken yesterday (thanks to Caroline for modeling).

I had a salmon, cream cheese, tomato, and lettuce sandwich with home-brewed ginger beer. It was delicious. We also became friends with the woman who took our order at the counter, and the over-eager bus boy who explained everything to us (including how long the pizza takes to make and how if we ordered more it would take longer… apparently American intelligence is grossly misjudged). Overall, it was great. Must post photos of it soon.




Day 3 (Sunday 8.30):
We awoke on the day of rest thuper pumped. Why, you ask? Because today we were to visit a township for the first time. The orientation packet read “Depart for Guguletu for Township Faith Experience,” but even that and Vernon’s brief description did nothing to prepare us. We drove for quite some time outside of the city, and knew when we had crossed into Guguletu. It was tightly packed and there were people everywhere. We drove up to a small building with a queue of people outside waiting to go in, and immediately panicked about not being able to all fit in the church. No worries, though. Apparently we had arrived just in time, since we just took our seats with the rest of the crowd. Upon entering mid-song, we were greeted with the vocal power and spirituality of the Sivuyile National Baptist Church. The service was entirely in Xhosa, peppered with English and the occasional reference to us by the pastors. They were welcoming and very kind to us. A little boy blew a kiss at me, and it pretty much made my day. Most of the congregation was older women, making for beautiful singing. Two women donned cushion-like hand instruments for percussion, while another held a metal instrument that was similar to a cowbell. Whenever one of the percussionists would bring their hands together, it shook my soul. Yes, it was that deep.


They gave us lunch after the service, which was SO nice – and delicious. We had grilled chicken, this spinach dish that tasted like mashed potatoes (friggen amazing), sweet carrots, and yellow rice.  Each of us went around and introduced ourselves to the elders of the church and they asked us to help with some of their HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns.  It seemed that they were surprised by how diverse our interests are.


Around the townships there was some really great graffiti art.  Por ejemplo:

While in Guguletu we also saw a commemorative sculpture with the names of seven ANC Youth members who were murdered by the police for their political resistance efforts (only 5/7 seen in photo):

Later we climbed up a lookout hill and Vernon told us more about the townships surrounding it (such as Khayelitsha, where one woman from our group will be interning).  There was also an area of cleared land which was preserved by the government for the Xhosa men to continue their right of passage ceremonies (which includes going for days without water and slowly being introduced back into society, as Parks, our driver, explained).

Finally, at the end of that day, Dr. Lee INSISTED that we try Nando's.  It's basically a fast-food place like Chipotle but instead with Portuguese-style grilled chicken that is flavored with their special "peri peri" chile sauce.  It was quite delicious.


Updates about the rest of the days up to today to come!  Thank you for making it this far.  Leave a comment/message and I'll send a postcard.