Border Crosser: Five Countries, Five Months, One Big Adventure: I'm In The Prettiest City On Earth!

Okay okay okay so I have been massively slacking on blog posts but I do not have wifi in my new homestay so... that's the way that the cookie crumbles. I'm actually enjoying the whole disconnected aspect of my new homestay and have been able to bond with my family quicker than expected since me and Natalie (my new IHP roommate) are not constantly typing away on our phones and laptops. All 32 of us arrived into Cape Town early last Saturday morning and had a brief safety talk, poured over our guidebooks like the tourists we are, and tried to fall asleep. Saturday I had the chance to meet up with my friend from home Griffin who is studying in Cape Town through UNC. We walked around this really cool garden called Oranjezicht City Farm, ate some really delicious food at this place called the Daily Deli (which is my now my favorite cafe in town), and just caught up on things. It was really refreshing to see a familiar face that reminded me of home and to nab a meal that cost like $2 since I unfortunately misplaced my 450 rand weekly food stipend. Saturday night a few of us went to an Ethiopian restaurant on Long Street and then to this bar called Bob's. As many of you know dancing is probably my least favorite activity but my two friends Emma and Sophie know how to break it down. Their moves attracted a dance circle of like 30 South Africans who proceeded to have a dance circle that I was eventually coerced into joining. I'm usually super nervous about dancing but the live and let live mentality of the South African's made me forget my inhibitions and just have fun. And I got to go to bed by 1 am which is always a great thing for me because I'm super lame.

Sunday we met our homestay families. For two weeks we are living in the Bo-Kaap, which is a muslim neighborhood famed for its super colorful homes, breathtaking views of Table Mountain, and proximity to the CBD of Cape Town. It is quintessentially a township because it was classified as a muslim neighborhood during apartheid but as far as townships go is nothing like the ones that still exist on the Cape Flats. My host family lives in a little apartment up on a slope of Signal Hill above the center of Bo-Kaap. My home consists of Auntie Zee (a 60ish year old woman), her husband Ismael (a construction worker), Mone (a parrot who doesn't shut up), Natalie (my IHP roommate), and 5 newborn kittens! Auntie Zee and Ismael remind me a lot of Judy and my father. Ismael works far too hard, is incredibly sweet, and loves nothing more than to sit at his window and watch over the neighborhood. Auntie Zee is one of the few homestay moms who still works and is incredibly proud of the fact that she has held the same job in the VW dealership for 27 years. Every morning she feeds the five stray cats who come to our door, talks nonstop to Mone, and provides a delicious breakfast for us before we go to class.

Much like my family in Brazil, my favorite part of my homestay has been the dinners. Living with a muslim family has been pretty interesting, and our dinner discussions have caused me to think critically about privilege and the role of the woman in modern day society. Auntie Zee is one of the sassiest, brashest, and independent women I have met yet stands by the claim that it is a woman's job to be submissive to her husband. She believes that in order to avoid fights a woman must always listen to and obey her husband, which is a sentiment that was echoed by her niece who is my age. While I disagree with her claim, I enjoyed biting my tongue for once and listening to her priorities. Although we are still getting to know our family, Ismael has opened up to Natalie and I a bit about what it was like being a muslim man during apartheid. He recognizes that many of the Blacks in SA had it worse than he did during the height of conflict in the 1980's, but still can't believe how dehumanizing it was being a person of color. It is incredibly hard to wrap my head around the concept of apartheid but these conversations are really helpful in understanding the strife, pain, and lasting scars that this type of forced segregation placed on South Africans. I can't help but feel a pang of guilt being a White individual when I hear stories.

On a much lighter note, I love Cape Town a helluva a lot more than Sao Paulo. Workload wise I feel as if homework is 1000 times more manageable and that the lectures, site visits, and readings that are assigned are more useful. We actually got to hike Lion's Head as a group for a few hours during class on Tuesday and had a class outside on Friday, which would have NEVER happened in Brazil. Every morning I get to walk by like 3 outdoor markets and wake up to the sight of Table Mountain. Add in the fact that almost everyone speaks English and I am one happy camper. Something I really missed while in Brazil was natural beauty and the oceans, mountains, and gardens of Cape Town more than make up for it. Speaking of, yesterday 20 other students and I did a bus tour of Cape Point which took us through False Bay (where lots of Shark Week is filmed!), Boulders Beach (where all the penguins are!), and the Cape of Good Hope (the most southwestern tip of Africa). It was so so beautiful and I loved nothing more than spending the day outside climbing on rocks and playing with lil' birdz. Today I am going to Mzoli's which is a butchershop in a township called Gugulethu. Apparently you go there, pick a cut of meat, have it BBQ'ed right in front of you, and dance and drink the day away. Wahoooo! Oh, and this post goes out to Barbara who has been hounding me about posting. Happy Birthday Barb!