Cape Town, and visiting the townships

Well, it was probaly the most eventful day ever, and there is more to tell than I probably have time for (or you want to read.)

When we work up, I picked Marty up in his separate room, and we ventured off. We took local taxis, which are caravans that the local people use to travel around town. The fare is very cheap, and the system very efficient, for collecting money and going where you need to go. From what I could tell, most white South Africans don't use this way to travel because it is crowded, moderately smelly, and kind of risky if you don't know what you're doing. (Sounds kind of like New York to me.) Honestly, I would never ride in a local taxi on my own, but it was an amazingexperience and I'm so glad that I had this first look into real South African life.

We ended up in Camps Bay, which is on the other side of Table Mountain from where we are staying in Rondebosch. It was a beautiful morning, and people were holding a competition to see who could withstand the freezing Atlantic water for the longest amount of time. Marts pointed out that great whites lurk in the water, and that white penguins live on the rocks nearby, and I was very excited to be there! We had coffee and headed back on our way. (I'm so frustrated that my videos aren't loading onto the me.com site, but stay tuned because I have so much to show you.)

I was so amazed at how outgoing the people are in South Africa. Everybody, no matter their race or financial situation, was friendly, helpful, and outgoing. One woman led us from one taxi to another, through an old train station, and made sure we were on the right route. Nobody in the states would ever show that kind of care for a stranger!

I met the group at 1 pm, and we took a van to pick up Hope, a guide and teacher at the Dance For All school, who took us into the townships and let us into the lives of the children who we will be teaching. Hope showed us her home, in a tiny shack that fit only a bed and a TV, and introduced us to her family. The entire group was thrilled to be in the township, and everyone was very nice. I got the sense that the people were very proud of their home. I know that there is no way to know for sure, but I imagine that they would probably feel wary of intruders, so I wouldn't be surprised if they put up a front to us and our cameras. It was hard to know if everybody was truly happy that we were there, or if they wanted us to leave as soon as possible.

We saw each of the townships where we would be teaching: Khayelitsha, Nyanga, and Athlone. We went to an observatory in Khayelitsha that allowed us to see the sprawl of shacks in all directions, as far as the eye can see. It was amazing to see these things, especially as a way of bonding with all of the other teachers in the program.

I got a lot of amazing video today, which I was hoping to share with you, but I'll need to organize another plan for posting. For now I'll try to post a few photos of the trip so far.