CAPE TOWN

After a long journey through Asia, we have finally reached Africa! (Ok, so Maurituis is technically considered part of Africa so I guess I should say we finally reached mainland Africa.) Regardless, waking up to Table Mountain right outside my window was very exciting and I couldn’t wait to get off the ship to start exploring my new home for 6 days: South Africa.

View from the ship. Beautiful Cape Town!

On my first day in Cape Town, I completed a field lab with the Gender and Society course. My job on the ship is to assist the faculty with planning and implementing their field labs but since I am not enrolled in any classes, I never get to see how the field labs actually work out in the field! So in order for me to see the lab implementation process, the professor approved my attendance and we spent the day visiting NGOs and other organizations that work with the LGBTQ community as well as those with HIV/AIDS in the greater Cape Town area. I took a course on gender at SIT so I found this field lab to be very informative and really enjoyed my day with the class. I learned a lot and it was a great way to start off my time in Cape Town.

Visits to Robben Island, the District 6 Museum and a township were on the docket for day 2 in Cape Town. I didn’t know very much about the apartheid era in South Africa and my second day in port was devoted to learning more about this time period. During apartheid in the 1970s, the Cape Town government forcibly removed about 60,000 black and “coloured” residents from an area known as District 6; the area was never redeveloped and a former church, now a museum, marks this area’s history. The District 6 Museum was very informative and I would recommend visiting to learn more about the area as well as apartheid.

When the residents of District 6 were forcibly removed, they were put into areas on the outskirts of Cape Town called townships; this is where I had lunch. I visited and had lunch in Langa township, which is the oldest township in Cape Town. Some townships are in better shape than others; for example, Langa township has actual houses whereas other townships have shanty houses made of sheet metal and tarp roofs. The townships are stricken with poverty and although apartheid has ended in Cape Town, the townships show that separation based on skin color is still prevalent.

District Six, Cape Town.

District 6 Museum.

Remnants of an old street in the District Six area, Cape Town.

After having lunch at the township, I headed off for Robben Island. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela, as well as many others who fought against apartheid, were imprisoned. I was able to view Nelson Mandela’s cell as well as tour the island. The island as well as the boat ride to and from boast great views of Table Mountain and Cape Town.

Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island.

So, what else did I do in Cape Town? Bicycled through the winelands, hung out with penguins at Boulder’s Beach and hiked Table Mountain. Read more about these adventures in the next few blog posts! More coming soon.

View of Table Mountain, Cape Town.