Hey guys! Day two:
Woke up late. I set my alarm for 9am on my iPod but I checked it at 10:15 and we had to leave for 11….quickest shower I ever took. I didn’t even get to blow dry my hair! (my hairdryer is soooo weak here. Nothing like the champ it is back home.) Didn’t have breakfast, Morgan gave me granola bars. Don’t worry, I’m fine :)
Today was windy and in the 50’s. Everyone (from South Africa) we talked to today was saying how freezing it was. So that parts a little funny.
We went to a township today, called Langa, and had a walking tour with two locals that live/had lived there. Townships are kind of just like smaller towns back home but I think it’s a lot more people in a smaller amount of space. But I also don’t know how much land 457 hectacres(?) are and they can only estimate their population (~56,000 people). So this township ranges from the poorest people…living in backyards, shacks…to “hostels”…houses given by the government but housing 3 families in one room (14 people)…to smaller (better looking) houses with running water, 2 bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen all for one family. It was really astounding and our guide kept emphasizing the sense of community. The unemployment rate is currently 40% (25% if you include the employed entrepreneurs that don’t charge tax for their services). And in Langa, we saw a ton of entrepreneurs…selling homemade goods, barber shops, ladies making sheep’s head and liver. But I think the best part of the day, even though it’s the most heartbreaking, was being able to see the kids in the township. As soon as our coach pulled up, there were a ton of kids running towards us and holding our hands and posing for pictures. It reminded me sooooo much of Honduras. And I can’t help but compare it and see the similarities. Running around with no shoes, or shoes that don’t even qualify as shoes in the US, and dressed in any clothes that will keep them warm. But it was so awesome because these kids were just so friendly, and cute, and they just wanted to be played with or held. I feel like my trip to Honduras really prepared me (in a sense) for what we saw at the township because a lot of my classmates are just astounded and I notice that everything they point out that really touched them is something I already experienced during spring break. I am so glad we visited the township on our first day here though…what we saw was truly indescribable and a really good way to start off the trip. Only pictures can give you some depiction of it. All I can say is that going to Langa was incredible and I encourage everyone to make a trip down here to see it. I’m not kidding ;)
We also went to a church after the township and had lunch made by Mama Knox. I really wish I wasn’t a picky eater or had different taste buds or something. They made such great food but I only liked some of it and I just felt SOOO bad giving back what I didn’t eat. :\ But custard is a big thing here for dessert and I’m really digging that. Might be dangerous.
After we got back from lunch, we got to go down to the Waterfront, which is a bunch of shops (like a mall) and basically the biggest tourist-y thing to do in Cape Town. There’s a crafty-artwork-homemade goods section which was AWESOME. The artwork and crafts there were soooo incredible. Definitely going to go back and buy a few more things for the fam :) I also purchased the cheapest pay-as-you-go phone from the Vodacom store inside the mall. (WOOO! I get to call my family and tell them I’m alive!) Then we went to a restaurant with our “small” group…11 PT kids plus Dr. Fitzpatrick (one of the professors with us during the trip). It was really nice and we even ordered wine ;) haha it was quite delicious wine too, not going to lie.
Today was definitely a good sign of how the rest of our trip is going to be: ummm, AMAZING! Tomorrow starts our medical side of the trip!
