Ubuntu

One of the most rewarding experiences I had in Cape Town was working for an organization known as Ubuntu Africa Child Healthcare. Started by a former study abroad student from Colorado College, Whitney Johnson, Ubuntu provides a comprehensive after school program to HIV positive kids in the second largest and fastest growing township in South Africa, Khayelitsha. Almost 200 children are enrolled in the program, which acts as an all around mentor for these children. The center operates out of rented room in a church, and it is a truly a testament to what a small group of very dedicated people can do. Every day the children receive dinner, and have activities ranging from health screenings and checkups to fun activities and confidence boosting.What is striking to me is how often I forget that all of these children are HIV positive. In another setting, or with another program, their HIV status might seem to be the entire focus. With Ubuntu, overall wellness, both physical and emotional is paramount. 

founder Whitney with some of the kids 

photo from our office wall 

In my role as an intern I was assigned the task of creating and implementing Ubuntu’s first Cape Town fundraiser. Ubuntu is a registered non-profit in the US as well, and until this past semester most fundraising efforts had been undertaken there. For my event, I planned a happy hour – or what Capetonians call “Sundowners” at a new club in downtown Cape Town.  Along with drink specials and a cool atmosphere, the event also featured a raffle with prizes donated from several prominent Cape Town restaurants. While the experience was definitely challenging – as even getting accurate contact details for places in Africa can be difficult, seeing the even come together and raise money for a worthwhile organization was incredibly worth it.

at the fundraiser 

with my boss Mallory at the fundraiser 

Shameless plug time- if you have some extra money or want a good gift that gives back this holiday season, please consider donating to Ubuntu. HIV is extremely prevalent amongst South Africans- especially children in disadvantaged areas like townships, and they need all of the support that they can receive. 

Please visit www.ubafrica.org for more information about Ubuntu and the work that they do! 

Eating my way across Africa

Currently sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport, it seemed like a good time to finish up some blog posts about my final weeks in South Africa. To start off, I thought I’d quickly recap my 21^st birthday, and then go into one of my favourite things in Cape Town- restaurants.

Unfortunately, my 21^st fell on a Tuesday, which meant that I had a full day of classes and my internship, but that didn’t stop me from having a great time. I met my friend Andrew for lunch at UCT, and nommed on some traditional Cape Malay curries. After school, I went straight to Ubuntu, and afterwards Josh and I decided to grab drinks before I headed out for the evening. My housemates and I went to a wonderful Tapas restaurant on Long Street called Fork for my birthday. There, we split the table into smaller groups to order plenty of different tapas. Some stand outs included incredible goat cheese crostinis and toffee pudding. At the end of the meal, our waiter brought out some tea lights for me to blow out -definitely a wonderful meal. After wards, a few of us headed out to a club called Fiction, while it wasn’t exactly hopping (it being a Tuesday and all) I couldn’t complain about how my birthday turned out.

with my makeshift birthday candle! 

Besides Fork, which is a definite Cape Town recommendation, there are plenty of amazing places to dine around the Mother City. Another one of my favourites is the Bombay Bicycle Club. Completely eccentric, with crazy knick-knacks and a definite kitschy feel, the food is quite good (springbok shanks and mushroom risotto especially) and it is a lovely place to have a long dinner with a bottle of wine. For more of an African meal, I really like Addis in Cape, an Ethiopian restaurant downtown. Food is meant to be shared there, and is served both on and with very thin sourdough pancakes. The idea is to use these as utensils to eat all sorts of different “curries”. The lamb is especially delicious. One of the best things about Cape Town is the affordability of really great food. Another evening I went out to a wonderful wine bar, La Boheme, with a friend. They had a 3 course fixed price menu for R190 (<$25) that with paired with some shared wine made my total meal around $30. The affordability does not take away from the quality of the cuisine either, as I enjoyed crème brulee and smoked rabbit pasta that evening. Besides the high brow offerings, there are other great things to be had in Cape Town, like milkshakes from Mr. Pickwicks- they even have ones with alcohol- a deliciously dangerous combination. 

Despite all of these offerings, the place I ate at most in CT was Cocoa Wah Wah. Situated on the main road in Rondebosch, they have everything study abroad kids could want- coffee, free wifi, and super yummy food. It seemed a little fitting that I ate my last meal there. 

at Addis in Cape 

milkshake from Pickwicks 

Cocoa on my last morning 

Music and Theatre

Cape Town definitely has a really cool music scene, and some of my favourite things this semester have revolved around checking out different bands and hearing all of the different sounds Cape Town has to offer.

The weekend before my birthday in October, the 7-9^th was one of Cape Town’s many music festivals, Rocking the Daisies. Held at a giant wine estate, Kloof, about an hours drive outside of Cape Town, the festival had 4 stages and a variety of wonderful acts. Most of the people on my program went, and camped out for two nights. When it got ridiculously hot during the day, everyone hung out around a reservoir near the main stage. At night, the stars came out, and most people congregated in the electronic tent, which featured some of my favourite CT djs.  There is nothing quite like a music festival, and it was one of the best weekends I’ve had here in South Africa. The scenery was gorgeous, everyone was having a wicked great time, and the music was definitely interesting. My favourite main stage act was a native South African band called Civil Twilight. They moved to Nashville a few years ago, but still come home to perform occasionally. I would definitely recommend checking them out. 

the reservoir during the day 

main stage 

electronic tent at night 

can't hang- passed out on the way back 

More recently, one of my favourite clubs, Zula, held a fundraiser against Rhino poaching. I’ll spare everyone the horrific details, but essentially Rhinos are hunted in greater and greater numbers for their horns and are at great risk of disappearing in the wild. The evening had an amazing line up of super popular Cape Town music acts, including Jeremy Loops and the ever talented Blush N Bass. Jeremy has performed at UCT and at Rocking the Daisies as well, and essentially is a one man band, using a loop machine to layer sounds to create entire songs -definitely worth checking out. After his set, a few friends and I acted like completely embarrassing fan girls and had him and his supporting acts sign our EPs and pose for pictures... probably a little embarrassing at the time, but completely worth it. Blush N Bass, are a super hot female DJ duo from CT, the energy during their shows is always amazing, and it’s impossible to keep from dancing. 

with my housemates at Rock for Rhinos 

fangirl status with Jeremy Loops 

Blush N Bass 

Now not quite as music related, I also had the opportunity to go to Madame Zingara’s theatre of Dreams show while here in Cape Town. Essentially a dinner theatre/circus/burlesque evening, it was one of my favourite nights here. The food, which is done by the same parent company as the Bombay Bicycle Club- a favourite Cape Townian restaurant, was fantastic, but the show was what really blew me away. The evening takes place in an original glass walled circus tent, dating from the early 1990s. There were acrobats, contortionists, aerial artists and about every other performance you could have wanted. My favourite was this crazy aerial act that involved a bath tub and live music. Completely impossible to describe, but it was amazing. Besides the tent itself, there is a little village with fortune tellers, caravans and other circus-folk.  Most people attending were dressed in a mix of costumes or nice attire or a masquerade type sensibility. It felt simultaneously like stepping into another time, and something that could only be done now. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos during the show, but check out their website for an idea of what I saw that evening. www.madamezingara.com 

entrance to the tent 

giving out fortunes before the show 

 I am convinced that there is always a subtle buzz in Cape Town. No matter where you go, there is always some sort of street performance, music spilling out of a cafe, or just the sound of bird chirping – or the steel drums being played by students at the elementary school next to your house. While this does not make Cape Town unique, it will definitely be something I miss when I go home. The music here is a mix of different cultures, languages, and styles, much like Cape Town itself.

 

Out and About- Soccer, Hout Bay and Bo-Kaap

One of the best things about this program has been how it organizes trips for us to different cultural and historical places here in Cape Town. As part of the program I have had the opportunity to go to a rugby game, Robben Island, and wine tasting in Stellenbosch, all of which I chronicled in earlier posts.

Now onto some of our more recent activities; at the end of September we had the opportunity to go to a soccer game at Cape Town’s stadium that was specifically built for the FIFA World Cup in 2010. I knew that I couldn’t miss this opportunity. The two teams, the Cape Town Ajax, and Jo’Burg’s Kaiser Chiefs have a bit of a rivalry, and I knew the night would be fun.

The soccer game was unlike any sports match I’ve ever attended. Fans were dressed in ridiculous costumes, and were more than a little rowdy. Most of the time it was more exciting to watch the reactions and actions of the crowd than the game itself, although being in the world cup stadium was really cool. At the half, I went out to find a snack, and upon attempting to return to my seat I encountered a bunch of Kaiser Chief fans singing and cheering at the top of the stand section that my seat was in. Here’s a video to get a sense of the atmosphere. 

More than anything, the noise and the rowdiness were incredible. The stadium wasn’t nearly full and at some points the sound was almost deafening, I can’t imagine what it was like at the height of the world cup.

everyone's excited

 Another CAP that my house went on was to Hout Bay to tour Seal Island. Essentially we took a small boat out from Hout Bay harbour, and circled an island that is densely populated with seals, and often surrounded by great whites looking for a snack. The seals were adorable, but one thing people don’t normally tell you is that they smell absolutely terrible. It’s hard to fully describe, but it comes close to something rotting combined with old fish…not the most pleasant animals to be downwind of.  Besides the seals themselves, the ride was beautiful, and we got a really good view of parts of the mountains that are omnipresent in Cape Town. After the tour we ate fresh caught fish and chips and enjoyed the beautiful day.

seals! 

with Dom and Olivia 

such nommy fish and chips 

Hout Bay 

 The next weekend, my house went for a tour of Bo-Kaap, a Muslim neighborhood in downtown Cape Town. Bo-kaap is really popular because of its brightly coloured houses, and rich cultural heritage. Our guide was a Muslim woman who lives in Bo-kaap, and she took us around the area, explained its history and took us to several sites. As part of our tour we saw the slave lodge, which is extremely important to Bo-kaap and Cape Town’s heritage in general, as the “Cape Coloured” community is the descendents of slaves brought over from parts of India and South East Asia when the colony was founded by the Dutch. We learned the difference between curries from the Cape vs. Indian curries (sugar) and even stopped in a spice shop to sample different seasonings. After our tour, which also included the oldest Mosque in South Africa (founded when Dutch reform was still the only religion allowed to be practiced) we ate lunch at one of the homes of another woman from the Bo-kaap community. As part of the cultural heritage of Bo-kaap, Cape curries and other foods similar to Indian cuisine are quite favored.  Our lunch was delicious, and extremely welcome at the end of a long day.

spices at Atlas Spice Company 

inside the Mosque 

street in Bo-Kaap 

on the street in Bo-Kaap 

 

The Spring Break Chronicles Part III- Zimbabwe

Spring Break Chronicles- Part 3, Zimbabwe

Now I realize that it’s a little ridiculous to be chronicling my spring break trip almost two months late, but again, I’ve been a little busy. 

After travelling the entire length of Botswana, we crossed the border again, and headed into Zimbabwe. Here we reached the greatest luxury imaginable- actual rooms with beds and showers! I have to be honest though, I really missed camping after almost an entire week in the wilderness. There is something so peaceful and contemplative about camping, and this trip definitely incited my interest in it.

Our first afternoon, we checked into the “adventure lodge” signed up for activities- I chose white water rafting and an elephant safari, and headed to the falls. To be honest I had no idea what to expect with Victoria Falls. I have seen Niagara before, and while they were certainly pretty, they were not as overwhelming and awe inspiring as I had hoped. This was not the case with Victoria Falls. The falls were outrageously beautiful, it was the type of scene that makes you believe that there’s some grand design to the universe, and reminds you of how small you are. The sound alone was crazy, this deep crushing roar that came from all sides. Moving to the very edge of the falls was both terrifying and exhilarating, watching tons of water cascading down, and catching a glimpse of the first rapid we would traverse while rafting the next day.  

permanent rainbow over the falls 

on the edge 

Friday we woke up extremely early for white water rafting. We headed out in a safari vehicle, got kitted out and hiked down to the Zambezi. Our guide, Stuart, explained that we would be going through 19 named/numbered rapids and several other smaller ones. We were in the river during “dry” season, so there was less water. At this point, parts of the Zambezi are class 6 rapids- which are not allowed for commercial groups, while others are 1-5. During the wet season however, the river is too high for commercial groups to go down, so the operation shuts down for a few months each year.

White water rafting is unlike anything I have ever experienced. While rowing, your adrenaline pumps extremely hard and you don’t feel tired at all. There were several times when our guide Stuart yelled “GET DOWN” which meant that all of us had to crouch and hold on as tightly as possible, as we were facing what felt like certain death in the river. While this was not the case, our raft did flip once, and it was simultaneously the most fun and the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. I got trapped under the boat for a few seconds, and had to push myself out from underneath. Everyone that was close enough made a scramble for the raft and just held on as tightly as possible as we escaped the rapid.  Yanking myself back into the raft was  no small task either. At another point, the water was calm enough that we were all allowed to jump out of the raft and head down a rapid with just our life vests and helmets. Again, it was simultaneously entertaining and horrifying. Somehow I didn’t end up heading the right way in the rapid at first, and got pulled under a few times. Later, because I didn’t have as much momentum or travel as far, I had to swim a little ways to make it back into the raft. Thanks Mom and Dad for having me swim all summer as a child, I’m not sure I would have made it home otherwise! I have never felt more exhausted that I did after collapsing back into the raft, but we weren’t done for the day yet.  The thing about rafting is that as long as you continue to row and hit rapids your adrenaline pumps hard enough to keep you going, after wards however, as soon as you come to a break or a stop you are swept with an encompassing exhaustion. At the very end of the day, we had to hike back up the falls from the Zambezi while carrying our paddles and other gear. At that point, I didn’t think I was going to make it, as my asthma kicked up a little, but thankfully I finally reached the top and got to eat one of the most well deserved meals of my life. 

I'm in the back, holding on for dear life 

Later that evening, after a shower and nap, we headed out on the Zambezi again for a two hour sunset game viewing booze cruise. At only $35, it was some of the best money I spent over break. Everyone just had a really nice time chatting and hanging out, and the sunset, as always, was beautiful. I really grew to enjoy the people on the trip, and some of them have since become some of my best friends here in Cape Town.

after the cruise 

 Saturday was more of a lazy day. I enjoyed heading down to the market and haggling over goods. Vendors will call you sister, and entice you with good deals, then, for things like hair ties, socks and a little bit of cash you can walk away with great carved items and other goodies. This part of Zimbabwe really feels African, dusty, a mix of traditional and modern housing, noise, animals in the streets; essentially a great atmosphere. That evening we had our final trip dinner at a place called the Boma, which means “place of eating”. While it was obviously geared towards tourists, with cloth being given to each of us, and facepainting before entering, the spread was really interesting. Essentially any type of game was available, and I certainly sampled it all. I tried guinea fowl, antelope, warthog, bream, ostrich, alligator and others, including a Mopani worm, a delicacy in some tribes.  While it was a little disconcerting, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever tried. There was also a chance to try some drumming at dinner, and our leader, Ruth, was really into it.

 

downtown Vic Falls 

at the Boma with Andrew and Ruth 

Sunday was the final day of our trip. I woke up early and packed up all of my things, then headed out for my elephant safari before the flight. I rode my elephant, Mocoko, through the Victoria Falls game preserve for about an hour, and saw some buffalo and other animals. It was a very smooth ride, and the elephants will occasionally stop to nibble on trees and other goodies. After returning to the starting point, we had the chance to sit with our elephants and feed them for their good work. The elephants trunks feel like giant vacuum hoses and their hair is quite prickly but the elephants themselves are super affectionate and adorable.  

it feels so strange! 

Flying out of the Zambian airport was ridiculous. The airport itself resembled a warehouse and a stray cat was wandering around, completely undisturbed by airport officials. There were multiple security checkpoints and it took everyone on our trip over one and a half hours to get through them, it definitely felt like a “THIS IS AFRICA” moment.  The funniest was my friend Luke being allowed to carry a ceremonial spear on board, it made me feel both safer and unsafe, an interesting mix.

interior of Zambian airport

 Overall, I would have to say that this trip was the best week of my life. I saw so many interesting and awe inspiring things, and I feel like I saw more of what South Africa was really like, even the days on the bus were worthwhile, if I had flown I would have missed a lot of things that I saw along the road.

My highlights from the week:

-1^st ride in a Mokoro

-whitewater rafting

-sunset game cruise

-elephant safari

-cruising through the delta, seeing hippos and watching the sunset

-lions!

-animals on the side of the road in Botswana, oh hayyy baby elephants!!

As always, thanks for reading.

Xoxo

Sara