Robben Island

I (finally) made a trip out to Robben Island last weekend, the island that served as home to a few prisons, most famously the one that held Nelson Mandela and numerous other key political figures during the apartheid.

We took a 45-ish minute ferry out there from the Waterfront. Not only is the island perfect for a prison because it is so far from Cape Town, but it is a natural prison between of the cold temperature and strong current of the surrounding water.

It may be a prison, but it sure is pretty

The first part of the tour was a bus tour around the island. It holds, not just one, but four prisons. It started out as the prison to send murderers, rapists, etc., but political prisoners began to be sent there in the 60s and 70s. Here’s the problem though: the criminals and political prisoners were jailed in the same prison originally. Those criminals in for less severe crimes would be released…after having been politicized by the anti-apartheid politicians and activists. Eventually the apartheid government brightened up and created a separate, high-security prison for the political prisoners.

Robben Island Primary School. I think there are about 25 students. Yikes!

Prison that held the first president of PAC, Robert Sobukwe

Next, we went on the tour of the main prison. Coolest part: all the tour guides in the prison are former prisoners. My guide was arrested when he was 17 for taking part in the Soweto Uprisings. Needless to say, he was super interesting.

Our guide, with the two mats prisoners were given to sleep on

So we got a tour of the prison. There were different sections, A-G, with intensity decreasing through the alphabet. I saw Mandela’s cell, where he was jailed for most of his 27-year imprisonment. It was really interesting to see how these men functioned in this prison and managed to continue to educate themselves. Also interesting, yet unsurprising, is that depending on the prisoner’s racial category, he would receive different meals. Those labeled Indian and coloured got more/better food than blacks (comparatively).

Nelson Mandela's cell

So yes, I had a pretty decent Saturday.

Cheers!

(Dis)Functional English

It should come to no one’s surprise that I’ve been volunteering while living here. South Africa’s got all sorts of issues, and I loves me some service, so it was a natural occurrence. My study abroad program offers about five different organizations to volunteer with, and their volunteer program was part of my draw here. Turns out I’m not actually doing one of them. They are all great programs, but I decided that volunteering could be a chance for me to not only reach out to the greater Cape Town community, but another avenue for me to reach UCT students.

I decided to go for the smaller of two tutoring organizations on campus. I was trained, I was registered, and I was ready to go tutor Function English to eighth graders at a township high school at the beginning of the semester.

My first session, back in February, was sheer chaos more than anything else, and I can’t say that much has changed since. In African terms, the student-run organization I go through is organized. In my terms, it can be questionable. Communication and promptness can definitely lack, but in the big (African) picture, they’re pretty on their game. But the real chaos comes from the high school I tutor at.

I head out to the Cape Flats every Wednesday afternoon. There are five Functional English tutors, and we head out with another group of Science and Maths (not Math, but Maths) tutors going to another school. We get there and hang around until the 3:15 bell rings. Let chaos erupt. High schoolers in blue uniforms are in their prime, being typical fourteen year olds.

The five of us wind our way back to our classrooms, hang out for a few minutes while the kids clean up, then file in to organize ourselves. The number of learners that show up each week varies, but does seem to be on the steady decline. We split ourselves into small groups, where I’ve had anywhere from two to six learners, and work on our provided worksheets for the next 45 minutes.

The first day we got there we were told that we were getting the worst of the worst. Each of the five eighth grade class had about 55 students (yes, per classroom, per teacher), and the school had identified the 5-10 learners per class that were struggling most with English. These were the kids we would work with each week, and we would maintain the same group and hopefully see them improve.

Even though I try, I can’t say I’ve kept the same group. It just depends who shows up. I can’t say we have many conversations with these learners, who are either too timid to speak English in front of us or just don’t know how. I like to think I see small improvements. Are they speaking more around me? Do they comprehend more of the worksheets? Are they reading better? But I can’t really answer the questions.

So I do have some serious questions about how much help I actually am for these kids. And yes, I do have some serious qualms about being a middle-class, white American prancing into their classroom once a week to try and teach them the language that one student described as “white man’s language.” I just hope that in some way I have helped their English improve, because they need it to be any sort of successful in South Africa. I also know that this has been quite the learning experience for me, taking me out of my comfort zone into a place I have never experience before.

So I’m not walking out of this high school being Super Girl who saved the day, taught them English, or paved their way into a world of success. However, I have experienced the reality (as much as I can) of the life in a black township, and the struggle of South Africa’s education system. I hope, for the sake of these rambunctious kids, that they are one day, successful, in whosever terms those may be.

And hey, at least I achieved part of my goal with volunteering…made some South African friends. Now, do you think they’d want to do a Chipotle Fellowship?

Reason #438 why studying in Cape Town is different than DC

The entirety of UCT was out of toilet paper today. Can I just remind you that it's a campus of 25,000 students? TIA.

Part 2: Vonderful Vic Falls

Note: If you’re not a diligent reader of my blog and/or lack common sense, scroll down and read Part 1:Beautiful Botswana before continuing with Part 2.

Another note: Thanks for reading these really long posts!

My last few minutes in Botswana were spent under a tree, waiting for a ferry to take us over the Zambezi to Zambia. Nothing especially worth blogging about, but there are a few interesting things I saw. I did see the only place in the world where four countries meet. The point where Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe meet is somewhere in the middle of the Zambezi…so there’s not a marked point, but I saw the general vicinity. Wahoo! Also, the road leading up to the ferry is completely lined with truck after truck after truck. These trucks wait for a few weeks up to a month to cross the Zambezi, as each ferry can only carry one truck over at a time. Companies and drivers choose to do this instead of driving through Zimbabwe because of the large taxes and road fees they would have to pay in Zim.

So after our wait, we put-putted ten minutes across the Zambezi to arrive in Zambia, and we even had the pleasure of hanging out at the border post for about an hour, which is apparently a short wait. Then we were off to our campsite in Livingstone, where Steph and I pitched Buffalo 2 for the last time. We even made a friend outside our tent a day later…miss ya, Baby Rat!

Tent pitching pros

 

Then the afternoon meant time to head to Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I give my approval of Vic Falls being on that list because it is unbelievable. I was by no means prepared for what I was going to see, because it was so awesome

Fun Fact: locals call Vic Falls Mosi Oa Tunya, which means “The Smoke that Thunders”

Firstly, I was soaked almost instantly. The amount of mist coming off the falls was wild. For most of the time, it was even really difficult to see, but when we could see the falls it was awesome. I mean, really, really awesome. It was pretty overwhelming to look at it, because it’s so powerful, especially when we had to walk across a bridge over a gorge next to the falls.

Just a little wet

Mist, falls, sunset

 

The next few days at Vic Falls was much less structured than the past week, and we even got to sleep in a little bit. So my Friday started out as any day should…with lions. I woke up early and headed out to a national park where we would do a walk with lions. Yes, this was about a million times more commercialized than my other animal encounters over the past week, but with the difficulty of seeing lions in the wild, I figured it was worth it.

First, we were briefed on the program these lions were a part of, whose goal is to increase the lion population, which has decreased 80-90% over the past thirty years. Their lions go through four different stages, and during stage one while they’re still cubs they can have human contact. We were also taught how to act around the lions. Stay calm, kneel on one knee when petting, carry a stick as a means of distractions, since lions are very easily distracted, and most importantly, say “NO!” in a firm voice if a lion starts to approach you. “They may not understand what you’re saying, but they understand your tone.” Well, after that, I felt well-equipped to go hang out with some lions.

The next hour was spent walking through the park with the lions, who, in fact, walk surprisingly quickly. We were with two sisters, Ruma and Rufiji, who were 17 month old "cubs." Over the course of the walk they would often do their own thing….stop and “play” with one another or just lie down. Lions can sleep 21-22 hours of the day, so I think we were interrupting what they considered vital nap time.

Me and my ladies

Concentrating much?

Just some lion cubs playin'

 

In the afternoon I decided not to do another activity, but instead go into Livingstone. Score! We could take our campsite’s shuttle there. Something interesting about the roads in Livingstone was that they were terrible. I mean, actually awful. Every time I was in a taxi, van, truck, or whatever, the drive would have to drive all over either side of the road, then off of it, just to avoid the severe potholes. It obviously speaks to some of the larger structural issues in Zambia/Southern Africa/Africa if the main road through a relatively high traffic area has been basically undrivable for the past four years.

Even though Livingstone gets a lot of tourist action, there’s not actually a whole lot going on in town. We walked down the main road to find a whole lot of nothin’, besides groups of men sitting along the street.

So we made our way down to the market, where there’s a row of stalls of all sorts of goods. It was definitely overwhelming at first. “My sister, I give you the best price, just for you.” Etc. Etc. Every person wanted us to look at their goods, even though they were all very similar. After awhile though, some of us bought a few things and they seemed to mellow out, and it was easier to chat with them (shoutout to Lawrence of Arabia). We even played a game with them that was similar to mancala. I can’t say I was very good, so good thing I had a local helping me.

Hanging out with the locals

  On Saturday we headed to Zimbabwe for the day. We started off the day at Vic Falls. The Zim side, which contains about 70% of the falls, was much less misty so the views were even better. It depends whether it is dry or wet season whether the Zambian or Zim side is clearer. I was able to see a lot more of the falls and it continued to be just as unbelievable as it was in Zambia, and it was awesome that I could see even more of it. The walk along the edge was about an hour long and the best part was at the end, Danger Point. Here, we could walk up this point that is on the very edge. It felt like I could reach out and actually touch the falls. I could also see about a million rainbows (estimate approximate). Also, you should all Google images of Vic Falls and Danger Point because I don't have any pictures, and it's really, really awesome.

Country Number 9

This isn't Vic Falls. This is, however, me and some warthogs chillin' outside the falls.

 

Once we dried off, the next stop was the market. The Zim market was ten times more overwhelming than the Zambian one. Not only was it much larger in size, but the vendors were much more forceful. “Just looking” was by no means an option, as men would constantly come over and make you look at their goods. It took a bit of getting used to, but I think I made some good bargains, including trading a pair of shorts and a shirt (my unattractive safari clothes that I refuse to wear outside of the bush). It was nice to know that I was supporting the local economy, since the men and women themselves make most of these crafts themselves. However, by the end, I just wanted to buy something from all the vendors. Obviously, this isn’t a feasible desire, but I felt pretty sad about how much there was for them to sell and how little money they’re actually making.

"Hi Bridget. My name is So-and-so. Come look at my shop and I'll give you the best price." x100

  After that, we had a few more stops. First we went to the Victoria Falls Hotel to check out the spectacular view.  I’m pretty sure this is the hotel where exuberantly wealthy European come to stay and was far classier than I was. We then went to check out the Big Tree. No seriously, it was a giant baobab tree called the Big Tree. Next up was another hotel to watch another awesomely awesome sunset, then it was time for dinner.

Check out that mist

Finally, I'm not the giant in a picture with these three.

  We went to this cool restaurant called The Boma. We walked in, got some face paint, and were dressed in some African cloth. Then the rest of the night was pretty much spent eating my weight in all sorts of crazy foods. I started out with black bean soup (normal), then had crocodile tail, impala, and guinea fowl, the latter being payback for breaking the truck’s windshield. For the main course I had kudu, ostrich, and warthog. Who knew Pumbaa could taste so good?! I also ate another worm, and this one was tastier. The restaurant also had some great entertainment, and we did a bit of drumming before heading out.

Check out how good we look

The usual dinner: warthog, kudu, and ostrich

  Here’s the deal: we had to make sure to leave the restaurant in time to get to the Zim border post to make it back to Zambia by 10, when both posts close. So we made it through the Zim post easily, but it was about 9:40 by then. Apparently, it is possible to get stuck in No Man’s Land between the two posts if we didn’t get to Zambia by 10. It is probably about 3K between the two posts, so to make it in time we had to run (in the rain, with backpacks and flip flops and really full bellies). There were also no lights in this stretch, so it was up to me to throw on my head torch and light the path for everyone. The first of the group got to the post around 9:55, and we all safely, but barely, made it through to Zambia. Yikes!

Trailblazing through No Man's Land. Also, I'm never going anywhere without my headtorch.

We made it back to Zambia! Close call.

 

I flew out of Livingstone on Sunday and was back to beautiful LBG Sunday night to get back to real life. Aaaand that’s the basics of my trip, everyone.

So yes, my passport looks cooler than me now, but more importantly, I just had the experience of a lifetime. So a big thank you to the elephants, giraffes, hippos, friends,  and Zambians that gave me a pretty wild 10 days. Today also marks the two-month mark until I hop on a plan out of Cape Town. It seems like both a very long and very short amount of time. My plan is to have many more Cape Town adventures, so stay tuned.

Cheers!

Part 1: Beautiful BOOTswana

So I headed off on this amazing trip with 3 other friends, but we were in a group of about 20 SSA students.  The aforementioned vac (what South Africans call break) began around 4:45 on Friday the 25^th. I was feeling completely refreshed and ready to go after getting about an hour of sleep. No, I wasn’t up late because I had to do laundry, pack, and finish a paper.

Good thing Friday was strictly a travel day, so I could rest up. We flew from Cape Town to Joburg, then hopped in our overland truck that would pretty much double as our home for the next 10 days. We had a little snafu Friday when a guinea fowl flew into the windshield and cracked it (Note: our driver later tried to get the windshield fixed, they didn’t have one that would fit, so we were stuck with it for the whole trip. It got progressively bigger and started to cave in. TIA).

Thanks Mr. Guinea Fowl!

 

After a bit of driving, we walked over the bridge to Botswana, where a monkey went flying over my head: my first introduction to the many more animals I would be seeing. We got to camp when it was dark and Stephanie and I successfully pitched the tent we would share for the rest of the trip. Mad love to Buffalo 2!

Steph and our home, Buffalo 2

 

We had a tasty dinner that did, in fact, include trying a Mopani worm. It was a bit dry.

Nom, nom, nom

 

Saturday was more traveling until we reached the Okavango Delta…my favorite part of the trip. That night we camped outside of the delta in Maun and went on a scenic flight over the delta. It was absolutely beautiful from above. We were able to see the whole expanse of it and got our first glimpse at all the animals we would see again…and much closer!

Me and our six-seater!

A view from above

  The next morning we packed up everything we needed for the next three days and hopped in the back of a truck. It took us as close as it could to our campsite, which included driving straight through water to a very small village (fun fact: Botswana has a very small population of 2 million). Then there was a change of transportation to mokoros, which are similar to canoes. Two of us, our bags and mats, and one poler where in each. We were in these for about and hour and a half until we reached our campsite with no electricity or water, now we were really roughin’ it.

Steph, me and our poler, Kenny

  That night we set out on our first game walk, rocking our neutral-colored clothes! Thanks to Tsaba, our guide’s, tracking skills (yeah I’m talkin’ tracking animal poo) we were able to see an elephant, which isn’t as common to see in the delta. We were able to get close, perhaps too close this time because it spotted us and we had to quickly move away from it as it followed. It lost us for a while, then spotted us again, this time raising its trunk to us. It was exciting, but a little scary, especially since Tembo, the second guide with us, kept saying “Let’s go! Let’s go!” No worries, we made it safely to the hippo pond to watch a couple hippos hang out.

Who's ready for their first game walk?

  Monday was another early morning, but completely worth it to go on an amazing 12K game walk! It started out with one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen, then we tracked a giraffe early on. Later we saw a heard of zebra. The best part was when we found a herd of zebra and herd of giraffes together. We walked a short bit further, where we saw a ostrich running! Not only can they run extremely fast, but they look really silly doing it. After that we started our hour and a half walk back, where we saw baboons, bonobos, and a wildebeast (which they pronounce as wild beast). 

The sun rolling high, through the sapphire sky

Giraffes and zebras and giraffes...oh my!

  Afternoons were chill time in the delta because it gets so hot. That meant time to nap and go to the swimming hole, where we could get the closest thing to a shower. That day the women polers and guides who were camping with us were weaving bowls, bracelets and other goods, which was neat to see (and buy!). In the evening we got back in the mokoros for a sunset ride, which could only be complete with a metal mug of wine. Tembo poled the mokoro Rachel and I were in, and he made us flower necklaces and lily pad hats. Needless to say, I was lookin’ good.

Some good lookin' goods

Getting ready for sunset from the mokoro

Thanks for the hat, Tembo!

 

Our final dinner with out polers was a lot of fun, as it was a bit of a cultural exchange. The group of guides/polers performed quite a few songs for us. Then it was our turn! We performed all things American: the Macarena, Don’t Stop Believin’, and Steph showed off her impressive Eminem skills, which was a big hit.

We went on our final game walk to a different hippo pond in the morning. There were a lot of hippos in this pond. Did you know they can be really, really loud?! Shortly after, we packed up, got back in the mokoros, and went back to civilization. We went back to Maun to shower, then we were off to Planet Baobab for the night, which was full of (you guessed it) massive baobab trees!

Ultimate tree hugger

  We spent a few hours in the truck heading to Chobe, and it definitely proved to be an eventful drive full of elephants periodically along the side of the road. That afternoon we set out on a sunset cruise. The boat left a few hours before the sunset. It putted down the river and stayed close to the bank so we could see about a million and two animals. The highlights include a large school of hippos, elephants, buffalo, kudu, and crocodiles.

Mr. Ellie

Becca, me, Rachel, and glowing Steph - the lovely ladies I traveled with

Do you kudu?

  The last of my safari-ing was Thursday morning, we went on a morning game drive in a stereotypical safari truck. It could not believe how many elephants, impala, and buffalo we saw. It was also awesome that we saw wild dogs. They’re much more rare to see and part of the Significant Seven (an extension of the Big Five). We also saw giraffes, warthogs, and my personal favorite, a baby elephant, which was about 2-3 weeks old. Adorable.

Fighting impala

Fun fact: Elephants can drink 8 liters of water from their trunk at a time

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

 

And that’s the brief version of Botswana, folks! Part 2: Vic Falls will be coming soon!

Cheers!

BOTS-ZAM-ZIM

The past week and a half was one of the most unbelievable things I’ve ever done. I camped through Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; I saw an incredible amount of animals and got to experience bits and pieces of unfamiliar cultures. All in all, I loved it. The bad part about it, however, is that I will never be able to accurately describe this trip with words OR pictures.

But I’m going to do my best.

This post is just going to be a little snippet of my trip, and I’ll follow in a few days with TONS OF PICTURES! (I can’t do that yet since my camera had a rough experience at Vic Falls and I need to steal some pictures from friends).

And now for my favorite thing: lists.

Countries visited: Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Number of days: 10

Number of times I pitched a tent: 7

Shared a tent with: Steph, ants, Baby Rat

Currency used: Rand, Pula, Kwacha, US Dollar

"Currencies" used at the Zim market: USD, Kwacha, Rand, t-shirt, khaki shorts, hair ties 

Average wake-up time: 5:30

Big Five Animals seen: elephant, lion, buffalo

Other animals seen: hippo, red lechwe, steenbok, giraffe, zebra, wildebeast, ostrich, baboon, bonobo, crocodile, fish eagle, kudu, impala, iguana, guinea fowl, wild dogs, jackals, warthog, sable antelope, lion, monkey

Natural Wonder of the World visited: Victoria Falls

Animals eaten: chicken, pig, cow, warthog, kudu, ostrich, impala, crocodile, guinea fowl, Mopani worm, bream

Modes of transportation: bus, commercial airplane, baby airplane, overland truck, safari truck, mokoro, foot (walking AND running), taxi, ferry, shuttle, pontoon boat

Number of mozzie bites: too many to count

If this description doesn’t do it for you, than the first two minutes of this video can also can a pretty good picture of my experience. 

Yes, I’m serious.

More to come!

Cheers!