I don’t get this place. The South African society is so confusing to me. Maybe it’s because I could barely describe it as a whole society. It might be more appropriate to describe it as a whole lot of little societies that unfortunately were obsessed with same relatively small area and so all decided that it was theirs and that no one else deserved it. Nice.
We arrived in Cape Town this morning. Please note that after being out last night we all had to get our butts out of bed by 7 AM this morning to be at the airport by 8 AM. Good news though, I slept the whole way on the airplane. I was knocked out, mouth open and everything. Gross I know. But it was sleep nonetheless.
Our B&B here is really nice. Even nicer than the other place. (http://www.medvilla.co.za/). My only complaint is that internet is really expensive. Especially to skype on. We were told it would be “cheap cheap cheap.” Lies. But I won’t spend my blog post whining about that, I promise. (Note: These blog spots are being posted at my internship where internet is free, free, free for me!) Other than that, the place is beautiful. I’m rooming with Lauren again which I’m very excited about. She is a really funny girl and I enjoy living with her. Favorite thing about the B&B so far: the cookies that the owner had out for us when we arrived. It already feels like home!
Once we had a chance to settle in for a bit, a couple of us hungry ones went to lunch at a small café down the road. Afterwards, one of the DukeEngagers from last year, Michael, took us on a brief stroll through the city. Here are my thoughts on Cape Town so far…
The place is breathtaking. As soon as I figure out how to post pictures on here, you’ll be able to see what I mean. The mountains are constantly in the horizon, and the areas we walked through are all adorable. But there is something off about this place. If I were to look at it in pictures, I would think that Cape Town had a laid back, beachy feel to it. It doesn’t though. The tension here is almost tangible, kind of like what I feel in Lebanon. The streets are unnerving. Despite the fact that I’ve been to many cities, go to school in Durham, and lived in Cairo for four months, this is the first place that I’ve felt uncomfortable walking around the streets. I feel like all you hear about are stories of people getting mugged. Not to mention South Africa having the highest rape rate of any country in the world. Greeeeaaaaat. Don’t worry though, it won’t get me down! I just would rather it was a happy-go-lucky little place where I could run around and not worry that every man in the corner is waiting to grab my cell phone or steal my backpack.
All in all, Sunday’s been a pretty chill day. Not too much to report. We start our internships tomorrow! I’ll probably be posting about this entire week in one big blog, maybe by Friday? I’ll try to get it done by then. If not, then asap.
Wish me luck at the Treatment Action Campaign tomorrow!
Ukuthula,
Lynn
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