I'm going to correct it, but the fact that I though it was Sunday July 5 should tell you how confused on days we all are. I think it is that 16 hour flight that messes you up. I left Tallahassee at 7:00 on Friday morning and arrived in South Africa and was at the hotel at 6 pm (local time) on Saturday. It is hard to adjust to the fact that travel took two days!
Yesterday was the day of for the city tour. We were supposed to travel up to Table Rock, but we are still enduring cold, rainy, and overcast days. (Brings back fond memories from Cleveland!)
The city tour started out by visiting the Slave Lodge. This is the oldest building in Cape Town and was used to house slaves of the Dutch East India Company. This building is now a museum. It was astonishing to see the realities (as much as you can from history) of slavery. In addition, there was a exhibit regarding the women's movement in South Africa. All I can say is that those were some tough women!
Before I go on with the day, let me tell you how museums and such are different here. They are much less glamorous and they don't have printed materials! As a result, you are victims of my poor memory! I certainly tried to take in as much as possible, but there are limits!
From there we walked through the company garden, around which are the presidents house and Parliament building. It was amazing. Being the simple ones that we are, we were almost most fascinated by the squirrels! They are huge (we suspect that this is because it is early winter and they have fattened up in preparation!), but more than that, they act like puppies, coming up to you as if you have a treat for them. Obviously, they are fed often by passers by.
From there, we loaded the bus and rode up to a mountain (whose name now escapes me). Unfortunately, just as we arrived, the rains poured down. On the way up, we could see the construction of the new stadium being built for the Soccer World Cup to be hosted here in 2010 (I think). From this mountain, they continue to sound a blast at noon each day. Originally, this was used to notify farmers that the boats had arrived so that they could load up and bring their goods for sale. As the population spread out, there became a series of blasts throughout the land to spread the news.
After a ride along the beautiful coast, we came back to the city and learned the history of the District 6. In Apartheid, they separated the communities by race. The District 6 was prime property by the water so it was set aside for the whites. They forcibly removed people from this community and tore down the homes. Because it was such a brutal act, it was difficult to find people who wanted to live there so much of the land is still vacant. The government is to repaying those who were displaced either by building them a home back in the District 6 or by giving them money. It is a very slow process. Can you imagine that politics gets in the way?
From there we toured the Castle of Good Hope. This is a pentagon shaped building set on what was once the waterfront. It was never attacked (due it part to its shape) except that the British fired a practice round from a neighboring mountain and hit the castle. Oops.
One of the challenges is listening to the tour guide is that South Africa is totally metric! They did this at some point in order to be separate and distinct from England! If it weren't for the Director of International Programs, Jim Pitts, who is traveling with us and is able to convert virtually everything on the spot, I would have no idea about much of anything! Thanks Jim!
Today we are off to visit an agency. (That's a teaser to get you coming back tomorrow!)
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