I have been to the top of Table Mountain many times. It has the most spectacular views of Cape Town, from the city centre to the beaches, to Cape Point in the distance, it is breathtaking. Jean Claude, my French conversation teacher, who is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo has lived in Cape Town for 3 years and has never been to Table Mtn. Actually, he has never been to any of the tourist destinations that support the economy of Cape Town. Jean Claude isn't the only person I have talked to that has not had the opportunity to visit these beautiful sites, most of the people in the townships have never had the opportunity either. If they don't have a car, or a friend who can drive them, or the money to afford to pay a tour guide, they will not be able to visit the penguins at Boulders, climb up to the light house at Cape Point or get their picture taken in front of the sign at Cape of Good Hope, they rely on us to tell them how wonderful their city is.
Jean Claude and I meet once a week at a coffee shop one block up the hill from where I live. One evening as Jean Claude and I were finishing up our French conversation, a young man stopped me as I was leaving the cafe to ask me what I was doing in Cape Town. He said he had heard me use the word "orphan" as I was talking on my cell phone. He was in Cape Town doing modelling work and would be here for 7 weeks and wanted to get involved in something other than modelling and was wondering if there was something I might be able to suggest to him. His name is Dale, he is 26 years old from Toronto. It turns out that besides modelling, Dale is a certified chef. At the time that I met Dale, the centre lost 2 people in the kitchen. I called Edwin and Spiwo and asked if I could bring Dale out to the centre. It was perfect timing. Dale came in for the first few days and helped get the meals cooked and served to the Support Group and the Rainbow After School Program, the meal programs continued without a hitch. Funny how just meeting someone happenstance can work out to the benefit of so many.
Last Sunday I brought Dale and Jean Claude to Table Mountain. One had been here 3 years and the other 3 weeks. It was a beautiful sunny, warm day. We walked all over the top of the mountain and learned some very interesting facts. Here is one: there is a small animal called the Dassie that is similar to a woodchuck, it turns out that he actually descends from the elephant family. It is very hard to believe that something so small could be related to something so large but it is a fact we learned at the top of Table Mtn.!
(The pictures are from our trip to Table Mtn.)
I had an unexpected vacation this past week. Tuesday evening I went to the theatre with my friend Elizabeth and her son Chad to see "Where the Boys Are", a musical based on growing up coloured in the 80's. The 3 men were hilarious, especially to my friends who spoke Afrikaans since a lot of the musical was in Afrikaans. They translated it for me so I could understand what they were laughing at. The music transcended any language barrier, it was wonderful and energetic. As is the case for theatre and restaurants, I had turned off my phone before entering the theatre. When I returned home and remembered to turn my phone on I had missed two phone calls and one SMS. Mel had phoned me to tell me that I was not to go to the centre tomorrow. There was going to be a taxi strike in the townships and there was fear that it could turn violent and Spiwo had asked us not to venture into Gugs. The taxi strike was against the proposed idea from the City of Cape Town wanting to institute the monthly bus pass to include and cover the usage of the taxi cabs in the townships. The township taxis refused to be a part of this proposal and therefore decided to strike for 3 days. This left the townships in total chaos. Remember, many in the townships do not have cars and therefore rely on taxis to get them to public transport, ie. buses and trains. From what I was told, people were walking in droves all over Guguletu to try to get to the buses and trains so they could get to work in the city. I was also told that violence did occur in the townships, they had stoned a few cars that were transporting more than 3 people in a car. Siyaya had a performance on Thursday night and Xolani, the driver, insisted they have police escort from the centre, he feared retaliation due to the fact there would be at least 12 people in the bus. The taxi strike has been called off and we are able to return to Guguletu on Monday. A group from Minneapolis is coming next week and I need to complete their itinerary so I am anxious to return to the centre.
Looking forward to your visit Arm In Arm In Africa, and I will do my best to make sure your itinerary is completed!
Bye for now...
