Capetown Day 1

           The first day we were the first ones off the ship and headed straight to Table Mountain. We didn’t hike it because we didn’t have time but we took the cable car up to the top and took pictures up there, grabbed some lunch, and then headed back to the ship. The view was absolutely incredible; it definitely lived up to the hype everyone was giving it!! It looked like you were right in the clouds, so pretty!
            Once we got back to the ship we left five minutes later for an FDP with my teacher to the Khayelitsha Township. This is the youngest and fastest growing township in the Capetown area. It is only thirteen years old and home to about 3 million people. We got to see some of the locals play music for us while we shopped for some of the jewelry / projects they had made. Then we saw the local pre-school and played with a few of the kids. We were only at the school for a short time before we headed next store to see the weaving shop. Here we watched the women weave these incredible tapestries out of extra t-shirt material a factory donated to them. It had taken the women three months to learn from their teacher. Behind each weaving setup was a picture that they followed that even showed which color t-shirt to be using in each section. After watching the process of how it was made we had the opportunity to purchase their work.
         After this we headed back to the bus and visited Vicky's B&B that was right in the township. This woman was incredible. She had started this B&B just a few years after apartheid ended - only ten years ago. Before this time, white tourists staying in Capetown would get bussed in by their hotel and told that they could not get off the bus but they were allowed to take pictures on the bus. Vicky said that this was an outrage for all the people with lived in the township. They felt like zoo animals and did not appreciate being treated that way.
Vicky decided that it would be a good idea to start a B&B and open her home to these tourists. Instead of having them come into the township and stay on the bus, she would allow them to eat and stay in her home and give them walking tours throughout the township. She did this to allow the tourists to have a better understanding of why these people lived like this and the hardships that they had instead of just taking pictures of their poverty and leaving. She admitted that when she first started this B&B, the neighbors thought she was in trouble. They asked her if she was going to jail and when she said no they said well what do all these white people want with you. Apparently, before this time, the only time a white person came to your house was if they were a policeman coming to arrest you. Vicky held a town meeting and explained to everyone what she was doing and the response was less than enthusiastic. They all told her she was nuts. But over the years they have come to see what a great opportunity it is for the whole community. Vicky also collects pens, pencils, clothing, toys, and more for the kids. She organizes these types of donations for Christmas time to evenly distribute to the kids as gifts. She emphasized that these kids do not mind getting a pair of underwear for Christmas. Her talk on this really touched me and I’m hoping to get my church involved in a donation effort to make these kids Christmas next year.
After Vicky’s B&B we visited another B&B. This woman was educated and got the idea to start a B&B while she was studying at a University in Philadelphia on a scholarship. Like Vicky, her neighbors thought she was crazy at first but she showed them how beneficial this could be to the whole community. She cannot always accommodate all of the guests who want to stay there at one time so sometimes she sets them up in neighbors homes as well (getting permission from her guests first of course). She also got some women in the township who were interested in baking, baking lessons and now they make the pastries and food for her guests. Some of these women got so good that they actually cater events as well. By outsourcing work for her B&B, she has helped the entire community and it has really been beneficial to many people.
        After the township we grabbed a quick dinner on the ship and then headed out to Long Street (one of the big night life areas in Capetown). We started off at this awesome bar called Stones that was a bar and pool hall. It was so neat! I used to play all the time last year at school with Trevor and his friends and I’ve really missed playing this year! We played there for probably to hours before moving on other bars. The rest of the night was okay, but nothing compared to the rest of the day.