Blogs from Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 16

I have been living in Stellenbosch for three months now and the oak-lined streets, the mountains glowing orange with each sunset, the Afrikaans language that floats around the campus and fills the background of my thoughts—these features and a thousand others greet me everyday. Slowly but surely they have become the sensations of home, the everyday commonalities that I hardly notice but cannot imagine Stellenbosch without. This process of Stellenbosch becoming my home has been marked by countless distinct experiences, snapshots that so clearly displayed the reality of this place. Yet I have time and time again deferred the responsibility of pronouncing and exposing this place in all its style and shame. Perhaps this is because I recognize my ignorance and I fear that my short-sighted judgments cannot do this situation justice—each new encounter unfolds for ... read more

Return to Kayamandi after another awesome weekend, this time spent in Backpackers Hostel only half an hour away from Host family house, but what a difference! Moyo Restaurant on Friday night was magical, unlike anywhere I've been before. It's simply a restaurant based outside among the trees in the Spier Winelands, lit only by lanterns and fires, absolutely beautiful. There are even tables up in the trees themselves. Everyone wears traditional African dress and they come round and sing at the tables, there are bands playing, others come and paint your face. The buffet is immense...every meat from kudu, ostrich, crocodile...and five different types of fish. Each has a different sauce or relish to go with it, and there's hot and cold salads, potatoes etc. Cakes, ice-creams, sauces for buffet desert. Definitely my kind of place! ... read more

The fashion show at Zoleka’s crèche was brilliant! Apparently the children have been practicing for weeks, working on their walk and wiggle, they made so much effort with the costumes too. I ended up being one of the judges as they were let down at the last minute. Really not an easy job. Lulutho was very upset with me that he was not chosen for a prize…bless him, I’d have chosen him if there weren’t three other judges, but I had difficulty explaining this to him. We have a new addition to the family this week…baby Natasha. Lukhono, my eldest host brother, has a two year old daughter who lives elsewhere with her mother. They both came to visit at the weekend, there was a bit of commotion and the mum left Sunday morning leaving Natasha ... read more

Once again another lovely weekend back in the world of Cape Town and the West Coast. Before we left on Friday afternoon, we helped Zoleka with a fundraising campaign that one of the previous volunteers from Germany is running from home. She asked us to email her details of Zoleka and the creche she runs in Kayamandi with a few photos. Was such a lovely visit and only a stones throw away from my house so I'll definitely be going again. What a comparison with the trendy kids on the coast at Clifton Beach on Saturday! It was harder to say goodbye to the family this weekend as have become so fond of them, especially the little ones, but so lovely to catch up with everyone in Cape Town. The drumming sesh on Friday was a ... read more

After nearly three weeks in Cape Town, I... read more