Cape Town

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Hello

I am back from my second trip to Cape Town with a very different perspective of the city. I left for Cape Town on the 10th of January for a two week course on the statistical analysis package called STATA. I have to admit I was not that excited when I left, I didn’t like Cape Town that much the first time I went, it just seemed like I was in Europe, and two weeks away from home right before I was to start my research sounded like added stress. Regardless of this I set off for Cape Town early in the morning with my friend Siphamadla whom I found out was somewhat fearful of flying and had only been on one flight prior to our flight to Cape Town. We had a nice flight down, met up with our friend John who had come in on an earlier flight and set off for our accommodation at the University of Cape Town. After dropping our bags we were eager to get out and see Cape Town so we jumped on a couple different mini-buses and headed down to the waterfront. We met up with friends from Durban who had just moved from Durban to Cape Town and had lunch at a German restaurant where we could watch the boats come into the harbor. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I had plans to go back towards campus in the late afternoon for a concert in Kirstenbosch, the botanic gardens. What I didn’t and probably should have planned on was that my German friends would get much too excited about the German beer, and that I should be at the concert early to get a spot. Thankfully some of my other friends were going to the concert so they went a few hours early and got a picnic spot and my only job was to get there before the show started. I managed to drag the German out of the brewery and collect my other friend from his new lady friend and we all got on a minibus towards the main station. Now a mini bus if you don’t know is actually a giant van that is driven around and you can hop on and off for around 5 rand or less than 1 US dollar. They are not typically the safest mode of transport but definitely the cheapest. So we got to the station and climbed on another minibus where I tried to negotiate for that minibus to take me directly to the gardens. He was keen for a bit but then prices got a bit steep and I decided to jump off at the university and try to hail a private cab. I called for a cab but was still trying to just flag them down on the rd, it was chaos most of the cabs acted like they didn’t know the botanic gardens which happens to be one of the largest attractions in Cape Town so I have no idea what was going on there, I was about to get in a cab when the one I called arrived. Two of my guy friends who had waited with me insisted I get in the one I called for safety reasons. So I jumped in that cab and asked if he wanted to run the meter or negotiate now. He asked how much I was willing to pay I told him 30R and he accepted on the condition I call and cancel my call for a cab and just pay him directly. Fine I don’t mind bypassing the corporation and paying into the pocket of the driver so I called the cab company back, got yelled at by the woman and then the driver who was now wearing a sequined hat and I took off. I told him I was in a hurry so he proceeded to swerve all over the rd and even just back and forth in our own lane because somehow that would make him faster, I’m not really sure. I chatted with him for a while and did not feel like I was in a bad situation but when he told me my friends would not miss me at the concert I was happy we were just about there! The concert ended up being amazing, I love the band called Freshly Ground. It was a wonderful evening sitting in the grass under Table Mtn just enjoying good music and good friends. Now being in Durban I usually talk to very few North Americans, I have a couple friends but not too many. On Monday morning I walked into the cafeteria to get breakfast before the class and all I heard was this deep mid west sounding American accent. Then I realized there were lots of them. I know it sounds odd but I am so used to being surrounded by South Africans that it really threw me off and during the morning STATA session I found out that this course was set up by U of Michigan and they bring over 12 American Masters students who have studied the program to be our tutors during the two weeks. We had lectures in the morning which we listened to and followed along on our computers and then in the afternoons we had problem sets to do. This was the schedule for the first week, and then when we finished class at around 4pm we all went to enjoy the city which I think I had already fallen in love with. The first night we all got some box wine and snacks and just went and sat on the beach and watched the sun set. All the Americans ended up coming down and we were just enjoyed the night with one last proper nightcap in a bar that had huge couches to lounge on. The rest of the week we spent every night out in bars, restaurants, and on beaches around Cape Town. The great thing about Cape Town is that the sun sets so much later so we really had a lot of time to see the city. It was so wonderful to explore and get to know the other students on the course including the American tutors. Friday night we had quite a good time on Long Street and ended up going home much too late. I ended up sleeping an hour and a half before getting up to go wine tasting. We drove out to Franchoek to a wine farm and sat outside in the sun while tasting the wine. One SA couple that had come with us was very well versed in wine so I learned a lot and I think my favorite wine was the pinotage, but shiraz was really nice and spicy as well. After wine tasting we went to a great bistro for lunch then did the traditional sun downers on Camps Bay before meeting up with my good friend Helga at her cousins house. Once again it was a late night. I began thinking I was invincible at this time, I had made it a whole week having only slept a couple hours each night and then drinking serious amounts of coffee! I knew the brick wall was coming soon but I figured I would enjoy it while I could! On Sunday morning we got up early to go hike table mtn. Now I was completely naïve about what this “hike” was going to be like. I heard it was hectic but I thought I could handle it. My goodness it was no hike, it was a straight up climb. It started with stairs that were insane then turned to climbing up over boulders, at one point it was just ladders, it was so crazy. I don’t know the average time to get to the top but the Americans that went took over 3 hours and we went with some crazy fit men and it took under 2 hours. It was so strange right at the top it turned to white sand and there was a reservoir at the very top. We hiked around the top of the mtn then had to get back down so we had time go get ready for a concert we were going to that night. Most people only hike up OR down, yet of course we did both. The hike down was once again a straight climb down, yet this time instead of being nestled in a ravine we took quite seriously the route that went down the side of a cliff. Thankfully we had one guy who knew the deal and brought lots of water he was willing to share. Finally we reached the bottom and we were all drenched in sweat and had shaky muscles. There was no rest for the weary though, we went home showered and drove back to Camps Bay for a concert by a band called Goldfish. The concert ended up being crazy full but we had a great time sitting out on the deck chatting. Monday was back to work but no slowing down. More nights out for sundowners, dinners on the beach and a braai with the whole class. We went out one night for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant which for those of us who had been in SA for over a year and were missing Mexican food was very exciting. At one point I even felt the need to apologize to a South African whom I think we were scaring with our excitement about margaritas, guacamole, real corn chips and enchiladas! We also got to go to dinner at the house of a friend who we go to school with here in Durban. Her family is from Cape Town and has an extraordinary story. Her parents felt God telling them to open their house to people who need a place to stay and a meal. They decided to remodel their house to add more room and have taken in teenagers who need a home. When we went to dinner there we were cooking for 19 but their normal is about 12 people. It was such a wonderful thing to see, how they all live together. The end of our week was much the same, we worked on our own research projects in class and made good friendships in the evening. Thursday morning I finally hit that wall I knew was coming, and struggled to get through the last days of class and keep up with the social schedule. Now I know if I say I was sad to leave most of you would think of course I was all I did was play for two weeks! But aside from the mini-vacation I really enjoyed Cape Town. Not only is it very beautiful, the weather, while sporadic, is warm but not humid and I love the wind. Cape Town is also somewhat safer than Durban, we walked down to the neighborhood below campus for restaurants, bars and just go grab some groceries without much worry. I also thought that people were less divided in CT. While I was at bars I was approached by men of different races and cultures as I am in Durban, but I also ended up making friends with women and I just felt like there was less division. Overall I could see myself living in Cape Town much easier than I could see living long term here in Durban. I was sad to leave on Saturday morning but ready to get back and dive into my research. I have since applied for jobs in Cape Town but nothing has come of them yet. I am so happy to have had such a wonderful experience and met such wonderful people.

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