Cape Town

Ok. On to the good stuff. Cape Town is a beautiful place and my favorite port so far. We woke up to see a beautiful port with a view of Table Mountain and civilization right there! It was so nice to have an accessible and nice port with a huge mall, internet, and groceries just outside the boat. The first day of AFP's we went on a walking tour of the city and then had a good hamburger for lunch (a nice change from ship food) and then went to the African Center for Conflict Resolution. Ihad a huge seafood dinner that night with Pablo and Maureen and it was yummy!

The next day our AFP was the big deal. Our group, Conflict Studies, went to Pollsmore Prison, a fully functioning prison houses 7,000 of male, female, and youth inmates. First, we went to talk with the adult male inmates. We sat in on part of a program called Restorative Justice, which focuses on rehabilitation of inmates and not just punishment. Then, the coolest part, we got to sit and just talk with the inmates. I talked with 3 and they were all so young and it was so sad. One was 24 and had been there since he was 19, and was getting released in 3 months and wanted to know if I wanted to go out when he got out! hahahaha I told him I would think about it. ;) Many of the men in that room had committed dozens of murders, the concept of the value of life is very different for them. One man got up and talked about a day where he had killed 6-8 people but he was on drugs and didn't know what he was doing. And they are all in gangs, thats how they survive. Then we quickly saw the women, who were more emotional, because most were mothers seperated from their children. Then we went to the boys prison and it was so sad. They are just teenagers and seem pretty happy but you wonder why they are in prison, and what will happen to them when they get out. Most probably end up back in jail within in a few years. It was an amazing and eye opening experience.

Then we went to Robben Island, which was very interesting as well. They showed us where the political prisoners of Apartheid were held and the working conditions. They were fed based on color (coloureds received more food than blacks). And we saw Nelson Mandela's cell and where he buried his manuscript.

I was so exhausted that day, both physically and mentally, I don't remember what else happened. I think I might have gone to a lame club that night.

The next day (Feb 29) we had a lecture and tour of the University of Cape Town, which has one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen. I would love to study there later on. That night we went to the rugby game (80 of us from the ship!) We were on the side of the New Zealand Crusaders and we all dressed up and made banners for them. They killed the Cape Town Stormers 22-0. I had never been to a rugby game and I actually really liked it. After the game, Ryan, Pablo and I went out to Long street (the main bar/club street in Cape Town) and found a club with a live band and then did some dancing. It was a fun night.

Then we had the service project organized by the local Rotaract club. About 50-60 of us went to a black school inside a township to paint and do a little work on the classrooms. The classrooms hold about 40 students each and have a chalkboard and desks, and nothing else. Apparently many windows were broken, but when the government heard we were coming a few days in advance they went to the school to fix them. (how convenient!) We spent the day painting the walls blue to make the classrooms look a little nicer and hanging out with some of the local kids who went to school there. The school housed about 700 children and needs a lot more funding and teachers, but at least they have a school. (Education in South Africa is NOT free). That night we went to the ballet and it was a wonderful contemporary ballet.

Then it was Sunday so the 4 other Mormons and I went to church. We found the chapel easily and arrived on Fast Sunday. The people were very welcoming and we even went to a single adult Sunday school class. Then we got a tour of the German navy boats that were parked next to us in the port and saw some pretty handsome German sailors! Then we hired a car and went to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope (the southern most point of Africa) and it was beautiful. We spent a few hours there driving around and taking pictures and then had an amazing Italian dinner where the waiter, Kurt (31), offered to show me around town the next day. O that night the girls and I went to see 27 dresses (it was nice to go to a real movie theatre!)

Our almost last day we went on a township tour with some friends of Ryan's who work for a Non-profit in the townships. The townships, are where blacks and coloureds (they are from mainly Indian descent) live outside the city. They are huge communities (some of houses, others are more like slums). We went to an afterschool program in a black township and talked and played games with the teenagers/children there. The children then performed 2 short plays for us which included these amazing evangelical songs. It was honestly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen or heard. These teenagers are so strong when their lives are so hard. They go to this program (a shack-like building with benches) to get away from all the crime and danger in the townships. They performed plays and sang about the trials of their lives including violence, discrimination, and even rape. They were so happy to have us there adn they were so nice to us. They kept saying thank you to us for coming and I couldn't believe they were thanking us. They let us into their world and it was so powerful. I stood up to thank them and couldn't help crying in awe of their strength and dedication to living good lives and pushing out the bad that surrounds them on so many levels. We were all quite moved by their examples, and after taking millions of pictures with them, walked away different people.

I can honestly say I learned so much from South Africa between the prisons, the township, and the service project it was probably my favorite port so far.

The last day we climbed Table Mountain which was one of the scariest experiences ever! Half way up it was raining, windy, and cold. I nearly blew off the mountain many times and it was quite a struggle to get to the top. We made it though to arrive to a foggy view-ha! But it did clear some and we got some good pictures and still enjoyed ourselves. We were so cold though we just sat huddled together for awhile (we wore shorts and t shirts and it was freezing at the top). We made it down (barely) after a few falls and going very slowly on the wet rocks.

That was all of the main stuff about South Africa, condensed so I hope that helps!
Sorry it took so long!