Yes, this post is about three or four weeks late. I’m just going to stop acknowledging
that all my posts are late at this point…
This lovely post is all about my fun weekend escapades around Cape
Town! Although I live here and go
to school here, it’s similar to DC (but not as bad) in the sense that I
actually have a life here so it’s not always the easiest thing to be a tourist
for a whole weekend. Also, there
are constantly so many things that are organized for me so I don’t always get
the opportunity to make plans of my own.
This weekend started Saturday morning with a nice little
jaunt to the Mount Nelson Hotel where Ali, Hannah, and I began the day with
high tea! As most people who know
me know, I love wearing dresses, so
this was the perfect opportunity for me to whip one out. The Mount Nelson Hotel is in the city
between Kloof and Long Street. It’s
a beautiful hotel – a luscious green gem in a not-so-green city.
I have three things to thank for my interest in high tea:
Gigi, college exams, and South Africa’s cultural addiction to tea. A few years ago, Gigi (my grandma) had
a tea party for my friends and I during our spring break. We had tasty tea, yummy tea sandwiches,
and a great time. Since then, I’ve
been a fan of tea parties (although I can’t say I’ve had many). I love how relaxing it is to enjoy a
cup of tea with someone. It’s the
type of activity that has a culture of its own: sophisticated, natural,
relaxing, and healthy – a combination of overall great things.
As a non-coffee drinker, tea has a special place in my
heart. While some students prefer
coffee, sweets, and Red Bull to study, I’d take a cup of green tea any
day. Lastly, South Africans love their tea. They are known for their Rooibos tea,
which is my personal favorite (in fact, I’m at a café right now drinking a
cup). Tea drinking is cultural in
the sense that anyone can sit down, take a break from the day and simply enjoy
a nice conversation over a tasty cup of tea – I’m into it.
So, that’s just what Ali, Hannah, and I did. We had a scrumptious tea feast and enjoyed a lovely summer morning in the
sun.
After our relaxing morning, we headed over to Long Street to
walk around for a bit. Long Street
is one of the most popular places to go out at night, so it’s neat being there
during the day and seeing what it’s really
like. There’s nothing like a
morning tea party and some casual shopping around to make a girl happy!
We’d had our fill of “girl” activities, so it was now time
for us to get our fill of “guy” activities. (Although I will throw in a little side note that while
going for morning high tea is not exactly a manly
activity, per say, men here do love tea just as much as any woman! I think that’s interesting because tea
at home definitely has a more feminine connotation than coffee does at
home. Just a thought.) It only seemed natural to go to a rugby
game that afternoon to get a well rounded Saturday.
The rugby stadium is a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment
at the Newlands Stadium. Though I
had no idea what was going on (I
didn’t make enough time to read Rugby for
Dummies before the game), it was really cool to see a game. Franny and I thought it was hilarious
how some of their formations involved “cheerleading stunts” and “booty
slapping.” I’m sure that’s super
offensive and incorrect, but when you don’t know what’s going on, it was the
easiest comparison to find. But
actually, the game is super aggressive and if someone gets hurt the playing
continues. There’s no mercy! I reckon I could get into rugby if I
consistently watched games with someone who could explain what’s going on to
me. For now, I think I’ll stick to
football.
One thing that should be noted though: the cheerleaders. I'll also inform you that every time the Stormers scored, the cheerleaders tore off their skirts to expose the back of their "leotards" where it said DHL (the sponsor) on their behinds... It was strange.
Sunday consisted of a whole different activity, which I had been looking forward to ever since my last trip to Cape Town! We were going to Robben Island for the day to see the prison and the epic cell of Nelson Mandela's. While I normally don't go into things with many expectations, I made the mistake of having really high expectations for this. I should have been a little less confident that this would be one of the most moving historical tours I'd ever have. It pains me to say it, but I was actually pretty let down by the tour.
I will admit that part of it was simply because of the disorganization and chaos of going with 75+ CIEE students. Transporting a group that large from apartments to the waterfront to boats that take us to an island and back is no easy task. It took us 2-3 hours from the time we left our apartments in the morning to actually arrive at Robben Island (let's just say the quick boats they usually use were out of use for the day so we went on a leisurely cruise to get there). What normally is an hour and a half round trip tour (add in about 45 minutes more for transport time from where we live to the waterfront), occupied the hours between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm. Basically it was a looooong day to see very little.
Once we got to the island, the tour consisted of a walking and a driving segment. Our tour guide was actually a former prisoner! It was interesting to hear him talk about his time spent there although I wish I had come with more questions to ask him.
I cannot discredit the fact that this was and is an extremely historical site with so much importance. I just really wish the tour was set up in a more educational way. I'm used to tours being "spoon-fed" to me as if I'm in a museum and that's basically what I was expecting. There were no pictures, informational areas, or anything that could lend a little more insight into the island and what occurred there and the tour was not exactly designed to give a plethora of information. I felt like I wanted to ask so much but I didn't even know where to start because I wasn't prompted by the information our tour guide was giving. The prison also has basically been cleared out so it's a ton of empty rooms. In the back of my mind I think I was expecting an Alcatraz type of tour with even more history behind it. I feel like we got a walking tour through a few empty prison buildings. I did get to see Mandela's cell though. While I'll be honest in saying that it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be (see picture below), it would be a crime to be here for six months and not see it. Although I can't say it was the most exciting Sunday of my life, I'm happy I had the opportunity to go and see what Robben Island is all about!
IN OTHER NEWS, Desmond Tutu’s grandson bought my friends and
I drinks tonight at a restaurant! I’m not even kidding. It was so cool!! This random guy asked if he could join our table and although we reluctantly agreed, him and his friend turned out to be so cool! After awhile, it casually came up in conversation that he was Archbishop Desmond Tutu's grandson... Like seriously, this is not real life!! My friends and I also potentially might be invited tomorrow to A) go to a popular restaurant in a township with them B) have tea/lunch/something of the sort with Desmond Tutu himself... We'll see if that actually happens, but regardless we got the offer, which is cool enough! Also, Hannah and I came back and googled everything they told us to see if they were making this up, but there is no way they could have made up everything they said. This was the real deal. In case you were wondering, DT's grandson is a pro golfer, apparently a really good one too. Desmond's son is named Trevor and his son (the guy we were with) is named Lizo. Even if we don't get to hang out with our new friends tomorrow and go on adventures, it was still outrageously cool. Lizo and Jabu, thanks for the ciders!
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