Simonstown and District Six

Hey!

Hope you are all doing well! I had a great weekend in Simonstown. On Friday, after class, we all boarded the train and zigzaged through the mountains and along the ocean-side. It was absolutely breathtaking. I took tons of pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about. We stayed at Topsail, a hostel about a five minute walk from the main street of town and a five minute walk in the other direction to the beach. There were great restaurants and antique shops, but not too much of a young, nightlife feel. I definitely got the sense that it was mainly operated by Afrikaner/British/Europeans. I think I saw more White people there than I have this whole time in South Africa. On Friday night, I went to Café Pescado with about six other people, and enjoyed the catch of the day (some fish I obviously can’t remember the name of now) and some rose wine (Bridget, def thought of that blush we drank when you visited ha yummm). The owner of the hostel came by, and naturally, my friend Kayla asked about his sons that we had heard about. He called them and told us that they were coming to get us to take us out. When they got to the restaurant, we found out that they were actually in their 40’s, but because there are no taxis or public transportation in Simonstown, it was great having someone to drive us to some other bars/restaurants that are not in walking distance. We went to Cape to Cuba, a cool, tropical-y bar with sand and tiki torches and fires surrounding outdoor tables and couches. After a few round of drinks, they drove us to a cool bar with glass windows overlooking the ocean. It was gorgeous. The band played such American songs like Sweet Home Alabama and How to Save a life (but more upbeat?) It was pretty funny. On Saturday, I enjoyed a DELICOUS picnic with Kayla and Karen. We walked around town and bought a fresh loaf of bread, pesto, cheese, fruit and wine and sat down by the water at a picnic bench. It was so relaxing and amazing to just have some quiet time away from the whole group. Later that day, we all drove to Cape of Good Hope (saw baboons on our drive- in the middle of the road) and Cape Point, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Gorgeous scenery and great walk down to the ocean. On Sunday, I spent the day at the beach (and got the worst sunburn of my life…hurts to sit as I write this). That night, those same brothers took us on a tour of Simonstown, winding through the mountains and stopping at different spots to view the ocean and houses. At one point, we drove through an informal settlement, a community of shacks set away from the rest of the town. It was actually one of the most uncomfortable and disheartening experiences. We were a group of White people driving in a Mercedes SUV through a street lined with shacks. There was not one person who did not stop and stare at us. Leaving the informal settlement, we all noticed the HUGE disparity in that area. Just a minute outside of it, we passed beautiful homes looking over the ocean. After the drive, they took us to the Red Hearing, a restaurant with great pizzas and great service (for once). It was one of the best meals I’ve had yet.
Yesterday, on Monday, we took the train back to Cape Town (at about 6:30 AM :-/) and had an HIV/AIDS workshop run by an organization called Positive Living. It is run by a handful of individuals currently living with HIV. They do an array of things to education people about HIV and talk openly and positively about it, attempting to change the attitudes and stigmas attached to the virus. It was the best workshop/lecture we have had so far, in my opinion, and it actually allowed the rest of us open up to each other as well.
This morning, we went to the District Six museum which focuses on educating people about the forced removals that took place during apartheid. It was one of the biggest and first forced removals during that time. The government and organizations are now working to rebuild the area to give people their homes back. There are currently 24 families living in new housing on that same plot of land, and there are plans for thousands more to move in.

That’s it for now. I have a Xhosa test in a few hours that I should go study for. Ahh. Talk to you soon!