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April 25, 2006
Global HIV Prevention Day
On Sunday, I went downtown with my housemate, Sasha, for Global HIV Prevention Day. In conjunction with a big conference, there was a town hall meeting and rally/march. We heard so many excellent speakers and the energy among the people was really inspiring. The room at the civic center was packed and had a couple thousand people in attendance.
There were people from all sectors of South African society -- black, coloured, Indian, white, and whomever else, men and women, young and old. There were a lot of school groups in attendance, in fact, from primary through secondary school ages. There were people from the townships and people from the university, and really, just a great diversity of individuals who all had come together to address the concerns facing South Africa and to share their thoughts on HIV prevention and the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on their society.
Between speakers during the town hall meeting, someone would start singing and then the whole room would simultaneously burst into song with beautiful harmony and people would dance and clap. There was a play put on and people in the audience spoke out about why it was important for everyone to have come together to address HIV. During the rally/march, people were joyful, optimistic, and had such a positive energy with songs and dance. I've been to a number of marches in the last few years of my life, but this one was, by far, the most spirit-filled and fun, and it seemed to move everyone in a way that reached into the depths of their being and people were determined to make a tangible difference in their lives.
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April 22, 2006
Adventures in Cape Town
I've had a lot of excitement in my life the last few days with some really interesting and incredible events and visits. On Thursday evening, I went with some friends to hear an open forum for the conference which was celebrating the ten years that the Truth and Reconcilation Commission has been going on. There were multiple panel members who were either part of the Commission, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, or victims and family members of those who died at the hands of the Apartheid regime. There was powerful conversation, including really emotional recounts of family members lost and the families' struggles, critical looks at the TRC, and recognizing the ways in which South Africa is really an amazing country full of wonderful people who have dealt so well with post-Apartheid aftermath and express so much tolerance. The Arch, as he was affectionately referred to throughout the night, was such an engaging and dynamic character. It was really cool to be sitting in the front row, a few feet away from a man about whom I've read so much and whom I respect very deeply. He was absolutely hilarious and such a huge, quirky, friendly personality for a small man, an an archbishop, nonetheless. It was a great night.
On Friday, I went with Lauren, one of my roommates, to a few museums downtown. We checked out the National Gallery, which was really a great art museum and I reccomend to anyone who comes to Cape Town that they should see it. There was a good mix of both the classic art you'd find in any museum and also contemporary art, including a lot of political art. There was special Picasso exhibit going on, but I think I enjoyed an exhibit entitled, "A Premonition of War" the most. For a glimpse of it, click here. We also went to the South African Museum, which is kind of a natural history museum. There were exhibits on everything from prehistoric animals to rocks and minerals to sharks and whales, and a really old exhibit room on "African peoples". That exhibit was particularly interesting because it hadn't been updated since... oh, I don't even know when... but everything in it is definitely politically incorrect.
The whole day was great! Cape Town is amazing.
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April 20, 2006
Zimbabwe
Over the mid-term vacation I went to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe with three friends (and a few more came through at various points during our stay) for 8 days. Zimbabwe is not exactly on the US State Department's Favorite Vacation Spots list at the moment, but Vic Falls was a safe destination within the country. If anyone is interested, the State Department's report on Zimbabwe can be found here. Despite the potential dangers faced by those who express views in any way opposing the government, people were engaged and excited to talk about their country, both its downfalls and positive aspects. Lots of interesting conversations occurred over the week and even though I've been studying Zimbabwe all semester, I learned so much in just that one week from people I met. Overall, Vic Falls was an incredible experience -- one that I will never forget.
The trip began by travelling from Cape Town to Johannesburg, and then to Vic Falls, via Air Zimbabwe (or Air Zim), an airline affectionately called by many "Scare Zim". The plane was unexpectedly small, but the flight was fine and the food was the best I've ever had on any airline.
We stayed at Shoestrings Lodge, a really great hostel, and we made great friends with the soem of the local crowd, with whom I'm sure we'll continue to keep in touch. Victoria Falls is a small tourist town, though it didn't feel overrun with tourists because most of them tend to stay in the compounds of their ridiculously lavish hotels. Seeing as we stayed in the hostel, quite close to the main road through town, we had a much different experience. The people there were so incredibly friendly and helpful, and it was nice to be living the relaxed pace of small town life. I would love to return one day, and I even wish I could live there for a while.
[At the hostel with (clockwise from bottom right) Chris (one of the local guys), Lauren, Sasha, Sam (our Aussie traveller friend), and Vusa (another local friend of mine)]
In Zimbabwe I was a millionaire for the first and most likely the last time in my life. The inflation rate for Zim dollaras is not so hot, with the official bank rate going at 99,000 per 1 US dollar, though on the black market it's about 180,000 per 1 US dollar. Every time we payed for something we had to use a huge stack of money, and because the inflation continues to worsen every day, it wasn't surprising to go to a restaurant twice in the week that we were there and have the prices go up 200,000 between visits.
[Our stack of 14.8 million Zim dollars was equivalent to $80 US]
On the first full day we were at Vic Falls, we went to the national park to walk along the path opposite the falls. The views were incredible and so amazingly breath taking. The falls are 1.7 km long and I can't do justice to their absolute beauty in words. While we walked along the path we were entirely soaked at certain look out points because the mist rising from the falls is like constant rain, and the rising mist forms directly into clouds above the falls. Victoria Falls are understandably one of the seven natural wonders in the world.
After walking through the park, we went across the border into Zambia for a bit and travelled to the nearest town, Livingstone, for a bit of exploration.
On the second day we started things off with a bungi jump. Yes, that's right, I went bungi jumping, and off of the 3rd highest jump in the world (at 111 meters). It was incredible because as you fall, you can see the end of the falls in one direction and into a beautiful gorge in the other.
It was amazingly beautiful and I jumped right through a rainbow.
[The view of the falls from the bridge where we jumped]
[From the gardens of the Victoria Falls Hotel, with the bungi bridge in the background]
Later that night, we went on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River and saw a lot of wildlife along the way and a beautiful transition into night.
[Full moon rising over the Zambezi]
[Hippos on the Zambezi]
The next day we relaxed and explored town. On Tuesday, we went on a day trip to Chobe Park in Botswana and went on a river boat safari in the morning and a land safari in the afternoon. Going to the zoo is fun and I never expected safari stuff to be too fun, but it really is incredible to see these animals in their natural habitat, as wild animals.
[The first animal we saw on our drive, this elephant walked within 15 feet of our vehicle.]
[Female kudu]
[More kudu]
[More elephants; we almost got charged a couple times by elephants, once by a playful younger one, and once by angry parents (we drove too fast around one corner and startled a family)]
We saw so many types of animals and I could post pictures all day, so ask when I get home if you want to see more. I kept a running list of everything that we saw, as well.
The next day we went on a helecopter ride over the falls which provided some incredible views.
[The Zambezi drops off at the falls and continues into this beautiful twisting gorge]
On my last full day, I went on a walk with a friend down to the banks of the Zambezi and just took it all in. One of the strangest things to me was having to think about what to do if an elephant, baboon, or who knows what suddenly appeared on the road, and how I would react. The scene at the banks of the Zambezi was beautiful, though, and it was really nice to see the river far away from any of the tourist destinations.
We also spent some time sneaking into The Kingdom throughout the week to use their pool; this was probably the most posh place in town, but the decor was rather culturally offensive, as everything was "African" and on a huge, extravagant scale. Considering the $400+/night rate, we didn't feel bad about a little free swim.
This was the most amazing vacation I've ever been on and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see Victoria Falls and to meet so many great people and learn so much. I also got to add a bunch of new stamps to my almost-empty passport (now including Zim, Botswana, Zambia, and South Africa) and to see bits and pieces of this part of the continent. It was really sad to leave, but school was calling, so we went home to Cape Town. And Cape Town does feel like home now, which is kind of funny to consider, and doing so also makes me wish I could stay longer than the next two months. It's hard to believe that's all the time I have left here. I also wish we could've stayed longer in Zimbabwe; it was a beautiful country and I felt instantly at home in Vic Falls. Maybe one day I'll have the opportunity to go back. I think I have really fallen in love with southern Africa and I hope I can return here after this semester is over.
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