After realizing that we’re already at the halfway
point of our journey here in Cape Town I’ve found myself really reflective.
I’ve been thinking about my experiences here so far and all I’ve learned and
what I want my next steps to be for post grad life. There’s so much going on at
once but I’m trying to remain calm and present in the space that I’m in now. It’s
half-time which means I feel the need to re-double my efforts and throw myself
into this experience even more. There’s still so much I want to do and see. The
possibilities of things to explore in this city are endless. Business is being
handled as usual at Molo this past week with us completing our workshops in
Delft and moving on to Atlantis. I look forward to being in Atlantis and
comparing these two areas as I’m told that Atlantis is a very different type of
township from some of the others I have visited.
Lately I’ve found myself spending a lot of time in
Khayelitsha, Nyanga and Langa where some of my Cape Town friends reside. It has
been eye-opening being invited into their shacks in the informal settlements
and understanding how life has been for them growing up. I’ve been touched by
their stories and their openness to share with me and tolerate all of my many
questions. I’m still processing a lot that I have learned from those
experiences so I don’t really have many words to go into depth about it but
hopefully I’ll be able to elaborate more fully on it all soon. I’ve also been
slowly teaching myself isiXhosa with the help of my Capetonian friends. I love
the language and the culture of the Xhosa people and since it’s one of the
main dominant cultures in the Western Cape there are lots of pockets around the
area where I can put my learning to use. Cape Town has reminded me how much I
love learning new languages, exploring different cultures and traveling. I feel
the wanderlust coming on and I am so ready for wherever else it takes me.
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| Langa, Cape Town, South Africa |
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