Langa, Robben Island, Camps Bay

Thursday was the trip to Langa and Robben Island. They were really interesting, but Langa was something that is impossible to experience any other place. I was exposed to the extreme poverty of South Africa, for miles and miles there were shacks made out of metal or any other material they found. Each shack, which is the size of an average bathroom, houses an entire family. Those who don’t live in shacks have houses or apartments and each bedroom fits two families. The adults share twin beds and the children sleep on the floor, which was made out of concrete. It was dirty, cramped, and falling apart. They cook the food in the bedrooms on tiny stoves. There were stores, coffee shops, and restaurants along the streets, also out of shacks or crates. The barber shop was in a place similar to a Pod (the things used for storage), and the bar had a bucket of beer. I didnt get to see the bar, but the other group did. The group I was in spent some time at a daycare in the township playing with the kids. They were so much fun and were so excited to have us. They sang and danced for us and we really good, one girl even played the drums and I was really impressed with the performance, considering their young age. I feel that they were more mature than most children in America. After they sang some songs in Xhosa (I think that was the language) we sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider. After we got to say hi to them and they immediately started crawling all over us, jumping on our backs and wanting to take pictures and try on our sunglasses. They didn’t speak much english but it was so much fun. I will try to post pictures sometime soon, the internet is slow and expensive so it’s hard. It’s amazing how everything is prepaid here, even electricity, which can be bought at the corner store. Everything is really cheap, but since communication is prepaid by the minute or gigabyte, as opposed to our unlimited plans, it will likely be much more expensive than what I am used to.
Update: heres a pic

Doesn't do it justice, but this a view of Langa

After Langa we went to the V & A waterfront, which is in actual Cape Town. We stay in Mowbray which is a suburb, but very much a city. The contrast was amazing.

Nelson Mandela's Cell

We left the waterfront on a ferry to go to Robben Island, which is right off the coast. It is named for being the island of seals but I only saw penguins. The island held a prison for years, and Nelson Mandela was held there for political crimes. We got a tour from a previous inmate which was pretty neat. It was the first prison I’ve seen so I dont have much to compare it to, but learning about the history was really interesting. It’s amazing how recently it got shut down, the political criminals were released, and the apartheid ended. I can’t imagine any of this coming from the states and its neat to be able to live in an important part of their history.
At night a bunch of us went to a club called Tiger Tiger that was mostly white South Africans. They didn’t like Americans as much, but the club was a lot of fun.

View of Camps Bay

Yesterday I went to a beautiful beach called Camps Bay. The water was so blue and the city was really pretty and there was a strip of shops, restaurants, and clubs right by the beach. I got really sunburnt even though I kept reapplying sunscreen, I guess my skin isn’t meant for the intense sun here. At night we went to explore Long Street, which I imagine is comparable to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It was so busy and the street was lined with different bars and clubs. The dancing here is different, and everyone is really good at it. I just watched and enjoyed the good beer and good company.

Tomorrow we’re doing a peninsula tour which I’m really looking forward to. I’ll be sure to post more after.