The New South Africa....

June 15^th

            Every time I think of where I am I have to pinch myself.  I still cannot believe I ended up here.  It all seemed so simple; 1. Buy plane tickets to everywhere I want to go around the world, 2. Quit job…..I just wish everyone was here to share it with me, especially this place. 

Cape town is a magical city.  The mountains, the city, and the beach are all within ten minuets of each other.   It is giving Cali a run for her money.  This is more or less a Cali winter as well.  A friend from couch surfing, Sifiso, has agreed to take us in for a few nights.  He is the warmest sweetest person and makes us feel right at home in his more than cozy apartment right in the middle of the city.  This is a good feeling to have since it is so cold outside.  He works for Facebook in Cape Town, but is a political science major.  We are the perfect students to hear his ideas about politics as a black man in South Africa.         

Though South Africa is one of the most amazing places, its social problems  are bubbling at the surface.  Its social structure is well, new, and will take some time to develop.  Civil rights and equality of man is very new here and it cannot go unnoticed.  The city is filled with security in every corner, yet I feel no actual presence of danger anywhere I go.  I am sure it is here but fails to show its ugly head to me.  I am not sure if I am lucky or naive.  Benches marked in “non whites only” still stand by Parliament to remind the country of its progress in ending segregation. 

            In South Africa there are many tribes but there are two main languages are spoken among the natives, Zulu and Swahili.  They’re the two most dominant tribes.  There are many other tribes that fill this lustrous land as well.  The earliest people to inhabit this land were the San and the Khoek Hoe people.  I am not sure what happened to these people, but I am pretty sure that when the Dutch settled here in the mid 1600’s, it is not good.   Just writing this story and thinking about the similarities of America I get this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.  The Dutch did not rule for long, even though many of the buildings and roads are market in their language.  In the early 1900’s, South Africa became a British Empire and the tyranny continues. 

            Under this rule the natives were put into groups and sent to live on their own reservations away from the white people.  The first group was the Blacks; these were natives with both parents being African, purebreds.  Then there were the colored people.  This group of people had mixed parents, one black and one white.  Though it seems crude to call them colored people, this is their actual nationality and is marked as such on their personal identifications.  Then of course, you have the whites.  “The Man”, who will forever continue to take what does not belong to him.

            This brought war.  The fight for freedom stained the streets and would hopefully one day belong to them again. Freedom seemed so far away.   In 1994 Nelson Mandela, the first black man in South Africa to become president, would make their freedom a reality.  The civil rights movement would begin.  Equality for man would soon be the new pulse of South Africa, whether everyone liked it or not. 

Tolerance should not have to be learned, but unfortunately it is a slow process. 

June 12th Cape Town, South Africa

 Table Mountain

           

            Checklist for Cape Town, first: climb Table Mountain, second: Get a coat, boots, and sweatshirts.  Since the day is slightly warmer than night we are fooled into believing that it is a good idea to do Table Mountain first.  Something we will soon regret.  We head for the hills, which inn Cape Town in a 10-minuet drive from the ocean and a 5-minuet drive form the city.  Another reason why I will soon discover this place is paradise. 

            Table Mountain is one of two major mountains to climb here in Cape Town.  It gets its name from the fact that it is totally flat on top like a table, after one hell of a climb of course.  It is tall and rigid. It is an overwhelming display of jagged rocks and steep mountain slopes.  The sound of a waterfall echoes among the ridges.  Drops of perspiration fall down my back in the mere twenty-minuet walk to the base of the mountain.  I stand at the bottom, head back and eyes up filled with intimidation.  ‘It is just one step after another,’ I tell myself.  I turn to the right to find Alex grinning ear to ear.  This is just the sort of challenge she was hoping for. 

            The slope is nothing short of dramatic.  I climb as fast as I can, still Alex is always twenty steps ahead of me.  She pauses time to time to let me catch up, snatching every photo she can of the torment that constantly fills my face. 

            We finally reach the waterfall and neither of us pauses to drench ourselves in the freezing winter water.  It was a good thing we did too because the hill above us is at least three times as steep as before.  It is a dirt rock path lined with a rock wall held together with twisted wire.  This is probably for safety so that people don’t fall down the hill, but I find that it is much easier to walk on top of the wall. 

            The estimated time to climb the mountain is two hours.  Already Alex and I are running behind, nothing short of being my fault.  The climb thickens and the sun is at its highest for the day.  I reach my hand high over my head and find a steady place to plant my foot to push me up the rock walls.  My breath is shallow and I am nothing short of exhausted.  I make it up the nearest wall and fall to the ground to take a break.  All I can hear in the background is Alex screaming words of encouragement like an obnoxious cheerleader.  She is full of endless promises that there is ice cream at the top of the hill.  Somehow it works.  I climb and climb.  Stopping at every moment I can to look back at the view of the whole city and my accomplishment. 

            A large propeller sound echoes in the valleys of the hillside.  I look up to find a rescue helicopter and for one split second I actually think of flagging them down.  Then reality hits me and I realize that would cost me like $10,000.  So I climb some more. 

            Just shy of three hours I finally make it to the top.  I have little to no energy left even to celebrate.  Somehow I find it in me to run up the last flight of stairs to the view and you will never believe what I see, an Ice Cream store.       

June 12th Cape Town, South Africa

 Table Mountain

           

            Checklist for Cape Town, first: climb Table Mountain, second: Get a coat, boots, and sweatshirts.  Since the day is slightly warmer than night we are fooled into believing that it is a good idea to do Table Mountain first.  Something we will soon regret.  We head for the hills, which inn Cape Town in a 10-minuet drive from the ocean and a 5-minuet drive form the city.  Another reason why I will soon discover this place is paradise. 

            Table Mountain is one of two major mountains to climb here in Cape Town.  It gets its name from the fact that it is totally flat on top like a table, after one hell of a climb of course.  It is tall and rigid. It is an overwhelming display of jagged rocks and steep mountain slopes.  The sound of a waterfall echoes among the ridges.  Drops of perspiration fall down my back in the mere twenty-minuet walk to the base of the mountain.  I stand at the bottom, head back and eyes up filled with intimidation.  ‘It is just one step after another,’ I tell myself.  I turn to the right to find Alex grinning ear to ear.  This is just the sort of challenge she was hoping for. 

            The slope is nothing short of dramatic.  I climb as fast as I can, still Alex is always twenty steps ahead of me.  She pauses time to time to let me catch up, snatching every photo she can of the torment that constantly fills my face. 

            We finally reach the waterfall and neither of us pauses to drench ourselves in the freezing winter water.  It was a good thing we did too because the hill above us is at least three times as steep as before.  It is a dirt rock path lined with a rock wall held together with twisted wire.  This is probably for safety so that people don’t fall down the hill, but I find that it is much easier to walk on top of the wall. 

            The estimated time to climb the mountain is two hours.  Already Alex and I are running behind, nothing short of being my fault.  The climb thickens and the sun is at its highest for the day.  I reach my hand high over my head and find a steady place to plant my foot to push me up the rock walls.  My breath is shallow and I am nothing short of exhausted.  I make it up the nearest wall and fall to the ground to take a break.  All I can hear in the background is Alex screaming words of encouragement like an obnoxious cheerleader.  She is full of endless promises that there is ice cream at the top of the hill.  Somehow it works.  I climb and climb.  Stopping at every moment I can to look back at the view of the whole city and my accomplishment. 

            A large propeller sound echoes in the valleys of the hillside.  I look up to find a rescue helicopter and for one split second I actually think of flagging them down.  Then reality hits me and I realize that would cost me like $10,000.  So I climb some more. 

            Just shy of three hours I finally make it to the top.  I have little to no energy left even to celebrate.  Somehow I find it in me to run up the last flight of stairs to the view and you will never believe what I see, an Ice Cream store.       

South Africa June 11th

            A light breeze turns into a harsh wind.  The chill of the air numbs my face, the hair on my exposed arms and legs stands call.  I am in Cape Town South Africa and it is dead middle of winter.  Every breath I take appears as thick cigarette smoke.  I am freezing.  My tank dresses and linen pants are no match for this South African winter.  
            The temperature of the hostel we are staying at is no different than that of outside.  Our sleeping bags are our only saving grace at this moment, We spend the entire first night trying everything not to leave them.  

Dubai June 10th

            A dramatic clash form an ancient world to a futuristic world lays the foundation of Dubai.  Women dressed in black Chador’s and men in white Thobe’s fill the streets even at this late hour.  Our stay in Dubai is on the basis of a twelve-hour layover and at night, so our time is valuable here.  To make the most of the time we have, Alex and I decide to do a night tour of the city. 

            I am in awe of this magical city.  At first glance, everything is breathtakingly avant-guard.  It is so far over the top that it almost doesn’t seem real.  The tour leads us to all of the most dominant attractions, including the Atlantis Hotel.  At first I questioned why we would be stopping at a hotel is on our list of attractions, but as I walk in all of my questions are answered.  It was one very special reason alone.  The largest aquarium I have ever seen.  Floor to ceiling fish, stingrays, sharks…you name it.  Alex and I so desperately want to jump in.  I could stay here for hours, but the tour must go on.

            We drove along the palm tree islands that are only visible as a palm tree from satellite, a man made paradise, only you have to be a multi millionaire to enjoy it.  Houses start at Eight million dollars. 

            The rest of the tour includes famous buildings and hotels, including the tallest building in the world.  The Burj Khalifa stands 2,717 feet and cost 1.5 billion dollars to build.  All of Dubai is filled with these elaborate futuristic creations that cost an ungodly fortune.  Even with all the millionaire vacationers, I still don’t know how they stay afloat.  The main line of work, and on of the only lines of work here, is real estate.  80% of the population of Dubai is tourists.  There is absolutely zero, and I mean zero, crime here.  There are no drugs, bars, casinos, or nightclubs.  Dubai is the only one of the seven Emirates that even serves alcohol at all. 

            So you can guess that this does not make Dubai my dream vacation getaway.  And twelve hours is enough to satisfy