The Beginning

Howsit? (That is the South African greeting that our tour guide has forced us to repeat in unison before he will start the day). I have officially finished my first full day in South Africa and I'm loving it. It is definitely worth the trip. First, a quick run down of my adventures in getting here...
11:30am, Friday - Lezlie, Anita and Kristen meet at my house. (A fourth traveler, Jennifer, who I don't know, is running late because three taxis have stood her up, and ends up having to chase the shuttle around Philadelphia and finally leave her car parked in a random gas station somewhere in North Philly..but that is a long and very funny story that I won't get into now!)
12:00pm Friday - time our airport shuttle is supposed to pick us up
12:30- time the shuttle ACTUALLY picks us up
12:30-1:50- time spent driving around Northeast Philadelphia picking up other passengers that we didn't know would be sharing our shuttle
2:15- time we FINALLY leave Philly and realize that our shuttle is also making a stop to drop people off at Newark airport first...(sidenote, this is also the time Brie starts to flip out and stops speaking to people out of sheer nervousness about missing the flight!)
3:00- time we realize that our flight is at 5:20 and not 5:55, as we originally thought (see above sidenote)
4:05 - arrive at JFK and make it through ticketing and security in a record 13 minutes!
4:18 - RELIEF, boarded the flight.

I have lots of funny stories about the flights, including fights with flight attendants and sitting next to the Minister of something or other from Guinea Bissau.....but I'm sure thats not what you are all reading this blog for! So the SA adventures begin...

Of course, it would not be a Tangney vacation if it didn't start with rain! This morning was really foggy and misty, but turned into a beautiful and busy day. At 8:00am we headed out on a tour of Cape Town and visited the District 6 museum...District 6 was a mixed race neighborhood in Cape Town where people were forced to relocate in the 1960's based on race and had their homes destroyed, and are finally able to start moving back. The museum is now a gathering space for activists and a way to remember and rebuild the neighborhood. We had a private tour by some former residents of District 6, and they shared their stories and photographs.

Next, to lighten the mood, we headed on a tour of Camps Bay (one of the worlds top ten beaches) and drove along the water. This is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. From there, it was lunch on the waterfront, followed by a 45 minute choppy ferry ride to Robben Island, which is the former prison where political prisoners like Nelson Mandela were held.

Robben Island was definitely not what I expected from a prison...the island has an unbelievable view of Table Mountain and Capetown, and tons of wildlife (penguins, peacocks and bunnies, frolicking side by side!) and vegetation. In the midst of our ooh-ing and ahh-ing and flurries of camera flashes, it dawned on me the irony (maybe thats not the right word, contradiction?) of the lives of prisoners on this island. Here, many of these men who were sentenced to solitude and life inprisonment because they fought for freedom and peace, were also forced to look out at one of the most beautiful sights I've seen.

The most moving part of my day was definitely coversations with Noor, the tour guide at District 6 who had been relocated and physically watched his home bulldozed, and our tour guide at Robben Island who was a former political prisoner. Both of these men, who had been so oppressed and suffered so much, spoke about forgiveness and reconciliation. Neither had any hatred towards the white people who had treated them so badly and truly believed in peace and harmony.

After a very busy and moving day, we had some down time and a group Welcome Dinner at a Cape Malay (think Indian food) restaurant nearby and got to experience some local cuisine. On that note, I am stuffed and sleepy and ready to get some rest for our first University visit and Champagne Beach Experience tomorrow!

I can't believe this is only the first day, and looking forward to the next 9!

Love,
Breezy