Today was another great day in Cape Town, we toured the entire city and surrounding areas. Witnessed penguins playing in the sand, climbed two mountains and saw the most popular location for explorers to rest in the early 1600's. But off all that I saw today one thing has me wanting to make a clear statement.
Around lunchtime we stopped at a community center in the township of Oceanview where a group of kids showcased their talents as we enjoyed local cuisine. The first act really through me for a loop it was an openly homosexual drag queen. What really surprised me was everyone's reaction...(no reaction at all). Now personally I have no problem with those of the alternate lifestyle do what makes you happy, on the other hand all my life I have been told that there are no gay Africans. They don't believe in the lifestyle, there's not even a word for it in their languages and in most cases it's punishable by death. Well obviously today all of that was contradicted...at least in the South African community. Now this instance wasn't my first time witnessing a form of the lifestyle since I've been here but it was definitely the defining moment. With all of that being said, I must say if you are of the alternate lifestyle and laws in the other countries of Africa cause you to fear visiting the continent, push those fears aside and visit South Africa. You can be yourself and not have to worry about facing any ridiculous consequences.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
And The Journey Begins!!!
First and Foremost it takes a patient man to travel 29hrs. From dealing with loud talking babies, bitter stewardesses, no TVs and Nasty food a person can go INSANE. Glory be to God he kept me safe (as always) and I managed to remain calm through all of the nuisances.
I arrived in Cape Town on Friday January 26th, completely in awe by the landscape and the weather. The greenery here possibly is the most beautiful shade of green I've ever seen. And the with the combination of the ocean and the mountains I don't know which is more breathtaking, viewing the mountain from the ocean or the ocean from the mountain. On another note, because Cape town is a city it holds one thing in common with all cities: The Ghetto. But i would consider these ghettos to be more of slums simply because of all the run down shacks they contain in such a small area. The area also smell of strong sewage. But somehow through all of this various people in these slums still managed to own BMW's and BENZ's. I guess when it comes down to it all Ghetto's are the SAME.
Moving forward, upon my arrival Orientation Leaders took me and a couple others to our temporary housing on the UCT campus. I must admit I didn't like the temp housing one bit. No Internet and no international calling made for a rough realization that I was stupid far from my home. But I refused to let this feeling overwhelm me so I eagerly involved myself in all of the planned activities in order to mingle and help myself get adjusted. The whole first day we toured the campus which is absolutely stunning, visited the mall which definitely has some American malls beat and hung out on Long Street (I call it the Cape Town Bourbon).
The people have also been great. We have a ton of students from Germany, Norway, and of the course THE USA!!! Everyone seems to be getting along great and all of them pretty much have the same Open-minded mindset. There is one thing I have noticed though is which is actually a good thing for the sake of peace, No One ever brings up Politics or Religion. Oops and don't let me forget the students here at Cape Town. So far they have been great. Easy to talk to, they're helpful, and surprisingly mostly from Zimbabwe lol. Its funny cause I can relate some of the characteristics of these people to my friends back home. Which is pretty settling.
All in All, So much has occurred in the past 72hrs I tried to give everyone a little bit of insight to the life here. If anyone has any specific questions I'll be glad to answer them! This is post 2 and I plan to have many more.
P.S. I'm going to see penguins tomorrow lol
I arrived in Cape Town on Friday January 26th, completely in awe by the landscape and the weather. The greenery here possibly is the most beautiful shade of green I've ever seen. And the with the combination of the ocean and the mountains I don't know which is more breathtaking, viewing the mountain from the ocean or the ocean from the mountain. On another note, because Cape town is a city it holds one thing in common with all cities: The Ghetto. But i would consider these ghettos to be more of slums simply because of all the run down shacks they contain in such a small area. The area also smell of strong sewage. But somehow through all of this various people in these slums still managed to own BMW's and BENZ's. I guess when it comes down to it all Ghetto's are the SAME.
Moving forward, upon my arrival Orientation Leaders took me and a couple others to our temporary housing on the UCT campus. I must admit I didn't like the temp housing one bit. No Internet and no international calling made for a rough realization that I was stupid far from my home. But I refused to let this feeling overwhelm me so I eagerly involved myself in all of the planned activities in order to mingle and help myself get adjusted. The whole first day we toured the campus which is absolutely stunning, visited the mall which definitely has some American malls beat and hung out on Long Street (I call it the Cape Town Bourbon).
The people have also been great. We have a ton of students from Germany, Norway, and of the course THE USA!!! Everyone seems to be getting along great and all of them pretty much have the same Open-minded mindset. There is one thing I have noticed though is which is actually a good thing for the sake of peace, No One ever brings up Politics or Religion. Oops and don't let me forget the students here at Cape Town. So far they have been great. Easy to talk to, they're helpful, and surprisingly mostly from Zimbabwe lol. Its funny cause I can relate some of the characteristics of these people to my friends back home. Which is pretty settling.
All in All, So much has occurred in the past 72hrs I tried to give everyone a little bit of insight to the life here. If anyone has any specific questions I'll be glad to answer them! This is post 2 and I plan to have many more.
P.S. I'm going to see penguins tomorrow lol
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Preparation for a 5 month stay
It's amazing how quickly time passes. Seems like yesterday I was dreaming about seeing the world, experiencing more than this small state of North Carolina. Now as a little over a week separates me from the trip of a lifetime I can barely digest the reality of it all. To a man with many years under his belt, 5 months is barely a blink of an eye but to a man who feels like he's going to be young forever and lives for today that time seems like a century. Its hard to imagine not being around all my friends at UNCG. How much will everyone change while I'm gone? What classic moments will I miss while I'm away? Being that this is the senior year for my class, I wonder how many of my friends will move away after graduation only to become marks in a great chapter of my life. With a little over a week left, I try to comprehend how can I best utilize my time with the ones I love. It's hard preparing to say so long to a family that adores me and a girl that has stolen my heart these past precious years. But in saying so long, It feels great to feel the support from everyone that has ever been in contact with me. Prayers from my family and friends, best wishes from those I work with and so much more. As the time approaches, I look forward to every moment I will have in the great city of Cape Town but most of all, I look forward to returning and sharing every detail with those I love.
Stay tuned for all my future posts, I plan to blog about every moment, every step of the way. Peace
Stay tuned for all my future posts, I plan to blog about every moment, every step of the way. Peace
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