South Afrika part I

I realize I should have uploaded this as I wrote each days entry, but now I have all of them and it's too late. Woops... it's a lot... sorry.


Monday
First day in South Africa was a blast. I've been hanging out with these kids Rob, Tyler, and Gretchen a lot lately 'cause they're a fun crowd. We explored downtown Cape Town. It was a lot of fun and the people are really nice and so much less intrusive than in Salvador. Some random guy came up to me and just asked how I was liking Cape Town. He wasn't selling anything, he just was being completely friendly. I've never gotten anything like that before.

We explored the tourist market and then went to the serious African market. There was some crazy masks and all in there. One of my missions was to get a cap in Cape Town so my head wouldn't get sun burned. I ended up finding this awsome cap from the Afro-man cafe... it's pretty much the best cap ever. We got a CD at the local music store of a band called Freshley Ground. Their music is really happy, so I like it. Later on, we went back to the boat for a bit before going out to this club called Kennedy's that was recommend to us by the guy at the music store. The music that night ended up being pretty bad though... it was two guys and a drum machine playing smooth jazz. I think the guy at the store must not have known who was playing. I tried a mojito for the first time, but they made it too minty so it tasted more like mouth wash.

Tuesday
The next morning I woke up bright an early to find someone to go to the winelands with. I had been search the day before, but to no avail. I got really lucky and ran into one of the other producers from SeaTV who wanted to go along with two other girls. I had done a bunch of research the day before and knew the best tour, so I went down and booked our trip.

Our guide, Erold, was really nice and before heading to the winelands, he showed us where he lived. It was a section of town that had brightly colored Dutch houses... and boy how I love colors. Afterwards, we went to our first wine estate. This was, of course, my first experience in wine tasting and everything I knew about it was based on the little I learned from Sideways. Our guide showed us the proper way of tasting. The first couple time I wasn't sipping the wine right, but as soon as I got the hang of it, the flavor was magical. Each wine was so distinct and was something my taste buds had never come close to experiencing before. This could definitely be an addiction. It got me exciting about being 21 and trying more wines back home. Could be an expensive hobby though, especially since for some reason my favorite wines always seem to be the most expensive... what can i say?

I really liked the dessert wine and almost bought a bottle. I was so surprised how inexpensive even the highest price wines were. In South Africa they have a special type of wine called Pinotage, which supposedly is exclusive to the region. Wine tasting is such an incredibly relaxing experience. I don't think I have been more relaxed on the entire trip. The importance of time seemed to completely disappear altogether... something that doesn't happen to often anymore.

The next winery was a lot bigger and we stood up at a long bar where they served us wines. The selection was very broad. I found out that everywhere you go for wine, they give you intricate descriptions of the flavors (or supposed flavors) in the wine. Some of the descriptions included cream brule, strawberry jello, lechi, and other weird random flavors.

About 10 minutes into our tasting a group of about 50 SASers arrive. This is when I realized that I couldn't handle huge SAS group trips. They totally took over the place and overwhelmed the tasting bar. We finished our wine tasting and then moved on to the cheese tasting because in addition to vineyards, this particular estate raised cows and goats for cheese. They had some of the most amazing goat cheese. I ended up getting some camembert cheese with herbs and some cranberry blue cheese. We then drove through some of the other wine regions to arrive at our lunch spot. It was this quaint restaurant above the local chocolate factory... too perfect! I almost ordered the monkey gland burger, but ended up going for the Venicine. I probably shouldn't have gotten a more wine, but it only seemed appropriate being in the winelands and wine always taste so much better with a nice piece of meat. After enjoying our private lunch, we went down stairs for a chocolate tasting. I normally don't like dark chocolate, but in this case it was very mild (only 8%), so I liked it a lot.

The next winery was another small place and my group was the only ones there. The brandi bottle at this place had a label made out of iron. We talked about how much wine we were pouring out after tasting it and how fellow college students back home would be in shock if they knew we were wasting precious wine.

After this tasting, we drove to Stellenbash(or something like that), which is a large wine region and university town. We went far down a dirt road to get to our last winery and I think I liked this one the best. It was just so beautiful. You looked out and saw acres and acres of grape vines. The place where we did the tasting was very rustic and felt like the inside of a cellar. Outside, geese were wandering around and the trees were full of tiny birds nests. It was a wonderful end to our trip. A great guide and a fun group of people. I've ended up becoming real good friends with Leigh, one of the girls in the group. She is in my anthro of food class and we spend lunches talking about all the delicious food we've made and eaten and all the food and drinks we hope to have in each country.

After getting back to the boat, I went out to dinner with this random group of kids because everyone else was eating on the boat. It ended up turning out to be the rich kids crowd. They spent the dinner talking about how "My families restaurant had $50,000 dollars embezzled from us" and well "My families company had $200,000 embezzled"... I actually found it a bit comical, but definitely not a crowd I'd ever hang around with again. Afterwards, I went to call home. It felt so good to talk to my dad and the connection was really good. I tried to call mom, but she wasn't around, so instead I called the grandparents. It all helped me get over the homesickness a bit. I was really hoping to talk to mom though, it's weird how just hearing her voice makes me feel so at home, no matter what she says.

Wednesday
The next morning I was up bright an early to go build with Habitat. I got out where the busses pick us up sporting my HabitatUCLA shirt. It ended up that the other SASers that were going to build were all friends from the ship that I hadn't known had signed up for that day. It was really nice because it was a small group of only 20 of us. Habitat built in the townships, which are pretty much slums full of corrugated metal and wood houses. Entering the township was like entering an entirely different world. There is such a stark contrast, even from one side of the road to another. It is not like in California, where houses will gradually get worse as you get into poor neighborhoods. This was more like seeing mansions and malls on one side of the street and house the size of a garden shed on the other.

Getting off the bus, we were bombarded by at least 50 kids. They were really excited to see us and have their pictures taken. We had a short meeting about how the build would go and then we headed over to the build site. If you've even built with Habitat in the US, let me tell you, this was an ENTIRELY different story. This was more like building a big room.

They ended up needing only about half of us to work on the house at a time, since there was so little room and not many jobs. There being so many kids, the other SASers were asked to play with them and keep them away from the build site. I, being the kid lover I am, went to play with the kids. We had tons of stickers that we gave out to them and they had us put them all over their faces. It was very overwhelming, but fun.

We played games with the kids like red light green light and red rover. One of the kids wanted to take a picture with my camera, so I let him and pretty soon I had a line of about 15 kids all wanting to take photos. They would take a photo and then run to the back of the line to take another. I realized after a few minutes that I could take out my memory card and it would still take pictures and display them without saving them. They got a real kick out of seeing the photos they took.

After lunch I helped with the house and talked to the supervisor of the build. He told me how they were trying to build more permanent homes because the shacks they have now allow thieves to hide and for crime to thrive in the town. He said it only costs $8000 to fund an entire house for a family, but that it was difficult to get volunteers and to make sure the supplies showed up on time. We had nothing to do for a while, because we were waiting for the cement to come.

I played with the kids some more near the end of the day, but it started to get a little to much from them climbing all over me. It was depressing knowing that half of these kids probably had HIV or AID. For some of them it was even noticeable. Yet, at the same time it was amazing how happy and intelligent these kids were. They knew at least two or three languages already by the age of six. There smiles were brighter than any I have ever seen. The contrast was astounding and it was an experience that will be strong in my memory for the rest of my life. It was even more difficult eating lunch and spending the day there knowing that in a few hours we'd be leaving back for our luxury cruise ship. Things can be done. Where is our Robin Hood?

After cleaning up back at the ship, a group of us went out to dinner at this place called Mama Afrikas. It was recommended by all the locals. Since we didn't reservations, we had to sit at the bar, but it was alright because we could talk to the bar tenders. I order Kudu Biltong, which is actually jerky of a type of Antelope and tasted real good. I also ordered a local cider called Savana. Cider is probably one of my favorite drinks and this one was especially refreshing. They have Long Islands, but instead they call them Robin Island, which I think is kinda weird because that is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. For our main course, a bunch of shared a variety of different native game like Kudu, Ostrich, and Springbock. They all tasted amazing. I wasn't too fond of the crocodile though... it tasted pretty potent.

While we were eating, the musicians started setting up. The band consisted of three marimbas and a few drums. They started playing and it brought me back to the days of drumline. As much as there were many things I didn't like about band, I would never trade those times or experiences for anything. Listening really made me want to play again.

More people started to show up and a few of us started dancing in the space in front of the band. Then, they brought out their singer, who I found studied opera at the University of Cape Town. His voice was really incredible and very unique. The more they played, the more everyone, including myself, was getting into the music. I really felt the music was from the souls of these musicians. It was so powerful, that it really made me reflect on the past few days, the entire voyage, and even life in general.

Just thinking about the very moment I was in filled me with more joy than I could handle. The music wrapped around me and lifted me up. I started breaking down in tears I was so happy. Everything was just too perfect. My experiences had just accumulated from the beginning of the voyage and were overflowing my mind.

That's when I started to think about how I got where I was and realizing how I owe the world to my parents. And it's a lot more than the money they are contributing to my voyage. It goes way beyond that. There are thousands of students just like me who could afford this trip, yet will never go. They are the ones who raised me to look beyond the world in front of me, to always try new things, and to make the very most of my opportunities. They have given me more than I could ever deserve and what motivates me most in life is to make them proud. That is really what matters most to me, more than anything else. And I know they are proud, because I do everything with all my heart. I hope someday to be even half the parents they are to me.

They are the ones who taught me what really means the most in life... to love my family and friends. They are the ones who have given me the passion to do well and to laugh and to help others. I am truly fortunate to have the opportunities that my parents have allowed me.

Thursday
Today I decided to make my first trip alone. This was due partly in not being able to find someone to go with and also to the fact I had to be back in the afternoon to go on an SAS trip. I was a man with a mission. I was going to see find the legendary penguins I had heard about from so many. This trip was more than just any other trip, it was a trip in which I would discover my inner penguin. I set off on my journey not knowing the way, nor means of how I would reach this magical place of the penguins, but knowing that I would not stop until I had seen these amazing beautiful animals up close.

I hop in a cab and high tailed it to the nearest train station. This probably wasn't the safest place in Cape Town to be alone at with a camera, but Cape Town in general I had found to be a pretty safe place with lost of security. I bought my first class ticket to heaven and went to wait for chariot of dreams. While waiting, I happened to meet this nice fellow from Denmark. We got to talking and decided we'd be each others protectors for this leg of the journey.

Soon enough, though, the inevitable occurred. A group of three other SASers arrived. I kind of knew two of them and they were headed on the same mystical journey, so I decided to join up with them as well. The train ride was really beautiful. I went right along the beaches of the cape. The water and sand was so pristine and not many people lined the shores. It was funny how in someways the beaches looked so much like Malibu, partly because of the houses that were along the shore. I definitely wouldn't mind living there for a summer.

On arrival, I found out the latest train back that would still arrive on time for my SAS trip was in an hour. That meant it would be tight, but do-able. The three other SASers and I hopped in this tiny taxi van and made our way to the famous penguin beach. After arriving, we took the somewhat long path down to where the penguins spent their day bathing in the sun. You can only imagine the excitement I felt seing my first penguin. Of course, I'd seen other penguins before, but only in the zoo. These little fellows were up close and there weren't a few of them. These guys owned the beach. There were at least a hundred penguins relaxing on the shores.

I really way in heaven—a dream come true. Much to my chagrin, I didn't have much time to spend in this magical wonderland on account of the train I had to catch back. So, after a few precious momments of becoming one with my penguins, I had to say farewell until the day I would return and take residence with these superb beings.

The train ride back was a memorable experience as well. I started talking to a local of Simons Town, the town I was in. This kid was about my age and I found out much to my excitement that he was also going to be studying design. As the train was going, I started taking pictures out the train becuase there was tons of really awsome graffiti that was on the walls along the track. I ended up finding out that this kid was a graffiti artist! How lucky that the one person that I meet on my way back is the person that knows everything about what I was so facinate in. My own personal "guide" to the graffiti of Cape Town.

The kid, Tristan, seemed to know all the graffiti artists and could point out all their personal tags. He told me all the stories of the graffiti and who had gotten caught. Since being in New York, I have been so interested in graffiti, since it is one of those forms of art that you see in EVERY major city. It has been one of the factors that I feel connects all of the places that I am visiting and it is so intriguing to see the variations and similarities of the art from country to country. Not only that, but there is a whole other culture associated with art. It has so many meanings, whether its political or just as a way of rebellion. Tristian told me that he himself was retired because he had already been caught once and if he was caugh again, he'd go to jail. I eventually found out that he had once been featured on a popular graffiti website that even I had heard of.

Tristian's stop was a bit sooner than my own, so we parted ways. The rest the trip back to the boat was a realatively short one, but the events that followed were not ones to be forgot. I arrived in the train station and started walking through the station towards the exit to pick up a cab. As I am walking, this lady who looks to be Indian and around the age of 35, walks up to me. She tells me in a quite voice that she needs to tell me something. I am already right up next to her, so at this point, I don't really have any choice.

She tells me to no look around. At this point, my mind totally freaks out. A thousand thoughts go through it in an instant... "this lady is trying to rob me" "does she have a weapon" "She's going to take my camera" "Can I run or find help". At the same time I feel like this is the last place that someone would rob you, becuase it was a busy public place with a good amount of officials.

She repeats to me "Don't look around, but I just wanted to tell you that some people have been following you. I've been watching you since you were in the train. There was a woman in the train that was watching you take pictures. She made a call on her cell phone and another man came. They followed you off the train and now they are watching you from that phone booth over there."

I asked her what I should do and if I should go to the police. She said yes and told me to follow her back through the gates to the police station. We walked through the gates again to the place where the tracks were and as we were walking we passed two police officers. I asked her if we could just ask them for help, but she kept walking. Pretty soon, we were walking down the pathway along the last track.

At this point I realized there was NOONE else around. I suddenly came to the realization that this lady must be part of the scam too and she was just leading me into a trap. Less then a second later, the two people who the lady said had been following me came up behind us. They said they needed to speak with me. I was completely trembling, but I had stopped because there was really nowhere I could go.

The man lifted up the shirt to reveal a ID card and he told me that he was "Train security". First of all, the card didn't even look real and second of all, he wasn't dressed in any sort of uniform, unlike the many other police and security I saw on the train. The lady who had said she was trying to help me was very confused as well. They asked me if I had taken any pictures because they had seen me with my camera on the train. They then asked to see the photos on my camera.

I was sure they were going to steal my camera. I told them I'd be more comfortable in the police station, so we started walking down the track again. A few seconds later another man, who looked more official came up to me. This man explained that I wasn't allowed to take photos of the train or any of its operations. I finally decided that these guys must be for real and showed them the photos on my camera.

They told me there was no problem, but they needed to get my info. I wrote my name and a few other things down on this little booklet they gave me, but as I wrote my hand shook like mad. Slowly, I started to calm down and we started to laugh about the whole situation. I was really shook up, but when I finally believe that they were really undercover train security and that they weren't about to rob me blind, I was definitely relieved. They were nice enough to escort me out to take a taxi even!

I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting University of Cape Town with one of my professors. I is a really beautiful university, but I didn't really get the chance to meet many of the students. I actually have a friend who goes there, but he was in another city for the week, which was too bad.

Friday
This the day I had been planning for all week. My friend Rob and I were going skydiving!! I didn't tell the parents because I could get them worried until I made it safely to the ground. We took a van with 7 other kids out into the middle of nowhere. Every moment of the 40 minute van ride the anticipation multiplied. We had been told that the free-fall would last 30 seconds, so someone timed 30 seconds on their watch while we all imagined falling. 30 seconds was an eternity.

By the time we got to the hanger, we were all giddy with excitement. The plane only could hold about 5 people, so that meant the pilot and four jumpers, two of which were the tandem jumpers in whose hands we were putting out lives. We were at the end of the list, so I decided to take a nap while the others were jumping so I'd be awake and aware for my jump. I fell asleep, but was woken up about 10 minutes later to something wet on my lips and I wake up to the face of a golden retriever named puppy.

A few minutes later we get suited up in our harness. Now I really feel ready. I want to record the whole experience, so I tape my video camera to my hand. We walk out to our tiny plane in our jump suits like a scene out of Top Gun. We all squeeze into the tiny plane and I'm practically in the lap of my tandem partner. I felt safe, though, since these guys have gone literally thousands of times. It seems like a long flight up, but it's only about 20 minutes (or 9000ft) up. At about 8000 feet I get strapped in. This is it! I was the first one out. My partner opened the side door and it felt like a vacuum. The sound of the air was deafening. I put my feet over the edge and felt the wind almost pull me out.

Out we go! We do a couple spins and then i put my arms out and start to feel like I'm ripping the air. My face is pulled back to the max and I feel as if I'm suspended in the air. I feel like I'm in a video game, falling through the air, but nothing will really happen when I hit the ground. Then I feel the chute open. It was a lot sooner than I thought it would. Talk about a view, it couldn't have been better... nothing above, bellow, or to the side. As we neared the ground we had to spin in order to land on the right spot. This spinning was a little intense for me and I though I was going to puke on the way down. Luckily, I made it to the ground alright. It was definitely not an experience I ever could've imagined.

But the day wasn't over yet. I still had yet to hike Table Mountain, which was a Cape Town must. After getting a bite to eat, I found a group heading up the gorge that would take us to the top. It wasn't like anything I'd ever hiked. It was like a giant stone staircase that leaded to the top of the mountain. It couldn't have been a better day to hike either—the air was clean and crisp. It felt really good to do something physically intensive again since the last time was soccer in the Brazil. We made it to the top in a little over an hour and the view was as beautiful as expected. I enjoyed a nice ice-cream bar and kiwi cooler drink before we got on the cable car to head to the bottom of the mountain.

That night I went out with these two girls Becky and Brittany, who were both stood-up by these South African guys they were supposed to meet. We ate ate a place called Marco's African Place and then headed over to Mama Africa's for more marimba music. The band was already playing and I ordered up some Savanna. It just so happened that the agent for the band was there that night. I was so exited about the band that I told her that it would be amazing to be able to bring them over to the US. She loved the idea and said that she had wanted them to go to US but didn't have anyone to sponsor them.

Later that night I decided to try this drink at the bar called a flaming ox. This drink was intense. They filled a glass with this yellowish alcohol and sprinkled cinnamon on top. The bar tender gave me two straws and lit the top of the alcohol. He told me to put the two straws in and drink as fast as I could because the straws would melt. I was nervous of how it would feel, but i stuck the straws in and went for it. As I was drinking, he poured in another liquid that was blue. The feeling on my throat really strong and the combination of the spicy cinnamon, hotness from the flame, and strength of the alcohol was almost too much to handle. I drank all but the very bottom of the of the drink. Afterward, it was a almost pleasant burning sensation in the back of my throat.

At the end of the night as the place was closing, we got a chance to talk to some of the waiters and bar tenders more. The bar tender had been talking to one of the girls I was with for a while, so he offered us a ride home. The three of us piled in to his beat up vintage cooper. This ride was sweet! We sped down the roads of Cape Town in what felt like a go-cart. He even let us try these brownies that were left over from the kitchen and where made with chili powder. WOW... pretty much the best brownie ever. What a night!