The following blog post was written on the evening of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!
It is just about midnight as I sit here writing this, which will most likely be my last blog posting from Cape Town. I have a shuttle arriving tomorrow to pick me up for the airport at 7:30am…and after that I have one long journey covering many hours and many miles.
I thought I would share my travel plans with you in order to make you properly sympathetic:
Friday, 7:30am South Africa (12:30am Thursday night/Friday morning in Chicago) – leave hostel for Cape Town airport
Friday, 9:50am South Africa (2:50am Friday Chicago) – depart Cape Town for Joburg
Friday, 12:15-6:40 South Africa (5:15-11:40am Chicago) LAYOVER in Joburg (boo, long time)
Friday, 6:40pm South Africa (11:40am Friday Chicago) – depart Joburg for Dakar, Senegal
Saturday, 4:30am South Africa (9:30 pm Friday Chicago) – land in Dakar
Saturday, 5:30am South Africa (10:30pm Chicago) – leave Dakar for Atlanta
Saturday, 2:05om South Africa (7:05am Chicago) – land in Atlanta
Saturday, 3:55pm South Africa (8:55am Chicago) – leave Chicago
Saturday, 6:00pm South Africa (11:00am Chicago) – land in Chicago
Get bags and find a place to either: A) fall asleep B) Eat Mexican food C) Enjoy the warmth of summer or D) all of the above
All said and done, when I leave for the airport in seven and a half hours I am looking at over a day and a half before I get to my destination. I am hoping the puking lady isn’t next to me on the return flight.
Talk to all you Americans soon.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
My Accent
The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!
One thing that I am excited about upon returning to the U.S. is people being able to understand what I am saying. As a Minnesotan I have been told that I have an accent many times during my travels throughout the United States, but South Africa is a little different. Here is a transcript of a typical conversation I’ve had while in Africa:
Dana: Excuse me, do you have a toilet?
Waiter: Hum, a toilet?
Dana: Yes, a toilet.
Waiter: Ohhh, you mean a toilet! Yes, we do…
Ok, I know this sounds silly, but it has happened numerous times. This is just an example, so many times during the last weeks people have had trouble understanding my think American accent.
There are two interesting facts:
First: the way that they said “toilet” was not that different than the way I said it
Second: they watch a great deal of American TV, so it is hard to believe they didn’t understand what I was saying
One thing that I am excited about upon returning to the U.S. is people being able to understand what I am saying. As a Minnesotan I have been told that I have an accent many times during my travels throughout the United States, but South Africa is a little different. Here is a transcript of a typical conversation I’ve had while in Africa:
Dana: Excuse me, do you have a toilet?
Waiter: Hum, a toilet?
Dana: Yes, a toilet.
Waiter: Ohhh, you mean a toilet! Yes, we do…
Ok, I know this sounds silly, but it has happened numerous times. This is just an example, so many times during the last weeks people have had trouble understanding my think American accent.
There are two interesting facts:
First: the way that they said “toilet” was not that different than the way I said it
Second: they watch a great deal of American TV, so it is hard to believe they didn’t understand what I was saying
My Travel Buddies
The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!
Steven let me know about his disappointment concerning me blog. He believes that my readers need to know more about my travel companions, specifically about him. I thought I would let you know a little about Steven and Jill.
Steven, a Pennsylvania native, is currently a social studies teacher. He has plans to move to New York City upon returning to the U.S. next week in preparation for his new job with New York City Schools. He enjoys driving on the left side of the road and loves Toffer cookies. Jill, also from Pennsylvania, is currently a graduate student in the history department at Michigan State University. She is concentrating her studies on Zulu nationalism, primarily on women. She has traveled through South Africa several times during the last five years. Jill enjoys sleeping and is able to do it anytime and anywhere.
Table Mountain
The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!
Today we went to the top of Table Mountain, which was the last thing on my list to do before leaving Cape Town. We were concerned that we might not get to go to the top, since it is so weather dependent and winter in Cape Town is known to be unpredictable. In fact, the cable cars just started running again on Monday after being closed for the winter.
Our incredible weather luck continued for another day! We were able to take the cable car up and down the mountain. The cable cars are huge, holding 65 people at once or a total of 900 people per hour. The floor of the car rotates while moving up and down to provide riders with different perspectives. The cables are also 1200m long, weighing 18 tons. However, the counterweight system allowing the cableway to remain balanced weigh 134 tons each. The view of the city from the top of Table Mountain is unbelievably beautiful! You can see Robben Island and the harbor as well. Table Mountain its self is thought to by some people to be one of the oldest mountains in the world, over 600 million years. It is at least 6 times older than the Himalayas and 5 times older than the Rockies. The giant granite and sandstone mass that became Table Mountain was formed under the ocean’s surface and then carved by glaciers. The mountain is often cloaked by white, drifty clouds referred to as the Tablecloth. There are many myths surrounding the Tablecloth, the most famous is that a pirate named Jan van Hunks met the devil on the mountain and in attempts to save his soul he challenged the devil to a pipe smoking contest-where they continue to smoke today. The Tablecloth is actually the result of a meteorological phenomenon that causes the clouds to tumble down the side of the mountain throughout the day.
Long Street
The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 7th of August while in Cape Town!
Cape Town is known for having great places to eat! Many of the restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Cape Town are located around Long Street. Our first day here we stumbled, very hungry, into a place called the Clay Oven. The Clay Oven is a pizza place that was advertising 29R nahcos, which turned out to have fantastic homemade salsa and guac on them.
We also went to a place called Royale Eatery the second night, which was supposed to have the best ostrich burger (called the Big Bird), but they were all out-so I had a Hawaiian burger instead (beef with pineapple and some yummy sauce on it). It was the first beef hamburger I’ve had in, well, I cannot remember how many years and if they taste as good at home I am considering eating them more often.
Tonight we are headed out to Long Street again, although I am not sure where we are going to end up eating. We are meeting this kid named Justin that we met on the top of Table Mountain (he is from California and traveling by himself for a few more weeks). It is my last night in South Africa and I am I am pretty much packed up so I should be able to relax and have a good time tonight.
Cape Town is known for having great places to eat! Many of the restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Cape Town are located around Long Street. Our first day here we stumbled, very hungry, into a place called the Clay Oven. The Clay Oven is a pizza place that was advertising 29R nahcos, which turned out to have fantastic homemade salsa and guac on them.
We also went to a place called Royale Eatery the second night, which was supposed to have the best ostrich burger (called the Big Bird), but they were all out-so I had a Hawaiian burger instead (beef with pineapple and some yummy sauce on it). It was the first beef hamburger I’ve had in, well, I cannot remember how many years and if they taste as good at home I am considering eating them more often.
Tonight we are headed out to Long Street again, although I am not sure where we are going to end up eating. We are meeting this kid named Justin that we met on the top of Table Mountain (he is from California and traveling by himself for a few more weeks). It is my last night in South Africa and I am I am pretty much packed up so I should be able to relax and have a good time tonight.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Conversation in Lesotho: What do you eat?
The following blog post was written on the evening of the 6th of August while in Cape Town!
I just remembered a conversation I had with a young woman in Lesotho. She asked how my village was different from her’s. I told her that there were a lot more people in my village, as many people as live in Lesotho all in one city. Then, I told her that the buildings were many stories high and there were not animals walking around the streets. She looked confused and then asked how there can be so many people and nothing to eat. I tried to explain that food was bought in stores, but overall she remained confused at why we would live so close together without animals and crops around us to eat. As a child of Lesotho, she is much more used to being a part of the meal preparation process-from animal in the backyard to dinner on the plate.
I guess that she had a good point.
I just remembered a conversation I had with a young woman in Lesotho. She asked how my village was different from her’s. I told her that there were a lot more people in my village, as many people as live in Lesotho all in one city. Then, I told her that the buildings were many stories high and there were not animals walking around the streets. She looked confused and then asked how there can be so many people and nothing to eat. I tried to explain that food was bought in stores, but overall she remained confused at why we would live so close together without animals and crops around us to eat. As a child of Lesotho, she is much more used to being a part of the meal preparation process-from animal in the backyard to dinner on the plate.
I guess that she had a good point.
Dinner in Bo-Kaap at Biesmiellah
The following blog post was written on the evening of the 6th of August while in Cape Town!
For dinner today we went to the Bo-Kaap district. This area is the home to the famously bright colored houses on the hill. It is typically known to be the Muslim area of town. We had a fantastic meal at Biesmiellah restaurant! I recommend the butter chicken to anybody visiting the area. After we eat we walked to the Rose Corner Café to get a candy bar and call for a cab. The market had a cabinet covered with money from around the world. It was really neat to look at all the different currencies, some of which were quite old. We offered a US dollar, but they said their customers would not be in favor of it being there.
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