Today was unfortunately our last day in Cape Town so we aimed to squeeze as much as we can in the day before we caught the plane to London. The day started with a lie in, allowing us to finish our packing and have a relaxing breakfast before getting the taxi at 10-am to the District 6 museum.
When we arrived at the small but powerful museum of District 6 we were soon consuming lots of information and personal stories of how thousands of families were forced to move out of the city to make room for the white citizens of Cape Town. We came across many personal artifacts, saw how businesses were dramatically affected as well as the laws and rules set in place to segregate the white people amongst black and mixed race people. The full scale of District 6 was absolutely devastating as it played host to the separation of many families as well as the separation of the whole community. We learnt and grew to understood an important part of history that day. We were able to read personal stories such as; a man who moved out of District 6 who, when he moved, released his racing pigeons hoping that they would return to their new 'home'. Unfortunately not one of of fifty returned home. when he was driving past the demolished buildings of District 6 whilst on his way to work, he was astonished to find all 50 of his pigeons standing where their home has once stood. It's hard to believe that all this devastation took place only a few decades ago in the 60's and 70's. All 6 of us will take something back not just from this trip, but also from this particular visit to the museum as we all individually must learn from our mistakes in the past.
After browsing the gift shop of the museum, we took the taxi to St George's Cathedral which is famous for being the Cathedral of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who has famously outspoken his views on segregation and modern day slavery. St George's was also the home of the Great March in 1989 so try to stamp out Apartheid laws. Thanks to this historical event, it lead to the beginning of the end for Apartheid within South Africa. The Cathedral itself is an impressive building boasting interior and exterior characteristics. Inside we came across a small museum showing us strong pictures the Apartheid era including the Great March with Desmond Tutu. On the floor of the Cathedral laid large purple circles, which, when visitors stood in the centre of, quoted relevant and strong words from many diverse people as well as the Bible itself. It was a small but powerful exhibition which allowed us to question our lives and how we ought to lead it. After a small prayer, we donated money and lit a candle each for us to reflect upon ourselves, our lives, the trip or simply others. We then, as a group, lit another candle to thank those who helped and supported us in reaching Cape Town.
We then took a small walk in the heat and sunshine to a small cafe to find a quick bite to eat. After a long wait and the sounds of Abba playing in the background, we received our food. Unfortunately not all of our meals were nice as Mrs Bhana's meal was very greasy which meant she was unable to eat all of it.
The morning soon passed and before we knew it, it was time to return to the hotel to finish off our trip off in true British style. The swimming pool. We put on our speedos and headed for the Pool which was right on the back overlooking the Atlantic ocean. We dived into the pool (The Four 6th formers) in our own style and watched as Anna and Tom raced, with Anna taking the victory. We then dried ourselves off with a sunbathe and a read in our few remaining hours of beautiful sunshine. Walking back to the hotel, we treat ourselves to an Ice Cream.
After a refreshing shower and final acts of packing, we set off for Cape Town International airport and said goodbye to South Africa and to Cape Town. Fortunately, the flight didn't seem to last long at all as we watched 500 Days of Summer, though some of us slept as soon as we took off. We all managed to sleep, allowing us to hopefully attend college on Monday morning :P
We arrived in Heathrow 1 hour earlier than planned, we we are currently sat in a breakfast bar in St Pancras eating our last and final meal together as a group. It has been a fantastic and memorable trip and I am sure we have certainly took something to learn from and to understand from our trip to Cape Town. Again, we would like to thank everyone at St Mary's and those who supported us in our fundraising to help us get there. It would have been impossible without you, thank you again.
From Simon :)
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Friday, 20 November 2009
Day 6
Day Six and what a day! Where shall I begin? Well, at the beginning, I suppose. We had breakfast at 8.00am (the grapefruit marmalade is heavenly) and then we phoned Misman to pick us up in his taxi and take us to St Joseph's Marist College. We really wanted to make contact with the Marist College before we went back and they made us very welcome. We were shown round the school and went into lessons in the Junior school. Tom and Paige just got stuck in straight away with the children, which was great to see. The senior school were in exams, so we could not speak to any of them. We were taken to the chapel and found that Year 7 were having Mass, so we stayed a while. the singing was wonderful and the chapel beautiful. As we left, they started singing a Christmas Carol which was quite surreal with the sun blazing down on us and the temperature 30 degrees. They were very keen to establish links with us. In many ways, it has a similar history to the Marist College in Hull, having been founded in 1918 as a school for boys and then amalgamating with a girls school about 18 years ago.
After that Masmin drove us to the Table Mountain Cable Way. It did not take us long to go up and the views from the top were stunning. We took some great photos of each other standing on boulders overlooking, it seemed, the whole world. Even Anna forgot her fear of heights! Even standing on the top of the mountain we could hardly believe that we were there. Masmin - what a lovely man - was waiting for us at the bottom and drove us to the Slave Lodge, right in the heart of the business district. This is where the International Conference organised by the Wilberforce Institute is taking place. We listened to a lecture delivered by Sue Holmes and Yvette Fox on the teaching of slavery in schools in the East Riding. After they had finished, a person from Reunion Island spoke on how things were done on his island,. but he spoke in French. Simon and Paige were delighted and listened with great attention. It is clear from just reading the Conference brochure what a prestigious affair it is with speakers coming from the best Universities all over the world. the Chair of this session was a former Minster of Education in the South African government.
And after that, we were straight on the coach with a group attending the Conference to go the the Constantia Wine Estate which built its great wealth on the backs of slaves. This was the wine that was shipped to Napoleon when he was in exile on St Helena. After a tour of the estate and a brief history, we did a little wine tasting. Anna celebrated her 18th birthday in South Africa with a wee small glass of port.
We are now back at our Guest House watching a most fantastic sunset! Simon is overwhelmed by its beauty! We are going out to the Waterfront for a final meal with the Conference delegates. We hope to be in bed by 9.00pm, but I somehow doubt that that will be the case! Good night everyone. Sweet Dreams. Mr C.
After that Masmin drove us to the Table Mountain Cable Way. It did not take us long to go up and the views from the top were stunning. We took some great photos of each other standing on boulders overlooking, it seemed, the whole world. Even Anna forgot her fear of heights! Even standing on the top of the mountain we could hardly believe that we were there. Masmin - what a lovely man - was waiting for us at the bottom and drove us to the Slave Lodge, right in the heart of the business district. This is where the International Conference organised by the Wilberforce Institute is taking place. We listened to a lecture delivered by Sue Holmes and Yvette Fox on the teaching of slavery in schools in the East Riding. After they had finished, a person from Reunion Island spoke on how things were done on his island,. but he spoke in French. Simon and Paige were delighted and listened with great attention. It is clear from just reading the Conference brochure what a prestigious affair it is with speakers coming from the best Universities all over the world. the Chair of this session was a former Minster of Education in the South African government.
And after that, we were straight on the coach with a group attending the Conference to go the the Constantia Wine Estate which built its great wealth on the backs of slaves. This was the wine that was shipped to Napoleon when he was in exile on St Helena. After a tour of the estate and a brief history, we did a little wine tasting. Anna celebrated her 18th birthday in South Africa with a wee small glass of port.
We are now back at our Guest House watching a most fantastic sunset! Simon is overwhelmed by its beauty! We are going out to the Waterfront for a final meal with the Conference delegates. We hope to be in bed by 9.00pm, but I somehow doubt that that will be the case! Good night everyone. Sweet Dreams. Mr C.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Day 5
Thursday
The focus of our day today was a trip to Robben Island, Nelson Mandela's home for 18 years of his 27 year incarceration. It was a very moving visit which began with a boat trip across the bay to the Island; a journey Mandela took in chains.
Once on the Island, our first guide, Nicholas took us on a bus ride which was very informative, particularly about the terrible conditions the political prisoners endured when doing hard labour in the Lime Quarry. This daily 8 hour grind has resulted in permanent damage to Mandela's eyes as the blinding African sun was reflected back by the white of the limestone and the prisoners were not allowed to wear any form of protective eyewear. Prisoners were also not allowed to wear masks or gloves and some of these men have subsequently died of lung diseases. Nicholas also told us about the life and death of Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the PAC who endured 6 years on Robben Island without being spoken to or being allowed to speak to anyone - not even his guards, who were regularly changed to ensure no bond could be formed.
After driving us around the Island, we were dropped off at the gates of the maximum security prison where the political prisoners like Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were held. Our guide was a previous detainee who now lives and works on the island, and his work as a tour guide forms part of his therapy to help him deal with the hardships and injustices he experienced during the apartheid era. He showed us Mandela's cell and the small yard that was his domain for 18 years. He also spoke at length about how they managed to smuggle information in and out of the prison, and between the prisoners in different sections of the prison. Mandela's manuscript for his autobiography, The Long Walk to Freedom, was smuggled out in the soles of a released prisoners shoes!
One of the most shocking aspects of the life experienced by prisoners, was the calculated way the system was weighted to ensure Black prisoners were treated more harshly than prisoners who were mixed race or Asian (no white political prisoners were held on Robben Island). For example, Black prisoners were forced to wear short trousers and were not allowed to wear shoes, unlike the other prisoners and their food ration was smaller. It seems to beggar belief that human beings would go to such lengths to degrade and humiliate other human beings.
We ended the day with a bit of shopping and a thwarted attempt to visit the outdoor swimming pool around the corner from our B&B. To console ourselves we all enjoyed a milkshake (Mr Cuthill's first for many years!)
The focus of our day today was a trip to Robben Island, Nelson Mandela's home for 18 years of his 27 year incarceration. It was a very moving visit which began with a boat trip across the bay to the Island; a journey Mandela took in chains.
Once on the Island, our first guide, Nicholas took us on a bus ride which was very informative, particularly about the terrible conditions the political prisoners endured when doing hard labour in the Lime Quarry. This daily 8 hour grind has resulted in permanent damage to Mandela's eyes as the blinding African sun was reflected back by the white of the limestone and the prisoners were not allowed to wear any form of protective eyewear. Prisoners were also not allowed to wear masks or gloves and some of these men have subsequently died of lung diseases. Nicholas also told us about the life and death of Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the PAC who endured 6 years on Robben Island without being spoken to or being allowed to speak to anyone - not even his guards, who were regularly changed to ensure no bond could be formed.
After driving us around the Island, we were dropped off at the gates of the maximum security prison where the political prisoners like Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were held. Our guide was a previous detainee who now lives and works on the island, and his work as a tour guide forms part of his therapy to help him deal with the hardships and injustices he experienced during the apartheid era. He showed us Mandela's cell and the small yard that was his domain for 18 years. He also spoke at length about how they managed to smuggle information in and out of the prison, and between the prisoners in different sections of the prison. Mandela's manuscript for his autobiography, The Long Walk to Freedom, was smuggled out in the soles of a released prisoners shoes!
One of the most shocking aspects of the life experienced by prisoners, was the calculated way the system was weighted to ensure Black prisoners were treated more harshly than prisoners who were mixed race or Asian (no white political prisoners were held on Robben Island). For example, Black prisoners were forced to wear short trousers and were not allowed to wear shoes, unlike the other prisoners and their food ration was smaller. It seems to beggar belief that human beings would go to such lengths to degrade and humiliate other human beings.
We ended the day with a bit of shopping and a thwarted attempt to visit the outdoor swimming pool around the corner from our B&B. To console ourselves we all enjoyed a milkshake (Mr Cuthill's first for many years!)
Day 4
Today we had a very early start - breakfast was at the frightful time of quarter to 7 - only to discover we didn't have to get up that early at all! Thus, after a leisurely breakfast we took a taxi to meet the rest of the WISE crew at their rather more high class hotel "The Commodore." The coach then took the group of around 30 people to the first destination of many in the day's schedule, a rather appropriately named place known as Simon's Town. Here, we visited the house of a Muslim man who, along with all other blacks and 'coloureds' in the apartheid, was forcibly removed from his house and Town and made to live in a completely new place, further away from white people (in this case, the new place was called Oceanville). 15 years ago under the new governing system he was rightfully allowed back to his house, although he described how the area had changed so much it no longer felt like home. he has now turned his house into a museum and as he gave the group a tour around it, it was evident that the emotions connected to the quite obviously devastating events of the era still haunted him.
After this eye-opening trip, we briefly stopped off at a Naval museum down the road. The next stop on the schedule after this was a penguin sanctuary called Boulders where we had lunch - due to the lack of choice we ended up with Samosas and Bunny Chows (the very food mentioned in the poem about the Apartheid and Distric Six called Nothing's Changed).
A rather long coach trip and some uncomfortable nodding off later, we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. This is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet and is also the most South Westerly point of Africa. We took a Funicula (similar to a tram) up to the top of the cliff and had to walk up stairs the rest of the way. As you can imagine, the wind was strong at such a high point. In fact, we didn't stay long at the top as the wind was literally pushing us all against the wall and it was difficult to catch your breath (you can only imagine how terrifying going back down the stairs to the funicula was!) On our return journey, we made a very brief stop at a place Scarborough to take a picture of us alongside the sign - very touristy of us!
Our final destination for the day was a place called Bo Kaap which translates as "Above the Cape." Here, our tour guide showed us around the area which has a population of around 6500 people (97% of which are Muslim). We were delighted to see how brightly coloured all the houses were and learnt about the history of the area and its connection to slavery. During the tour, we visited a Mosque where it was custom to take your shoes off. Paige and Anna were asked to wear a special garment over their clothes as the shorts and t-shirts they were wearing would have been disrespectful. After this, we all were invited to a local family's house for dinner...and yes, it was all 30 of us. Sitting very close to the people either side of us in the dining room which was averagely sized, everyone tucked into a 3 course meal: starter was Samosas and spiced vegetable soup, the main course was various types of curry-based dishes and rice, and dessert was fruit salad and yoghurt and perhaps most uniquely, sweet potato with custard. All dishes were superbly prepared and most certainly delicious - one of our group even tried their hand and making a samosa with the direction of one of the hosts though unfortunately, it was substantially harder than she made it look. We then took some time to socialize whilst enjoying herbal tea and a cinnamon doughnut-type snack. Very tired after our busy day, we returned back to Villa Rosa for a good night's sleep.
After this eye-opening trip, we briefly stopped off at a Naval museum down the road. The next stop on the schedule after this was a penguin sanctuary called Boulders where we had lunch - due to the lack of choice we ended up with Samosas and Bunny Chows (the very food mentioned in the poem about the Apartheid and Distric Six called Nothing's Changed).
A rather long coach trip and some uncomfortable nodding off later, we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. This is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet and is also the most South Westerly point of Africa. We took a Funicula (similar to a tram) up to the top of the cliff and had to walk up stairs the rest of the way. As you can imagine, the wind was strong at such a high point. In fact, we didn't stay long at the top as the wind was literally pushing us all against the wall and it was difficult to catch your breath (you can only imagine how terrifying going back down the stairs to the funicula was!) On our return journey, we made a very brief stop at a place Scarborough to take a picture of us alongside the sign - very touristy of us!
Our final destination for the day was a place called Bo Kaap which translates as "Above the Cape." Here, our tour guide showed us around the area which has a population of around 6500 people (97% of which are Muslim). We were delighted to see how brightly coloured all the houses were and learnt about the history of the area and its connection to slavery. During the tour, we visited a Mosque where it was custom to take your shoes off. Paige and Anna were asked to wear a special garment over their clothes as the shorts and t-shirts they were wearing would have been disrespectful. After this, we all were invited to a local family's house for dinner...and yes, it was all 30 of us. Sitting very close to the people either side of us in the dining room which was averagely sized, everyone tucked into a 3 course meal: starter was Samosas and spiced vegetable soup, the main course was various types of curry-based dishes and rice, and dessert was fruit salad and yoghurt and perhaps most uniquely, sweet potato with custard. All dishes were superbly prepared and most certainly delicious - one of our group even tried their hand and making a samosa with the direction of one of the hosts though unfortunately, it was substantially harder than she made it look. We then took some time to socialize whilst enjoying herbal tea and a cinnamon doughnut-type snack. Very tired after our busy day, we returned back to Villa Rosa for a good night's sleep.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Day3
Today we woke up at seven o'clock. After a refreshing sleep we meet up with the WISE group, Nick and the two Hull and Humber Youth Ambassadors for the visit to Somerset West Methodist primary school which taught around 900 children aged five to thirteen years old.
Upon our arrival we were given a warm welcome which can only be described as "grand". As we all walked into the courtyard where their assemblies take place we received a round of applause from the children. The assembly started with the South African national anthem which the whole of the school joined in with. It was truly uplifting.
As the Assembly continued we were treated to a performance of the ruby dance "the Hakka" which was preformed by all ten of the school's ruby teams. It's safe to say we've never been so scared of young children in our lives! Near the end of the assembly, the Hull and Humber Clipper crew gave an example of the safety equipment: the children loved it.
For the rest of the morning we split into groups and each went in classrooms - Simon and Anna took the Africaans speaking class whereas Paige and Tom took the easy english speaking class. The point of the day was to teach the children about their rights - we were surprised to discover that the English class already knew a fair bit so we ended up devising a list of over twenty examples.
After this success, we took the children outside to do an activity where they had to create a campaign about children's rights and present their ideas in a way that meant we could take them back to Elloughton Primary School near Hull (St Barnabus Shaw who came from Elloughton was the founder of their school back in the 1800s). Overall, the groups came up with fantastic examples, which ranged from dances and roleplays to posters. Paige and Tom then gave a quick talk on life in England, showed their class our uniform and sports kit and answered as many questions as they could before it was time to leave. After many photos with the children, we were rushed back onto the coach and as we left they ran after the coach to wave goodbye. We can say without doubt that the brief time we spent with the children and what we learnt about their lives will remain with us forever, and hope our trip to their school was somewhat worthwhile for them too.
After having lunch in a fancy restaurant on the Waterfront with the sun baking down on us, we went for a visit to the Hull and Humber Clipper yacht. We were shown around by none other than one of our very own SMC Cantine staff's brother Artie, the one who is now infamous for falling overboard. The sun eventually got too much for us so we retired back to the hotel for a well earned rest. Later on in the evening, we went to another fancy restaurant and were lucky enough to have watched what can only be described as the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen.
Upon our arrival we were given a warm welcome which can only be described as "grand". As we all walked into the courtyard where their assemblies take place we received a round of applause from the children. The assembly started with the South African national anthem which the whole of the school joined in with. It was truly uplifting.
As the Assembly continued we were treated to a performance of the ruby dance "the Hakka" which was preformed by all ten of the school's ruby teams. It's safe to say we've never been so scared of young children in our lives! Near the end of the assembly, the Hull and Humber Clipper crew gave an example of the safety equipment: the children loved it.
For the rest of the morning we split into groups and each went in classrooms - Simon and Anna took the Africaans speaking class whereas Paige and Tom took the easy english speaking class. The point of the day was to teach the children about their rights - we were surprised to discover that the English class already knew a fair bit so we ended up devising a list of over twenty examples.
After this success, we took the children outside to do an activity where they had to create a campaign about children's rights and present their ideas in a way that meant we could take them back to Elloughton Primary School near Hull (St Barnabus Shaw who came from Elloughton was the founder of their school back in the 1800s). Overall, the groups came up with fantastic examples, which ranged from dances and roleplays to posters. Paige and Tom then gave a quick talk on life in England, showed their class our uniform and sports kit and answered as many questions as they could before it was time to leave. After many photos with the children, we were rushed back onto the coach and as we left they ran after the coach to wave goodbye. We can say without doubt that the brief time we spent with the children and what we learnt about their lives will remain with us forever, and hope our trip to their school was somewhat worthwhile for them too.
After having lunch in a fancy restaurant on the Waterfront with the sun baking down on us, we went for a visit to the Hull and Humber Clipper yacht. We were shown around by none other than one of our very own SMC Cantine staff's brother Artie, the one who is now infamous for falling overboard. The sun eventually got too much for us so we retired back to the hotel for a well earned rest. Later on in the evening, we went to another fancy restaurant and were lucky enough to have watched what can only be described as the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen.
day 2
Today was our first full day in Cape Town. After a comfortable and highly anticipated sleep we were up early at 7am as schools in South Africa begin at 8am. The breakfast described as been "world famous" lived up to the expectation.
We took a long taxi drive with our driver Mesmin to St George's School which is a private school which caters for children from 4-18, and is one of the top schools in South Africa. The stunning architecture and a playing field which overlooked Table Mountain were just a few of the many attributes the school has. After a brief discussion on the schools history, we were given a tour of the site, from swimming pools to huge playing fields the school boasted its diversity of different cultures. We spoke to a number of the pupils the most friendly were the 13 year olds, who asked lots of questions as well as we did. It was plain to see that these children who had already had tickets for 2010 World Cup semi-finals and who often visited family in England were well off people.
In the afternoon while on a tour bus of Cape Town we visited a Shanty Town which contains 3000 people. This was a huge contrast to the previous school we had been too. Our tour guide showed us around his house which had been built as part of a project whose team included ex- boxer Chris Eubank. The people were very welcoming and half way through the tour we began to attract a small amount of children around 4 years old who were playing arounf and who were very feisty, after spending around half the time playing with them we were treated to a traditional African song and dance in the community hall. After the tour we hopped back on the bus to look at the rest of the sites. The visit to the Shanty Town was an experience which will stay with us all forever, the close friendship and family bonds which were apparent and the little money the inhabitants didn't dampen their liveliness and spirit.
After freshening up we met up on the harbor with the members of WISE, the leader Nick Evans kindly paid for a posh meal for us all. Due to the large extent of our party we were separated into a group of 13 and a table of 4, which we nick named "the kiddie table" as me, Paige, Simon and Tom were told to sit on it. We were lucky enough to meet up with the youth ambassadors from the Hull and Humber Clipper Becks and Ciaran. After lots of exotic food and several puddings later, it was time to go to bed and prepare for another day in beautiful Cape Town..........
Anna xxx
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Day 1
We caught the plane last night from Heathrow, London and endured a 12 hour flight direct to Cape Town, South Africa. The plane journey was great with no problems. We enjoyed a curry and Ice Age 3 and then tried to sleep with some of us unable to. We endured only a little turbulence which I , (Simon), didn't like. When landing I also encountered serious tooth ache which was cured thanks to pain killers. We then arrived at the Villa Rosa in awe of the exterior features the building has.
My tooth ache returned with a greater pain, therefore myself and Chris Cuthill made a short journey to the local Pharmacy to help aid the pain. After freshening up, we took a walk to the sea front and beach.
The weather was stunning with hardly a cloud insight. Temperature reached 21 degrees celsius which meant a lot of sun cream should be applied. The views we saw were unbelievable. The mountains that surround Cape Town including Table mountain were huge.
We then went for dinner for a pizza and pasta which we all enjoyed. We then also attended a sight-seeing tour for the rest of the afternoon as well as visiting a flea market.
We then returned to the guest house for an hour before we met for tea, although, some of us fell asleep including Chris Cuthill. After finding somewhere to have tea , we returned to the hotel to catch up on the sleep we missed. it has been a great day and we have seen some amazing sights. Let's hope the good weather continues for the rest of the week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)