So this is how Im going to track my time through South Africa. Blog form. Unfortunately, every ounce of internet I use costs me money so I do not know how tricked out or in depth Im going to go but I'll try.

I am currently in Cape Town, South Africa and I will be here for about 5 months. I will be taking class at UCT while taking on some kind of service learning project at a site CIEE has a relationship with. I live with all the kids in my program (there are 18) on one property with two houses right below UCT's campus.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Bo Kaap


On the 29th we went on a tour of the former slave quarters of Cape Town, our tour guide was Bilqess, a warm maternal Indian woman: she was wonderful. We started at the Slave Lodge, which was used to house the slaves brought to the cape by the Dutch from other parts of Africa, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The Lodge is now a museum. After that we walked through De Waterkant, where we had stayed only a few nights before at the Cape Town Lodge. The ended in Bo Kaap, an area that began as a slave settlement and is now predominantly Muslim. The people who live here are called Malay. You may recognize the architecture from any idyllic pictures of Cape Town (I’ll bet you will want to visit now Mom!). We also visited the oldest Mosque in South Africa. We ended the tour at a local family’s house for lunch, the food they serves is called Cape Malay (as I think the architecture is too) and it is similar to Indian food in its use of spices and curries but it isn’t hot. They were so obliging, and we had a great time talking and asking questions.



A boy half dressed for a music and dancing competition. Their dress and music is similar to what we see at Mardi Gras
The cover up I had to wear to go into the Mosque, cant remember the name of it


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