Welcoming arms embrace me in a tight hug as I pass through border control at the Cape Town airport.
“Welcome to South Africa!” Elizabeth exclaims.
On Sunday, April 1, I took my first step in another country. My older sister, Elizabeth, a junior at Creighton University, has been studying in Cape Town, South Africa since January. My mom, Jessie, and I were fortunate enough to embark on a journey to visit her in her new home and get a taste of Africa’s culture. I write this reflection of my experience in South Africa with a grateful heart: grateful to have been graciously accepted into another’s country, grateful to learn about another’s culture, and grateful to be surrounded by loved ones on an eye-opening journey.
The trip from the airport to our hotel started off with newfound knowledge of the country. As we drove, Elizabeth pointed out the townships, very small shacks lined side by side where numerous African families live with no running water and little to no money or education, due to the apartheid(1) having ended less than 25 years ago.
“They were like a combination of a shed and a tent. Port-a-potties were lined up in rows on the outskirts of these villages and I witnessed a man filling buckets of water from a pump by the port-a-potties so it is obvious they don’t have indoor plumbing. Unbagged trash and waste in huge clumps and piles litter the sides of these shacks,” Elizabeth said.
Our first day there was spent enjoying a beach near Cape Town. There are two oceans surrounding South Africa: the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. The Indian Ocean consists of warm, shark-infested waters and is not a suitable place for people to swim. A few brave souls take on the tiger sharks and surf in the large waves. We chose to keep our limbs intact and visit the Atlantic Ocean.
Traditional African music and a meal awaited us at Marco’s, an African restaurant, that evening. It was really neat to see the African culture in its most authentic form. A few traditional dishes include lamb’s head, worms, and ostrich. I opted for the vegetarian pasta, a little unsure of having any of those things staring up at me from my plate.
On Monday we visited warm-blooded African penguins at a wild penguin cove about an hour away from Cape Town. Their curious personality instantly stole our hearts.
Tuesday held a visit to Cape Town University, where Elizabeth is studying for the semester. It definitely has earned its ranking as one of the world’s most beautiful campuses. Elizabeth stays in a tiny apartment off campus in Rondebosch. The city had a very different feel from the touristy part of Cape Town. The crime rate is much higher as it is a poorer, less developed part of the country.(2)
Lions, tigers, and…hippos? Numerous species of African animals call the Aquila Game Reserve their home. At the reserve I experienced a close-up interaction with these animals during a two hour jeep safari.
The large hippos waded in the water, their eyes barely poking out of the surface to examine the new crowd of explorers. We didn’t get too close to these guys as we wanted our bodies to remain in one piece. Gentle African giants, or elephants, grazed unbothered a few hills over. A rhino and her baby frolicked in the grasslands just beneath a mountain.
“It was neat to see the animals interacting in their wild habitat,” Elizabeth said.
Thursday brought another animal interaction for me. While Elizabeth and Jessie walked around different markets, I squeezed in a wet suit and headed out to snorkel with seals. These friendly, Cape Fur seals live on Duiker Island, home to 10,000 seals. They were very curious and played in the water all around us. The seals have big, beautiful eyes bursting with innocent curiosity.
Stunning African plants, flowers, and trees filled the Kirstenbosch Gardens, a botanical garden found at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town.
After exploring the gardens we went to a nearby wildlife sanctuary where we saw and interacted with birds, monkeys, and even guinea pigs. The monkeys were very curious and loved shiny objects like earrings and hair.
Saturday, our last day in the breathtaking country, was spent visiting museums. Our first visit was a trip to the District Six(3) museum where it had information about the apartheid. We then visited a contemporary art museum.
In closing, I would like to share a poem I wrote about South Africa:
To Know Africa is to
Touch the open sky and feel the spirit of the mountains.
To Know Africa is to
Feel the drums deep in your soul and the sounds of the waves ringing throughout your body.
To Know Africa is to
Live graciously in its country; to see, hear, experience, and live all the wonders it has to offer.
To Know Africa is to
Look the wise elephant in the eye or share a moment of serenity with the Tabletop Mountain.
To Know Africa is to
Become educated with its history and culture in order to gain a deep respect for the country.
To Know Africa is to
Celebrate how far it has come yet work endlessly towards equal opportunities and education for every black person.
To Know Africa is to
Look over your shoulder and smile one last time at the country before you; smile at the experience that will forever be etched in your mind and heart, smile at the African people who so graciously offer a piece of their country to you, smile at the freedom in the mountains and the calm in the sea, smile at the fight of the people, both poor and rich, just smile; with a tear in your eye and lump in your throat, smile that you now know Africa.
(1)Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South Africa between 1948 and 1994.
(2)South Africa is a developing country. The majority of the successful people are white people. Despite South Africa’s improvement since Nelson Mandela’s presidency, it still has a long way to come until all Africans are able to have access to education and equal opportunities.The black people are still being oppressed and living in unspeakable conditions, such as the townships.
(3)District Six was a former area in Cape Town where over 60,000 black people were forcibly moved to in the 1970’s by the apartheid regime.
