Greetings from an internet cafe on Lang Street, friends.
Whew. It's been a whirlwind since I've begun my time in South Africa...I don't know where to begin. I'm slightly pressed for time, but I'd like to tell you some important bits and pieces about where we are and what we are doing...perhaps a more substantial update shall come later.
In any case, after we arrived at the Cape Town International Airport, we were driven in kombis (think those old Volkswagen vans, only they fit 12 people or more)to Hout Bay (houtbaai in Afrikaans, it's name until the ANC government in 1996), in the wealthy foreign/white area. We're in a beautiful, rediculously beautiful villa, about a quarter of the way up a mountain, overlooking the bay, on the Atlantic. As soon as I upload the appropriate pictures, I'll let you know. Though compact, it's rediculously beautiful, modern, etc...perhaps too much so. Two pools, marble floors, beautiful sunsets, and a view to die for.
The whole point of our time spent in this rental home is to highlight the vast disparity that still exists between those who have and those who do not. We're in the midst of the 'intensive,' which so far has consisted of visiting historical sites concerning the rise and fall of apartheid, beginning with, well, the begining...the Castle of Good Hope (ironic name), the first architechture that white people put on the tip of Southern Africa, when they "discovered" it in the 1600s.
We've been dealing a lot with Afrikaner identity (those are those of Dutch descent, yet consider themselves to be indigenous to the country), and the ways in which the Dutch Reformed Church intersected with the political structures in a deadly perpetuation of apartheid. Frankly, the trip has been difficult so far, sifting through what it means to be a white person in my own context.
There is much more to say, but know that I am well. Tomorrow we will go to an Anglican church in the township in which we will be staying shortly...and then to Cape Point (where the penguins are). Sweetness.
More soon. Take care.
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reflections on Beijing.
1 comment:
wow...sounds amazing...that's pretty crazy to learn about the way the dutch reformed church played a role in apartheid...it's so close to our (*ehem) dear USA...you hear how the southern baptist church played a role in perpetuating slavery...but it still hits me like a wrecking ball when i learn new facets of christian support of injustice...hope you're doing well...:)
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