Travel Statistics: 23,609 miles (plus)...

Last year, I blogged about my travel stats after the 2010 Cape Town-European adventure and many of you said that it made for an interesting way to sum up two months of travel. So, here is another statistical summary! Taking the time to reflect back on my travels and experiences in a quantifiable manner is rather fun. Yep, I am a geek like that.

Here are my travel stats from this big trip:

(150) hours of grading papers and blue books (ugh!)

(53) days out of Athens, Georgia

(16) dropped Skype calls (with Charlie)

(7) weeks out of the motherland (U.S.)

(7) visits to the Schiphol Amsterdam international airport (how I love, thee)

(7) Airplanes= 22,559 miles
Atlanta to Amsterdam: 4,401 miles
Amsterdam to Cape Town: 5,997 miles
Cape Town to Amsterdam: 5,997 miles
Amsterdam to Budapest: 727 miles
Budapest to Amsterdam: 727 miles
Amsterdam to Chicago: 4,120 miles
Chicago to Atlanta: 590 miles

(4) Trains= 450 miles
Amsterdam to Sneek: 84 miles
Sneek to Amsterdam: 84 miles
Amsterdam to Brussels: 141
Brussels to Amsterdam: 141

(4) Countries: South Africa, Belgium, Hungary & Netherlands

(4) weeks of illin' (coughing, sore throat, congestion...ick!)

(3) Metro Systems: Budapest, Brussels & Chicago

(1) Bad-Ass Safari Truck: 600 miles
Garden Route, South Africa

(1) canceled airline reservation (FML!)

Good-bye Global L.E.A.D. & Cape Town & North Face

The end is near...last night was the final dinner (see candid and action photos below) and the first flight of students leave today.

I am not sure when I will be back in Cape Town; I suppose that is why I am feeling nostalgic as I write this “Goodbye Cape Town” blog entry. This is my third trip to Cape Town, as I lived in Pretoria in 2007, last year I was here with Global LEAD and back again this year. Every time I visit I am amazed by how much I learn about myself and South African history; every visit is rather intense. Of course the Global LEAD (which stands for Leadership, Education, Adventure, and Diplomacy) curriculum facilitates the historical and personal edification, especially when I find myself teaching how to write a personal vision statement, leading discussions on District Six, being a mindful traveler, and the components of service-learning. This year was just as intense as previous visits especially this past week as I have been sick with a terrible cough and my North Face fleece went missing as I left it at the final dinner. Yes, while the sickness and missing fleece added to the intensity, both are disposable. Education and introspection is not! Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again.” What did he mean by this? Well, after an international experience you evolve into a more globally conscious person and home becomes different than when you left it. This is exactly why I have a hunger for more international experiences…and the next big one will be in Finland with my superboyfriend-Charlie. Until then, I am headed to Europe for a short adventure in the Netherlands, Budapest, and Brussels.

Goodbye, Cape Town…

A Saturday Favorite: Old Biscuit Mill

Old Biscuit Mill (OBM), 375 Albert Street in Woodstock, is one of my favorite spots in Cape Town. It is extra special because it is only open for five hours every Saturday, so if you miss it one week you must wait an entire week to get your OBM fix. This year I did not miss a Saturday, even when I was in grading hell...I made time for OBM. You may be asking what is so great about OBM? Let me tell you...imagine about 150 small vendors selling the best food (most of it organic) in one small little area with epic views of Table Mountain dancing in the background. It makes your senses come alive as you smell the sweetness of crepes and the savory goodness of eggs benedict cooking.

Here are some of the items I devoured in the past 5 weeks:
-Eggs benedict (hash brown with poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce)
-Thai coconut egg breakfast over rice (with hot chilies)
-Egg sandwich on large baguette with avocado, tomatoes, and rocket (arugula)
-Vegetarian schwarma with eggplant, falafel, hummus, and lots of veggies
-Blueberry pancakes with cream and sugar sprinkled on top
-Freshly squeezed orange juice
-Almond-pear tart
Yes, so I obviously treated myself to eggs...a special treat for those of us on a plants-based, whole grain diet.

Other favorites of the students:
-The crepe dude...nutella and banana crepe was his speciality
-Little baby pancakes sprinkled with powered sugar and maple syrup (see photo)
-Sangria loaded with fresh fruit

Oprah's Favorite: Charly's Bakery

Even though Oprah proclaimed Charly’s Bakery as her favorite bakery in Cape Town, not everyone agrees. Linda, our guide NEVER visits Charly’s Bakery because she (and others) believes that the bakery owners have disrespected the historical sacredness of such a building. The building used to be a Jewish bookshop in District Six and now the building has been colorfully painted with the lettering “Charly’s Bakery” in bright pink. Although we did stop in for a sweet treat and some quiche, it was not as great as Oprah proclaims, maybe because I agree with Linda; I question the owner’s empathy of building a business (and mostly painting a historical building with brightly colored objects and letters) in a fragile area where historical buildings become part of the healing process (or not).

District Six

District Six is a neighborhood located in the city center of Cape Town. The ocean and city views and the mountain backdrop makes this location prime real estate. That is exactly what the white government thought during apartheid and thus decided to forcefully remove over 60,000 colored people living in this area, they called the "slums", in the 1970's. After the removals, the white government rolled in the bulldozers and demolished most of the buildings, with the exception of a few churches.

Montgomery, Mallory, and I decided to spend our last Friday in Cape Town in the famous District Six area. We visited the museum and signed up (125 Rand) for a walking tour by a former resident of the neighborhood. Our guide, Linda Fortune, is the Educational Officer of the District Six Museum. Her family was removed and banished to the townships in the Cape Flats in 1971. She is a kind woman with a good and strong heart for forgiveness. Yet, she vividly relives her story every time she gives a walking tour and occasionally the hurt still bubbles up in her narrative. Linda also wrote a book, The House in Tyne Street, of which we each bought a signed copy of after the tour for 100 Rand ($14 US). Also, we discovered a very cool connection--we read a book, A Walk in the Night by Alex LaGuma, as part of the Global LEAD curriculum and it turns out that Linda's family was neighbors with LaGuma's family when they all lived in District Six. It really brought his story of District Six to life.

There was a sad little incident that occurred during the tour and I am not sure why I feel compelled to write about it, but here it is...Linda had her granddaughter with her and two hours into the tour the poor little girl started doing the "OMG, I have to go pee" dance. Before we knew it, she had a little accident on what used to be the lively Constitution Street. I suppose it just goes to show how wrapped up Linda was in re-telling the story that she did not even notice her granddaughters dance.

Today, restitution is slowly taking place with a very small number of people moving back into the area. In fact, Linda walked us by some of the houses that are in the process of being built.

Service-Learning at Sir Lowry's Pass Township

One aspect of the Global LEAD study abroad program is service-learning: where the students work with a local community and the intercultural exchange is reciprocal. In fact, the students receive three credit hours for the service learning field work and accompanying curriculum (and journaling in those big blue books that we spend countless hours grading.) For the past three years the program has partnered with Sir Lowry's Pass, a township of mostly coloreds (yes, this is proper terminology and not interpreted as derogatory) and Khosa people. The aim is to play with the children and simply show them love (many of them have a rough life). So, we coordinate such things as a field day, soccer games, bracelet making, coloring stations, etc. This year we also painted a mural at the primary school. I had the food fortune was meeting Miss Felia, one of the soup mothers in the community. Miss Felia and about 15 other mothers in the community serve soup daily to the children that otherwise might go hungry. Some of them have private sponsors or governmental funding to purchase electricity and the food needed for the soup. At 5 p.m. Miss Felia blows the whistle outside her humble abode made of wood scraps and a tin roof. The children come with plastic bowls, some with old butter plastic bowls, and Miss Felia scoops them a ladle of piping hot hearty soup. On this evening it was rather cold (upper 50's rainy and cold) and many of the children came without shoes and wearing shorts, as I was shivering in my jeans, three layers of shirts, and a rain coat. While I am still trying to figure out what type of impact we have on a community like this, I have to think we are bringing some sense of joy, if nothing else. Even though I critically question the idea of us helping them...perhaps they help us more by showing that no matter the level of materialist possessions we possess, happiness comes in all forms.

High Tea at Mount Nelson Hotel

Afternoon Tea at Mount Nelson Hotel is a must-do for tea lovers. The Global LEAD (fabulous) academic staff (Professor Wolf, Chase, Mallory and I) decided to take an afternoon to enjoy the tea offerings at the posh Nelson Hotel. As one of the first hotels on the Cape built in 1899, the Nelson Hotel painted in pale yellow and green served as a destination for wealthy Brits. It then became a spot for negotiations between the Brits and Boers, officers, soldiers, and even journalists (including Sir Winston Churchill) as tensions increased over the power in the Cape. After the First World War, Hotel Nelson was painted pink and has since danced under Table Mountain all pretty in pink.

We found ourselves seated in the regal couches in a sweet little alcove in the lounge area. They came around to take our tea orders (orange-berries green tea for me, please) and then we were sent loose on the incredible buffet table of finger sandwiches, desserts, and scones. We must have sat there for at least three hours simply enjoying a non-Global LEAD conversation about life and occasionally going back to the buffet table for seconds, thirds, and yes, fourths. Ah, this was definitely a highlight of my Cape Town experience!

From the Nelson website:
"You'll enjoy delicate finger sandwiches filled with rare roast beef and rocket, smoked salmon, egg mayonnaise or cucumber, and you will surely lose yourself in thought as you savour our delectable dark chocolate cake and heavenly lemon meringue. The freshly baked scones are traditional favourites, served with clotted cream and preserves, and as a special local treat, enjoy a typical South African milk tart, called “melktert” in Afrikaans."

Rugby- South African Style!

With painted faces and blue Stormer jersey's 107 Americans poured out of the Mercedes bus and into the rugby tailgate area. Yeah, it was a scene for all to be had...we even had a few tailgaters come over and ask to take a photo with some individuals in our group. Ugh...this is why I do not particularly enjoy traveling in a large group, I much rather fit right in with the locals and the local rhythm. Nonetheless, we settled into "our" area that was roped off by our South African friends from Cape Xtreme (the adventure tour company that we work with) and they grilled up some "boer wors" (traditional South African sausage) on a large "braai" stand. "Braai" is Afrikaans for barbecue or grill.

After a few hours at the braai we made our way through the thick crowd to the standing section in Newlands Rugby Stadium. Chase, Mallory, and I stuck together and eventually made our way down to the first few rows in the standing section. We were in the thick of the crowd where the five senses came alive: you could hear screams of joy and frustration in Afrikaans and you could smell the smokiness of tobacco. It was a close game and the crowd was really into the cross-town rivalry (Stormers=Cape Town team) (Bulls=Pretoria team). Even though I have no idea how the game of rugby is played, I did enjoy the experience because South Africans love their rugby and I love a true cultural experience.

Adventure Day 5: The Traveling Circus Comes to an End...

No more bus rides, no more bus buddies, no more bus karaoke, no more bus sing-a-longs, no more gas station stops, no more falling asleep in a chair, no more silly bus games, no more deep bus conversations, no more...

Now, back to Lagoon beach apartments in Cape Town where we will spend the last nine days of this study abroad program. Looking forward to a hot shower and my twin bed. Woohoo...

Adventure Day 4: More Elephants, Cheetah, Leopards & one U-G-L-Y Stork

The morning started at 7 a.m. with freshly baked bread at the backpackers. YUM! We were originally scheduled for a dolphin cruise, but a big storm (with lots of rain and wind) changed our plans. We went to the Elephant Sanctuary as originally planned, but we were unable to ride the elephants because of the downpour. Some students did brave the torrential rains as they walked the elephants with trunk in hand. No dolphins, but I think we got to experience something even cooler...cheetahs, leopards, and the craziest looking storks (see photo below) at the Tenikwa Cheetah Rehabilitation Center. We had the chance to get up close and personal with some of the fastest animals on this earth. Man, leopards have a beautiful coat! Lunch was pretty chill as we hung out at the Kynsna Waterfront shopping area and then back to the Afrovibe hostel in Sedgefield.