>>>township pt.2 of 2

..so it's tuesday and it's the day that im heading out to khayelitsha township for the art workshop with the kids. the plan was to meet my friends juma and willard (the community leaders) in an area called woodstock, not too far from my hostel. we were all planning to catch a train together to khayelitsha to go straight to the community centre. after, when the workshop would end..juma and willard would drop me off at my hostel via van taxi. but plans changed..

juma asked me before if it would be possible to spend the nite in khayelitsha. the workshop started at around 6pm and by the time it would end it be 8ish and for willard and juma to drop me off in town and for them to go back would be too late and time consuming. it was one thing to spend a few hours in khayelitsha but to spend the nite in the township kind of caught me off guard.

juma and willard understood and reassured me that they'd be able to make arrangements with the woman who ran the community centre. they said it be more than ok to stay at her place overnight and to just make any donation. this woman's name is vicki and she was interested in the idea of having foreigners stay over at her home so that people could get a feel of township life. they said the area was more than safe...and her home was just minutes away from the community centre.

what got me was when juma said, "you've only experienced the real south africa if you spend a nite in the township." i had some reservations about it at first but i really trusted my friends so i agreed. i figure, i survived this country so far from the late nite shebeen runs in joburg, jumping out of a plane, already visiting a few townships..what's one nite in one?

i pack my overnite bag and im on the train to khayelitsha. normally, when tourists go to the townships it's usually by bus or car arranged by some tour company and not so much by train. the train is usually for the locals. so when juma got our train tickets, he was telling me afterwards that the ticket agent had to ask him twice if i was really going to khayelitsha...i nervously laughed it off. what else was i to do? i was already en route...

we get off the train, and khayelitsha is buzzing with venders selling everything under the sun from plumped-out chickens to braai meats to nailcutters. in a township everything is so picturesque, i asked juma if it was okay to snap some photos and he told me it was ok to take as many as i wanted. the kind of thing i would never do if i was on my own.

so we get to the community centre, already there are kids waiting. we set up our materials and i introduce myself to the kids one-by-one. i felt like such a geek because i told them my name, shook their hand and tried to repeat their name. the thing is these kids are xhosa speaking. and xhosa is the dialect that has the clicks in it, therefore a lot of their names are pronounced with a click. i could not for the life of me say their names properly no matter how hard i tried. so i stopped repeating their name and just said 'hello! later on, i asked juma if he could write down their names for me :s

there was an equal amount of girls and boys that come voluntarily and its not part of any school curriculum. these workshops set up by juma and willard are a great way for kids to learn and also pre-occupy their time by doing something productive. juma tells me a lot of township kids go to the shebeens and get into drugs among other things, so these kids that come to the workshops really come to stray away from all of that. so, i know off-the-bat these kids are level-headed since they come out on their own so they could learn.

i explain to them the assignment group-by-group and they get into creative mode. as they're working more kids drop in, so we help them get started. i was a little intimidated at first because some of the boys had this hard-looking image and even had some gold grills..hehe. but overall these kids were all cool kids. they were very respectful and seemed to enjoy this collage project. observing them was interesting to me because they were all speaking in xhosa..so all of them were clicking away. it's such a fascinating language to listen to.

..anyhow, these kids were being super innovative. one kid wanted to be a soccer star when he gets older so he drew a soccer field with paint but with the end of a crayon because there were no paint brushes. he did an awesome job. i was like, 'crap, i really need to get this kid a paintbrush!'

some made mosaics with the wooden clothes pins that juma supplied..it was "WOW!" a lot of them drew huts as their homes with huge water supply tanks beside them, as well as livestock for those who lived in rural areas.

the part that got to me was when one of the kids was explaining his drawing of UCT (Univ. of Cape Town) of how that's where he sees himself in the future. i loved it and told him that im sure it was going to happen...it was great to see everyone was into this and some more kids kept on coming in. even some babies would randomly stroll into the room on their own. i was like "juma, where are these babies coming from?" i found out some of these babies belonged to some of the kids in the workshop or were a little sibling. these babies were very snotty-nosed hehe, but they were still really cute.

at the end of the workshop, we got each group to present their piece. i was impressed and learned quite a bit. these kids are awesome and it was definitely the highlight of my trip! i know for a long time i'll be thinking about them and i really hope each of them succeeds in whatever it is they want to pursue...i have a feeling they will!









we close up shop and it's nightime..willard and juma take me around the township at nite by foot..they tell me it's safe but when you're passing by shacks when it's dark, you can't help but feel a 'lil scared shitless. i appear calm knowing im in good company..

they take me to a friend's shack, as i enter..their friend is surprised to see me. clearly because...and it's late at nite. he kind of looked at me like i was crazy for being there. anyway, i smile and introduce myself. it was fascinating being there because you literally see a sheet of corrugated metal that's the roof supported by chunky panels of plywood. it's one thing to see one on the outside but to be in one was an experience. his place had no plumbing so his washroom was an outhouse a few metres outside. i was in awe and wanted to thoroughly scan his home but didn't want to make it obvious. it was my first time in a shack. what made it even more fascinating was that this guy had a suped up large-screened TV..i was amazed! so, juma, willard and myself all took a seat to watch this old school jodie foster movie. i can't remember the title..

we hang out for a bit and say good-bye. we get to vicki's place and her home in the township is anything but a shack, it's a modest brick house. one of the nicest homes in khayelitsha. when you're inside you dont feel like you're in an impoverished township. vicki had a big screened TV too, where i got to watch my favourite SA soap called, generations. she prepared dinner of pap and beef and had a cozy room for me to sleep in. she apologized for there not being a TV in my room hehe. that was the last thing on my mind! vicki and her family were very accomodating and genuinely kind..in the morning she even drove willard, juma and i back into town. she's a really sweet lady who likes a lot of gospel music and likes to drive on the shoulder of the highway to beat traffic. love it!

..so, that sums up my nite in the township, it was an interesting and safe experience. nothing beats working with the kids though!

i could've stayed in a shack but it wasn't the case..to me, i would've slept wherever i had to and accepted it. so i guess according to juma since i did spend the nite, i've experienced the real south africa.

>>>township pt.1 of 2

when i first arrived in cape town, one of the first things i was greeted by were the townships bordering the highway. i learned that there are many in this city and you can't help but be fixated by the landscape of these run-down shacks made with a mesh of corrugated iron and wood all kind of haphazardly thrown together..

during apartheid these areas were reserved for blacks and the coloureds (this term is still commonly used here referring to mixed peoples- and it's so weird to hear because it sounds so politically incorrect). sadly post-apartheid, these impoverished townships are still very much inhabited by the same people. it's still very segregated too, where the blacks live in one area and the coloureds in another. currently, there's still racial tensions that exist and it's all crazy to me.

there's also a lot of racial descrimination against other africans in these townships too, where in 2008, many africans from: zimbabwe, somalia, ethiopia etc..were driven out through violent force. the main reason being is that they're seen as a threat in taking away jobs from the locals. when this happened the gov't did not intervene and a lot of people found that effed up. rumour has it, it's expected to happen again later this year after the world cup, where a mass xenophobic attack may take place..i hope and pray that is doesn't...

i had the chance to visit a few townships called: khayelitsha, guguletu, and langa with my two friends juma and willard. they are from zimbabwe who work and live in the township of khayelitsha (the biggest one in cape town). they were also victims of these xenophobic attacks that took place. they've been through a lot of hard times and they decided to come back when things got better. i respect them for that. these guys are skilled artisans and community leaders who set up workshops for kids. they teach and share their leadership skills with them as a way of keeping them off the streets. all they want to do is make a positive impact...and they have!

i was inspired by them and juma asked me if i wanted to set up a workshop for kids from 13-18 yrs old in khayelitsha, since i told him my background was art. he said that it would be a great idea to do something creative since the kids haven't done that in a while. i was very apprehensive because i've never done anything like that before, let alone dealing with a group of teens..in fact, teenagers scare me! i thought about it for a while then said..."sure, i'll do it!" juma was pumped about it and said, "come in tuesday..the kids are yours and you got 2 hrs with them!" at this point, im freaking because i just learned it was sunday and 2 hrs with teens not knowing what to do is a fricken long time!! i wasn't sure if i was going to regret this because it seemed daunting..but it felt like it was too late. i already committed.

..so im brainstorming like a mad woman as to what to do as an activity with these teens. i had a limited amount of time but i was lucky that juma was so helpful and encouraging in getting me started. i was really keen on doing a collage activity since i was trying to remember what i liked doing in school when i was that age. juma was cool about it and offered to bring some art supplies he already had to the community centre so we could make this happen!

he supplied the paper, sponges, paints, pencils, and even had wooden clothes pins. i had gone shopping to get some multi-coloured construction paper, scissors and gluesticks. i was getting pretty pumped about it myself because i knew it was going to be pretty fun...

i didn't really know what kind of collage we were going to do but i basically wanted to learn more about these kids..like where they grew up, where they see themselves now and where they want to go in the future. it sounded kind of like a bland and vague idea..but i thought it would be cool anyway for these kids just to have an outlet to be as creatively free as they wanted. their lives are just so completely different that i wanted to learn from them and find out what they're all about through art.

juma gave me the go-ahead with this idea and told me there would be about 20 kids and that it would be a good idea to put them in 5 groups with one huge sheet of paper so that they could all collaborate together and work as a team. that sounded like a good idea.

so the master plan was: 5 groups of teenagers each with one big sheet of paper, working as a team by creating a visual representation of themselves of where they grew up and where they see themselves in the future. the materials were limited but enough to work with. i was really looking forward in seeing what kind of work they would produce..i had a feeling it was going to be an awesome day.......

escape town hostel...

..it's been a couple of weeks since ive been here in cape town and it's the most chill and laid back spot that i've been to. this city kind of reminds me of van city since it's off the coast with the mountain range with a chill vibe and joburg is very much like toronto being the hustle 'n bustle city it is..

i've been in and out of my hostel on long street which is the 'go to' street for fun times. i've encountered interesting characters here and my room has had the highest turnover rate of travelers. i've met a swedish sailor who's name is joaquim who is exceptionally skilled in making knots, so in his spare time he makes bracelets with his spools of string using the ladder from my bed to make them. he sailed 55 days from the canary islands to get to cape town...what a journey!

there's this older russian dude here who's a deaf mute who's been traveling the world on his motorcycle. he's a hero. and one of the youngest travelers i've met is a 20 yr old dutch boy named dick who's been continent trotting by himself from tanzania (all about zanzibar apparently) malawi, zambia, botswana and namibia to south africa. (i've been meeting quite a few peeps who have been taking this route by bus...and i've heard it's been a pretty positive experience). dick is so young and parties all nite and sleeps during the day and recharges to party once again on long street. i cant keep up with that kind of energy. im such a burnout ;/ i was wondering how he was able to do all this and he told me his ex-girlfriend's dad is paying for his transportation..from africa and now asia. i guess his ex's dad really wanted him to leave the country hehe!

there was a group of rowdy older slovenian men next door who would drink all nite long to the point one of them KO'd on the cold hard floor outside in the hall because he was way too wasted to get in his room to climb up to the top bunk...LOL. they had this unbearable odour at nite i was actually glad when they checked out.

i had these two japanese dudes in my room where one would talk in his sleep which was pretty funny since it took me a sec to figure out if he was really talking to his friend...but no it was def sleep talking! if only i understood what he was saying!

i have to say all my vices have kicked in full force..they sell loose cigs here and packs are so cheap ($3)..everyone smokes in the bars and drinks are mad cheap and really good. i have temporarily let myself go but will be whipped back in healthy shape upon my return. cape town is a gluttenous paradise..i blame my hostel.

bday in cape town...

..it has been a longtime dream to jump out of a plane and i told myself no matter where i'll be i'm gonna make it happen...so i did. i left joburg and good people behind so that i could do it. joburg has been raining like a mother..and they do offer skydiving but i didnt want to chance missing out because of a rainy day. cape town was ideal because it's off the coast and the sun has been consistently shining since ive been checking up on their weather.

i arrived here in this beautiful city a day before my bday. it's only a 2hr flight from joburg and plane tix are mad cheap (less than $100 cdn). i made arrangements to get picked up by the hostel people at the airport bc i really didnt want any hassles in figuring out logistics when i got there. i just wanted to show up and have no worries.

im staying on this street called long st. @ long st. backpackers. it's like queen street but with hostels and really flamboyant looking bars and indie boutiques. so much visual stimulus it's wicked..will post up pix!....anyway i arrive and im alive...so i sleeeeep.

the next morning, i get picked up by this older man whose name is arnold. his south african accent was so thick..for the most part i would just nod and smile even when i dint understand what he was saying. he was the one who drove me to the drop zone. he was really sweet and even parked his car on the shoulder of the freeway to scour for an extra pair of shades when he knew i didnt have any. it was mad sunny. he had this paternal sense about him. he drove me to the countryside and we got lost a few times but i didnt care the scenic view was truly a sight for sore eyes...

so i will fast forward to the drop zone...i meet all the people, sign waiver form..get hooked up in a harness..meet my tandem jumper. it was funny, i was a little paro about wearing my contacts bc i wasnt sure if i was allowed to wear them, so arnold asked for me. when he was told the first time it was okay, he kept on making sure by asking different people who were there. i appreciated his concern. he's a paternal kind of guy like i was saying.

so there's a tiny plane that literally fits 5 people. this plane looked plane-crash prone because it was soo fickin small where we were sitting on the floor with legs stretched out. i dealt with it and was just trying to take in the whole experience. the view was phenomenal where you can see white sand dunes and table mountain, the blue sky and the atlantic ocean..it was so picturesque.

i was in awe and also praying that i would live to see my 31st bday! i kept on asking my tandem buddy jason if he actually hooked us together with our harnesses. i think i asked him like 3 times. just wanted to make sure! he gave me instructions of what to do when we would jump out, but honestly everything went through one ear and out the other, so all i did was nod..hehe.

the ultimate scariest part was when they slid the door open and my tandem jumper got us to sit on the edge. imagine being 9000 ft. high in the sky and your feet are dangling over the edge of a plane. at that point my heart was in my throat and i felt kind of paralyzed! too bad. so we jump out and we free fall forward it's wild! i think it was 10 seconds going down but im sure it was probably more at 200km/hr and i think there was a time that we were on our backs and i hated that...it's like a roller coaster. and then the chute is deployed and all is calm. im told to take off my goggles and chill!

you're suspended in the air floating down gently taking in the breathtaking view...ahh life is good. the only unenjoyable thing is that my ears kept on popping and it was getting irritated however, i'd still do it again anyway..the adrenaline really tires you out so i was glad when i got back to my hostel. i never felt so exhausted and it was so nice to have an afternoon siesta!

when i woke up, i went to the bar at my hostel and had a hunters dry (alcoholic cider) they're 10 rand (less than $2 cdn)..having an alcoholic bev after all that adventure is really icing on the cake! i got picked up by my friend's friend michel who's a local there and took me to clifton beach. he was meeting his friends there so that everyone could catch the sunset. this beach was beautiful. i've never been to the beach before on my bday and the weather was perfect. beaming sun, blue sky, white sand, and positive vibed people. they had a picnic set up where peeps were playing backgammon, eating veggies and junk food. awesome.

then we all got into a circle and did this seance kind of thing. i was thinking "uh-oh..they're not a cult are they?"...they were not. thankfully. but it was just a ritual thing that they do where everyone talks about what they want to achieve for the month of february that wasn't achieved last month. we would write in the sand and the let the waves wash it away. i forgot what we had to write in the sand just because i was still buzzing from the skydive. i was in a state of kind of being high to being a 'lil tipsy from the hunters dry, in awe of being on the beach in cape town. i had to ask if i was really there because it was kind of surreal. and thank goodness they really werent a cult because i dont think i would've been able to take in anymore craziness!

whatever these people's rituals are that i was partaking in was cool. i made the most of it and went along. they were good people and i wanted to be open to their cathartic ritual so why not show respect and follow suit. they were all trying to better themselves by doing it in a communal kind of way on the beach. if anything, more power to them... and to their seances.

we stayed at the beach until dark and ended up watching this movie at michel's place called samsara..really good. i was so tired and thought i would pass out but i was really engaged in the storyline so i stayed UP. in a nutshell, this man is in meditation for 3 years in india and afterwards goes off the deepend...and there's this amazing kama sutra scene with his mistress...and that's all im gonna say!

speaking of indiscretions, i get back to my hostel and needless to say, i pass out! i had a packed day and all i wanna do is sleeeeeep. im sharing a dorm room with a swedish guy and 3 british dudes. they're young adolescents so i already have an idea of what they're about. i did notice before i passed out that one dude was missing. i dont care. i sleep.

next thing i know at around 2:30am, the door slams open with this raucous where the missing dude makes a grand entrance with this flashy looking woman (she was wearing a crazy sequined top and hot jean shorts- a definite vice magazine DONT) who's yelling at him..'HOOOOOW RUDE..im thinking 'what the fcuk is going on!' im forced to listen in on what's happening. this flashy little woman kept saying..'you owe me 300 rand (which is like $45 cdn )!!' we were all like 'WHAAAAAAAAAT...me and the other dudes were confused and irate from being rudely awakened.

next thing we realize is that this dumbass dude from england brought in a prostitute into our dorm room!! the funny thing was this dude didnt have enough money and only had 20 rand (like not even $3). the prostitute's livid. they both leave the room and we're all livid. since i was on the top bunk, i asked one of the guys to lock the door and not let them in! we all went on a potty-mouthed tirade.

in hindsight it's hilarious but i absolutely hate being woken up in the middle of the nite especially in such a rude manner so i was being a full throttled bitch!..so after some time dumbass dude comes in without flashy woman and we were like..'what the EFF were you thinking!! he tells us he had no idea that she was a hooker. i was so dumbfounded by his response and didnt want to engage in conversation with him that i went straight to sleep. im thinking 'you're a crazy mofo. and i hope her pimp comes after you with a vengeance!

i find out the next day his friend had to spot him 300 rand to make her go away. now really...that's what friends are for! so one new thing i learn in cape town is that the going rate for blow jobs in this city is $45 cdn. what a b-day.

leaving joburg...

joburg or they also say jozi here rocked me! as i venture off to another town..i will never be the same. i know that sounds so melodramatic but it's the truth.

i feel extremely grateful that i was in the good company of locals who spent time with me and showed me the 'gateway to africa,' as joburg is known to be. i appreciate their friendship more than they'll ever know. i am relieved to say that i have not been exposed to any gangster shiet because that is the mainstream perception of this city. it is true that statistically the crime rate is high but any big metropolitan city with a lot of poverty is going to have its share of problems. as long as you steer clear from it as much as you can, you will have a wild time.....as i have! i can say that this city is a great place and i would definitely go back.

one of the latest highlights for me here was going to a shebeen. a shebeen is a place where you can purchase alcohol in the townships (the slums) when all the legit liquor stores in the city are closed. i went to one on my first nite in diepsloot township but didn't know what it was called at the time. i was in the car that time so did not actually go in one. it was a scary experience then so i thought i'd consciously experience it once again and actually step foot in one. yes..not the brightest idea but felt ok about it because i was with my friend lwazi, who is a local. otherwise, it's downright dumbass to stroll in alone as a foreigner late at nite.

we needed to bring some 6 packs of beer to a friend's place for a gathering and it's just plain rude to come empty-handed, so it was our only viable option. for a moment, i was thinking of staying in the car again while lwazi went in to do the beer run, but said it be safer to go with. i was thinking of wearing a big hat and to go incognito but again my idea was shot down because it would draw attention. but then im thinking im going to stick out like a sore thumb anyway so it was a double-edged sword. so i figure, whatever i'll go in a sore thumb and make this the fastest lightning transaction ever at a shebeen. hehe.

the township we were in is called tembisa. apparently it's not as bad as diepsloot. i had heard from my friend who was at a shebeen in diepsloot recently that someone was on the ground bc that person got stabbed there. with that in mind, even though we were in a different one.. i felt paranoid. random acts of violence can happen anywhere.

so, i walk in and was in a line of peeps waiting to get their goods. naturally, im being gawked at for obvious reasons but i ignore it all. a couple budded in front of me and normally i'd get a 'lil ticked off but in this scenario i was more than happy to oblige. heeh.

the man that served me and lwazi had one eye. i couldn't even speak or even look him in his only eye..so lwazi ordered for us. we got our beer and all was good and i wanted to bolt..but had to be calm and cool at the same time. how do you do that? i must have looked handicapped.

after we got in the car..lwazi told me that i looked really stiff with my arms crossed, head down and lips pursed while we were in line. he said it was funny and i don't blame him. i guess when there's a possibility that my life could be on the line all in the name of beer..my body language inadvertently reacts that way! it really was paranoia..otherwise we wouldnt have gone. im happy we left tembisa township unscathed. the shebeen trip was really an eye-opener (pun intended).