Cape Town — You Had Me at Goodbye
Hello all and Happy Easter!
As I write this I am currently traversing the entire width of Africa, having started the day heading straight north from Cape Town to Dubai and now Dubai to Casablanca and then a 3-hour bus ride to our new home for the next month — Marrakech, Morocco.
The last week in Cape Town was filled with more amazing adventures, but I also started to establish a sense of normalcy. I knew where everything was in the grocery store (Food Lovers!!!), I was able to navigate the streets surrounding my building and the co-working space, and I found restaurants/markets that I would go to habitually if I had more time (Kleinskys Deli, Saucisse Deli in Old Biscuit Mill and Oranjezicht Market).
The most profound experience I had last week was our positive impact day in the Philippi Township. Our group fundraised a little over $500 to buy supplies to paint the buildings in and around the community center where children come to play, dance, and do their homework. We spent the first part of the day largely prepping and painting, but the second part of the day is what was the most memorable. The kids arrived around 2pm and jumped right in helping us paint and when we finished we played school yard games with them.
Now as I’ve said in previous posts these Townships have a conflicted history as these were the settlements where black, colored (please note this is not a derogatory term in South Africa as it is in the US) and other non-white groups were sent during apartheid. Even today each township still largely consistent of a singular race, the living conditions are well below Western standards and the day to day struggle to access basic needs can be great. But what I’ve seen in both townships that I’ve gone to is love, that Ohana love I talked about a few weeks ago.
I was honored and privileged to be able to spread some of our Ohana love to the Philippi Township by helping to beautify these buildings. So much so that I’m still wearing a lot of the oil based red paint on my hands, tricky stuff to get off.
After the experience in Philippi I was looking for some way to really top off our time in Cape Town and it came at the top of one the most iconic mountains in Cape Town — Table Mountain. This beast of a mountain can be seen from virtually any direction in Cape Town and when you are on the top of it you can look back on all the beauty that encompasses Cape Town.
I was able to look down and remember all that occurred, all that I experienced and all the ways I have grown over the past month in a city, country and continent that I had never been to before. And I was overcome with a sense of happiness and calm.
Remote Year was always going to be a tall task, but I had figured it out so far and I know I’ll still have challenges this year, but I’m going to make it through those challenges. And I owe a lot of this realization to the Mother City.
Cape Town is an amazingly beautiful city with so much to offer, but there is also a sorted history that comes with it. Racial and political tensions are still high, there is a higher than normal petty theft rate (in the last two days we had someone whose cell phone was stolen and another whose debit card was taken out of their hand), it is not safe to walk around at night in most parts of the city and Cape Town is still in a severe drought that has placed strict water restrictions on all citizens and visitors. But finding my way through these situations while also being in this city is what really made me fall in love with it. Cape Town isn’t perfect and nor am I, but I love the Mother City.
You can see the mountains, the water, wildlife, wine country, the downtown area and more all in a matter of weeks. There is a beauty about being able to walk to the beach, enjoy a great breakfast with the backdrop of Table Mountain or Lion’s Head. There is so much to offer in Cape Town that my mom’s friend once said Cape Town is a country into itself and I couldn’t agree more. There is still so much more I want to do and experience, but this is Remote Year and it is time for me to move onto Marrakech.
Cape Town — you’ve been amazing and while it took me some time to warm up to you, I really felt like I was getting to know you at the end. I could envision myself living here in the future. I will be back for sure.
Mother City — thank you for everything! And a huge shout out to Josh, Cas and the entire RY staff for everything they did for us. I couldn’t have asked for a better first month.
Cape Town you may not have had me at hello, but you sure had me at goodbye.
Ohana Love and I hope to see you again.
P.S. — If you don’t get the title reference stop what you’re doing and go watch Jerry McGuire.
