Count Down to Game Day

Vuvuzelas blowing everywhere! People draped in South African flags and the chant of "Bafana Bafana!" spilling out of bars and houses. We are all perched on the edge of the biggest sporting event in the world and the entire country is holding their collective breath.

Not sure the last post we made, but we are trying to keep them up as much as possible. We realize now, since changing from the Big Blue (one of the best hostels I have every stayed in) to a private B&B, which, to our great joy, was literally right around the corner from Big Blue, that access to Internet may not be quite as easy as we thought. Our new place is wonderful, and the feeling, although not as rowdy and jam packed with travelers as Big Blue, has a sweet and simple charm that is very welcomed.

Yesterday we took what is called a township tour, basically a journey in to heart of the shanty towns that surround the whole of Cape Town. We began with a stop at the District Six museum, a sobering memorial to the cruelty and oppression of South Africa's people. Basically, in the early days of apartide, the government in a attempt to gain a more secured dominion over the Cape Town indigenous population, bulldozed an entire neighborhood, complete with homes, businesses and over 45,000 residents. Although this was not a unique occurrence om South Africa, what made this more disgusting was the rolling hills of bare grassland that they left in its place. This was not a bid for redevelopment, but a desire to cleanse the hillside of the black Africans that occupied it. Heartbreaking and sobering.

When we visited the townships, we saw children, families, 16 to a house that were 10 by 10, so settled in their homes. Hard to see, so good to see and so South Africa. The real South Africa, where the realm of how could you live in this way meets this is how we live. We thought it would make our hearts break, but once we saw the children grabbing our hands, smiling with joy at our presence, and the adults looking at us with genuine skepticism, we knew TIA, This is Africa. Just the way it is and has been for so many years, nothing to shed tears for but to see, and respect for its raw power.

We will soon add real photos, and are sorry for the generic photo slide show playing. We miss you and give blessings for the simple comfort of home that we live every day.

Much love,

Camelia and Jason