On Safety

Safety is complex topic here. I believe that as a person in Cape Town, I experience safety in different shades, in different places, at different times, in different ways. There are an infinite number of ways to be exposed to danger or risk in Cape Town: by walking down the street, by climbing Lion’s Head, by taking the train, or by eating a sandwich. I will share my impressions about safety as it relates to a recent experience.

March 10th – 13th: Within the Informal Settlements

Firstly, I realize it’s been a long time since the last update. Apologies- I’ve been on the road! Many exciting developments have come to pass in the last few weeks. Let’s catch up with where I left things off.

In my time in Cape Town so far, I have had the opportunity to enter the informal settlements on two distinct occasions. Usually seen from the road or highway as I drive by, on both these occasions I was able to navigate the settlements on foot and enter people’s homes. The first time was when Isaac from Africa Unite brought a group of us to his home in Europe before we had lunch at Mzoli’s. The minibus trundled down the narrow dirt road, barely passing shacks and fences and children by inches on either side, and Isaac showed us his home and his immediate community. I have detailed this experience in a prior blog post.

Feb 22nd – 24th: Under the Sea and in a Minibus

Feb 22^nd

I was definitely on the mend today. I was too weak to accompany Lauren an Emily into Khayelitsha for a TAC meeting about the upcoming march, and instead stayed in the house for a while to recuperate. I did take up an offer to accompany some people to the V&A Waterfront to go to the aquarium, and felt like that would be a suitably low-key experience to have while still convalescing. I resolved to not move faster than three miles per hour and felt like that rule would keep me from tiring myself out. Oddly, this was my second trip to the waterfront, and both times I had been sick while there (I didn’t try to fall asleep on a toilet or in a McDonalds this time).

Feb 8th & 9th: Me Time

Feb 8^th

Today was all about “me time”. I spent much of today out and about by myself, a first on this trip (besides trips around Rondebosch). I originally wanted to meet up with some folks from the other house in town, but we had different goals and schedules. I took the minibus in to the city (my first minibus trip), and then walked around. Bought some stuff in Greenmarket Square, then made my way to the Company’s Gardens. I want to come back here some weekend after getting brunch in the city, but today wasn’t the day to do it. I returned to the minibus depot and took a bus out in the direction of Hout Bay, because I wanted to go to a beach on the Atlantic side of the peninsula. I went to a beach near Llandudno that’s really secluded, at the end of a long path and nestled within a nature reserve. It was a really relaxing time, though once I got home I learned I had sunburnt the hell out of the back side of my body. Not too great.

Checking In: Week 3

Hey y’all,

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks. Our orientation schedule has been absolutely jam packed, and tomorrow is my first day at Treatment Action Campaign. There has literally been a lot going on.

I will be using this blog for my personal updates, commentary, asides, humor, frivolity. I am also posting more formal entries on the UConn in Cape Town 2014 blog, which can be found at cptadventures2014.blogspot.com. While the posts on this blog will be generally more casual and breezy, I will repost my entries from that blog here as well. Check out the official UConn blog to read about the full spectrum of my co-educators’ experiences and see some sweet pictures.

I will write when I can- there’s been some great stuff.

Love to y’all,
David