Tuesday, September 11, 2018

“Nomadic Notes” a blog post by Sydney Kirchoff



The day awoke with the chime of an alarm playing from the bedside table at the pure hour of 7:15am. Eager to explore Cape Town, the awakening transition was found easy! The girls gathered around the table with Mr. Master and Mrs. Jones to have one last meal in the great city of Cape Town! We left the hotel with our two tour guides that were to show us the townships of Cape Town. We were informed, the townships were apart of the 1923 Urban Areas Act that was enacted on the native Africans in Cape Town during the apartheid. The townships are places the government forced people to live. Fifteen years ago the South African government set up cargo boxes for living quarters, and the people ever since have tried to escape their living situation, attempting to find affluent jobs that lack existence. From the year of 1923, the lives of those in townships have been stricken by poverty. Poverty within townships is hard to combat due to the underlying apartheid roots and lack of education towering over their motivation to find work. As we stepped into the townships, the sense of community was easy to recognize. Despite the difficulty of survival, us girls came into agreement that the people living in the Township of Langa, are warriors. It was fascinating to see people that were living in the worst conditions, come together and manage to find joy in the smallest elements of life that us Americans, surpass every second.

The mud seeped into our leather soled shoes at the same time a child walked barefoot in the cold mud beside us. At this moment, we were exposed to reality. We could have easily avoided the negative
parts of South Africa, and focused on the photogenic cafes and lush scenery. However, we were immersed in a experience that will forever move us. As we left the Township, we drove to the Cape Town international airport where buses swarm, jobs are found, and water flows. Only a short 10 minute drive away from the airport, is the Township of Langa, where money is rare, and hope trickles as happy stories are told. After the township experience, we had a 2 hour flight to the city of Johannesburg to meet our beloved Ursuline family. We have all met our families and feel at home. Thank you for tuning into our adventure, today has been magical, and we have changed.

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