Day 1- Mary Withers

May 16, 2012

Day one in South Africa—and what a day it has been! After an exhausting 24 hour trip here, I’ve already seen a pink and orange sunset over an oceanfront lighthouse; eaten bacon, banana and garlic pizza; marveled at a night sky with more stars than I have ever seen in my life; and received an introduction into the complex dynamics of the township where I will be living and working for the next six weeks.

This summer I am working in Ocean View, South Africa, a coloured township just outside of Cape Town. “Coloured people” is the official South African term for the country’s mixed descent inhabitants. During apartheid blacks, whites and coloureds were segregated to separate townships according to their race. And even though apartheid ended 18 years ago, the division still remains.

As we drove from the airport toward the city of Cape Town, the division was immediately apparent. On our left side we passed by what could only be described as a slum—dirty shack homes piled on top of each another, made out of tin scrap metal. Just across the interstate stood large homes that could belong in any upper-class suburb of the United States.

We’ll be living in the “Valley,” which is over a mountain from Cape Town. As we crested the hill we saw the communities of the Valley—the black community Masipuhlele, the white communities Fish Hook and Kommeteje (pronounced Ko-me-key) and the coloured community Ocean View.

This summer I will be working in Ocean View and living in Kommeteje. I plan to tell the stories of the coloured people through this blog, and also through photography, articles and a short documentary. At the same time I’ll be establishing a tutoring program for youth in the Ocean View community through the organization Love for the Sake of Love. It’s a Raleigh N.C. based non-profit.

Me, Alison, Amanda, Nick, Katie watching the sunset over the beach

In addition to Alison I have three travel companions—Nick, Amanda and Katie. Amanda and Katie are college students from Atlanta, Nick is just out of school and lives in Raleigh.

 We’re led by Sarah and Casey Prince, missionaries who permanently live in Ocean View with their 3-year-old daughter Kieran. Before moving to Ocean View three years ago, Casey was Alison’s youth pastor in Raleigh. Sarah works at Ocean View Methodist Church, and to this day they are the only white people living in the coloured township.

I didn’t get to see much of Ocean View this afternoon other than a brief drive-through. We spent most of our time unpacking in our charming rental house in Kommeteje. It has a garden with pink and red flowers, a bathroom ceiling of bamboo, a front porch with a view of the ocean, and it’s a five-minute walk to the beach.

We’re renting the house from a man named Michael, who lives next door. He says if he’s not home, he’s usually checking out the surf, and he’s already invited Nick to come with him.

Our house, "Gum Tree Cottage"

View from our front porch

Living room

Dreamy windchimes

Everything moves slower here. For instance, we’re not allowed to pump our own gas, and today we sat at a station for five minutes before an attendant came to pump it for us In addition, restaurant waiters don’t give checks until we ask. It’s common for groups to sit around the table long after their food is gone.

It’s hard to believe that just 24 hours ago was my 22nd birthday—and 24 hours before that I was graduating from college. Now I’m sitting on a couch in a dreamy vacation home, eager to start this new adventure. -Mary