Do I Really Need That Rabies Shot...? : Cape Town (Deel Twee)

Why hello there! I am sorry that I have been slacking so much. I'm a busy lady. Anyway, this weekend went to Cape Town for another class excursion. We stayed in The Backpack, a super nice hostel on New Church Street. Before checking in we had a long day of museums ahead of us, so we grabbed breakfast and hit the road. We started the day by going to the District Six museum. District Six is an area of Cape Town that faced forced removals during apartheid when the Group Areas Act was implemented. Basically, if you weren't white, you were kicked out of your home (which was then promptly bulldozed to the ground), and forced to move into a township. The museum didn't allow photography, but I snapped this in the cafe.

Chance, Hope, and Michelle all hangin'

After the District Six museum, we went to the Jewish museum (because Samm and Michelle are both Jewish). Also, no pictures allowed. Sorry guys, this post is kind of boring, but don't worry it will get better!

Finally, it was lunch time. We went to an Eastern Food Bazaar. UNREAL. I got a heaping plate of Biryani for $3. I love it here. Unfortunately, a girl on our trip got her purse stolen at the market. That was unfortunate. Also, I saw a man rummaging around at their table, but I thought he was just gathering left overs... I need to be more alert. Everything was ok though because she only lost about $50 in total. Also, our program director is amazing and gave her a credit card to use until she gets a new one. SO NICE!

After lunch we went back to our hostel to hang out (I went shopping; sorry, Momma), and then we grabbed dinner at an Africa Cafe. The meal consisted of like 19 courses and each dish was from a different region of Africa. It was delish!

Time to hit the town. We went to Long Street (essentially Bourbon Street in New Orleans) to begin the night. And BOOM, I ran into Reed (family and mom's friends who don't know him: he used to go to NU, but now goes to USC... ew.) I hadn't seen him in like 2 years, so it was super fun!

Hi Reed!

Action embrace.

The next day, we went to the top of Table Mountain. SO BEAUTIFUL.

Oh hey, Cape Town.

Just a lil view.

Table Mountain selfie?! Don't mind if I do!

On the rocks.

Mean muggin'

Pensive.

BEAUTIFUL! Then we headed to Old Biscuit Mill AKA my new favorite place on this planet. It's an amazing organic farmer's market, but it also has jewelry, bags, clothes, shoes, ceramics and anything else you could possibly imagine. The crowd was pretty hip, so good thing I was wearing my converse (they up my edge factor). Also, got some trinkets for the folks back home, yay!

We then headed to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the Rhodes Memorial. Rhodes... I think he found diamonds? He also has that whole Rhodes Scholar thing? I'm not too sure, our tour guide explained it, but my soul was still at Old Biscuit Mill. Side note: Our tour guide, Isaac, was AMAZING. He speaks 11 official South African languages and has 12 brothers and sisters.

Rhodes Memorial

Quick stop back at the hostel, and it was on to dinner at Moyo. This place is for tourists and they paint your face... it's aight. However, the entertainment that evening was priceless. A bunch of US students studying in Cape Town got uncomfortably intoxicated by restaurant standards, stormed the stage, and performed a few Bob Marley classics and one strange rap song. The staff at the restaurant was dying with laughter. Also, they were all from Georgetown... I'm never moving to the East Coast after that display. We then went back to the hostel for the night because.....

Today, I went SHARK CAGE DIVING. I'm fearless, FYI. It was unreal. We woke up at 4 AM, signed our lives away, hopped on a boat, and went to Shark Alley. They film Animal Planet and Nat Geo stuff here. I volunteered our group to go first (I don't think they will ever forgive me). I have never been afraid of the ocean, and I could not wait to get in the water. Michelle has an underwater camera, so once she puts pictures up, I will post them. A shark's nose came through the cage right in front of me and I got to see it's like 7 rows of teeth. Coulda touched them. But for now, all you get are some FAB above water photos.