Random Things That Happen in My Safrican Life

These are some notes on a few of the more random things I have experienced while being here in Cape Town.

In order to get into town we have to take really dodgy taxi vans. Mostly it’s just unfun because these guys yell at you from inside their white serial killer vans in words you can’t understand. Then if you decided to risk your life with them you hop into an over crowded van (I have had people practically sitting on my lap) and ride with them as they weave in and out of traffic picking up more people to take you into the sketchiest part of the city. No worries though, because where they drop you off is mostly unsafe and you stand out at a white girl. My strategy is to walk fast and not talk, lets they realize I am American too. One of my favorite taxi experiences thus far was the one where the driver kept turning off the main road to avoid traffic and at one point had to back out of a neighborhood because of a drug raid.

I have yet to use a restroom that would meet American standards, but a few of the sketchiest toilets included the pull a cord that comes through the top of the toilet to flush the toiliet toilet, the walk through the creepy door and down the dark alleyway and through the next creepy door toilet, and finally the window wide open so people in the alleyway can stare at you while you do your business toilet.

Our group including the pastor of the church here, JD, was walking through green market square a few weeks ago when a guy came running at us. 4 guys were following him and shouting in a language I could not understand. Right as he came running by he pulled out a gun and started waving it in the air moments before he pointed it behind him and fired a shot. JD hit the deck before any of us, mostly I just stood there thinking "wow, I feel like I am in a movie," but then Jon, in as calm a voice as he could muster, told me to get down... so I did. I think I should have been scared, but mostly I was fascinated. Just another day in Cape Town...

Really life here is not that unsafe, it's mostly just a bit, um, different than life in Minneapolis. Oh and not to mention a lot louder... I'm not sure what is worse the taxi drivers that constantly yell from their windows, or the vuvuzelas that never seem to stop.