Aimee shared a wonderful week with her parents

 It was wonderful to have my parents here in Cape Town for 10 days so they could experience a new city and better understand how I spend my time here. We were able to go out for dinner a few times together after days of touring or interning. Stardust is a restaurant that has Moroccan and Mediterranean dishes, and the servers perform songs when they are not serving tables. I loved listening and singing along to wide range of 90s songs. I’m looking forward to going back there with friends. Hussar Grill supposedly has the best steak in Cape Town and the steak I got was definitely one of the best I’ve had.

I started an activist project with Big Brothers Big Sisters and got to meet the young women in Khayelitsha this past week. We started making plans for activities we can do together like hiking, bowling, going to a theater and more. I hope to get to know them better as time goes on. Marita had my parents and me over for dinner when my friends and I got back from the Big Brother Big Sisters gathering. My parents were able to meet Vernon, Vincent, their wives, Sharon and her friend, Jung, our RAs, Elise and Savitri. We all had great conversations and a very delicious meal made by Marita. On Saturday we went to the Rondebosch craft fair and browsed around at the work made by local artisans. After resting for a couple of hours, my roommate, my parents and I went to the restaurant Gold for a drumming session, 14 course African meal, and vibrant dancing performances. It was also nice to have my parents walk with me to church on Sunday morning. It reminded me a little bit of home. We went to another concert at Kirstenbosch that night to see Jimmy Lupes and ate sushi with some of the group after the concert.         

The last day of my parent’s stay in Cape Town was spent walking around Kirstenbosch Gardens and eating lunch at Moyo’s. I love how the plants and streams are integrated into the side of the mountain. Some of the trees are hundreds of years old or are extinct in the natural wild. After spending time in the gardens we went for a wine tasting at the oldest vineyard in Cape Town- Groot Constantia. The scenery was spectacular and the winery had beautiful animal paintings throughout the room. My parents then gathered their luggage at the hotel and we rushed to Signal Hill to try to make it for sunset. We just missed the sunset by a couple of minutes but the sky was still pink and the view still so beautiful. Their tour guide dropped me off at my house before the airport and it was time to say goodbye. My parent’s stay in Cape Town seemed very short but I’m glad they even got the opportunity to come at all. It was so nice to spend time with them and show them around my second home.

In addition to a week with family, I finally finished the fiction book that I have chosen to read for class, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. I am very glad I chose this book because it addresses many themes that we have been talking about in class or have experienced while living in Cape Town. It portrays concepts such as the value of land, crime and violence, racial divisions, and male-dominated societies. It represents perspectives of different races living in the same location and experiencing similar events. At my internship we invited the learners to watch a movie about gangs and being trapped in dangerous cycles and ways of life. I have been thinking about violence and crime and how it is a problem for local communities, not just foreigners or tourists. I have met many people who live in Cape Town who refuse to travel to certain townships because of “dangerous” reputations. It is important to always know where you are going or who you are meeting, but not be scared to the point of confining yourself to stay in the house all day. By this point I have grown accustomed to knowing the difference between bad fear and just trying something new.