mama (in) africa: part 2

Mama Shapiro (as incorrectly referred to by Will) was independent as ever and had no problem taking screaming taxis everywhere. Screaming taxis (or mini-buses) are old vans that run up and down the main road into town and are really only used by (mostly lower-class) locals. You pay about a dollar and can get in or out more or less whenever you like. One man hangs out of the side and screams “Cape Town, Cape Toowwn” or “Weinberg!” while they stuff people in along the way, tighter than a night at Marvel (double whammy: tight as in crowded, as well as tight as in cool). She even braved them a few times on her own! Woo woo.

We visited the District 6 museum. We were a little disappointed, though it’s on everyone's must-see list. Wandered Green Market square, where mom got African bowls and little animals made out of tin. We also saw the Spier contemporary exhibit, a biennial which consisted of 100 artists in South Africa who were chosen out of almost 3,000. And went to this reallllyyy cool neighborhood called De Waterkant, which is right near Bo Kap (the place with all of the different colored houses). It has a big gay population and we were possibly the only non-couple there. I've never seen a nicer, classier shopping complex. Definitely no Mall-o'-America. There was a music festival on Long Street and we watched this awesome band, fronted by the most charismatic, hilarious, young Indian man.

The night ended at the Fugard theatre, where we saw a play called The Train Driver. It's about a man's struggle after he inadvertently ran over a black woman who jumped in front of his train with her baby. The entire play takes place in a township graveyard and tells the story of his friendship with the grave digger there. Deals a lot with death, recovery, reconciliation, redemption, and racial and social issues of South Africa. There was a Q&A after with the director and playwright and the two actors. I got to ask the last question of the night: "You mention hope in the play, and you just identified yourself as an optimist, yet the ending is one of great despair. Where do you see and situate hope in the violent realities of South Africa today?" To paraphrase, Fugard explained that he clings onto a hope for the future that he can't honestly find in the present.

We spent the next two days on our own little wine tasting tour of the winelands of Stellenbauch and spent the night in Franschhoek. Mom had to drive, so I spent the days getting tipsy off of both of our tastings. To both of our surprises, didn’t pass out in the back seat, as we predicted…just in the front.

Mom: miss you already. Thanks for casually flying across world to see me. Dad and Mo: wish you could’ve joined. You were here in spirit. Love and miss you guys so much. (Shout out to extended fam as well. Don't want to leave anyone out of the love-fest.)