A group of 19 students and two staff members recently participated in Global Hull’s second-ever Study Tour, this year hosted by the University of Cape Town. The two-week programme focussed on the themes of social justice and global citizenship. There's more information on the background to this here. In this blog, one of our students, Daisy Williams, talks about their experience on the trip.
Our trip to Cape Town has been a once in a life time experience. I have learnt so much about the history and culture of South Africa, which I had never before taken the time to learn about. I have also learnt and grown as a person following the trip; the quality time I spent learning about different parts of South African culture stirred up a key interest in different cultures – an interest that I intend on developing further in university and beyond.
Day 0 (travel day)
The first day was a full travel day, long flights and lots of sitting around missing sleep. This was the first time we had all come together properly so meeting everyone was slightly daunting but of course everyone was friendly and conversation sparked pretty instantly. I’ve never been on long haul flights so to go from 0 to 2 in the same 24 hours… crazy! The whole flight experience was great, luckily I had an available seat next to me on both flight so I could stretch my legs slightly and get comfier (some other students weren’t so lucky). There was such a buzz between us when we landed – all eager to actually start our time in Cape Town.
Day 1 - 5th June
For our first trip onto the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus, we had a full tour by our lovely tour guide Takunda. He took us all around lower, middle and upper campus – yes, the campus is split into 3 sections as it’s on the side of Table Mountain – and this was the first time we got to see the amazing views of Cape Town.
After lunch in the Baxter theatre (amazing buffet) we had our first lecture in UCT with Prof Zwelethu Jolobe. We had an introductory session to South African history, politics and culture where we learnt all about the colonisation of South Africa by the Dutch and the the British, the transportation of slaves from Eastern Asia to South Africa, the migration of different tribes within South Africa and the Apartheid. I came to Cape Town knowing very little about the country and this history class really gave us a whistle stop tour of the recent history, which would prove invaluable for the coming 2 weeks.
Day 2 – 6th June
The next day was a full day of South African languages and literature with Dr Tessa Dowling, which was a great session. We learnt a few phrases in Xhosa, like how to say hello – molweni! For lunch a few of us trekked up to upper campus food court for the first time, where I got a lunch wrap for about £1.50! In the afternoon, Tessa took us through some South African literature and we had the chance to write our own ‘Praise poems’, which are traditional poems passed down by families through the generations.
In the evening we all went to a local burger bar for dinner and made the most of their BOGOF burger deal. We’ve only known each other for a few days but by spending all day into the evenings together, the whole group is really bonding.
Day 3 – 7th June
Today we had a full day out. We first visited the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa where we had a guided tour around Mary Evans’ ‘Gilt’ exhibition; this exhibition used the silhouettes of people in different tones of brown to create different scenes. There was a nod to the slave past of Africa within her art and she has created a wallpaper which uses the layout of slave ships as the pattern. This pattern was also used in another piece where gingerbread men were laid out along the boat floor plan.
The plan was then to go up Table Mountain but due to the weather we had to rearrange this, so instead we headed to St George’s Cathedral – where Archbishop Desmond Tutu was laid to rest – and then walked through Company gardens. For lunch we went to Mojo Market which was filled with so many different cuisines and original, funky foods! After lunch we headed up Signal hill where we were greeted with views over the city before the rain clouds swept in.
In the evening, me, Elsbeth and Zoey headed to an interactive art exhibition on campus following a 3-day water conference. It was great to see people’s contributions for the topic as, during our Development and Change module, water was a big part of our learning. It was a very different experience and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part.
Day 4 – 8th June
Today was a full day of music lecture with the incredible Professor Dizu Plaatjies who did a mixture of story telling, playing African instruments to us, and teaching us how to play! Me and Edan were the first to get up and play xylophone along side Dizu. He also shared his harrowing story about his band’s time during Apartheid; they were exiled for many years and his trauma was very visable. It has been our first time listening to the story of someone who actually experienced life during the apartheid and it was truly shocking to hear the first person stories of history we learn about on our first day.
For dinner we went to a local Chinese restaurant followed by an ice creamery and OH MY they were delicious! The perfect end to a great day.
Day 5 - 9th June
The weather was actually sunny today, felt like the first time since we’ve been here that I didn’t need to take my raincoat everywhere! Today was dance lecture day with Lisa Wilson. In the morning we learnt about the importance of dance in South African culture and then in the afternoon we took part in a dance lesson where we learnt a range of traditional dances, such as: gun boot, Indlamu and Zulu. Everyone was so hot and sweaty after the 3 hours of dance that a couple people decided to jump in the pool back at our accommodation… they immediately regretted it, that’s for sure!
Day 6 – 10th June
Today was (in my opinion) going to be the best day of the entire trip, and that is for one reason only – penguins. Not only was today’s itinerary jam-packed with exciting trips, BUT the weather had decided that today was going to be clear skies and glorious all day!
Our first stop was in Table mountain national park, where we stopped at a view point of the whole of Cape Town.
Then we had a pit stop at Imhoff Farm for toilet break/ grab a snack since our next opportunity for food wouldn’t be for a few more hours. Next we drove down the coast with the Atlantic Ocean to our right, where we saw some whales and drove through a town called Scarborough! Our first destination was the ostrich farm where we got the opportunity to feed ostriches. Ostrich is a common meat in South Africa, apparently it is a very healthy, lean red meat and our tour guide boasted about how delicious it is.
The favourite part of my day was next… we headed to boulders beach where a colony of penguins live. There’s a walkway built above the beach and the whole area is cordoned off to protect the penguins. We stayed there about half an hour and were just watching the penguins chill out!
Day 7 – June 11th
Today was supposed to be our trip to Robben island but, once again, the weather made this not possible; instead we headed to a vineyard, brewery and chocolate factory to do some wine/ beer/ chocolate tasting! On our way to the vineyard we drove past the townships Langa Inganga and Kayalicha; our tour guide, Dylan, talked about the segregation and the hardship people in these communities go through.
The vineyard is called Spice Route and here we got the opportunity to do 1 tasting session of our choice. Me, Tom and Rich decided to taste the beer selection and it was so fun! Everyone was very knowledgeable and each beer came with a bucket of information about the brewing processes. The wine and chocolate tasting had very good feedback and it sounded like everyone really enjoyed their sessions. On our way to lunch we stopped outside the Victor Verster prison, where Mandela spent his final time in prison. We went to the beautiful French/ Dutch town of Franschhoek for lunch before heading for a drive through Stellenboche.
Our evening was spend at the V&A waterfront, which is a big shopping area with lots of restaurants and bars. A few of us found somewhere to chill before meeting others and going for some food.
Day 8 – 12th June
Morning lecture today about social justice in South Africa with Professor Helen Scanlon where we began to think about South African’s history and how past injustices can be held accountable in order to have social justice. It was a very interesting topic which a few of the criminology and sociology students found extremely interesting for their own studies back in Hull.
In the afternoon we visited the District 6 museum followed by a walking tour to the District 6 area; here we saw first hand the segregation inflicted during the apartheid, as the black and mixed race community that lived here were all relocated and the area bulldozed to make way for a residential area for white people. Due to other political issues, this rebuild never happened and district 6 is now just a waste land with only memories left of life before.
We then went to the slave lodge museum which is based in a historical building where slaves were kept and housed. This experience was very hard-hitting and raw.
Day 9 – 13th June
Today we continued with our social injustice lecture before heading out to the Castle of Goodhope for the afternoon. We had lunch here, where we tried the South African dish of Bobottie; it was delicious! We then toured round the castle led by Prof. Helen Scanlon, who showed us a few different installations she has helped put up about social injustice. After this we headed to the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and further learnt about their lives and legacy. It was a beautiful memorial filled with inspiration.
Day 10 – 14th June
We concluded the social injustice lecture today by talking about some cases Prof. Helen Scanlon has been a part of. For lunch we then travelled to Bokaap district to have traditional Cape Malay cuisine cooked by the brilliant Fayrusa. It was all delicious and we ate right there in her home! After lunch we had a walking tour around the colourful district where we learnt about the heritage and ansterors of the area.
To finish the day a group of us booked an astroturf football pitch and had a kick around for an hour with our tour guide Takunda. It was a such a fun evening – everyone enjoyed it, whether they were running around the pitch or cheering on from the sidelines.
Day 11 – 15th June
We had our final full lecture day today on global citizenship where we talked about our roles are global citizens and the challenges we face. Our lecture room had no windows so it was a relief to get out into the fresh air at the end of the day! In the evening we decided to have a final group meal as there are plans already for tomorrow. We tried out a local steak house and WOW it was delicious. It was load-shedding whilst we were there so half way through the lights came back on and music started playing which felt very random as we had gotten used to the ambience. But it was a great meal and great company too.
Day 12 – 16th June
Today was bittersweet. Can’t believe it was our final full day in Cape Town. We tried Robben Island one last time this morning but unfortunately the wind wasn’t on our side, so back to the lecture room it was. After our final global citizenship lecture we headed to the Eastern Asia food market – a market selling traditional Asian cuisine. The Gyro and ice-cream I got from here may have been the best meal from the entire trip!
Then we headed to Table Mountain, where we finally got to go up the cable car to the top. There was 0% visibility from the top but it didn’t matter, we explored the top and got absolutely drenched in the clouds. It was great.
For dinner, UCT global team were kindly taking us out to a restaurant called Gold. What I hadn’t realised before we got there was that we were getting a 12 course tasting menu alongside interactive music, dance and face painting! The whole night was so fun and a perfect end to the entire trip. THANK YOU UCT!!!!
