A tour with the Semester at Sea students (a study abroad programme that is run on a cruise ship the MV Explorer), is always so much fun as the students embrace the different cultures on their travels. After meeting them at the V&A Waterfront, they enjoyed the magnificent views that the city has to offer.A tour with the Semester at Sea students (a study abroad programme that is run on a cruise ship the MV Explorer), is always so much fun as the students embrace the different cultures on their travels. After meeting them at the V&A Waterfront, they enjoyed the magnificent views that the city has to offer. Our route to Masiphumelele was along the highway where they witnessed the more affluent areas around Cape Town.Arriving at the Masiphumelele township was a rude awakening for the students as they come from a very fortunate upbringing and seeing the township showed Cape Town`s diversity in terms of the different economic classes in the population.
The students were greeted by township guides Zwai and Terra, whose amazing wit and humour made quite an impression. We visited the Peacock Day care centre, a Sangoma (Xhosa traditional healer) and had lunch prepared by a local lady named Charlotte.
The highlight of the day however was the soccer match against the local soccer team, Masiphumelele United. Initially the students were intimidated by the local team as they were fully kitted in soccer apparel. Soon the intimidation turned into belief and eventually the Semester at Sea students beat Masiphumelele United 4-1. One of the students very enthusiastically called to me: “Leonard, we`ve got them beat!” (meaning: we have won!). The game was played in good spirits and afterwards the students interacted and shared juice and oranges with the local team. I stood back and admired the picture, and it was good to see that for once racial oppression wasn`t an issue.
On our way back to the V&A Waterfront we stopped over at a local fish market as the students wanted to enjoy some local seafood take-away. As we dropped off the students, they thanked me for an unforgettable day in the Masiphumelele township. I hopped back on the bus and sat back satisfied!
For more information on AWOL`s township tours and other tours we have on offer, please visit www.awoltours.co.za.A tour with the Semester at Sea students (a study abroad programme that is run on a cruise ship the MV Explorer), is always so much fun as the students embrace the different cultures on their travels. After meeting them at the V&A Waterfront, they enjoyed the magnificent views that the city has to offer. Our route to Masiphumelele was along the highway where they witnessed the more affluent areas around Cape Town.Arriving at the Masiphumelele township was a rude awakening for the students as they come from a very fortunate upbringing and seeing the township showed Cape Town`s diversity in terms of the different economic classes in the population.
The students were greeted by township guides Zwai and Terra, whose amazing wit and humour made quite an impression. We visited the Peacock Day care centre, a Sangoma (Xhosa traditional healer) and had lunch prepared by a local lady named Charlotte.
The highlight of the day however was the soccer match against the local soccer team, Masiphumelele United. Initially the students were intimidated by the local team as they were fully kitted in soccer apparel. Soon the intimidation turned into belief and eventually the Semester at Sea students beat Masiphumelele United 4-1. One of the students very enthusiastically called to me: “Leonard, we`ve got them beat!” (meaning: we have won!). The game was played in good spirits and afterwards the students interacted and shared juice and oranges with the local team. I stood back and admired the picture, and it was good to see that for once racial oppression wasn`t an issue.
On our way back to the V&A Waterfront we stopped over at a local fish market as the students wanted to enjoy some local seafood take-away. As we dropped off the students, they thanked me for an unforgettable day in the Masiphumelele township. I hopped back on the bus and sat back satisfied!
For more information on AWOL`s township tours and other tours we have on offer, please visit www.awoltours.co.za. Our route to Masiphumelele was along the highway where they witnessed the more affluent areas around Cape Town.Arriving at the Masiphumelele township was a rude awakening for the students as they come from a very fortunate upbringing and seeing the township showed Cape Town`s diversity in terms of the different economic classes in the population.
The students were greeted by township guides Zwai and Terra, whose amazing wit and humour made quite an impression. We visited the Peacock Day care centre, a Sangoma (Xhosa traditional healer) and had lunch prepared by a local lady named Charlotte.
The highlight of the day however was the soccer match against the local soccer team, Masiphumelele United. Initially the students were intimidated by the local team as they were fully kitted in soccer apparel. Soon the intimidation turned into belief and eventually the Semester at Sea students beat Masiphumelele United 4-1. One of the students very enthusiastically called to me: “Leonard, we`ve got them beat!” (meaning: we have won!). The game was played in good spirits and afterwards the students interacted and shared juice and oranges with the local team. I stood back and admired the picture, and it was good to see that for once racial oppression wasn`t an issue.
On our way back to the V&A Waterfront we stopped over at a local fish market as the students wanted to enjoy some local seafood take-away. As we dropped off the students, they thanked me for an unforgettable day in the Masiphumelele township. I hopped back on the bus and sat back satisfied!
For more information on AWOL`s township tours and other tours we have on offer, please visit www.awoltours.co.za.