Ubuntu

            Sorry this is later than the rest of my posts for South Africa but I have been swamped with work and only have a little bit of time to write about the last day very quickly.

            I went with a friend up Table Mountain, the characteristic landmark of Cape Town. It is a sheer mountain, I think almost a mile high (?), and has as flat top – hence the table name. Often, the clouds will form and rest on the top of the mountain, and then the locals will describe it as having a tablecloth. I didn’t have time to hike up (it takes 3.5 up and then 3.5 down) so we took the cable car – which was ingeniously built! It had a rotating floor, so as you rode up you got a full panoramic view! It was very cool! The view from Table Mountain is just gorgeous, you could see for miles – beautiful beaches, other mountains, and yes, my ship is big enough to easily pick out from way up there too! It was very fun. We rode with the same taxi driver as the day before because he was such a nice guy and had great rates, so that was a nice ride and a great relief that we weren’t getting ripped off. After that, we returned to the ship and I tried to get some work done until some of my friends wanted to go to the craft market. I had wanted to go earlier, but hadn’t found the time, so I went to see traditional South African crafts. It had a set-up very similar to the rock show that comes to VB, with many venders selling many different kinds of things in little boxes all over the place. As one of my friends pointed out, it was a relief to window-shop without the vender immediately assuming you wanted to buy something and then pressuring you to buy his stuff (as what happened in Morocco and Ghana). After, we walked around the city a bit more before it was time to return to the ship.

            We had the honor of Nelson Mandela coming to give a speech to us once everyone was onboard. We had learned many things about him, how he had peacefully spoken out against apartheid and spent many years in a prison on Robben Island (small island off the coast near Cape Town, it specifically held political prisoners). He is actually a very engaging speaker, with varying facial gestures, loudness and frequent laughing throughout his speech (probably methods used by traditional African storytelling, but either way, he was never boring). He talked to us about a concept he has tried to educate the world about, ubuntu. It is a Zulu word basically saying that “I am because we are” – so you are only defined because of your relationship with others. He used several biblical examples to explain why this is necessary (he preaches at his church). The best one was the story of Adam and Eve, how God stated that it is not good for man to be alone, which is why he created woman. Thus, from the beginning, we were never meant to be in isolation, but are only complete when in community with others. He also referenced ideas from Romans (when he talks about the body), how each person has a unique gift and role to play, but are different from the rest to create the whole functioning society. From this, he asked, what does skin color tell you about that person, other than the color of their skin? When you think about it, that is very true. It doesn’t tell you about their skills, faults, aspirations or past. This is why he labeled South Africa the rainbow nation, because its many people bring many colors and gifts to the whole. All in all, it was an excellent speech, but that’s all I remember right now to tell you.