Getting to Cape Town
Sometimes something that one has always wanted to do come your way when you least expect it. Going to Cape Town in South Africa was one such thing for me. I had always wanted to visit Cape Town for some time. Previously I had visited Johannesburg and Pretoria from 2004 and also Durban in 2007. How did I get to go to Cape Town? It was after being offered a place to study a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Information & Communication Technology in Education) leading to a Masters at University of Cape Town (www.uct.ac.za). I left Lusaka for Cape Town via Johannesburg on 28th March 2011 at 07 20 via South African Airways. At O R Tambo Airport I boarded another South African Airways jumbo jet at 11 00 hours. I had hoped to sleep on the Johannesburg to Cape Town route but that was not the case as I sat next to Chris from Zimbabwe a doctoral student at University of Cape Town (UCT). We got to chat about our countries, studies at UCT, gospel music etc. The 2 hour journey to Cape Town seemed like 30 minutes!
Arriving in Cape Town
When we arrived at Cape Town airport, after collecting our luggage we looked for the shuttle that was waiting for us. In the shuttle bus I met my course mates for the first time after having "met" them online in our pre face-face sessions. The online interactions were very good as we all introduced ourselves and what were doing in terms of use of ICTs in Education in our respective nations. Later in the day, we had a time of meeting the rest of the students (including some from Cape Town). Most of the students were accommodated at hostels close to UCT while Kingsley and I were accommodated at Kingsbury Guest House within walking distance from UCT and near the shopping centre where we would walk to buy meals and do some shopping.
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa,and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is also Africa's most popular tourist destination.
Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa. You can read more about Cape Town on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town
Classes at Cape Town
The week of learning was hectic but fun. In each day we had a combination of lectures, group discussions, presentations and reflections we had to write each day on our blogs on what we had learnt. The learning was quite collaborative. When it came to students presenting project proposals each student had 30 minutes to present and be asked questions by fellow students. This is addition with comments from our two programme co-ordinators: Professors Dick N'ga,mbi & Cheryl Williams, was very useful in improving the project proposal. Our day usually started at 08 00 and ended at 17 00 but not really 17 00 as we would have group work that kept us busy till 20 00 and then after supper we would get busy with reading and writing and have online discussions with other studnets. The last three nights most students slept very late. I remember sleeping for less than 3 hours the last few days. With such a hectic schedule it was not easy to find time to see the beauty of Cape Town.
Cape Town attractions
On the last Saturday, on 2nd April, I went with four classmates to the Waterfront.
The Waterfront is a beautiful getway to the Indian Ocean. It has been said that a visit to South Africa and to Cape Town would not be complete without visiting the Cape Town Big 6 i.e. Waterfront, Table Mountain Cableway, Kirstenbosch, Robben Island, Cape Point and Constantia Vineyards. At the Waterfront is the Nobel Square which features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners – Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. There is also a big shopping mall at the Waterfront which we rushed through as we wanted to visit the Table Mountain. It was good to meet Sandras a former student whom I taught at the Copperbelt University. He is studying and working in Cape Town.
Our visit to the Table Mountain was not very successful as the cable that goes up the mountain was closed for business when we arrived. However, we were able to see the group of mountains from a different angle. We were also able to see the Greenpoint Stadium, used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We also saw the Parliament buildings. Afterwards, the lady in our group left to go back to UCT whilst the four men remained. The group was interesting. A Cameronian, Austrian, Zimbabwean and Zambian! On the advice of Gerald from Austria we went in search for Addis Cafe, an Ethiopian restaurant. At the restaurant we settled for a menu where we could each have two types of dishes along with Ethiopian bread. The meal was lovely! You should try Ethiopian food. My friend Kinsley has told me that we need to try Ethiopian food again when we meet in a few days in Dar-es-Salaam for the eLearning Africa Conference.
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