Thursday, January 13, 2005
Day 11 IJR and Green Market Square
13 January 2005
Today provided us with another day to sleep in a bit. We left the residence at 10:30 and arrived at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) around eleven. The IJR is the successor to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is working towards economic and racial equality in South Africa through extensive surveying and data collection. Their surveys inquire about both economic situations and individual race relations. From the data they gather, they often recommend policies to Parliament to try to improve the situation. After listening to the IJR speaker we headed downtown to Green Market Square, which is near St. George's cathedral.
This cathedral is the church where archbishop Desmond Tutu, head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, held his services, and is where the current archbishop of Cape Town preaches. We had a bit of free time around the market to shop around, eat lunch, and watch a variety of street performers.
There were many people sporting their traditional cultural dress, like this guy.
Performers of various types also frequented the street corners and open areas. This group was doing a dance similar to the one we saw while visiting the Amy Biehl foundation. Several groups of very skilled musicians could also be found around the market. Until today, I never knew that a kazoo could be played to sound like an alto saxophone.
Finally, there was the marketplace. One small city block, the market was a tangle of shops selling all sorts of curios from Africa, America, and even Nepal. Bartering is the way to get good prices at Green Market Square and most of the group got the hang of it by the time we left. In the end we came out the end we came out with an assortment of goods ranging from African masks to wood bowls to spears. The night came to an end as we cleaned the rooms of the residence, played cards, packed, and enjoyed a feast of spaghetti and some leftovers of Emmanuel's tasty Nigerian food.
Good-bye Cape Town.
We'll miss you.
- Tyler Voskuilen