More on Culture

People: Cape Town is a little mix of everyone. You have about 80% black (which can be tribal South Africans, township people, ect.), and 20% white (this group consists of native South Africans, and a mix of Europeans). Among the black population, the people can distinguish groups. For example, they can tell which township someone is from, or which tribe they are a part of. The different groups do not get along with each other generally. I have seen a lot of hostility among the different groups.





The white population is still somewhat thought of as the ruling class. After apartheid when many white non-native people stayed around to claim land and such, the blacks were kicked off their land and treated as slaves. Since this happened in the recent past, hard feelings still stick around.





Overall, hateful attitudes remain among many of the different groups in South Africa.




Poverty: poverty is a huge problem among South Africans. Especially the township people, who make up about 70% of the entire South African population. The townships people live either on the street, or if they are lucky enough they get the opportunity to pay 20 Rand a month to live in government housing. Government housing is a new option for the township people. The system works by providing each family with one bed. And there are 4 beds per room, and about 4 rooms per apartment. So, about 16 families live in one apartment. However, these families are so thankful for any housing, even if it is shared with numerous other people.






Language: Cape Town is filled with languages. Locals generally are at least bilingual. There are about eight common tribal languages in South Africa, and then there's English, Afrikaans, German, and Russian. Then, when you add the tourists into the mix, you have just about any language you can think of. Walking down the streets is amazing. You hear so many different languages.

Religion: Most South African are Christians. They hold Sunday as their day of worship. Alcohol sales are prohibited and everything on their days of worship. You see the strongest beliefs in the townships areas. Even though these people have nothing, they still have faith in God and believe that he can help them overcome all of their problems.

Another majority religion in South Africa is Muslim. There is even a street in Cape Town devoted to Muslim places of worship, eateries, ans shops. Other religions and tourists are not welcome on this street.

Food: You can get any foods you please in Cape Town. They are very similar to Western countries, in that they have just about anything you want. In the city, you can find Chinese, Turkish, Mexican, and American restaurants, along with any other types of foods you could possibly want. Vegetarians can easily survive in Cape Town. Meat is a common meal, but meat substitutes are also available. Restaurants usually even have veggie burgers and fake chicken and sandwich meat.

Overall, Cape Town is very similar to Western style countries in terms of culture. The big difference is the townships, poverty, and arts and crafts.

I will be making a visit to a township in a couple weeks and will learn more then. That's all for now!