I was chatting to a friend and we were marvelling how many different languages are spoken here. Southern Africa was colonised mainly by the English, Dutch, Portuguese and Germans. The French managed to get most of north west Africa.
Kind of makes the mind boggle that a country can rock up and take local people hostage as labour, help themselves to the wealth, inflict their values on the locals and then kindly give the land back after a time.
People migrate looking for a better life and South Africa is viewed as a place where life is better. I often practise my bad French on immigrants when I come across them. My grandfather learned to speak German when he worked up in Namibia years back. The legacy of colonisation lingers here. In the picture is an example of Cape Dutch architecture which is common here in Cape Town. And our legislation is still based on Roman Dutch laws.
But life isn't great for everyone. We have poor and homeless people. There are beggars. We are frequently asked not to give money to people in the streets. It teaches street people that begging is lucrative. In Somerset Road, Green Point is the Caring Network. Find them on the Internet. They do incredible work. You are more likely to make a difference by making a contribution to them than giving money to beggarsLabels: blog, blogsherpa, Cape Town, Green Point, information, Lonely Planet, news, South Africa, travel
