Before heading to wine country, we arranged a tour of a Cape Town suburb, or township, called Langa.

Townships are South African ghettos where black Africans and other non-whites were segregated from whites before and during the apartheid era. Langa is the oldest of these suburbs and was the location of much of the resistance to apartheid in the 20th century. From the highway, Langa looks like a huge slum - broken metal shacks, hodgepodge stores, and no space anywhere. We were curious about the living conditions within, and why townships still exist so long after the end of apartheid.

We pulled up to our designated meeting point off the Langa exit and saw a neatly dressed man in a sport coat and jeans waiting for us. He introduced himself as Abosh and hopped into our backseat, which threw us a little but we went with it.

We parked and began our 2-hour walking tour through the streets of Langa. We felt comfortable and safe with Abosh, who lives in Langa himself. We visited the community's cultural center, passed small storefront shanties, and temporary housing structures for people looking to live in Langa on a more permanent basis.

Barber shop and salon in Langa Township.

We entered a school in session where kindergarteners were learning colors and shapes.

We visited one of the hostels which was shared by 8 families, divided into 4 small bedrooms and a dark and sparse communal area. A young woman living there invited us to see her bedroom, a tiny space with 2 twin beds for 2 families (adults sleep on beds, children sleep on the floor). We met her adorable son, who was fascinated by my camera and kept taking candids of Stephen.

Despite the extreme poverty, the people of Langa seemed truly happy. Abosh told us that there was little to no violence in the township, and the fact that people essentially live on top of each other didn't create conflict, but actually created a sense of community and support that I found humbling.

Ladies of Langa brewing traditional sorghum beer.

We came to an area of more permanent housing called Hollywood, and Abosh told us that Langa locals who "made it" lived there. These people made the conscious decision to come back to Langa and remain a part of the community even though they could have moved on. There is a strong sense of pride in Langa post-apartheid, and it was clear on many of the residents' faces that they love living in Langa.

We learned that Abosh lived in one of the small metal shacks for $30 per month. As his home has no plumbing, he uses the porto-potty as his bathroom and buckets of water from the river to wash himself. He shared his aspirations to visit the US, to start his own township tour company, and to purchase one of the new "mansions" being built for $30,000 on the edge of the highway in Langa.

Sidenote: After doing a bit more research, it appears that the newly built homes along the highway (called the N2 Gateway Housing Project) actually threaten Langa's existence. Langa lines the main highway into Cape Town, and is often one of the first things a tourist sees. This has been a sore spot for the local government, so they had the novel idea to build "real" homes along the highway to hide the never-ending rows of shacks that make up Langa. Coming from a country with an embarrassing history of oppression, inequality and segregation, I can't say that I am shocked by this behavior, but the reality is no less disturbing, infuriating or disappointing.

We concluded our tour back at the community center, where we perused the local artwork for sale. As we wrapped up, I felt a strong sense of gratitude and appreciation for my life, but also of guilt and shame. It wasn't entirely about having more (material things and comforts, not necessarily happiness) than the people of Langa, but more about the feeling of being able to pass through a place like Langa as if it is a tourist attraction. Taking photos and asking questions, knowing we would be heading up to wine country in a few hours, left me feeling a bit empty. Despite the feelings I had, Abosh and the people of Langa welcome visitors with open arms, and I know that awareness and donations are a major help to the local people of Langa. I would still definitely recommend a township tour as a must for someone visiting the Cape Town area.

-Michelle