District Six Museum and The Old Biscuit Mill, August 28

Today was yet another rainy Saturday. We went to the District Six Museum, located in downtown Cape Town. District Six was one of the many communities that were affected by the forced removals of the apartheid government in the 1960’s. District Six was a diverse community consisting of colored, black, malay and white peoples. It was declared a white neighborhood during apartheid and the people were forced out of their homes. They had to move 25 miles out to the Cape Flats townships. All of the buildings in District Six were torn down to make room for white developments. These developments never came into being, and the land has remained a desolate site in Cape Town, where the memory of those affected by apartheid lives on. The museum was in an old Presbyterian church that remained standing in District Six. It was filled with everyday objects, pictures, and art of people that were forcibly removed. It served as a memory to those who lost their community and homes during apartheid. It was a very moving museum, and a tragic part of Cape Town’s history.

After the museum some of us went to The Old Biscuit Mill. The Old Biscuit Mill is a farmer’s market that looks like it came directly out of an Anthropologie magazine. It was the cutest market I have EVER been to. The food was absolutely amazing :) I got a delicious lamb pita. I also bought a loaf of sourdough bread! (the lack of sourdough bread is one of the many things that I miss about the States…they don’t have very good bread here). We went and looked around at the shops that were set up - all of them looked very Anthropology-esque mixed with Urban Outfitters, and were unfortunately in that price range as well. It was a very cute market, but it made me miss home a lot, I’m not quite sure why.

After going to The Old Biscuit Mill we took a mini-bus cab home. (I’m getting quite good at flagging down mini-buses :) And now I’m at home, procrastinating. I should be working on one of my two papers that are due next week. After I get these two papers done it is spring break! Botswana here I come!!!