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Published: July 21st 2009
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At one of the top peaks of Stellenbosch mountain--finally made it! I think it’s most appropriate to begin a travel blog before or right as the trip actually starts. However, seeing as I’ve already been here over a week, and this is my first blog, I obviously am not following the correct standard. So begins my blog: a summary of my first week in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
A question I’ve received about as many times as the number of chocolate bars I’ve eaten in my life (so you know it’s a lot) is, “Why South Africa?” I don’t have a logical answer. Call it cliché, but I felt an attraction to this place. To be completely honest, I was flipping through one of the books of the millions of pages of literature that’s available for study abroad options and saw a picture of an elephant. Elephants are in my top five favorite animals, and riding one is number one on my bucket list right now. That’s what caught my eye, but the prospect of spending five months here still seemed a little outrageous. In those moments, I was still thinking I might want to do the old fall back route of going to Australia or Ireland and stay in my comfort
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Just one of beautiful views from the top. zone. I never stopped thinking about South Africa, though. I instead spent hours on the internet, looking at all the amazing opportunities for adventure here and reading about the interesting cultural dynamic and political transition. I found out that Stellenbosch actually has quite a few political science courses offered in English, there were great community service opportunities, and it was a place I could see myself learning and growing.
And so what started as a small spark of interest fueled the train that led me here; what was before only a picture in a study abroad advertisement, only a website on South African tourism, is now my reality. Trust me, it’s better in person.
The adventure started with the longest trip I’ve ever taken: a two hour flight, an eight hour flight, and an eleven hour flight finally resulted in my arrival in Cape Town at 9:15pm on Sunday, July 12th. A representative of the university was waiting for me; unfortunately, my luggage was not. That may have been an omen to my entire first day, which was a little rough. After arriving at my residence hall, Concordia, in Stellenbosch, I found out that there had been a rooming error, and I may—or may not—be in the right room. I was tired enough to take whatever bed they gave me and laid down to my first night in my clothes from the airplane and sporting the fetal position to sleep due to the size and weight of the provided blanket being about one-third of what was necessary for warmth and comfort. I woke up the next morning and took my first trip to the bathroom. I know, this sounds a little TMI (too much information), but there’s a point. There was a key in the lock in the bathroom. I thought, “How cool, a real lock and key. I think I’ll lock it.” You know how this ends. I couldn’t get the key unlocked (it was jammed; it wasn’t my fault!) and spent at least an hour locked in the bathroom on my first morning in Africa. Luckily, I had a flat mate from Memphis who was a big help, and the situation ended in maintenance being called. Oh, and don’t worry—it was the talk of Concordia. When I mentioned it to someone I hadn’t met, they said, “Oh, you’re that girl!” The major chunk of that day was then spent shivering in my lightest sweater in 40-50 degree winter weather with pouring rain and wind as my flat mate and I tried to find our way around town to buy something for me to wear the next day.
That first day is definitely something to laugh at now. It could really only go up from there, and it definitely shot up. That same night, I went out to dinner with some people I’d met, and one girl lent me a coat, which was great. On Tuesday morning, I met all the other ISEP participants; that’s the program I’m here through, and there are probably about fifteen of us. From then on, I haven’t really stopped hanging out with them; it’s been a blast. We had orientation starting Wednesday, and we also got heaters and extra blankets for our rooms. Plus, the weather did a complete turn-around; the end of the week brought seventy degree weather without a cloud in the sky.
The weekend was a great time, also. Friday night, we had our first braai as an orientation event. A braai is just the huge South African barbecue. I may be flattering myself a bit when I call myself somewhat of a meat connoisseur, but this was definitely goooood meat. I think I could braai every day and feel complete, as if high-quality protein pulsing through my veins could produce a permanent warm, fuzzy feeling in my insides. There was also a performance by a more traditional African group from a nearby township, which was amazing to watch. On Saturday, we had a tour of Cape Town through orientation, and then we had a smaller braai and learned about all the adventure activities available in South Africa. I want to do everything possible. Saturday was also Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday, so naturally we had a small birthday party in his honor. Something neat I found out is that here a lot of people call him “Madiba” because that’s his tribal name, which is the most respectful thing you can call a person. Sunday was awesome as well, in a more literal sense of the word. A few of us decided to hike the nearest mountain, Stellenbosch Mountain. We didn’t have a guide and failed in finding a trail up the mountain, but after four intense hours and two people left behind along the way, five of us ended up at its top two peaks. I can’t describe the beauty in words; it was breathtaking. The feeling of personal achievement was very rewarding as well, as I knew that the hike was as much mental as physical.
We start classes now; it is still crazy to be starting classes July 20th, but I am definitely excited for the subject matter. I’m taking Truth Commissions, Economic and Developmental Problems of Africa and South Africa, Overview of South African History, and Introduction to African Politics. The bonus is that, with this schedule, I don’t have class on Monday or Friday! Four day weekend every weekend! Except I’m planning to volunteer Thursday afternoons and maybe getting involved with something on Mondays, depending what’s available. I’ll talk more about that as it develops.
I’ve survived my first week; more updates as they come!
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