A Shark Free Day, July 30

A great white shark did not eat me today. I went surfing for my first time in South Africa this afternoon, at the lovely Muizenberg beach. I went out with my friend Bryce (also from San Diego), and rented a board from the local shop. Of course I forgot my bathing suit, so I was not happy to put on a used wetsuit. But due to the extreme cold weather, I ended up borrowing the 4/3. My first thought as I looked at the waves at Muzberg today was that I would not survive the paddle out. It looked cold, and the outside seemed to be half a mile away - not good. We suited up, and started on the paddle out. The water was definitely colder than SD winter water, but it was tolerable. The waves were surprisingly forgiving, and although the paddle out was very far the whitewater wasn’t too bad to get through. After what seemed like 15 minutes I finally made it to the outside on my extremely buoyant rented longboard. It took me a few tries to get up the courage to catch a wave. I finally caught one that was probably about chest high, and it was an awesome ride! Muzberg waves are super gentle and mushy, despite the larger size. I got some walking in, and definitely proved my abilities to the locals out there. I cannot tell you how good it felt to catch that first wave! I have missed surfing so much and am going to try to go and buy a board and wetsuit next Monday.

I was definitely a bit freaked out while surfing, because we were super far out. I was sure that I would see a shark. I even asked a local guy if there were many sharks. He reassured me that I only had to worry about them in the summertime…which is good for now. It didn’t help when something made a splash where Bryce was sitting. I immediately assumed the worst. Bryce reassured me that it was hopefully/probably just a seal. Thirty seconds later a seal jumped out of the water, so that made me feel a lot better. But I was still a little bit uneasy, because we all know what eats seals. The seals here are super cute though. They are a lot smaller, and jump out of the water like dolphins. After catching like three waves I decided to take one in, partly because I couldn’t keep paddling to the outside. So there you go, I survived and did not get eaten by a shark. One session down, lots more to go.

(oh, I almost forgot to say that surfing in Muzberg has to be the prettiest place to surf. It has white sand, and is set with a backdrop of rocky cliffs that tower over the little town- absolutely lovely :)

Prior to surfing I had somewhat of a stressful day. I found out halfway through my 10 am class this morning that my two friends were both dropping African Dance, and leaving me. I nearly started to hyperventilate. I knew that I could not survive 11 more weeks of embarrassing myself on the dance floor without them, not to mention a solo dance performance at the end. So I went to the faculty of dance and explained that due to my lack of skills I wanted to switch into History of African Dance. She grudgingly gave me permission, and that was that. I am officially done forever with trying to perform African dance, and now get to do something that I am more qualified for, which is learn about its history and its significance. (Sory Livvy and Casey, I know you wanted dance lessons…but do not fear, I will teach you the warm-up routine that I learned) Needless to say, it feels like a weight has been lifted from my life, and I am very happy to be in the history class instead.

After surfing I went to my first Student Y meeting called “HUB.” The Student Y is a campus Christian group. I walked in to find that I wasn’t the only American, but that a group of kids from Kansas were on a missions trip in South Africa and would be here all week. I was immediately taken to be part of their group. But after meeting multiple people and telling them that I was studying at UCT, I got it sorted out. I really enjoyed my time at the Y. The students there were really nice, and I will definitely be going again. We had a “braii.” (Braii being the term for bbq here). I had the choice to eat lamb or horse…I chose lamb. It was really tasty. After the student Y meeting I returned home. It is a Friday night tonight, and so my roomies and I had planned to go out. Unfortunately, I am getting sick, so I decided to stay home. I have to wake up early tomorrow to go and serve at the pediatric clinic. I’m so excited! Pray that I get better soon!

(Wow, Sorry that was so long! My fingers are tired, lol. I also apologize to you non-surfers that read this, I’m sure the first two paragraphs were a bit long/confusing…I’m just so excited to finally surf here. It made me so happy :)

There's no place like home, July 29

I miss San Diego weather. The weather in Cape Town is very interesting and unpredictable. It has been extremely windy here for the past three days making me feel a lot like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Thankfully, the wind today was warmer, and it is supposed to stop by tomorrow. I plan on going surfing tomorrow after class to take full advantage of the calm conditions. Wish me luck as I go surf Muizenburg (affectionately called “Muzberg”) tomorrow. It should be fun, the guy at the surf shop called it the “fluffiest wave in the world,” which sounds perfect to me!

This morning was rather rough. I am feeling the effects of what I think they call, “culture shock.” I felt very homesick today, and started to question why I am here. I have been trying to look to God in this loneliness, because I know that there is a reason that he brought me here. During the middle of my breakdown, I received a call from someone from the on campus Christian organization inviting me to an event tomorrow. God works in mysterious ways. It was crazy how in a moment when I felt totally lost and alone, he reminded me that he has not left my side.

After receiving that call, I pulled myself together, and decided to go figure out how to get to the med campus to sign up for a volunteer position. After walking for what seemed like miles, and eventually finding the correct bus stop, I was able to find the SHAWCO trailer. SHAWCO is a non-profit organization that was started by medical students to bring medical aid to peoples in the townships. It has since then grown into a fairly large volunteer organization. I met some really friendly people at the SHAWCO trailer and I signed up to volunteer at a pediatric clinic this Saturday. I am super excited for it, and am praying that it goes well!

This evening I went to the dreaded African Dance class. I discovered that lack of rhythm is not so much of the problem as my lack of dancing coordination. But I think I have decided to stick it out (mostly because it is too hard to switch into anything else, and I don’t know what I would want to switch into). So wish me luck! I hope that my coordination skills will improve with time. Thankfully I’m not the only white girl who lacks African dance skills, so I think I’ll be okay…hopefully.

Lack of Rhythm, July 27

Today was my first actual day of having classes. I am taking two history courses and an African dance class. The first two classes are very interesting. “Memory and Identity” focuses on how history copes with violence/traumatic events, with a focus on Africa. “Medicine in the Making of Modern South Africa” is a medical history class. Both of these classes are surprisingly small (something I’m not used to at UCSD), and I find myself having to listen closely to understand the professors. Even though they speak English, their accents are quite heavy. Unfortunately it is almost all international students in both of these classes. I guess that African students don’t take African studies courses?

My last class that takes place in the evenings is African Dance for international students. I was caught by surprise when I entered into this class. I went in thinking that it would focus more upon African dance theory. I was sorely mistaken. I walk in to find that it is held in a dance studio and that we are going to be dancing right away. I thought that, due to it being for study abroad students, there would be a lot of beginning dancers. This thinking however was also wrong. There were some really really GOOD dancers! It was very fun, but very fast paced. I went up afterwards to ask the instructor if I would be failed for being a bad dancer and for lacking rhythm. He informed me that he doesn’t fail many, but that it will be a tough road…not very reassuring. So we’ll see if I stay in this class. I might end up switching into another African Studies course instead.

After dance class I went up to the sports centre where the UCT volleyball club was practicing. Sports in SA are much different from in the US. Women don’t normally play sports, so the competition level was not quite what I was expecting from the college club team. It is a very interesting dynamic. The men were really good at volleyball, but it was obvious that the women had little training. Sports and athletics in general are known for being pretty sexist here in SA, which was evident by the huge skill level gap between the men and the women teams. That being said, I’m not sure if I’ll stick with volleyball. I might try a sport I don’t already know how to play…like netball? I’m not sure, but regardless I’m sure I’ll be joining some club team by the end of this week.

First Day of School, July 26

Today I found out that I don’t have class (yet) on Mondays! Unfortunately I found this out after I had already showered and gone to school at 9 am. At UCT we don’t know when/where our classes are until the first week, so I had to go to all of the different faculties to find out this information. UCT was crazy busy today with everyone standing around talking with and greeting their friends. The campus is like a “college campus” in movies. Everyone dresses nice, hangs out on the front steps with their friends, and the buildings are overgrown with ivy. It was beautiful (as expected) but a little bit daunting. It reminded me of a glorified high school in that everyone seemed to know each other and the day is divided into periods. I have four classes tomorrow, so I’ll get the full UCT experience then, and let you know what lectures are like.

After my eventful day on campus with no classes I went for a run. I ran up some hills and found myself taking a complete circle and eventually ended up running on a track for a few miles. But nonetheless the exercise felt good. I’m excited because tomorrow I’m going to go play some volleyball with the UCT women’s club :)

After running, my roomies and I decided to check out the local mall and try to find some boots. We took a minivan taxi to get to the mall. Minivan taxis are quite an experience. They drive around with the taxi assistant hanging out the window and the taxi honking, trying to get people to ride it. They are privately owned, sketchy vans that only cost 50 cents to take basically anywhere in Cape Town. We are warned to only take them in the daytime and with a group. My roomie, Liz, calls them “rape taxis.” (Don’t worry mom, they are safe as long as you take them with a group) They were notoriously only taken by the black South Africans during apartheid, but now are also utilized a bit by college students. The conversation in the van was very interesting. A crazy local guy was having a racially charged conversation with himself. The ride to the mall was quite an experience, needless to say. I will definitely take the minibuses again, as long as I’m with a group. (My roommate Kate said that it took her 7 months to get up the guts to take one, it only took me 7 days, I must be adventurous, lol.)

And that was about everything that I did today. I’m excited for classes tomorrow, especially for African Dance…is that nerdy?

Devil's Peak climb, July 24

Today we woke up early to embark upon the dreaded Devil’s Peak climb. We left after breakfast as a group of 80 ambitious international students, and were led by six guides. We were warned that the hill was quite strenuous, a three hours straight hike uphill, and should not be undertook by people who feared heights. All of the warnings were quite justified. It was completely uphill for the first three hours. We started at the base of the cliff and proceeded to climb all the way to the peak, which was 1000 meters. It was tough, not going to lie. At times I felt like if I slipped I would surely plummet to my death. But, I wasn’t too scared because most of the other girls doing the hike were a lot worse off than me. We walked up the mountain like herded cattle, due to the fact that there were 80 of us hiking a moderately tricky hill. Luckily it was not raining, but it was quite windy. We finally made it up to the peak, after the painfully slow scramble up boulders and walking along sheer drop-offs. (Olivia it would have made you want to cry )

The top of the peak was beautiful! I could see from all sides of the peak the city of Cape Town that surrounded me. (check out the facebook pics!) It was very very high, and I loved it! After eating lunch up on the peak we started our descent down. All I have to say is that the descent down gives Devil’s peak its name. It hurt my knees so bad! Hopefully I won’t be crippled for life. I’m icing them as we speak. The hike took the whole day, and needless to say I am extremely exhausted. But overall I would say that the hike was well worth it :)

Registration and Muizenburg, July 23

Today I woke up bright and early for the dreaded course registration process. I got there only to find that I was somehow not in the system. But after waiting in hours of ques, talking to multiple advisors, and running up and down the hill to get forms signed by faculty I am now officially signed up for three classes at UCT. I will be taking African Dance, Medicine in the making of South Africa, and another history course called “memory and identity.” The process took about 5 hours, and needless to say I will never again complain about any problems that WebReg poses at UCSD.

After the registration I met up with a fellow surfing friend from UCSD, Bryce. We decided to go to Muizenburg to go and surf. We hopped on the train and took it for about thirty minutes. At Muizenburg station we got off only to find that the surf was like 6 inches. We met up with another friend and decided to go look at the surf shops for used boards. We talked to some locals, found out that Muizenburg is like the best lonboarding spot around (yes!). I will hopefully be buying a board soon and I will probably be going out surfing this Sunday. YAY!

And that was it for today. Tomorrow we are hiking the dreaded Devil’s Peak. It is titled as a strenuous hike that is supposedly three hours straight uphill…great. Hopefully my knees will survive the downhill. Wish me luck!!!

Winds, Beaches, and Tow Trucks, July 22

Hello! I woke up this morning to the sounds of what seemed like a hurricane passing by outside, only to be informed by our housekeeper Monica (a witty and very knowledgeable Cape Town local) that the cape storm was coming in. You see, it has been sunny and around 75 degrees for the past three days, so I was under the impression that everyone was lying when they talked about the torrential downpours Cape Town can have during the wintertime. Monica told me that it wasn’t originally named the “cape of storms” for no reason. Today was extremely windy, and still pretty warm, but they tell me that the wind is indicative for a big rain storm….We’ll see tomorrow how the rain is. (I still have to buy some boots/rainy weather shoes!)

In the morning we met our landlady Miss Hanley. She is very sweet and made us tea as we signed our leases and did legal stuff. I just adore her, she is very sweet. After tea, she took me down to the local mall to get our things photocopied, and she showed me around along the way. Hanley introduced me to what will now be my favorite grocery store, Woolworth’s (a similar rendition of Trader Joe’s that is conveniently located three blocks walk away from my house). After we signed the leases Hanley took us for a spin around town to show us her favorite spots and beaches.

We went to the most gorgeous beach titled “third beach.” The water was aqua colored, the sand was nearly as white as silicone, and large boulders surrounded the edge of the beach. It was super great! It made me feel happy just standing there in the sunshine, and I wondered why South Africa doesn’t get more credit, because I think that might be the prettiest beach that I’ve ever been too! (Well, maybe tied with Kauai). South Africa really is one of the most gorgeous places on earth, haha. I think I will like it a lot here. The water felt like it was like 40 degrees though - I am not looking forward to how cold it is going to be when I go surf! I can’t wait for it to be summertime here…only three more months J

We got back to our car only to discover that it wouldn’t start. Some of the local workers that were in the parking lot tried to help us start the car for about thirty minutes before deciding that Hanley had better just call a tow truck. I was very amazed though at how willing the people are to help each other out. Its not often that five guys would devote half an hour to helping out a stranger in the US. While we were waiting for the tow truck, me and the girls walked to go and get some sandwiches. We ate at a beautiful little restaurant overlooking the ocean, and finished right when Hanley came to pick us up. I was super exhausted after our adventure filled day, so I took a nap when we got home, and just woke up. I thought that I was skilled at taking naps in the middle of the day, but my housemates have all been sleeping for almost three hours. Apparently my napping skills are no match for theirs. So that’s the end of the happenings of today. Tonight we plan on making dinner and watching Jane Austen movies. (I thought you would enjoy this Olivia…We are watching “Persuasion”…I don’t think we’ve seen that one yet).

P.S. I know I didn’t write a blog yesterday, but nothing too eventful happened. We finished doing orientation stuff. I met some nice Norwegian people and am super excited to introduce the work “keen” into my vocabulary. They seemed to be “keen” on everything. I like that word, so I think I’m going to use it, and maybe people will think I’m European. Although, many already do think I’m European before I start talking, especially when I am with the European crowd. Apparently I look very Swedish. Who would’ve thought…

Cheers!

July 20, Orientation and Registration

Hello friends! Today wasn’t too exciting. We had yet another day of orientation. Today at orientation we learned about the many struggles and frustrations of registering for classes here at UCT. I also discovered that almost all of the classes I want to take conflict with each other, perfect. But it wasn’t all bad, I still found some cool classes to take and am praying that they all get approved. Also, I ate a really yummy sandwich today at the café. (random, I know) After the orientation we had to take a three-hour, awful and long standardized test. It was really bad, like a South African SAT test.

To reward us for suffering through the surprise standardized test, out study abroad program hosted a wine tasting session for us. They taught us how to taste wine like a pro (a great piece of advice for the future). It was fun, and I got a chance to play the piano that was in the room. I miss playing the piano a lot. After that me and my girlfriends went out to eat, and Amanda forced me to try acro-yoga. Acro-yoga stands for acrobat yoga, and involves two people doing acrobatical yoga stunts. Amanda was the base, which meant she was holding me up in the air in funny yoga positions with her feet. I couldn’t stop laughing, it was hilarious and awkward. I plan on doing acro-yoga again soon. And that’s about it for today….

Oh and I am thinking about going in a shark cage dive on Sunday. What do you all think?

July 19, Oh the glory of UCT!

Today was the first day of orientation, and thus the first time that I went to the main UCT campus. It is absolutely gorgeous! Imagine Harvard style buildings with ivy growing everywhere, set with a breathtaking mountain behind it, placed on a hillside, and looking over the whole of the city of Cape Town. It is absolutely breathtaking! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend much time outside today, although it was sunny and 75 degrees. We had a full day of orientation where I learned these things.

1. Culture shock is like eating apples, you go through stages where you love the culture, hate it, and then learn to like it.

2. Americans have a reputation for asking too many questions in class, and can be identified easily when in the lecture hall - they always have a water bottle with them (i guess they’ll know where I’m from)

3. A’s and B’s are rarely every given out, especially in humanities classes….great.

4. Signing up for classes requires that we have patience, as we have to speak with the heads of the departments to get approved, and wait in super long lines called “ques” (not looking forward to doing this on friday)

5. Pepper spray is the only legal weapon allowed on campus (i will be getting a can)

6. None of the buildings have central heating

7. South African’s are very laid back and act like, and I quote, “Californian surfers, you know, the kind that smoke all the time…” (great stereotype guys)

And that is just a bit of the interesting things that I learned today. After the 7 hours of orientation jumbo we had a drumming workshop. A South African drumming troupe came in with over 400 drums and taught us how to do drum beats, and we drummed till our hands were numb and I felt like my fingers would fall off! Haha, but it was great, and sounded awesome. Outside UCT hall an African xylophone troupe was playing- so we danced and sang along with them, and then we went home. Oh and can I say, that I am absolutely obsessed with South Africa’s official songs??? So legit J

Until next time!

Cape Tour, July 18th

Today was my second day in South Africa, and I am starting to fall in love with this country. We went on a Cape Tour that lasted the entirety of the day. We drove through downtown Cape Town and along the coast. I saw the first South African surfer out on a wave, and needless to say, I am dying to go surf - it is making me antsy just talking about it, so I’ll move on and pray that an opportunity to surf Cape Town will be coming up soon. We made our first stop at Boulders Beach where we saw South African Jackass penguins, they were super cute. If I were a penguin I know what kind I would want to be.

We also drove out to the Cape Point, which is the southwestern most point of Africa where the two oceans meet. We went to Cape of Good Hope where we made a short walk up to the lighthouse - the view was absolutely fantastic! We came on a day where it was very sunny, not a cloud in the sky (which I guess never happens). So that was super fun. Oh ya, and I saw my first African wildlife up close, a wombat (I think?) It came ridiculously close and freaked both me and my friend Kate out, lol.

The best stop that we made of the day was at a township called Oceanview. (A township - for those who don’t know - is basically a town located outside of a city where the people are living in extreme poverty and is very low income. The black and colored populations were forced to live in these townships during the apartheid years. Unfortunately, South Africa still has not nearly recovered from the effects of apartheid, in that the townships are still as big as ever and solely consist of black people. Townships are places known for poverty, rape, substance abuse, and the prominence of AIDS. ) We had no idea that we were going to do at the township as we drove in with our 8 tour buses full of 400 international students, and the people looked very intrigued and everyone waved as we drove by. We stopped finally at a community center, where we were greeted by young adults (about our age) from the Oceanview community. We brought gifts to donate to the kids of the community. We were welcomed in and to our surprise discovered that the township community center had already cooked us lunch, and was going to feed all 400 hundred of us. We ate there (an interesting dish of rice and meat) and after we were done eating they explained how although living in townships is rough, there is a lot that the community is doing to try to break the cycle of abuse and poverty through community efforts and education. After that we watched some of the young local talents perform (and boy were they talented!). They sang gospel, played blues, performed hip hop dances, and did some amazing break dancing. They were super talented, and my favorite of the performers were two little boys, about ten years old, who danced a tribute to Michael Jackson. It was so cute! It was such an amazing experience, and I was truly blessed by seeing how hopeful and uplifting the youth in the community were. I am so excited to start volunteering in a township, hopefully I’ll be working in a medical clinic and also serving in some sort of a children’s program.

I am so thankful that God has brought me here. I am amazed at the amount of hope existing in even the most poverty stricken places and I cannot wait to serve and show God’s love. God is working in people’s lives all over the world, and it is truly incredible to witness! Cape Town is such a gorgeous place, and I have met some extremely passionate and awesome people. Pray for me as I continue to try to make friends here that share similar interests as me (and that I will be able to surf soon! :) Miss you all!

The Journey Begins, July 17

Destination has finally been reached: Cape Town, South Africa. It took me nearly 48 hours to get from San Diego to Africa, which seemed much too long. Much of the travel stress was due to the lengthy 12 hour layover in Dubai, not going to lie it was a little depressing. Needless to say, I do not desire to watch a movie for like a month, nor eat airport food. When I arrived at Cape Town I was met at the airport by two UCT representatives and three other German study abroad students. We drove back and almost immediately I was off to eat dinner at a local restaurant/bar. After that we went to a local pub called Stones. I have met so many new people in the last 24 hours, it feels like the beginning of freshman year all over, you know one of those situations where you meet a thousand people and remember very few of their names.

The next morning we were bused off to our housing arrangements. I am living in an extremely nice house in Rondebosch. I live on the bottom floor with a grad student named Kate. The other three girls that are from my program live upstairs. The house is gorgeous and has a lovely garden with vines growing up the side of the house, very secret garden-esque. The owner of the house is a retired interior designer, so I’ll let you imagine how beautiful it is. (facebook pics are coming soon :) After we moved in we ate lunch in downtown and then went grocery shopping. I am still having a hard time with the conversions into Rands - a sandwich costs about 50R.

It has been somewhat of a whirlwind for me these past 3 days, but I am looking forward to what God is going to show me and teach me while I’m here. I miss my friends, boyfriend, and fambam a lot. But, I know that this is where I am supposed to be right now and that I’ll have to give it time for me to get settled and find the right friend group. I miss you all!