Some Final Thoughts

Now that I have been back in the States for a little over two weeks and have had a chance to reflect on the plethora of experiences I had since I last posted, I feel ready to write my final entry on Cape Town and to move onto thinking about my upcoming semester in Paris.

Finals ended at the end of the first week in November, and between then and the end of my time in Africa, I was living out of a heavy duty overnight camping backpack and traveling all over southern Africa. Not bad, hey? My travels began with a tour of the Garden Route with a girl with whom I had become very close over the course of my stay in Cape Town. We traveled very well together, which was crucial seeing as we drove all the way from Cape Town to Joburg via Durban, a trip that took us along the entire southern coast of South Africa over a week's time - no small task! We arrived in Joburg, where I spent the night with my friend's family. We had one great night out before I headed off into the bush for two weeks on an overland safari.

The Garden Route was truly amazing, with one of the highlights being my long-awaited bungy jump (the largest in the world, I might add!) and another being Cape Agulhas, the true southernmost tip of Africa (not to be confused with Cape Point, which is the southwestern-most tip of Africa). While this road trip was great, the overland safari was indescribable. Having the opportunity to drive across borders into truly "African" countries, such as Botswana, Zambia, and even Zimbabwe, will forever remain a part of my memory of my overall African experience. I saw Victoria Falls from both Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as from the air on a microlight plane. I also spent two nights completely removed from civilisation in the Okovango Delta in Botswana, where we were guided in wooden mokoro boats through reeds and water lilies. And those are just a few of the innumerable experiences I had over those two weeks! After the trip, my flatmate from Cape Town (who traveled with me) and I spent a few more days in Joburg and Pretoria (the capital of South Africa) before heading to Mozambique.

The three day visit to Inhaca Island in Mozambique was a relaxing culmination to my stay in Africa. With nothing to do but lounge by the pool and swim in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, both my flatmate and I got tanned and ate some unbelievable fish before heading back to Cape Town for a final South African hoorah. These final days were bittersweet in that I was sad to be leaving behind a city and a country that I had come to love and to feel at home in, but I was also excited to get home to the States where I had left my friends and family behind.

I can honestly say that I do not regret a single thing that I did while in Africa, and I now have memories that will forever remain with me. Each new experience has contributed to the person I have become since leaving for Africa almost six months ago. While I am relieved to have all the comforts of home, I am also amped to embark on my next adventure. Please look out for my next set of blog posts from Paris. Wishing you all the best in 2009!

(Troubles) On the Road

As my classes came to an end and work began to pile up for the first time all semester, it became difficult for me to find time to update you all on my life as of late. Instead of boring you with the monotony of papers, exams, and other “hand-ins” (as they are termed here), I will devote this post to some of the traveling I have been doing over the last few weeks. You may be wondering how I could possibly have found time to leave Cape Town with all the work I just complained about having. My answer is simple: these are the joys of studying abroad!

A while back, a couple of the guys I live with and I drove north along the Western coast of South Africa to some of the quaint coastal villages located there. Our final destination was the Cederberg Mountain range, which is located about four hours inland from Cape Town. The drive there was beautiful – pristine beaches, breathtaking views, and plenty of Rooibos (a tea plant indigenous to these particular mountains). As we left the town of Wupperthal, a small village at the base of the mountains that boasts a start-up rooibos soap business employing previously disempowered women from the area, the road up the mountain seemed manageable for the small car we were driving. At one point, however, there was a sign warning drivers of the necessity of a 4x4 vehicle to reach a town whose name we did not recognize. We decided to continue driving along the road, assuming that the road we were on would not deteriorate. We could not have been more mistaken! About a half hour into the drive, we reached the first of what would be dozens of deep puddles. In order to avoid flooding the car, the driver (my friend Sam) drove around the puddle, only to encounter mud that had us stuck for hours. To make a very long story short, we managed to escape the mud, drive the car through puddles that reached our knees, and to find our way in the dark to the highway we needed to get back to Cape Town. We finally arrived home at 4 AM!

As you can probably imagine, I was hesitant to get into a car for quite some time after my experience in the Cederbergs. So, when my friend Teal and I arrived in Namibia for a weekend adventure and learned that we had to hire a car in order to get around, I was not too amped. Luckily, Teal offered to take care of the rental and to drive us around. The first day of the trip, which we spent in the highly German-influenced (Germany once controlled Namibia before it gained its independence from South Africa in 1990 – the last country in Africa to do so!) town called Swakopmund, went smoothly. Unfortunately, early into our long drive to Sossusvlei, home to the most impressive sand dunes in the world, we ran into some car troubles when our car got stuck on top of a pile of large rocks alongside the road. Luckily, Teal and I were able to make it to the dunes alive, after having gotten a new rental car and having changed a popped tire (something that neither of us had ever done before!). Despite the rocky moments (no pun intended), Teal and I had a blast quad biking and sand boarding on the dunes in Swakop and climbing the dunes in Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, which made it all worthwhile.

And if that wasn’t enough…this past week, my two flatmates and a guy from the flat across the way drove another rental car from Durban, a city on the eastern coast of South Africa, through Swaziland, a landlocked country on the South African-Mozambican border, into the Drakensberg Mountain range, all the way to Joburg. We had originally planned on driving through Lesotho, another landlocked country within South Africa, but we learned that the roads in the country were not paved and that our car would struggle on them. With my recent history of car troubles, we all decided that it was best not to risk getting ourselves into any sticky situation. Even with the slight change in plans, the trip was amazing – beautiful and relaxing!

As I write this post, I am putting off studying for an exam on Wednesday. I wrote my first exam today, and have three more to go. While exams are worth 50% of my overall grade in each course and are pretty stressful as a result, I refuse to allow them to prohibit me from enjoying my last few weeks in Cape Town, especially now that the weather is so nice! I am looking forward to the travels that I still have to look forward to, but I will be very sad to leave this place and all the people I have come to know while living here. I imagine that by the time I find the time to write the next post, I will be finished with exams and will be saying goodbye to Cape Town. Between now and then, I will be sure to look back on all of the amazing experiences I have had here during the last four months. Even with the short amount of time remaining, I still plan on adding new experiences to the many I have already had this semester. There are so many things I want to see and do before I go home! As always, look for updates in the next (and perhaps final) post.

I hope all is well back in the States! Looking forward to seeing many of you soon…

Thrill Seeking and Other Musings

Finally, I have found a moment to sit down and update you all on my life since I returned from vac. As you might be able to guess from my lack of posting, life has been pretty hectic around here. For the first time in my career at UCT, I actually had work to do. It has been strange writing for classes other than English; Sociology papers require serious amounts of background research, which I am not accustomed to, so they took me some time to complete. Luckily, the pile-on has finally come to an end, and I am able to enjoy Cape Town again!

I have done so many new things over the past few weeks, that I cannot possibly describe them all here. For the most part, my activities have required that I push myself beyond my typically established boundaries. It almost feels as if my experience on Kilimanjaro has caused me to actively seek other transformative experiences. For example, last weekend some friends and I drove out to Kleinsbaai (about 2.5 hours from Cape Town) so that we could go shark cage diving. Having a shark within 5 feet of my face was truly a unique experience, one that I hope never to have again, but that I will surely never forget. I am not interested in putting myself in any real danger, but I am looking to test my own limits, if only for a brief moment. What makes Cape Town so special is that it allows for these milestone experiences in that it has so many diverse activities to offer at a reasonable price (well, for those of us with stronger currencies than the rand, of course).

Now that I am fully integrated into student life at UCT, I am meeting more people (mostly South Africans) who are shaping my experience here. As a result, though, it is becoming somewhat difficult for me to maintain the close relationships that I have established with the other Americans that are here with me. I try to diversify the experiences I have and the people I have them with as much as possible, but it feels so much more real and worthwhile to spend my time in South Africa with people that live here. Seeing that we are from such different places, we are able to share so much with each other. After all, I have the rest of my life to surround myself with Americans (unless, of course, I live abroad, which, after living here is not entirely out of the question!).

Another difficulty I have been encountering lately is the feeling that end of my time in Cape Town is approaching too quickly. While I have been trying very hard not to think too far ahead to next semester in Paris, I cannot help but consider about how hard it will be to make the transition away from Cape Town to Paris, a city that is so vastly different. While I am so amped to spend a semester in Paris where I can use my French skills, I cannot deny the fact that the idea of staying in Cape Town for the entire year has crossed my mind on a number of occasions. Every time that I have some amazing new experience (which is every day), I remember how quickly time is passing here and how much I never want to leave. This may sound cliche, but it is so hard to believe that I only have one month left of school. Luckily, I will have the opportunity to stay in southern Africa and travel a bit after the semester ends, which I hope will make my transition away from Cape Town easier for me. I must force myself to remember how nice it will be to come back to the States for a month or so, and how much I have to look forward to next semester in Paris.

Tomorrow is Heritage Day (a day devoted to celebrating the many histories of the South African people), so there is no varsity. In order to take advantage of the extra free time, as well as the nice weather that we are just beginning to experience, some friends and I are going on a road trip to the mountainous area northeast of Cape Town. Looking forward to another weekend filled with new adventures...

Please keep me updated on your lives back in the States (or wherever you may be). Thinking of you all!

A Physical and Emotional Adventure to the Top of the World

As you can surmise by the fact that I am writing this post, I have returned from Tanzania and Mt. Kilimanjaro alive and well. Despite a serious sunburn/windburn that continues to linger on my face, I made it back to Cape Town on Sunday evening somehow feeling refreshed after the most exhausting week of my life. Perhaps I felt invigorated by the constant praise and congratulatory sentiment that I, along with the two others that climbed with me, met from others upon arriving back in South Africa. As I am constantly reminded by those around me how intense my experience on the mountain must have been, I cannot help but mull over the unforgettable memories this once-in-a-lifetime (assuming that I won't climb Kili again) experience has bestowed upon me. While the details of each day of the climb are not worth describing here, it is important that I note the level of excitement I felt throughout the beginning of the climb as the summit attempt approached. I was able to think about the prospect of reaching the summit constantly during the first few days of the climb, as they were not too physically taxing. All of the anticipation that built up inside me over these four days, however, caused my emotions to become completely out-of-whack in my state of delirium when I finally arrived at Uhuru Peak (5985m), the tallest point on the African continent.

Unfortunately, I cannot articulate precisely the emotions I felt while atop the mountain as the altitude and ridiculously cold weather (-23 degrees Celsius with a windchill) blurred my ability to remember much of what happened while I was there. Whatever these emotions were must have been quite overwhelming, though, because they have been consuming my thoughts ever since I began descending from the summit that day. It is hard for me to grasp the fact that I managed to arrive at a destination (the summit) that cannot and will not be reached by even a small majority of the world. To be more specific, according to the certificate that I received at the end of the climb, only 43,553 people have successfully reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro since this time last year. I can now say that I am among those people, which, in retrospect, is worth all of the physical and emotional stress that I endured during the climb.

While the beginning of the climb did not challenge me physically to the extent that I had anticipated, Day 5 (the day of the summit attempt) pushed me far beyond my comfort threshold to the point of exhaustion, dehydration, and delirium. In order to arrive at the summit, I needed some kind of motivation other than the joy of finally achieving my ultimate goal of conquering Kili. This motivation came in the form of a blind Turkish man who we constantly ran into throughout the climb. Learning of his personal goal of climbing the highest peak on every continent provided me with the physical and emotional boost that I craved. As a result, he became a hero in my eyes, as well as in the those of the others climbing with me. To me, he epitomizes the phrase that I repeated in my head over and over again as I ascended and descended the mountain: "It's not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude." While I am far from a seasoned mountain climber, I have successfully climbed the highest peak in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world as a result of a positive attitude and a will to achieve my goal of overcoming the physical and emotional hardships that I encountered en route to the top of the world.

The above description does not even scratch the surface of my overall experience on the mountain. Check out my pictures to follow my 6-day experience from Machame Gate up to Uhuru Peak and down to Mweka Gate (with stops along the way, of course!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbrisk01/MtKilimanjaro#

While I devoted this post t my Kilimanjaro climb , there is so much to say about my trip to Johannesburg and Soweto beforehand. Look forward to that in my next post!

Return from Spring Break Part I and Anticipation for Part II

While it has been far too long since my last post, I can honestly say that I have not had a single free moment to sit down and blog. I just returned from a week-long journey with my parents, which was quite possibly the most meaningful experience I have shared with them. The week began in Cape Town, where I was able to put my knowledge of the city to the test by showing them around. Well, I was stymied a little bit by the fact that there was a tour guide that accompanied my parents the entire time they were in Cape Town. The guide said it himself, travel agents in the US sell fear and portray South Africa as a land ridden with ills, so American tourists don't feel comfortable traveling here without supervision. But after spending nearly two months here (wow, time flies!), I can attest to the fact that South Africa is perfectly safe when one understands what it means to be vigilant at all times. I think it is unfortunate that the guide only exposed my parents to the privileged Capetonian lifestyle. Were I in control of touring my parents around the city, I would have ensured that they at least visit the nearby townships so that they could have a fuller understanding of Cape Town and its inhabitants.

While the weather in Cape town was often cold and rainy during my parents' visit, there was always enough of a clearing that they were able to experience all of the most popualar tourist attractions, especially the cable car up Table Mountain and the tour of Robben Island. I was quite moved by Robben Island, and I will save an explanation of my thoughts and feelings regarding the tour for a later post.

After leaving Cape Town, my parents and I did some wine tastings out in the Francschoek/Stellenbosch/Paarl area. Of course, it was very fun (read: drunk). We left the winelands on Monday morning on a relatively small plane to a town called Nelspruit, which is located near Kruger National Park in the northeastern part of the country near the South Africa/Mozambique border. Then we took a light plane from the airport to an airstrip made of dirt in the middle of the Manuleti (the provincial area adjacent to Kruger proper). The two days my family spent on safari were filled with game drives, bush walks, and relaxation at the beautiful tented camp that boasts absolutely no connection with the world - a truly memorable experience! I left my parents on Wednesday morning to return to Cape Town, where I have been for only one fully day. Now you know why I haven't posted!

As I write this post, I am preparing to embark on the most exciting, but also one of the most terrifying journeys of my life thus far. I have been writing about my imminent Mt. Kilimanjaro climb for some time, and now it has finally arrived. I am looking forward to pushing myself a little bit (Mom, I said "a little bit," so don't worry!), but I also know that this reaching the summit is a huge accomplishment that not every climber who attempts it can achieve. That said, I feel that however far I make it up the mountain will be an accomplishment for me. I'll be sure to write all about the experience when I return. For now, wish me luck!

Apple #2

I remember a presentation made to all of the international students during our orientation in which I learned of the three apples that metaphorically comprise one's study abroad experience in South Africa. As it was explained it to us, there are three different kinds of apples that one might come into contact with throughout the semester at UCT. Apple #1 is commonly experienced by the majority of study abroad students when they first arrive. In essence, this is the apple that represents the "honeymoon" stage in which all is new and exciting. With time, however, apple #1 begins to transform/evolve into apple #2. Study abroad students usually experience this apple after having spent a month or two in South Africa, at which point nothing is as amazing as it was when they first arrived. (Remember this apple, because it will pop up in a moment.) Finally, apple #3 is the most desirable apple in that it represents the period in which a study abroad student feels entirely integrated into South African life and culture. It should be every study abroad student's goal to experience the taste of this apple. While this metaphor may seem unnecessary, I now understand its value and accuracy. It is very difficult for me to express certain emotions regarding my study abroad experience thus far, so creating a metaphor to do so is extremely useful.

Now that you understand the apples, I can explain to you why I have been experiencing an apple #2 period recently. While I am still completely in love with this place, there are times when I feel as though I made a mistake leaving the States and Tufts for an entire year. Undoubtedly, living abroad is an experience that I would never pass up, but now that everyone at home is going back to school, I feel as though I am missing out. I had a ton of work this past week, which would be fine but for the fact that I hate spending my time abroad doing work, especially because I can't seem to forget that it's August and I would normally still be on summer break. What makes focusing on school even more difficult, though, is that  I am still new to this city, there is still so much that I want to do, and time seems to be flying by! I think it is important that I realize that I am here for another four months and will have plenty of time to do all that I want to do before I leave.

Despite these apple #2 feelings, this weekend was another great one. On Friday, I went out to Century City, a newly developed edge city (a term I learned in one of my Sociology classes - it describes self-sufficient cities located outside of a major metropolitan area) with a high-end mall and a wealthy demographic to match. It is hard for me to believe that an enclave of such great wealth is located just a stone's throw away from numerous poverty-stricken townships in the area. As always, it was so nice to explore the city (and its surroundings) on my own for the day. That night I went with two other interstudy students to a wine tasting hosted by the Wine and Culture Society, of which we are all members. While the wine we tasted was not the best, it was still nice to spend time around South Africans who share our interests. I love the fact that wine is such an integral part of Capetonian student life - quite a change from the drinking that occurs among college students in the States!

The rest of my weekend was spent outside thanks to the amazing weather that the city has been experiencing lately. My roommate and I walked along the water in Green Point and Sea Point on Saturday. I stopped to try a human maze there, which, according to its owner is a metaphor for life and love. The towns along the water (of which there are many) are beautiful, and there is so much to see and do in them! Once the weather gets even nicer, I hope to spend a lot of time exploring them all.

In addition to the water, the mountains are everywhere. As part of my Kilimanjaro training, I climbed Devil's Peak today with two of my friends. We stopped at Rhodes Memorial, which is nestled into the mountain behind the UCT campus. Then we continued hiking for about four hours, stopping along the way to eat lunch and to soak up the 360 degree views of the city and suburbs. Even after the Kili climb, I hope to make climbing a Sunday tradition. There is no better way to see the area, get exercise, and bond with people than to spend a day in the mountains - and the trail options are limitless!

The weekend ended with an afternoon swim at a friends' house in Camps Bay, another beautiful area on the coastline. It was so refreshing to jump in a pool after climbing all day - and the food they served was much appreciated as well! The afternoon was made even better, though, when I received a call from my parents to say that they arrived safely in Johannesburg. They are spending the next few days in Zambia at Victoria Falls, and they will be in Cape Town on Wednesday. I hope that my apple #2 days are behind me so that I can enjoy the next few weeks with my parents before the vac (read: Spring Break!).

As I said, I am beginning to miss home a little, so you should all send me updates! I hope all is well...

A Weekend to Remember

I am writing in the wake of the most exciting weekend I have spent in Cape Town thus far. The weekend began on Friday, most of which I spent shopping for climbing gear for my Kilimanjaro trek. While I am really psyched about all of the stuff I bought (especially the high-tech hiking boots made especially for Kilimanjaro climbs), I am having a hard time finding all that I need in one store, so I have been running from store to store. Of course, my main priority as I buy my gear is safety, so I am not cutting any corners. I even went as far as to purchase my own mutlitool (pocket knife with all the bells and whistles) so that I will be well-equipped in the off-chance that I find myself without my guide, who will, I imagine, have all the necessary tools (Mom, I promise this will not happen!). After shopping, I spent the evening at the flat and watched a movie so that I could be well-rested for the busy weekend that was ahead of me.

The entire interstudy group woke up early on Saturday morning to embark on what we thought would be a day-long tour of the District Six Museum, Langa, and Robben Island. Unfortunately, we learned early in the day that we would not be able to go to Robben Island, as the water was too choppy for the ferry to travel. While this was a let-down, we were still able to enjoy the District Six Musuem (although I would have liked to stay there a little longer, so I will have to go back once my parents arrive in Cape Town). The museum was really interesting - the best I've experienced in Cape Town thus far!

After visiting the museum, we traveled out of town to Langa, a nearby black township. We were lucky enough to be able to watch an amazing youth dance troupe perform at the Langa Community Center, which was really impressive considering the young ages of the performers. We explored the township for awhile, and along the way we met all of the children that live in the area. Whenever tourists pass through these townships, the children get very excited, especially because they get to take pictures of themselves on the tourists' digital cameras. For many of these children, it is the only time they are able to see what they look like - hard to imagine, eh? Of all the townships I have visited thus far, Langa has been my favorite. I think that my positive reaction can be attributed to the friendliness of the township's residents. Having the opportunity to tour some of the shanties there, as well as to try their local beer (not very appetizing), was an unforgettable experience. I was excited to learn that Langa is located very close to the high school at which I teach journalism every Monday (more about that later!). As I said in an earlier post, I would like to do a weekend-long homestay in a township, and I think I might choose to do it in Langa.

Because we were unable to visit Robben Island, my roommates and I spent the afternoon in Simonstown, which is located about an hour from Cape Town along the coast. We took the commuter rail to get there, and the views along the way of the ocean and of Table Mountain were breathtaking. I saw quite a few other towns that I would like to visit before I leave here, which is always an exciting discovery. We returned home completely exhausted, but I still mustered up enough energy to go to a braai (BBQ) at a friends' house and to go out to a nightclub where local bands were playing live music. While this was an amazing day, Sunday was even better...

A few of my friends (including the two others that are climbing Kilimanjaro with me) and I woke up early for the second day in a row so that we could begin our climb of Table Mountain. The climb, which is considered the hardest of the innumerable climbs in the area, is ideal because it offers the most spectacular views from the top. I, along with two others, wanted to get a strenuous workout during the climb, so we pushed ourselves the entire way up the mountain, getting to the top an entire hour quicker than we had anticipated - it only took us two hours! Once the others had reached the top, we enjoyed the views over a much-needed lunch. I felt really good about the climb, especially in the sense that it built my confidence regarding Kilimanjaro. The other two climbers did not get up as quickly as I did, but nevertheless I trust that they will be in good shape for the big climb in a few weeks. The descent took about the same amount of time as the ascent, which is great, considering that it often takes people longer to come down. My legs were feeling pretty tired on the way down, but I figure that I was getting tired after having been moving for so long. On top of feeling great about the climb itself, the views from the mountain were out of this world. I am looking forward to my next Sunday climb up Devil's Peak. As you can see, the training is well under way...

The day ended with a celebratory dinner at the comedienne's house. We had a typical Jewish food - bagels, cream cheese, and schnoek, which tasted like whitefish salad. The meal was delicious, and as always, it felt great to be around my surrogate South African family. I hope that my parents will have the opportunity to meet them all for Tracy's birthday, which falls on the Friday that my parents will be here. It is so nice to have a network of South African friends that want to include me in their lives here. I can't think of a better way to end such a memorable weekend.

I will finish by giving a quick summary of my experience with the Media School, the journalism program I will be working with for the semester. Essentially, the program sends UCT volunteers to four different high schools (grades 11 and 12) in some nearby townships. As volunteers, we are responsible for teaching the students a curriculum that eventually culminates in the creation of a full newspaper publication, complete with text and photos. I went into the classroom for the first time yesterday afternoon, and was shocked to find an amazingly high level of interest and devotion on the part of nearly all the students. While many of the students are at grade school reading levels, have never held a camera before, and cannot afford to purchase a newspaper, they are nevertheless interested in media and seem so anxious to learn how to become involved in it. I am sure there will be more to say about the Media School in future posts, so look out for that.

This felt like a long post, so thanks for reading! I hope all is well at home. Enjoy the nice weather! It's getting warmer here, too, but I'm sure not as warm in the States. Hopefully that will change soon!

Glad to be Back Home (Away from Home)

Sorry for the delay in this post, but the internet has been acting up again! I thought the glitches had been worked out, but apparently not. Regardless, it works now, so here goes...

Arriving back in Cape Town was quite a relief after spending the weekend in Durban. While my friends and I had an awesome time exploring the rest of South Africa, we all agreed that Cape Town is a far more vibrant city than Durban is. Unfortunately, the weather in KwaZulu-Natal was not nearly as nice we had anticipated - definitely not beach weather! My roommate, Mark, and I arrived a day earlier than the two others (they missed their morning flight and took an evening one instead), so we spent the day exploring Durban. One of the highlights of the weekend was our visit to uShaka Marine World, one of the best aquariums I have ever been to (other than the one in Monterey, CA). The rest of that day went downhill when we were led astray by our guidebook to a dilapidated town called Berea, which has absolutely nothing to offer other than a couple bad malls. Once our friends arrived and we met Roger, a Brazilian guy from London who spent the rest of the weekend with us, everything became more exciting. I especially liked our trip to Umlanga, a town in the northern suburbs of Durban. While the strip of beaches along the Golden Mile in Durban is world-renowned, the beach in Umlanga was far more beautiful. The lighthouse and the piers along the rocky beach were comparable to what you see on postcards! Even better, though, was the Gateway mall. While this sounds touristy and lame, it was actually awesome because it has the largest standing wave in the world. For those of you who are not familiar with standing waves (I certainly wasn't before this weekend), they are structures built in the shape of waves with water flowing rapidly over them. The water pressure and current allow people to surf on them. It was such a good time! Other than that, though, Durban was not much to write home about.

With that said, it was very exciting to get back to Cape Town. Thankfully I chose to study here as opposed to in Durban! This week went by pretty quickly, despite the fact that I was extremely busy planning my Kilimanjaro climb. My friends and I have paid, and are officially leaving for Tanzania on August 30th! I spent the afternoon today buying some of the gear I will need for the climb. Needless to say, this is going to be pretty intense! I've been making an effort to train as much as I can in the next month before I leave, though. Spinning classes at the gym have been my workout of choice because they give me both cardio and leg muscle exercise. What worries me even more than fitness, though, is the threat of altitude sickness, which is the primary reason that people don't summit. I hope that our slow ascent will sufficiently ease me into the altitude change. While my roommate says he will feel like a failure if he doesn't make it to the top, I know that I will be psyched to make to the mountain at all. I think this will be the first time that I push myself physically to such a great extent, so I am really excited about it!

On another note, I am looking forward to this weekend, as interstudy is taking us to Robben Island, the prison in which Nelson Mandela was kept for 18 years, the District 6 Museum, which is located in the Bo-Kaap area of Cape Town that was evacuated of its Muslim residents during the apartheid, and finally Langa, a township nearby. On Sunday, I, along with the two others climbing Kilimanjaro, am going to climb up and down Table Mountain, a six-hour climb, as part of our training. While I know it will be tough, I would have done regardless of the Kili climb, as it is something that everyone does while they are here for the semester. We will celebrate the completion of the climb on Sunday night at the Jewish comedienne's house, where we will eat bagels and soup - my first South African bagel!

As always, I am thoroughly enjoying every day here. Even when classes are frustrating, I still manage to stay positive about this place. I feel like I am learning  how to cope with the differences between South Africa and the States more and more each day. While I have been here over a month now and I know time will continue to fly, I am glad that I am already feeling so comfortable here - now I can enjoy it!

Here is the link to my newest photo album, which I posted on facebook. Please let me know if you have a problem viewing the pictures! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2005718&l=c0860&id=1085820031

A Different Perspective

Another week of school has passed by (well, for me, seeing as I have no class on Friday!), and I love this place more and more with each passing day. I am particularly excited right now, as I am preparing to leave for Durban for the weekend. Durban is located in Kwa-Zulu Natal, a province located northeast of the Western Cape and Cape Town. Durban is a relatively large South African city (but not as big as Cape Town or Jo'Burg) and is known for its beautiful beaches along the Indian Ocean. While I am not really into surfing, I am looking forward to experiencing the waves of an ocean I have never been in before. I am traveling with one of my roommates, and our two other friends are meeting us there tomorrow. This travel arrangement happened by default, in that we booked our flights less than a week ago, and one of the flights sold out after two of us bought our tickets. My roommate and I definitely got the better end of the deal, as the other two have to wake up ridiculously early to catch a 6:15 AM flight tomorrow. We have no set plans once we get there (other than a reservation at a backpacker's, i.e. hostel), but I got a list of things to do from a native Durbanite in one of my classes. According to my friends from the U.S. who studied in Cape Town, Durban is a great weekend trip, so I am really excited about going there. Even more exciting is the fact that the weather is rainy and cold in Cape Town, and it is sunny and warm in Durban! I will write all about the trip once I return on Sunday night.

On a less exciting note, I had a rough moment in one of my "tuts" today, when the professor made the claim that once a nation attains economic power, it also attains linguistic power. In other words, if a country has a large stake in the world economy, then a large percentage of the world will learn the native language of that country as a result. Someone in the class brought up the economic relationship between the U.S. and China as an example of this claim, and I disagreed. I argue that while the number of people learning Chinese in the States may be growing, it is in no way being forced upon them by the U.S. or by China as a result of its economic power. This statement elicited a heated response from a number of Americans in the room, all of whom attend private universities and are thus exposed to students that study Chinese at school, probably with the intention of entering the international business field upon graduation. That said, the majority of college-aged students in the United States do not attend schools that afford them the opportunity to study Chinese. As a result, I do not think that it is accurate to argue that because the U.S. has a strong economic link to China, Chinese is becoming a widely spoken language in the U.S. I apologise for the rant, but I left the class feeling as though this issue had not been discussed sufficiently. I hope that we will continue the conversation in next week's "tut."

I suppose the moral of that story is that I have been hypersensitive towards any discussion of the United States since I arrived in South Africa. While I appreciate the perspective of South Africans, academics or not, I feel that there is a certain level of misunderstanding on their part. Perhaps I am being stubborn or closed-minded, but I would rather hear the South African perspective on South Africa than on the United States while I am here. With time, I hope that I can engage in constructive conversation with South Africans regarding the United States, but for now, I am still getting used to being here and learning so much about South Africa and Africa as a whole.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the situation I encountered in class today, or any experiences you may have with being exposed to discussion of the United States while abroad. Stay well!

A Resident Tourist

Sorry for the delay in writing this post, but I have been busy exploring the city for the past two days. Since I don't have class on Fridays due to an awesome Sociology professor who decided to cut back the number of lectures for our class, I spent the day in Cape Town at the Castle of Good Hope. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is rare to find time to be alone here, so it was a treat to be able to wander through the castle by myself and to get a somewhat topographical view of the city. While the military history of the castle is interesting, what I enjoyed most about my visit was discovering a working art studio/gallery in which about a dozen local artists gather to create modern artwork, mostly in the form of paintings, with the exception of one artist who creates shapes out of wire and beads - I bought an elephant with Tufts in mind. I spoke with one of the artists whose paintings I like a lot, and he told me that the space is rented to aspiring local artists that cannot afford to rent space elsewhere in the city to paint and sell their work. While the workspace is rented to the artists by the government at a very inexpensive rate, they must commit to spending at least three days per week in the studio. 

As a result, the government ensures that its artists will produce artwork and bring culture to the city, so it is a win-win situation. I really liked hearing this story, especially now that I am taking an art history course with a focus on South African artwork.

Continuing with my city exploration, my roommate and I devoted yesterday to experiencing some of the museums in Cape Town, most of which are situated around the Company's Garden (a not-so-nice public park). We started at the Slave Lodge, a slavery museum located in the building that originally housed the Cape slaves in the mid-1600s. While this museum was interesting, we were hoping that the others would be less dry and more interactive. We walked through the park (a little sketchy, but safe nonetheless) until we reached the South African National Gallery, which houses both South African and European artwork. The collection had a few great pieces, but by and large, we were unimpressed. We ate lunch afterwards at an authentic Ethiopian restaurant called Addis in Cape, which came highly recommended by a friend who studied here last year (thanks Marisa!). The food was delicious, and seeing as it was my first time eating Ethiopian food, the whole meal was quite an experience! After lunch, we walked through the market at Greenmarket Square, in which we stumbled upon another museum called the Michaelis Collection at Old Town House. The building itself is a beautiful Cape Rococo-style house built in 1755. The artwork inside was

largely unimpressive, though. We began to think that museums are not the focal of Capetonian culture, but nonetheless we gave the South African Museum a try. Not surprisingly, this natural history museum was not very good, so we gave up on museums for the day. There are few others around the city, which I hope to visit at some point, but I'm in no hurry as I do not have overly high hopes for them.

Last night, we went out to the clubs on Long Street. I realize I have not written anything about our evening activities, which comprise some of the most fun I have had in Cape Town. Unfortunately, last night was not a good example of my fun nights on the town in that I was forced to deal with some drunken drama at the end of the night. While the details of the story are not important, I felt uncomfortable leaving some of the girls I was with alone on Long Street as they seemed vulnerable in my estimation. I have noticed that South African men that choose to take advantage of women, foreigners or not, seek out women that are alone. As soon as a man arrives on the scene, no matter how intimidating he may or may not be, the potential predator will back off. I am not sure how race factors into this equation, but I do know that white American girls are quite conspicuous on Long Street at 1 AM, and it is important for them to remain vigilant, even when out drinking. I fear that Americans, myself included, have a sense of invisibility when abroad, which can lead to serious problems. As a result, it is important for us to watch out for one another. No one should have to be the martyr for us all to realize that Cape Town is not like the safe American cities that we are all accustomed to. That said, most nights out here have been a blast, and everyone has returned home safe and sound without any drama. Cape Town has amazing nightlife, and I can't wait to take advantage of it throughout the semester.

On a more positive note, today has been the perfect lazy Sunday. I slept in, did some of my work for class tomorrow, and ate lunch at a great place called Mimi's in Observatory (aka "Obs"), which is just down the Main Road from my house. Tonight, my roommate and I are going to see a show at the Artscape theater in town, which should be fun. Looking forward to another week of classes and experiences. More soon...

STUDYING Abroad

I am writing this after completing my first written assignment for my classes at UCT. Today was the second day of classes, and I have now had at least one class meeting for each of my four courses. While we are only doing introductory work in most of my classes (I say "most" because the four page essay I had to write tonight seems a little more advanced than introductory), I have enjoyed the subject matter of them all so far. I am particularly interested in my Contemporary Art and Visual Culture class, which came recommended to me by a Tufts student who also studied abroad at UCT and loved this particular course. The class is a 100-level course, and is thus designed for first-year students. While I am sure the class would bore an Art History major, I have never taken a class remotely like this one before, so I find it really engaging. I am also really excited for my Democracy, Social Change and Development course, which is a 300-level course, and is thus very demanding. This is the course for which I already had to read two dense articles and then write a four-page response. The other two courses, African Language and Literature II and Race, Class, and Gender, seem fine, but the lecturers (i.e. professors) are not particularly engaging. I hope that with time and more interesting material to discuss, these professors will become more passionate in their lectures.

Whereas at Tufts I have recitations for some of my large classes, at UCT, every class (they are all enormous considering the fact that there are 20,000 students enrolled at the uni) has a tutorial, during which students submit the majority of their graded assignments. Much like at Tufts, lectures are very broad and impersonal, so the tutorials (dubbed "tuts" here) are meant for in-depth discussions. The main difference between recitations and tuts, though, is that each tut covers different material. Students enroll in tuts based upon their specific interests. All tuts require the same amount of work, but the assignments are tailored to each tut's unique subject matter. T.I.A. - This is Africa!

Apart from academics, it has been quite an experience just being on a campus that has so many students around at all times. There are lines for everything, from department offices to food courts. Luckily, I found a place outside of the food court called Souper Sandwich (I'm sure that anyone who studied at UCT know about it!), which serves really inexpensive grilled paninis that are made-to-order. Needless to say, I plan on eating there every day! In addition to the long lines, the campus has a general aura of anonymity due to the large number of students that are there at any given time. Granted the fact that I know almost no one at UCT, it still feels as though I could walk around all day and not see one face that I recognize. As strange as it is for me to be in an environment that is so different from what I am used to at Tufts, I am really enjoying being able to do my own thing while I am on campus. Because I am constantly around people when I get back to my flat, it is a nice break to be alone while at school. I should note, though, that there is at least one American student that I know in each of my classes, so I am not entirely alone during classes. While it is nice to see a familiar face when I arrive in class, I wish that I had chosen courses that attracted fewer foreigners and more South Africans. I suppose that I am here to learn as much as I can about South Africa, and my course selection reflects that, so I am not too concerned about the seemingly overwhelming international (read: American) presence in my classes. I am going to make an effort not to sit with the Americans I know during class so that I can branch out and meet South Africans. 

In brief, I am really happy with UCT so far. It's nice not to have to worry too much about grades, as I only need a passing grade to get credit at Tufts. That said, I am here to learn and I want to get the most out of all of my classes, especially because they are so different from those that I usually take. I am sure there will be more to say about classes as the week progresses, so look out for an update!

A Comic Shabbat

My dad pointed out that I neglected to mention anything about my Shabbat experience on Friday night. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my roommate and I met a famous Jewish comedienne at a bar on Long Street last Monday night. She invited us over to her home in Sea Point (a very ritzy suburb of Cape Town located in a valley between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean - extremely beautiful!) for Shabbat services and dinner. We arrived at her home in time to meet her twin sons and daughter before walking to their synagogue for services.

The Jews that attend this synagogue technically belong to the Orthodox sect of Judaism, but they are nothing like the Orthodox Jews that we know from home. In other words, there is a sizable population of Jews in Cape Town and in South Africa at large, but it is not as big as that in the United States. That said, however, nearly every Jew in South Africa is very observant. Despite the fact that the shul I went to is less observant than most in South Africa, men and women were still seated separately, and the services were conducted entirely in Hebrew. I suppose that these particular Jews may be compared to Conservative Jews in the United States.

One of Tracy's sons accompanied us to the main service, which was really nice, especially considering the fact that I was able to sing along in the prayers as the same chants are sung here as the ones we sing in the State. The fact that there was any singing at all made the congregation feel Reform, but in speaking with the rabbi (an American from Minnesota!) after the service, this is not the case. In fact, these Jews form their own unique form of Orthodox Judaism, so it is impossible to compare them to the Jews in the States. After spending some time in the main synagogue, we moved downstairs to a smaller prayer room devoted to young adults under 18. It was really nice to be around other young Jews, and the food (kosher sushi, etc.) was delicious! My roommate and I felt a little out of place, though, because neither of us are particularly religious or observant, but the rabbi made us feel welcome, and even invited us back next week!

Once services ended, we returned to Tracy's house for dinner. In addition to her immediate family, her brother, mother, and family friends, joined us for dinner. The food was all homemade and delicious - a nice break from our failed attempts at cooking at our flat! We ate, drank, and talked for hours until it suddenly became 11 PM. It was so nice to start the weekend this way, and we hope to do it again sometime soon. Not only did Tracy invite us over for Shabbat in the future, but she also asked if we would join her for the High Holidays in September. It is so nice to have met someone like Tracy so soon after arriving here, because she genuinely wants to ensure that our experience in Cape Town is positive and filled with meaningful activity. While I did not come to Cape Town to explore my Judaism per se, I am looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunities available to Jews while I am here.

On a completely different note, please copy and paste the attached link into your web browser to view the few photos I have taken since I arrived. Unfortunately, I often forget to bring my camera with me when I go out, so there are only 25 photos. Enjoy!

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The End of the Beginning

Today marks the last day of my Capetonian vacation. In other words, school starts tomorrow! I am very excited for classes to begin, not because I'm not enjoying myself now, but rather because I am looking forward to establishing some consistency in my life here. Currently, I wake up each morning without any specific plans or direction. Luckily, Cape Town lends itself to this kind of lifestyle, as it has so much to offer. For example, yesterday my roommate and I went on a search for a good place to eat lunch near our flat. We ended up at a restaurant called Fat Cactus Cafe, which is located in our small suburb of Mowbray. Eating at this restaurant may not seem like much of an adventure, but for the fact that the bar was mobbed with die-hard fans of the national rugby team, the Springboks, which was playing a match against its greatest Australian competitor, the Wallabies. The sprit in the room was indescribable. Even though I know nothing about the South African team or even the sport itself, I still felt proud to be in South Africa and lucky to be around such kind and inviting people.

My friends and I spent the latter part of the day yesterday at a soccer match between a South African local team and Manchester United, the best team in the world. The game was down the street from out house at the Newlands Stadium, which is being replaced by the Green Point Stadium in Green Point for the 2010 World Cup. It was a really great time, and a perfect way to integrate ourselves into South African culture - rugby and soccer are immensely important to South Africans! Last night was equally as fun, as I went with a local South African friend and a few other Americans to an authentic African game restaurant. I tried warthog spare ribs, and it was some of the most delicious meat I've ever had!

I am now considering what I want to do today, for my last day of freedom from academics. I may go surfing at a nearby town called Muizenberg, or watch an indie film in town and then climb a short trail up Table Mountain to the Rhodes Memorial. I've only been here for two weeks, and I've done so much. At the same time, though, I am always learning about new things that I really want to do before I leave. Living in a place for such a long period of time affords me the opportunity to leisurely experience all that I want to while I am here, which is so great. I just hope that once classes start and life gets hectic, I will still be able to find sufficient time to go exploring and to try new and exciting things.

As you can see, I attached a couple pictures of the soccer game here. Please check out some of the pictures I added to the older posts. Thanks!

Arriving at Comfort

As I write this now, I cannot help but think how much I wish I had written this post this yesterday, as its emotional content would probably have been a bit more enthusiastic. In short, today was the second day of pre-registration for courses at UCT, i.e. the most stressful course registration process I have ever experienced. I will preface this complaint with the admission that I know South Africa differs in many ways from the United States, and in no way do I expect to live my life in the same way that I do at home. That said, this has been an enormously hectic (a very South African term used in lieu of 'crazy') week. To start, there is no online self-service registration at UCT, so each student must wait on line in order to get through each step of the registration process. On top of that, in order to be enrolled in any advanced course, one must approach the appropriate department head for his/her signature. As a result of this somewhat primitive system (especially for a school ranked number 200 on the list of the world's top universities!), I have spent the last two days on campus trying to sort out my schedule, and I still feel relatively lost. As was said point blanc to me by a department secretary, UCT refuses to hold its students' hands like the American universities do. Instead, it is each man for himself here, and it is very intimidating. Despite the headache, however, it has been quite an interesting adventure trying to navigate all the red tape at UCT.

Now that I have sufficiently expressed my somewhat negative emotions about my experience here, I should also share some of the many amazing things that have been happening in my life since I last posted. First of all, I have met some of the most amazing people here. For example, I went to a place called Zula Sound Bar on Monday night for its weekly comedy night, and I was lucky enough to meet some of the amazing comics after they had performed. One of them is a comedienne named Tracy Klass, and she does a hilarious set about Jewish women. We spoke at length about South African comedy, which, according to her, permits comedians to poke fun at their respective communities, such as Jews, Muslims, blacks, or females. As I have explained before, everyone is grouped, mostly by race, in South Africa, and South African comedy is no exception. By the end of our conversation, Tracy discovered that I am Jewish, and invited me and my roommate to her house for Shabbat dinner and services on Friday night. We are really looking forward to checking out the Capetonian Jewish community, as it is known to be very large and vibrant here. That is just one of the many people we have met here who have gone out of their way to get to know us and make our experience in Cape Town the best that it can be.

Getting to know these people has been really helpful in my quest to feel more at home in Cape Town. I am getting to know the area around UCT and my house much better as well, so I trust that soon I will find a comfortable routine as soon as classes begin. My only fear is that once classes start, I will not have the time to do some of the other touristy activities that Cape Town has to offer. Even though there is so much I still want to do in my own backyard here in town, I am already planning my Spring Break trip for the end of August. As of now, some friends and I are hoping to go to Tanzania in northeastern Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Also, some of us are interested in taking a weekend trip to Durban, a beach city in northern South Africa (where it is warm now!), in the next few weeks. All of this is really exciting, but I am so focused on getting my class schedule set that I cannot think of much else at this point.

I hope to be settled into classes by the next time I post, so my stress level should decrease substantially! I hope to continue meeting great people and to have more amazing experiences as I go. Thanks for reading!

A "Safrican" Week in Review

Mowbray (Cape Town), South Africa

I should begin by apologizing for not getting a chance to write since I arrived in South Africa nearly a week ago. This week has been a whirlwind filled with adventures both during the day and at night, leaving me very little time to sleep, much less to write. For whatever reason, though, I have felt so stimulated by the new people and environment that I have not felt overly tired until today. That said, I am staying at my flat tonight with almost all the other American students to recover from this crazy week. Also, my internet is finally up and running, so I am taking advantage of my ability to finally post!

I think that it will be easiest to describe my experiences over the past week by differentiating between the daytime and the nighttime. As you may know, during the apartheid, South African cities were integrated during the day and largely segregated at night. Despite the fact that the apartheid is no longer in existence here, I have noticed that the city (or at least the places where I have been spending time) has a very different racial breakdown during the day than it does at night. Specifically, the racial breakdown of the city changes in that I find myself surrounded almost completely by white people wherever I am at night. The only black or colored (a word that I have a hard time using as it has not been socially acceptable since before the Civil Rights Movement in the States, but in South Africa refers to a person that is neither white nor black, i.e. mixed race, Chinese, etc.) people in the places we visit after dark appear to be working for the white people that frequent the restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. What has been interesting about this is that there are a few black American girls on my program, and they stick out in the all-white crowd. As you can see, race is a very popular topic of discussion here, both amongst South Africans and Americans. More about that in future posts I’m sure!

While issues of race are always present in South Africa, they seemed especially apparent to me today when my program organized a trip to a black (note the separation from colored) township called Gugaletu. We ate lunch at a touristy meat market called Mzoli’s, which is located in the center of a poverty-stricken neighborhood in which very few people have an education or a job. While some of the other students on my program were snapping pictures at every corner, I refused to take my camera out of my pocket out of fear of disrespecting the locals in their hometown. It felt to me as though the township was one large museum, and it made me feel pretty uncomfortable. That said, I am interested in spending more time in the townships so that I can get to know South Africa in its entirety. I found out today that it is possible to do a homestay in a nearby township for a night or two, so I am looking forward to that.

On a completely different note, a bunch of us spent a full day in the wine country in a town called Stellenbosch. We tasted wines at three different vineyards, and they were all amazing. It was nice to get to know everyone and to see another part of the country. Since then, I have spent a lot of time with the Americans and not enough with the locals, so I am constantly trying to meet new people and try new things. Unfortunately, it’s never considered safe for a

white American to walk around alone in the city, so I am always exploring the city in large groups of Americans. I hope to find an opportunity to be alone here so that I can feel more at home in my new environment. Luckily, my flat is feeling like home now that I have decorated my room a bit. I still haven’t found a routine here, though, because classes haven’t started yet and it feels like a vacation. I’m sure that once school starts, life will feel different. By then, I hope to feel more adjusted to the racial complexities of South Africa so that I can focus on becoming a regular UCT student for the next four months.

Hopefully, I will have reliable internet access soon and will be able to post more regularly. Check back soon for more!

I have attached some pictures of my room above. People here call it the "Beach House," as it has tile floor, unlike the rest of the flat.

Mental Preparation

Fire Island, New York. 

Departure tomorrow. 

To answer the question that I have been asked time and time again: I am VERY excited to leave tomorrow for Cape Town, South Africa. And to answer the likely follow-up question: I am SOMEWHAT nervous to leave tomorrow for Cape Town, South Africa.

Because this is not the first time I have spent an extended period of time away from the comforts of home, I do not feel overwhelmed by the prospect of being a 17-hour plane ride away from home in a country filled with political strife and racial inequality. (I realize the latter part of this description will probably seem narrow-minded when I look back on this post a few months from now.) From what I have read, South Africa, much like any other country I am sure, never ceases to surprise its visitors and its residents. While I have done a fair amount of reading about the country both in the past and in the present, I know that no matter what I do to prepare myself, I cannot avoid feeling like an outsider in an unfamiliar place. The next four and a half months will be filled with many firsts, and that is precisely what excites me most! And here comes one now...

This is my very first blog! As some of you may know, I have recently been intrigued by the growing popularity of the "vlog" (a.k.a. video blog). While I am sure this will not compare to some of the brilliant vlogs that are out there, I hope it will pique your interest, if only just a little! I will try to log the most interesting aspects of my life abroad, hopefully without sounding overly sappy or guidebook-esque. As much I hope you enjoy what I write here, this blog is for me, too. I hope to look back on this and feel proud of the honesty in my writing. I know that I will have some amazing experiences, both positive and negative, and I plan on logging it all here, so here goes...