That's all, folks.

So here it is. My final post. Yes, yes I realize this is pretty much the third concluding post in a row. But this is the actual last one.

I’ve been back in Sunny Sylvania for a handful of days. I was really sad to leave South Africa, I cried a significant amount, but it feels good to be home. It was difficult to say good-bye, but I can’t even say I miss Cape Town, per se. I like to think that’s because I had such a wonderful semester. I flew away from that funny country feeling satisfied with my explorations and experiences.

Last day in Cape Town, on top of the world (or back on top of Table Mountain).

I keep thinking a lot about my South African study abroad experience, most likely because I have oodles of free time and keep being subtly reminded that I’m back in the US. Every time I leave my house I feel uncomfortable that my laptop is just sitting out on my desk, especially since my bedroom door isn’t padlocked. It’s funny to hear only American accents. I’m actually clean for the first time in five months, from a mold-free shower to a clean floor. Suburbia is quiet: no one is speaking Sotho right outside my door and I never hear the honks of a minibus. I can toast my bagel in a toaster. I have a keyboard on my phone, I don’t need to be worried about airtime, and I haven’t gotten any strange voicemails from someone yelling in Xhosa. It’s the little things that keep surprising me, reminding me of where I was, where I am now.

I feel so lucky to have been able to go abroad, so big thank you to my Mama and Papa Bear for all their support and never questioning my choice of South Africa. I was able to attend a foreign university. I traveled a bit, going to places that provided a completely different experience than the one before. Most importantly, however, I was able to live in the Mother City. Even though I may have painted it this way, not every moment abroad was all smiles, hugs, rainbows, and unicorns. However, every moment, the ups and downs, the comfortable and the uncomfortable, where all worth it. They all added up to become my ideal semester abroad.

Last day at the ugliest campus around.

Let’s be real, I flew out of the US five months ago not really knowing what to expect.  Yup, neither did many of the people I talked to. When I was preparing to leave the questions and comment I got ranged from “Wow. You’re going to AFRICA?!” and “Oh. South Africa is like white people, right?” Well yes, I did go to Africa, but my experience can definitely not be generalized to all 54 countries. And yes, there are white people in South Africa, but that only adds to the complexity of the nation. I think there’s a happy medium in there somewhere.

But now I can comfortably talk about my experience, both personally what I did, felt, and experienced, as well as the larger social and political aspects of the city and country that I both saw firsthand and learned about in class. And all this is hard to sum in a little blog post. I can’t articulate everything I’ve learned and experienced. I can’t pick out the best part of my semester. I can’t describe every feeling.  But my knowledge has grown infinite amounts. And, you know, if you’re keen on hearing about the ANC or South African racial dynamics just let me know…

Here’s something else I’ve figure out: I know a lot of people go abroad, fall in love with their host country, cry about going home, and dream of the big day when they can return to that beloved place where they spent 6 months living, exploring, drinking, and probably not doing very much studying. I know I did love being in Cape Town. There’s not doubt about that part. It’s a fascinating place (how many times can I say that right? Sociology nerd). I met some interesting people, I saw interesting things, I explored, I traveled, I had fun, I drank, and I did, in fact, study. However, my big dream isn’t to one-day return. I have no strong desire to live in Cape Town again. I don’t really want to be that person that forever wants to relive her abroad experience. Yes, I love talking about Cape Town. Yes, I loved living there. But just as much as I grew this past semester, I want to continue that growth in my present and future experiences.

Cheers to you, South Africa.

 Thanks for following, everyone!

It's the final countdown

So I just woke up from my last night of sleep in my broken bed in my dirty, moldy flat, hearing the sweet sounds of mini buses along Durban Road. I’m feeling really refreshed after about three hours of sleep. My closet is empty, my suitcases are full, and I have five months of amazing experiences under my belt.

I’m super pumped to see my family, spend some time in Toledo, and be back at AU in the fall. STILL. The tears are flowing. I think it’s just an indicator of how great of a semester this has been. I think (and hope) I’ve made it clear that I’ve really loved my experience. But I also need to give a pretty big shoutout to all the people I’ve met over the course of the semester. I’ve loved the people I’ve met, lived with, camped with, adventured with, rapped Eminem with, learned about sheep bones with, eaten Souper sandwiches with: became friends with.

Yup, I’m ending this post with a quote too: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

South Africa, it’s been real.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

I know I don't believe in countdowns, but it's time for me to admit that I have exactly one week left. Let the panic and mixed emotions ensue. Also, it means it's time for a sentimental, thoughtful post. Go.

Right now I'm ready to be back home and excited for next semester at AU, but I'm also ready to stay around Cape Town and struggling with the thought of leaving. This semester has been amazing and I will never be back here in the same context. The finality is frightening.

Nine months ago I was panicking about going abroad. Was I choosing the right place? Will I get my application done in time? SHOULD I EVEN GO ABROAD? Yes, yes that last question was really stupid. Like I said, I was panicking.

If I hadn’t gone abroad, I wouldn’t have had any idea what I was missing. I’m sure I would have had a great semester at AU, in a city in love with friends I really miss, but I now know it would be nothing comparable to this semester. It’s hard to sum it up in words, but I’ve done new things, seen new things, met new people, and pushed myself in a million different ways. 

It started out with a jetlagged struggle up Table Mountain on day one, was followed a week later by a jump off a bridge, and I haven’t stopped since. So thank you South Africa, you’ve been good to me.

On top of Table Mountain. DAY ONE.

  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain

Word.

Fun Facts

Here are some random, useless things I’ve discovered here.

1. Mullets are a thing here. Not trashy, stuck in the 80s mullets, but stylish, I-put-thought-into-this-and-think-I-look-hot mullets.

2. There’s no air conditioning…or heat. Nope, no vents, heating, or cooling system all up in my room. Just windows and blankets and the hope that there won’t be any extreme weather. A big thank you to my sweat suit and scarf uniform for keeping me warm.

3. Pasta sauce is for pasta and tastes pretty bad (miss you Grandma!). Tomato sauce is not for pasta. Tomato sauce is ketchup, but it’s not called ketchup and doesn’t taste the same.

4. If there’s one thing that makes be really American, it’s the large amount of peanut butter I consume.

…OK there may be a few other things as well.

5. Squirrels are really rare in Cape Town. They're apparently even more rare to this group of tourists in Company's Garden. One of the funniest things I've seen, especially after spending seven years at schools overrun with squirrels.

Tourists, squirrels, madness

6. When I go in a public restroom I hope there will toilet paper, assume there won’t be soap, and am guaranteed to find a full bin of condoms.

7. I actually think I’ve gotten used to Africa Time, but still hate that my internet is limited by megabytes.

CHeers!

Keepin' things classy in Cape Town

Classes are over, finals have started, and we had a delightful closing dinner for my program. Yup, my time is winding down. While some are wasting their time counting down the days left, I’ve been out adventuring.

Here are a couple highlights, my friends.

I hiked Lion’s Head during the full moon. We head up before sunset, hiked above the clouds, watched the sunset while eating a delicious picnic, saw Cape Town all aglow at night, then headed down in the light of a very bright full moon.

It's so easy from above, you can really see it all

Scalin'

Sunset, clouds, mountains. Why so ugly, Cape Town?

I see a bad moon rising

All of the lights

 

Now that classes are over and three weeks are allotted to exams, I have a bit of free time on my hands. What do I do with this free time? Go to Stellenbosch, wine taste, be classy. The usual.

My friends and I headed out to beautiful wine country on Monday, hit up five wineries (go big or go home), and become even more of wine connoisseurs than we already were.

White. Red. Pinotage. Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling. Pinot Noir. Dry. Leg. Tannins. Oaky. Check it.

Wineries are ugly

Really ugly

Wine goes in barrels

Wine goes in bottles

Wine goes in bellies

So exam time is upon me, and my lucky self is done June 1. I’ll be spending the following days basking in and playing around rainy Cape Town. Only good things to come.

Cheers!

Mzoli's Meat

I wanted to keep this post separate from the Township Tour because the environments are so different, but both are Gugulethu.

 

Mzoli’s is a large restaurant in Gugulethu. Basically, big groups come, buy alcohol from unlicensed vendors across the street, hang out in this massive tent, and order HUGE amounts of meat.

I was in a large group that went and we got two giants plates of chicken, sausage, and steak, along with pap. The food comes, and you go at it. Silverware? Unnecessary. Napkins? So necessary. As everyone who has ever had the pleasure of eating around me ever should know that I’m a relatively messy eater. I think this day brought me to a whole new level of mess, but it didn’t matter, because we were all coated in barbeque sauce.

Just to indicate the massive amounts of meat, check out my friend and well-known meat model, Steph:

Before

After!

 It was some of the best braai meat I’ve ever eaten, and boy, we all did some damage. I was quite full when I left the restaurant, and was still quite full when I woke up from a nap a few hours later.

I’m going to miss braais so much when I’m gone.

Township Tour: Welcome to Gugulethu

I recently went on a tour of Gugulethu, a Cape Town township. Going on a township tour is sort of a funny thing- just the whole idea of being a tourist to see poverty feels a little strange. As strange as it was, it was worthwhile to see how a significant portion of the South African population lives.

It’s a large area full of small, informal buildings. We actually went into one shack, made of wood, metal, plastic, etc, so they could easily catch on fire and burn down in a matter of minutes (there was a large, extremely damaging fire in Masiphumelele recently). These families are often squeezed in with no running water, which also means no toilets.

It was hard to see, and especially hard to be a tourist, but also interesting to walk around a play of high unemployment, poverty, and limited resources.

Informal housing

Trash

No grocery stores, only tuck shops