I am obviously behind in updating everyone about my life here. It is mostly due to the semester getting busy and the exhaustion of doing so much here, which is leaving me too tired to do much other than what I have too. But since I last updated you I have climbed up Table Mountain again, gone to Johannesburg and back, and watched an African sunset. Life here is amazing but busy and tiring. Each day I wake up around 5-6am to get to college in time to skype people before class. I am in class or working from 8:30-12:30 everyday. Then homework at college, hanging out with Pieter, or some outing depending on the day, which then leads to waiting for either a train that takes me 45min to get home or catching a ride with my host mom after she is off work. Most nights I try to be in bed by 11 otherwise I am too tired to function the next day. Life is crazy busy but I have found a rhythm to living here.
Johannesburg
As a part of our experience as study abroad students they took us to the capital city of Joburg (what South Africans call it). It was a 2 hour plane flight and we left on a Thursday and came back on Sunday. We stayed at this beautiful hostel that had unlimited free internet!! It may not seem like much but really it made my weekend since internet is sooo difficult here. The purpose of the trip was to experience what Joburg is like and see the historical sites that are there. Joburg is much more developed than Cape Town and there were times I had to remind myself that I was in SA there because it seemed like any city in the States. The amount of things we saw were too many to explain but the highlights of each day were the Constitutional Court on Friday, the Lion Park on Saturday, and the Apartheid Museum on Sunday.
The Constitutional Court
It was really neat because it was built into and on the grounds of one of the old prisons. The prison held both criminals and political freedom fighters. The treatment of the prisoners was unethical and just plain horrible. The reason they built the new court there was so they could have a reminder of the past injustice, while they are now upholding justice. Kind of a beautiful picture that I really appreciated.
Lion Park
The lion park was just a fun outing but I was able to pet lion cubs!!! It was really awesome and they were so cute. We also were able to see lions of all different ages and got really close to all of them. We were able to hear the lions roar from a distance and it was such an amazing experience. There were other animals as well but the lions were the main focus of the park (obviously).
Apartheid Museum
This was a really heavy and hard experience. It was hard to see everything that happened and to hear the stories. It took about 3 hours to walk through and by the end I was emotionally exhausted. Even though it was difficult I think it was a vital part of me learning about the history.
Other Adventures
I was able to hike up Table Mountain on a different route with Pieter and his brother Jean (sounds like John). It was definitely an easier route but we did a really early morning hike. Which at first I thought was crazy but it was a good thing in the end because we missed the heat and experiencing the morning still on the mountain was beautiful. We started hiking at 6am and finished by 9am.
I was also able to experience an African sunset from a hill that overlooks the beach. It was really gorgeous and a fun time with Pieter, Shannan and Caleb (married couple from GFU). Other than that I have just been having fun, trying to stay on top of schoolwork, and enjoy the time that I have left.
Staying Longer!
I have decided to stay longer here in SA so I can have a little more time with Pieter before I leave. So I am now leaving May 28th, which is a little crazy but I am really excited to have more time here. It is also free time so I won’t be in school and will be able to do a lot more hopefully.
I have gotten a little homesick, mostly just missing the comfort of home and food. Food here is similar but it is also different. I really would like some good Mexican food and miss cooking and baking. I also miss being in my own home instead of being in someone else’s home. There is a comfort is knowing the home is yours so you can move around freely, when it is someone else’s home it is a little different. Other than that I have been ok as far as homesickness.
If you would like to see photos check out my facebook page. I was finally able to upload photos on there and there are many more. Some are repeats but there are new ones as well. Hopefully I will be able to update sometime soon but that is a bit for now!
