It is hard to believe that it is just over two weeks since I left Buffalo. So far, Cape Town has felt quite similar, but also different, compared to the impression I had when I left after a six week trip this past summer.
I suppose it is best to start from the beginning. Traveling with Kevin, I left home Monday, January 23rd, and arrived in Cape Town on the 24th. Aside from a lack of comfort and sleep, the voyage went quite well. The longest leg, 14.5 hours between JFK and Johannesburg, was as exhausting as expected, but chock full of movies and food. Kevin and I split at Cape Town’s airport as I ventured off with my study abroad program, CIEE, to the Graca Machel dorms at the University of Cape Town.
The rest of the week we were inundated with orientation activities. Wednesday, after talks about safety and rules, we trekked around Cape Town, seeing this spellbinding, seagull-loving woman at the V & A waterfront...
That evening, we were rewarded with a trip on the cable car up Table Mountain. Not knowing how I’d feel after having ventured up once before, my amazement with Cape Town was reaffirmed as the stunning views managed to take my breath away once again (pictures below).
Thursday we learned about various service organizations we can get involved in during our time here. CIEE attempted to drain us of all energy via the “Amazing Race” around UCT’s campus. With a slightly enhanced knowledge of campus, my team finished respectably by not being in last place. Friday we visited several service sites around Cape Town, all of which seemed quite interesting. While it is both exciting and overwhelming to have so many options, it is also harrowing to see why all of these organizations must exist. We ended the day with dinner at a restaurant called Moyo, which had delicious food and beautiful, although questionably authentic, African décor.
Moyo
Saturday we bid farewell to the dorms at Graca Machel and headed to our new digs. I am living in Rondebosch, in a 30 person “house” that really consists of three connected houses. The house has a modern feel, everyone has singles, and it is close to many restaurants, grocery stores and to campus. Kevin and I tried to go for a run up to Rhodes’ memorial, which proved too steep to classify as a run, but afforded a great exercise nonetheless. My house came together for an evening braai (a barbecue!) with plenty of scrumptious food and mingling. 
Braai preparations and food
Handed off from CIEE, my orientation withdrawal symptoms quickly subsided as UCT orientation began. Sunday we went on a tour of the Cape Peninsula, seeing penguins, experiencing the hospitality of a community called Ocean View for lunch and entertainment, and seeing the Cape of Good Hope. We snuck in some trips to the beach in the beginning of the week, taking the train to windy Muizenberg and venturing on minibus taxis to the beautiful beach at Camps Bay. Minibus taxis are large vans that wiz down the street, hollering at pedestrians to use their quite cheap, albeit cramped, method of transport. One night I enjoyed homemade pizza with Kevin’s housemates and went to play pool at “Pig and Swizzle” a bar quite close to my house that is approximately as classy as its name suggests.
Kevin and me at Camps Bay
Penguins at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town
The end of the week consisted of meetings to learn how to preregister and register, and then learning how to entertain oneself during massive lines during actual preregistration and registration. I got an idea of how enormous the student body at UCT is at the “Freshers’ Braai” for all new freshmen and international students, which filled up an entire rugby field.
Shaky planning led to an amazing trip on part of the garden route, beginning last Saturday, and getting back Tuesday night. This post is overwhelmingly long, so I will work to catch up in the near future on the trip!
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