Two days of travel. Two days of airport food and security lines and terminals and and surfing on clouds and begging my body to sleep in the awkward positions I pretzled it into. And when I saw my first African sunrise from the air just north of Cape Town, it was all worth it. Distinct, saturated layers of various, vibrant warm shades. Just like you see in the movies. No lights below us, just dirt. Just dirt and mountains and faint silhouettes of trees. Africa. “Surreal” might be the only way to describe it. There’s a certain out-of-body feeling constantly lurking, constantly perched on my shoulders trying to convince me this isn’t real. But, luckily, it is.
The last few days are all water colored blurs, puddling into each other, overlapping with a dreamy quality. We lived in dorms the first day or so as we waited for all of the international students to arrive, and the halls were filled with the same type of rushing excitement that you felt in your blood the first day of freshman year. Who were this people? What corner of the world are they from? And as the names were repeated and repeated and repeated (so many Norwegian names, so little time to make up American nicknames for them), I began to realize that everyone here goes hard. Anyone who wants to come to Africa when they have the chance to go to Barcelona, Madrid, Paris or any other study abroad hot-spot, is definitely looking for something. And in talking to my new classmates, I think we’ve found it.
We began the festivities by napping. Quickly followed by a trip to Rondebosche (a neighborhood close to campus, Cape Town’s version of the bars on Geary) where we really solidified the fact that we were all here to have a good time, see some awe-inspiring sights and maybe even stare a shark in the face. And although this night led to a sluggish campus tour the next morning, I still got super jazzed when I saw the amazing view from our school. Aside from the bar that overlooks the rugby field, or the stereotypical African trees that stand on the hillsides like candles on a cake, or the fact that you have never seen a sky that blue, or the ocean twinkling in the distance.... aside from all that, the school had a lot to offer a little chick like me. However, other views awaited us a short train ride away at Calk Bay. Reminiscent of Laguna Beach, Calk Bay made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It sits on the edge of the mountain side and is spotted with bright beach cabanas and beautifully beaded street art. Shallow pools kept some turquoise water from the rest of the sea while little boys dove in and out of the waves like Flipperkids. But, I don’t know what’s better: the degree of natural beauty I was surrounded by, or the fact that as we were waiting in line at a cafe tucked deep in the docks of the bay, we witnessed the cook buy the fish from the fisherman who had just caught them, bring them into the kitchen, fry them and serve them to us as the best fish and chips anyone has ever had. I don’t care how British you are.
After we walked off the Heaven we had just eaten, we caught the train back to UCT and prepared ourselves for a night of international insanity on Long Street. For those of you who have never heard of Long Street (which I’m guessing is most of you) it is like a fully clothed 4th of July in Newport Beach with people from all over the world. Nearly every night. The wackiest bars, the most jaw-droppingly handsome men and the best music around. (But honest side-note here, since when is Cape Town a secret goldmine for ridiculously good looking people? Every other one is just scorchin and it’s sure been nice to get some eye candy). The night was filled with cultural debates followed by getting crazy low and funky on the floor followed by meeting a million more people.
Speaking of people, they might just be my favorite part. Sure, not all of them like Americans and to be perfectly honest, I was inches away from being hit by a bus today. However, that is attributed to the fact that in Cape Town, the pedestrians don’t mean shit. Mini busses (really mini-vans) packed to the brim with 20 people will run you right over, all while screaming at you to get in their cab. Convincing. But, the orientation leaders and a lot of other Cape Townians have been golden. And it’s the kids I’m with now, the girl from Santa Cruz, the boys from Norway (actually, the mass majority of people in this program are either from California or Norway). It’s them and the rest of the gang that are really amping me up for the rest of this year.
On another note, today we moved into our house. It brings the funk so hard. This is a house I could see myself living in forever. Not only is the entire house adorably special and oozing with groove (our living room walls are lime green) but it’s a historical landmark in Cape Town from 1800, we have two balconies (one large enough for a nice-sized dinner party, one that’s perfect for having a few drinks [that’s mine]), and we are connected to our Norwegian friends by a cobble-stone path that leads from our gorgeously green garden to theirs. So today, we celebrated. We braai’d with the neighbors and met a few more new ones all while relaxing in a warm African winter night.
Alright, so that’s generally what I’ve been up to in Cape Town. Pictures tomorrow.
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