Back to School

I now take back any frustrations I ever had with the complicated systems of American higher education. Navigating the University of Cape Town's administrative procedures has been quite challenging at times, but nothing we couldn't crack the code on.

A glimpse of our beautiful campus at the University of Cape Town

From our first adventure to campus (with Lindsey & Alex)

A few small coincidences managed to make us laugh throughout the day, though. For one, we all sat quietly on the Jammie Shuttle (university shuttle system), reflecting on our exhausting adventure, when we heard a guy behind us speak up... in American English! Lindsey and I both turned to each other with the biggest expressions of surprise, as we hadn't yet stumbled into other Americans. We struck up conversation with them, and it turned out that they were beginning their semester abroad at UCT. We also managed to find a guy named Lindsay at the bank, and in typical form we both exclaimed, "That's my name too!" at the same time. As they say here, hectic!

American friends on the Jammie. Mike and Alex, maybe? Pardon my lazy appearance :) 

We knew we needed to pay our initial tuition prior to being able to do anything, but even figuring out how much you owe here is interesting. There's no invoice or student account to look toward; you simply figure it out based on your degree and situation. Yesterday we were sent from the Fees Office to IAPO (International Academic Programmes Office) to the Cashier's Office to the Fees Office to IAPO... only to find out we needed to make some adjustments at our South African bank before making the payment. Getting the voucher verifying our payment had soared from a small victory to a GIANT accomplishment in our books. 

That's Jameson, the iconic UCT building situated in front of the mountains

Today we adventured back to campus to complete our international student pre-registration, which was far less complicated. We did, however, have to entertain ourselves for unbelievably long queues, but we managed to meet people from Zimbabwe and Norway, which helped pass the time. 

The line for the IAPO pre-registration process

One of the more interesting observations I've made over the past couple of days is the abundance of international students attending UCT. For a short while I was rather mind blown by the number of people questing after the same things we were, but then I realized the difference. The US is a huge part of its continent, where South Africa is just a small portion of its continent. Being the top-ranked school in all of Africa, many students come to Cape Town from the rest of Africa (and further, of course) for their studies, resulting in long lines for international students. Rather interesting.

Straya Day, Mates!

I knew Cape Town would be full of new experiences, but I certainly didn't predict an Australia Day celebration to be a part of the mix. My unfamiliarity with the holiday has been obvious, as each time I'd attempt to mention it in conversation, I'd say "Canada Day" instead.

One of our roommates, Tommy, travels around the world for opportunities in modeling. When we ended up with a surprise vacancy in the house, Tommy responded to an internet ad for the space and landed with us. We spend a lot of time quizzing him about his home land, as we've never gotten to known an "Aussie" very well. From history to culture to language (see yesterday's tweet), it's been fun getting to know another part of the world while we're in Africa.

Yesterday afternoon, Tommy hosted a braai at the house to celebrate Australia Day, making this the fourth continent he's celebrated the holiday on, and it was a great opportunity for us to meet even more people - from South Africa and beyond. We probably met 20-30 new people over the course of the day.

Roommates (minus Anja) 

The Aussie and his flag

Lindseys from America

There are so many things to love about Cape Town, but some of my favorite things have been the cultural collision that happens in a place this spectacular, as well as the locals' willingness to introduce new people to their city. We've been overwhelmed by how many people we've met from all around the world, and we're always being invited to explore a new bit of Cape Town by the people who know it best. Looking forward to many adventures to come.

Desirous of Everything at the Same Time

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'" - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

One of the things I've always loved most about travel, whether simply across state lines or across oceans, is that one tends to be surrounded by people searching for more. Maybe they're looking for someone or something, but oftentimes fellow travelers are looking for experiences, ones that can't quite be captured in photos or described in words. Sometimes you stumble into them at local pubs, on the sidewalk asking for directions in an odd accent, sitting next to you on the airplane, or on your way back from a tourist spot... like Robben Island. 

Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela (among other notable people) was imprisoned.

Roommates with one of the guides, a former Robben Island prisoner.

I can't say I went to Robben Island expecting to meet new people, but our particularly rocky ride back to the mainland provided us an opportunity to do just that. Admittedly, Lindsey E. was a bit annoyed when a stranger, who we'd later find out is named Jason, sat down next to her on the ferry. He kickstarted conversation by calling her out on her sea sickness - an uncommon ice breaker. When we returned to the shore, we met the rest of his friends and were invited to join them for an early dinner at a Waterfront restaurant called Ferryman's. Being the "yes man" that I am, I countered Lindsey's and Alex's hesitation by taking them up on their offer. 

By the end of our extended dinner, we'd made four new friends from Canada. Two of them - Carly and Jason (yes, there are two of them, just like the two Lindseys) - met on Facebook and are the most perfect couple you can imagine, and the original Jason and Devon turned out to be incredibly friendly and funny gentlemen. They later invited us to join them on their tourist adventure the very next day, which turned out to be the best decision we've made since being here. 

The Canadians are staying in a guest house (similar to a bed and breakfast as we Americans know it) and their temporary "landlord" had offered to escort them around Cape Town for the day. For just R500 each, which is about $50-60, we got to see the most breathtakingly beautiful views we've ever seen, and in the company of great people. Our tour guide was even kind enough to show us some of his favorite local spots, and he introduced us to some local music which will definitely become a favorite. 

UCT - where we'll be going to school

Just a casual view from the car... and this was every single km of the drive

Raymond, our INCREDIBLE tour guide

Tourists in a new hometown

Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach

The distance from where we were, Cape Point, and New York

The wind was ridiculous, but this place makes you feel like the world is yours

We live here. And you should too.

Looking down

Baboon and its baby - just walking along the side of the road

If we hadn't said "yes" to joining our Jason, Jason, Carly, and Devon for dinner, we would've missed all of this. Even though many of the spots were on our list of things to do, there's absolutely no way we'd be lucky enough to see all of these things in one day - and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Just wait until you see my real camera photos, as opposed to the iPhone photos. I kept thanking my lucky stars for such a great day, and I seriously felt guilty for getting to see so much while so many people will miss the opportunity.

As a traveler, you're surrounded by the most amazing people, who are often "desirous of everything at the same time" and willing to make the most of each day. A handful of decisions had to happen to make yesterday possible - from Alex deciding to go to Robben Island that day, Lindsey E. deciding to leave one seat empty, me deciding to join our new friends for dinner, Jason & Carly deciding to turn their Facebook friendship into a real relationship, Jason & Devon deciding to take three weeks off work to tag along... all of those decisions (and more) led us to the right place at the right time.

I'm bound to have 720,351,932 memories to hold onto after this year, but I can guarantee that dancing in the sea breeze to our new favorite band while watching the sun start to settle on a breathtaking day will rank high on the list. And we've only just begun.

Battered Suitcases

I now know what it feels like to be a mom who is reunited with her children after they’ve been “lost” in the supermarket for a short bit. Well... two out of three of them, at least.

Y’ALL, I HAVE TWO SUITCASES OF MY CHERISHED STUFF.

Considering the fact that I’ve been living on a few key items my pitiful self has accumulated, this is a huge victory, even if there’s still one suitcase missing. I’m pretty sure my name has been red flagged for all future travel on US Airways or South African Airways (a special thanks to all of you who have hounded each airline since the day I left), but I just might be the happiest girl in Cape Town today.

I couldn't help but notice the irony of the baggage tags, which were plastered with seemingly urgent commands. I've been here for a week, so I'm confident in saying the airlines have a different definition of "rush" than I do. After all, these poor things have been to Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, London, Johannesburg, Cape Town... and who knows where else. Regardless, I got to wake up this morning and think What should I wear today? for the first time since I've left Bowling Green.

My first week in Cape Town has certainly been a lesson in simplicity. A few days without a cell phone induced quite a few withdrawal symptoms (as anyone who knows me can imagine), and a week without free-flowing internet has forced me to be in the moment. Retrospectively, these things are probably gifts, as I've really had to immerse myself in my new surroundings. As for the suitcases, I'm almost embarrassed to admit how unsettling their unknown whereabouts were, but I already feel leaps and bounds more comfortable with a few familiar things by my side. 

"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac (On The Road)

Navigation

The smallest things make a place start to feel like your home. Yesterday, it was being able to negotiate drop off points with a taxi driver. Small victories.

A day full of exploration helped Lindsey and I make sense of our home away from home. With the intention of setting up a phone line and internet service, we ended up buying an emergency swimsuit (or swim costume as they tend to say here) in the Victoria Wharf shopping center at the V&A Waterfront… all by foot. We must have asked for directions at least twenty times, but we managed to start to make sense of Cape Town.

Along the way, we discovered even more beautiful views and charming shops/vendors. One of my favorite things here is the abundance of juice bars, which let you pick your fruits and juice them right in front of you. The result is an incredibly satisfying drink on which I'll be spending many rand. 

Lindseys with fresh juice. Pineapple and orange for her, watermelon and orange for me!

Palm trees against a backdrop of mountains. How lucky am I?

The best discovery of the day was that we could walk to almost anything we might need, and will most likely choose to rent cars for special explorations. I've always wanted to live in a big city with so much to offer in such close proximity, and I'm finally here. I just still can't believe I moved half a world away to find it, but I'm thanking my lucky stars for landing me in such a breathtakingly beautiful place.

Tourists in a New Home

Update: Still no internet. Still no baggage.

In other news, we finally got a feel for more of Cape Town yesterday. We met up with our landlady (she’s become a personal tour guide) and another one of her tenants for brunch at a market held each Saturday at the Old Biscuit Mill area in an area called Salt River. It was so incredible! There are all sorts of funky shops and street vendors, and when you go inside a nearby warehouse, there is what can only be described as a festival of food. Everything you can imagine was inside this place, and we settled on a pizza with a modern twist. We’ll definitely make a tradition of this one.

The Old Biscuit Mill

Lindsey E. enjoying lunch at the market

One of our landlady's other tenants - Jonathan, a 20 year old German

Observatory, where many young people live, including Jonathan

We spent our afternoon in an area called the Waterfront, where we went out to sea on a big tour boat. Having seen pictures of (stunningly beautiful) Cape Town from an aerial point of view online for close to a year and a half, it was incredible to see similar views in person. I’m convinced you could be in the worst mood ever here, take a look around, and instantly feel like one of the luckiest people in the world.

Just one view of this beautiful place

Lindsey E, Alex, Jonathan and our landlady, Sheray on the boat

Following our day, we were initiated into Cape Town culture with a braai hosted by Lindsey’s friends Leslie and Chris. They’ve just moved into a new house in a neighborhood called Newlands, and the braai served as a housewarming event. A braai, as we understand at least, is similar to what Americans would call a cookout. Each guest brings their own share of meat – we took burgers and an ostrich steak to try – and the host cooks it on the grill for you. This was especially fun because Chris is a Capetonian and Leslie is American, so there was a mixture of both cultures there. From there, we went out for traditional Cape Town drinks with our new friends, which was such a fun time! I'm looking forward to getting to know Leslie and Chris (and their friends) throughout our stay. 

Though we still have a handful of things to do, it was nice to take a break from our to do lists and see a bit more of the city. Each time I catch myself being halfway excited, though, I remember that I still don’t have my suitcases. Ugh.

As they say here, cheers!