Real World: Cape Town

I’m still looking for the hidden cameras, and I’m wondering why we were never asked to sign release forms. At this point, I am 99.9% sure that I am a participant in The Real World: Cape Town.

Back when I was planning my Cape Town residence during lunch breaks at my desk job in 2012, I was communicating with four other people on three continents: Lindsey E. (from Philadelphia) and Alex (from Virginia), Anja (from Germany, but traveling in South America at the time), and Renata (from Germany). I've stolen their Facebook photos so you can put a face with the name:

Lindsey E. - Ambassadorial Scholar
Master's in International Relations at UCT

Anja - Ambassadorial Scholar
MBA at Stellenbosch

Alex - Ambassadorial Scholar
Honours in International Development

Renata - Ambassadorial Scholar
Postgraduate Certificate in Education

We thought we’d be five Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars living under one roof as we learned about life in Cape Town. Now, though, Anja has replaced herself with Tommy (a model from Australia) who will eventually be followed by Christian (a doctor from Germany). Renata has replaced herself with Victor (a model from Siberia), who will eventually be followed by... someone we've yet to meet. Alex will replace herself with Kelly (a UCT student from South Africa) this weekend. Don't worry, you'll get a chance to "meet" them as they come and go.

Confusing, right? That’s just the beginning. Start factoring in leases, deposits, utilities, and other expenses and it gets really fun. All of the coming and going has left us in limbo with making our house our home, resulting in funny moments like making ramen noodles (called 2-minute noodles here, leaving less debate about how to pronounce them) in serving bowls due to a lack of regular bowls:

Hello, college life.
Good to see you again.

For one more week, it's the three American Ambassadorial Scholars... and two international models, of course. I knew coming to Cape Town would expose me to a multitude of cultures, given its highly international population, but I didn't factor in the culture of modeling (more on that later). I must admit that it's been fun getting to know the lifestyle of a traveling model, and we've met a handful of super interesting people through the model circle (several of Tommy's friends live just down the street). I can't help but laugh at this life of mine when I run into one of them on Kloof Street. Life is full of surprises. 

To be honest, though, this is the sort of thing for which I live. Unpredictability, new people with new personalities from new cultures… these are the things worth remembering. In our house, which we’ve affectionately deemed The Revolving Door, we’re consistently exposed to new cultures, and we laugh at the variety of accents you can hear at any given time. Even the Lindseys from America learn from each other, as Philadelphia and Bowling Green, Kentucky are certainly not one in the same.

Most people crave complete stability, and I must admit that there are plenty of times when I’m wishing for just that. More often than not, though, I’m craving possibility and a story worth telling. It seems I’ve landed in just the right place for all of the above in 2013.