Libby looking forward to starting her internship

Abby & Libby upon their arrival in Cape Town

It felt so great to finally arrive in Cape Town. When we landed at the airport, we looked out and could see Table Mountain right from outside the doors. I was very excited to see our house at Campground Rd because it is the first time Uconn is using this home, so we all didn’t really know what to expect! Our house exceeded our expectations. It is a beautiful quaint little home with a nice lounge area and open kitchen, and all of the rooms are cozy and spacious. I am living in a double with my roommate Rebecca and we certainly have enough room for the two of us and are very comfortable! I tried to unpack most of my things the very first day but now a week later I still have some things I have to unpack, whoops! So far orientation has been amazing. We have done some things that have really opened our eyes to what Cape Town, and South Africa in general, is really like. 

We visited the District Six museum where we learned about all of the South Africans who were moved out of District Six into the Cape Flats, which I hadn’t known much about. We also went to the Slave Lodge Museum and learned about the slaves who were auctioned off and sold to the colonizers as they were taken from other countries and continents around the world. The restaurants we’ve been going to have been incredible! I can’t decide if the Ethiopian restaurant or Mama Afrika’s was my favorite, but both were quite an experience of different cultures I haven’t really experienced before. At the Ethiopian restaurant, we had to use our hands to eat and we picked up the food using this thin bread. At  Mama Afrika’s we got to try all different sorts of wild game and they also had some great music playing. So far this experience has been amazing and I just cannot wait to start my internship! We are visiting everyone’s internships starting Monday!