After these
first few days living in Cape Town I can definitely see how people fall in love
with this place and these people so easily. I think we are all still in shock
that we get to call this home for the next three months, especially since we
get to act like tourists for the first two weeks. To be honest the very first
impression of the country was a lesson in money. While at Johannesburg Airport,
a man tried to help Mary with her bags, posing as a helpful airport worker, but
then asked for a large tip afterward…welcome to being an American in a foreign
country. That impression was thankfully quickly replaced by how beautiful the
landscape was as seen from the place above on the way to Cape Town. Arriving
and finally being on land was a relief to say the least. The first day or so
that we were here I honestly had to keep reminding myself that I was actually
in South Africa. For some reason I did not expect it to be as tropical it is!
It was semi-comforting coming from California to a place with tons of palm trees;
it definitely made it feel less like I was all the way across the world from home.
So far
everyone in the house is getting along really well. I think that all of our
personalities will enable us to all bring something unique to the table and make
us great co-educators. It has already been really nice getting to know everyone
on the bus rides around and at meals. We have been eating INCREDIBLE food
speaking of which. The Ethiopian restaurant we went to was definitely one of
the coolest experiences so far. In between the food and the authentic
experience, our waiter got the chance to explain to us that he was from Congo
and came to Cape Town alone when he was 16 on a journey to find where he felt
the most at peace. I love how so many people here are about following their
heart and their passions versus following a money trail. I understand that that
isn’t the case for everyone here, but is refreshing to hear about new outlooks
on life.
The city is
so much bigger than I imagined it to be! We all keep saying how everywhere you
look looks like a postcard. Tonight we went to Bo Kaap and witnessed one of the
most breathtaking sunsets I have ever seen. The sky was a multitude of shades
from blue to hot pink and the sun was perfectly positioned in between Lion’s
Head and Devil’s Peak. The owner of the restaurant tonight also shared with us
some of his history and culture. It is so interesting to me that everyone here
knows so much about the background of so many cultural aspects of life while in
the US I feel like if you asked someone to tell you about those same topics,
they would not be able to do so in detail. Nights like tonight and days like
the last few days make me extremely excited to see what these next few months
have in store. I come across new adventures I want to take, new people I want
to get to know, and more challenges I want to face everyday, and I cant wait
for it all.
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| Lily & Meg at Cape Point |
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