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Welcome to Our Blog

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG

As anyone who has participated in UConn's Education Abroad in Cape Town will tell you, there are no words to adequately explain the depth of the experiences, no narratives to sufficiently describe the hospitality of the people, and no pictures to begin to capture the exquisite scenery. Therefore this blog is only intended to provide an unfolding story of the those co-educators who are traveling together as companions on this amazing journey.

As Resident Director of this program since 2008 it is once again my privilege and honor to accompany another group of remarkable students to this place I have come to know and love.

In peace, with hope,
Marita McComiskey, PhD

(marita4peace@gmail.com)

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Caroline's incredible weekend

I had an absolutely incredible weekend. One I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. It was jam-packed with a wide range of activities, and each one was better than the one before it, The weekend began Thursday night, with the program all going into the city to see a play called Kanala. It was an 8-member cast, accompanied by a really talented band. The play was comprised of stories about District 6, and really did a great job of honoring its memory and its people. The cast was super talented, and I loved the energy. 

Friday morning began with my activist project that I do with Collette and Bryan. We travelled out to Constantia to SARDA, the South African Riding for the Disabled Association, and volunteered during a horseback riding lesson with students. SARDA offers lessons to kids and adults with ranging capabilities and the riding acts as therapy in a multitude of ways - improving balance, posture, muscle strength, and confidence. I worked with a horse named Ticki and a rider named Deborah on Friday. As a sidewalker, we help guide horse and rider, offer support, and give tips and reminders about their form and technique. It's really nice to be able to spend time around horses again and it's special that I get to help others and give back to the community at the same time. 

Eric, Caroline, & Drew
Friday afternoon Drew, Collette, Emily, Eric, Abby and I went to South African Breweries in Newlands for a tour and beer tasting. I had never done anything like this before, and I was excited to see firsthand how beer is made. The brewery is massive - I was expecting a small craft brewery, but this facility produces brands like Castle and Black Label, some of the most popular and most common (read: cheapest) beer in South Africa. You can kind of compare SAB to Anheuser-Busch in the States. So the brewery was massive. We walked through the steps of creating a bottle of beer, beginning from its basic components all the way to packaging and shipping. We saw the fermentation tanks, the control room, and the assembly lines where bottles are filled and recycled.

At the end of the tour we had a beer tasting (the real reason we went). We tasted five beers: Castle Light, Carling Black Label, a craft beer, Flying Fish Lemon (my favorite), and Castle Milk Stout. We also got 2 free pints included in the price of the tour, which was R50 (about $3.50) with a student discount! Absolutely incredible deal that I probably won't ever be able to beat. 

On Saturday, Paige, Derek, Collette, Drew, Maria and I went sandboarding after having breakfast at Old Biscuit Mill. It was so fun and such a cool experience. The dunes were pretty big and it was so gorgeous and serene out there as long as you weren't looking in the direction of the 10 year old boy's birthday party. 


They had different types of boards available, ones just like snowboards with the same kind of bindings, and some shorter ones with more rudimentary bindings. I used a smaller, quicker board with better turning, not that I was capable of turning. I have never snowboarded before so this was my first time riding a board with my feet strapped down, and I definitely need more practice, but I think I did pretty well! I only fell really hard once!

On Sunday, nine of us went skydiving. And it was so amazing. I loved every second of it. The ride flying up to 9000ft took about 20 minutes and the view of the ocean and the city was incredible. It was also strange and hilarious to be flying in such a tiny, naked plane. There was only one seat for the pilot, and six of us crammed in sitting on the floor. It was kind of like a tin box, and the door on the side was like a see-through plastic garage door. So when we were high enough, the guys just flip open the door and wind whooshes in. Then you swing your legs out of the plane and wait to jump. At this point, I thought to myself, "You have got to be kidding me."


Then we rolled out of the plane and it was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done, if not the coolest. It's pretty hard to describe exaclty what it was like, so if you want to know you can ask me in person and I'll attempt to convey to you just how awesome it was. I loved it so much that I know that won't be the last time I jump out of a plane. 


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