Becca heading back to the place formerly known as home

When I first arrived in Cape Town, I expected to be empowered, fulfilled, engaged, and excited at every waking moment.

In reality, my experience here has strayed far from that expectation. Upon reflection, this has made it far more meaningful.

The thing about studying abroad that many people don’t realize is that your life continues to happen. You continue to feel stress, anxiety, and fear. Sometimes this is exacerbated by the fact that everything around you is unfamiliar. Sometimes you feel guilty because you needed to spend a few hours alone in your room instead of out exploring. That’s okay.

But what has been so profoundly transformative is understanding how, by living my life through these challenges, I have changed. I am more confident in communicating my opinion. I have a more complex understanding of culture, identity, and the complex systems that are created by these collective and individual environments.

Becca & Emily

I am so sad, but I am comforted in my knowing that this is not the last time I will be here. I will leave a piece of my heart in Cape Town. I was explaining to my mom, who’s visiting me, that it didn’t feel like I was leaving after our travels. It felt like I would return to my job, my house, my daily rituals and habits. And, in the words of Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky am I to have known some[place that] was so hard to say goodbye to”.

Ultimately, I know that I will need more time and distance to fully comprehend how my experience in Cape Town has impacted me. Right now I’m just struggling to grapple with the fact that in a few short hours I will be in Connecticut—the place that I have always identified as my home, but now, being here, feels intangible and unfamiliar.

Becca's final week in Cape Town with her co-educators

Becca at BoKaap

 







This past weekend I spent Saturday exploring the streets of Bo Kaap after a delicious brunch with my Dad, Trista, Elizabeth, and Emily.

Caroline & Becca

On Sunday, I embarked on the Three Peaks challenge with Drew, Eric, Caroline, and my Dad and attempted to climb Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, and Lion’s head in one day. Unfortunately, I forgot my headlamp and was unable to make it to Lion’s head before the sunset. I still ended up hiking almost 16 miles and the views were worth it despite the outcome.

On Monday and Tuesday I returned to work to finish a presentation discussing EJN’s thematic areas and their recent accomplishments in their thematic areas of climate justice and food security and mining and extractives so that they could present it to potential funders. It was a great way to end my internship because it gave me a chance to look at what I have accomplished this semester and gave me a change to reflect on my experience there and how it shaped my time in Cape Town.

Wednesday was South Africa’s Independence Day so I didn’t have work. After an early class, Megan, Emily, and I headed to lunch at SushiBox and then walked to Honest Chocolate, one of my favorite places in the city. I have come to know Tanya, the barista there really well.

I don’t feel the same sense of dread that many of my co-educators are feeling, because I am extending my trip to tour with my mom and grandmother. I do feel an intense sadness that everyone else is leaving. I feel like the bonds that are created with people you study abroad with are so intense and so unique. I have come to love my co-educators and feel lucky to have met such an impassioned, motivated, and intelligent group of people who inspires me every day to work compassionately and diligently. I feel so thankful to have this network of people who I will know for the rest of my life and have impacted me so profoundly.

Becca can't believe how quickly time has gone by

Since my dad arrived I have been doing a lot of tourist-y things with him.

Acting as a tour guide has given me a chance to reflect on my experiences thus far in Cape Town and realize how much I have learned.

We returned to the District 6 museum, explored the South African Natural History museum, walked across the entire city, tried new restaurants, and had a really good time. I didn’t realize how well I’ve gotten to know the city, but I was able to navigate public transports, routes, and maps easily. I even helped our cab driver with accurate directions when he got lost on our way home one evening.

It only made me realize how much I am going to miss it here. I have grown accustom to the ease of city life. I can’t imagine going back to a place where the dinnertime conversation doesn’t revolve around the intricacies and challenges of human rights and dignity. I will miss the days when I can hike a mountain and sunbathe on the beach all in the same day.

I have learned to be patient with shoddy wifi and people alike. I will miss the monkey hugs I reliably receive everyThursday and Friday afternoons when I go to Athlone.

Overall, I can’t believe how quickly the time is gone.

Abby has yet another week packed full of adventures

Another packed week/weekend. Last Monday, we cooked dinner for a few of our co-workers from Tafelsig. It was very nice to get together outside of work. We also got to see Dr. Raciet, who left the clinic before excursion, so it was really nice to see him as well. Thursday we attended our last practice with the Fire Fighters and delivered all of the new equipment we purchased for them. It was so wonderful! They were incredibly appreciative for everything and even made us a ton of thank you signs. We also got to scrimmage with one of the teams, which was a lot of fun. I haven’t played soccer in many years but it was great to get more involved with the boys.

Khayelitsha FireFighters Soccer Club

Friday was a really great day with Libby and Alex. We went surfing, shopping at Green Market, and then out to dinner and movie. I had a lot of fun but definitely need to hold back on spending at the markets. Saturday we went to Old Biscuit in the morning and then Alex and I went on a Catamaran ride during the afternoon. I loved it! I love being on boats and by the water so it was awesome to go out for a ride through the sea. I also am trying to soak up the view of the mountains while I can before we go home, so it was nice to see the city from the sea. Then that night, my uncle arrived! I wish more of my family could have visited and that my uncle could have stayed for more than three days but it was still a really great time. Sunday morning, we hiked Table Mountain. It was a really nice hike and I didn’t get lost this time. Later we checked out Green Market Square and then went to Beerhouse for dinner. They have 99 bottled beers and 25 beers on draft! We love drinking beer together so that was an awesome place to go to.

Monday we took a trip to Aquila Private Game Reserve and went on a game drive. We were greeted with a welcoming sparkling wine drink as well as with a breakfast buffet! The drive itself was very cool and also unique from the other drives I have been on. We drove a lot closer to the animals than we did in Kruger and they even had us get off the truck in the middle of the drive for another glass of sparkling wine. I finally got to see hippos and learned that they kill more people than any of the Big 5 animals (elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo). We also got very close to 2 elephants that walked right past our truck. We had to drive off of the road to get out of their way. The only bummer was that all of the lions were hiding in a bunch of rocks, so they were very hard to see. And that was my last drive so it was my last chance of seeing a leopard and it was unsuccessful! That night we had dinner with Marita and friends at Sticks McGee. We were lucky that Joe was performing with a jazz band that night. My uncle really enjoyed the live jazz that night.

Tuesday morning, we went on a community tour with Vernon. I’m glad that my uncle was able to see the other side of Cape Town on top of all of the cool things we got to do. I think it was very eye opening for him to see the Townships. I also found it to be very valuable. I was overwhelmed by things such as the community tour, District Six museum, and Slave Lodge tour when we first got here. But after all that I’ve learned and seen this semester, I felt I was able to understand and appreciate what Vernon was saying a lot more. I also enjoyed showing my Uncle and the others Tafelsig Clinic. We then ended his visit with a trip to the Waterfront and dinner at Mama Afrika. I made him try the game kebobs which he enjoyed, and we had a front row seat for the live music! I’m really bummed that he had to go back to Switzerland, but I’ll be home to the rest of my family in 10 short days. I’m also looking forward to seeing my relatives for graduation.

Abby and her Uncle Dave

Trista's inward reflections on Cape Town

Despite the fact that we have less than two weeks left in Cape Town, I am truly starting to appreciate what I have gained from this experience as a whole.  Perhaps it was my mom’s comments on how I’ve changed, or just the fact that I’m being forced to come to terms with departing soon, but for some reason this week felt different.  I felt different.  Showing my mom the people and places that have claimed their spot in my life for the last three months made me realize the strength of the attachments I have formed here.  I think living in any place long -term puts an individual at risk for taking their surroundings for granted. While I don’t necessarily believe that I have ever stopped finding the view of Table Mountain amazing, I may have done a disservice to this program by downplaying the lessons I have learned here and impact they have had on me as an individual.  For instance, after attending the community tour (thanks Vernon!), my mom talked endlessly about what she had learned and seen and how, just within a day, she had expanded her view of the world significantly.  Being able to engage in this conversation with her, and provide information and anecdotes from my time here, made me realize how this experience has changed me as well.  I could never imagine the struggles faced by the people I have come in contact with, especially in the townships, but my heart truly hurts to think of the fact that many of their struggles are purely due to the color of their skin.  The fact that I did nothing to deserve my privileges and they did nothing to deserve the aftermath of systematic oppression is something that I have struggled with during my time here, and subsequently grown from immensely. 

My mom was also struck by the hearts of the people here.  Her interactions with various individuals allowed her to see what I have already come to realize.  The struggles within South Africa are no secret, and are actively acknowledged by its citizens (albeit in different forms depending on one’s background).  However, I have found that most South Africans are infinitely proud to call themselves such.  The love that they have for their community and their willingness to share any success they have for the betterment of that community is incredibly admirable.   It is individuals that incorporate these ideals into their everyday lives that truly make me want to be a better person, here and when I return to the U.S.

Aside from my own inward reflections, this week was also immensely refreshing and just what I needed.  I had missed my mom at some point each week during this trip, so being able to finally spend time with her gave me a feeling of being at ease that I hadn’t yet been able to achieve this semester.  In addition to her cultural lessons, I also made sure that she received a solid picture of every beautiful facet of Cape Town and its surroundings.  My favorite day of her stay was when we toured the entire Cape Peninsula (courtesy of Chantel).  This was my favorite part of orientation, so I was eager to see the incredible views one last time. 

Trista with her mom at Boulder's Beach

As I close in on my last couple of weeks here, I’m really trying to take in all that I can, both in terms of activities as well as my own personal growth.  Every other day I switch from eagerness to see my friends and family, and a tinge of sadness that I won’t wake up to this incredible place every day.  Having my mom visit has only strengthened my connection to my own home, but seeing her fall in love with Cape Town as much as I have has solidified its place in my heart.