The Garden Route

In my high school health class, we completed “Life Lists” in which we documented anything and everything we wanted to accomplish during our time on earth. In the past week, I’ve been able to check off #8 (see an elephant), #26 (drive on the other side of the road), #47 (take photos of nature) and #2, vicariously (bungee jump). It’s been a pretty eventful week.

To celebrate our last week before the start of classes, three friends and I rented a car and road tripped along the Garden Route, which took us along the spectacularly scenic southern coast of Africa. The driving itself was great fun, and I only drove on the wrong side of the road once (don’t worry Dad, I’m alive).



We spent the first evening in a (stationary) train/hostel on the beach in Mossel Bay. These accommodations were not exactly luxurious, but they were kind of hilarious. Our train car, lined with bunk beds on either side, was called “The Dorm,” and also provided shelter for a middle-aged Dutch man as well as some other CIEE kids trekking along the coast. Mossel Bay activities included some sea kayaking, swimming in the Indian Ocean, and celebrating a friend’s 21st with some delicious Italian food and wine on the beach.



The next morning, we headed east so the rest of my car could partake in a Garden Route favorite: the highest bungee jump in the world. Although joining them would have meant crossing off #2 on my life list, I couldn’t quite bring myself to jump. But I did get to watch them via live video feed from the bar, where I enjoyed a cider and hung out with several other groups from CIEE who were there as well.

After the jumpers did their jumping, we headed to Tsitsikamma and participated in a 2 hour zip line tour of the forest. Our DVD from the tour accurately documents the distinct mixture of fear and joy I experienced as I glided across cables 100 feet above the ground.

After ziplining, we headed to Plettenberg Bay where we checked into the Amakaya hostel. For $10 a night, this place was a steal. One of the owners, a handsome young man named Donald, drove us to his favorite restaurant for dinner and ended up staying out with us. We were also able to steal the CD that was playing in his car (up until that point we had been music-less) which we recently learned was actually Now That’s What I Call Music: 50 (yes, there are 50). After dinner, we met up with a few friends at our lovely hostel bar. I partook in a cultural exchange with the other hostel owner, in which I gave him a $2 bill to hang up at his bar and he shared with me his beliefs about affirmative action.

Sidenote: This idea that “reverse racism” is the real social problem seems to be a popular sentiment among many of the white South Africans I met along the way—several people said that because of Black Economic Empowerment, black candidates are almost always hired over their white counterparts, regardless of qualifications. When I asked Leroy, the hostel owner, what he thought should be done to compensate for so many years of oppression, he said, “It’s been 14 years (since the end of Apartheid). People need to move on.”

So after our night at Amakaya, we headed to Knysna, where we played with elephants in the rain. Very muddy, and very amazing. That night, we stayed at a place that I can only describe as majestic. We slept in a cabin surrounded by horses, monkeys (supposedly) and endless stretches of green. $10/person, by the way. One of the hostel owners, Jen, cooked us dinner and we enjoyed the last night of the road trip feasting in her lovely vegetarian kitchen.



It was a wonderful few days, followed by a great weekend in Cape Town. On Friday, I started classes---Applied Ethics, African Literature, African Film and African Instruments (hopefully). On Saturday, I spent the day at the beautiful Camps Bay beach and today we all had lunch at this township party sponsored by a Jack Daniels museum truck (this would take too long to explain in detail). The weekend before our departure, I had the chance to take in a soccer game, in which we were the only white attendees-- it seems that soccer draws in mostly black crowds while rugby attracts the white folk. The next day was spent picnicing in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I made hummus.

Overall, life is beautiful… my housemates are clicking well, the weather is 80 degrees and sunny every day and the most expensive meal I’ve had yet cost me about100 rand (10 dollars). This country really has everything—the politics are fascinating, the racial dynamics are constantly evolving, the scenery is breathtaking and the city is exciting. I feel so lucky to be living and learning here.

Introductory Novel

I’ve been putting off writing my first blog post because I wanted to wait until I could post a video of a South African toilet flushing counter-clockwise. Several of you expressed a deep interest in this topic.

I believed it my duty (pun intended) to expose you to this south-of-the-equator bathroom phenomenon, but, sadly, it would take way too many megabytes to upload—South African internet is paid for by the amount of megabytes used, not minutes. Still don’t fully understand how this works, but thought I should hold off on uploading toilet video until I know how much it would cost to do so.

Anyway. Cape Town…

(Disclaimer: Although I tried really hard to keep it concise, this entry ended up being really long. I’ve created sub-topic headlines in case you want to pick-and-choose.)

The Flight: Thanks to the help of my dad and seatguru.com, I had the best seats possible on my British Airways flights. With the exception of spending 20 minutes watching the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (which works as effectively as Ambien) and 90 minutes watching Vicky Christina Barcelona, I slept soundly during both flights (7 hours to London and 12 to Cape Town). My layover in London allowed me just enough time to see Morgan’s apartment and neighborhood.

The Greeting: At baggage claim, I met about 8 other CIEE kids who had been on my flight. We were greeted with highly enthusiastic cheers and applause from a group of SOLmates (SOL stands for student orientation leader). The SOLmates are students (mostly chemical engineers, which in South Africa, FYI, does not generally connote social awkwardness) at UCT, ranging from undergrads to law students to advanced chemical engineers.

CIEE Orientation: The first 3 days and nights were spent at the Garden Court Hotel in Cape Town. These days were full of orientation talks and repetitive getting-to-know-you conversations (not my favorite thing). There are 150+ students on my program , so there were always new people to engage with and talk to during these first few busy days. Although the days were packed with orientation meetings within the walls of the hotel, night time activities often included SOLmate-lead excursions to the bars on Long Street. Unfortunately, our days generally began around 8 AM so I was averaging around 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I’m still catching up…

We also got a chance to see the UCT campus (kind of looks like the beautiful love child of Columbia University and Boulder) and hear about potential service opportunities. CIEE makes it really easy for us—tomorrow, we’re going on a tour of some of the sites we can volunteer at. I’m deciding between two options: teaching writing twice a week at a school in a nearby township or working with a group that’s addressing the inhumane treatment of refugees in South Africa. I’ll keep you posted.

Housing: On the third day of orientation, we moved into our housing. CIEE students either live in off-campus houses, the dorms or do a home stay. I opted for the house option, along with most other students. My house is actually 2 houses, one with 11 people and one with 9, and each has its own SOLmate. The houses are really close together and we share a lovey lawn and terrace area so it definitely feels like one big happy house. I’m writing to you from my lawn right now, which is scattered with housemates busy tanning, playing guitar and saving a frog found in some lettuce at the ShopRite down the street. We decided housing/rooms by lottery and I picked the highest number possible… in order to compensate, I’ve been stealing things from the living room, like fans and back scratchers. It’s only fair.

Our houses are beautiful… I have a spacious single room and look out at a breathtaking view. I’m in a house with 5 other girls and 3 guys. Our SOLmates, Ken from Kenya (hehe) and Botlche from Botswana, are fabulous—awesome people who get along with us all really well. We also have a 24/7 security guard who’s really cool. Campus is about an 8-10 minute walk away, and includes an excessive amount of stair climbing. Pictures are of the view from my window and the outside of one of the houses.

Without a doubt, I miss the ease and comfort I have with friends from home/Barnard, but I definitely am excited about the friendships I’ve been developing here. Relationships are solidifying, but nothing feels too set in stone. My favorite nights so far have been the ones spent on our lawn, sipping wine, listening to music and meeting/playing Catch Phrase with Ken’s friends from UCT or whoever happens to pop by. The stars are ridiculous!

UCT Orientation: After four days of intensive CIEE orientation, UCT orientation (for all international students) began. It’s still going on technically, but we’ve all realized that most activities are highly skippable.

UCT orientation kicked off, however, with quite a day. My housemates and I scrambled to make it to campus by 8:00 am. We were not successful, but Africa time is generally a tad more relaxed. Kind of like Miller-Futransky family time. We boarded lovely coach buses as we set off to explore the Cape Peninsula. Our guide shared interesting tidbits and facts as we drove along… most of these I unfortunately could not hear/understand, but I’m sure they were pretty interesting. It was so nice to finally spend a day of orientation being able to take in all of the natural beauty of this country—the mountains, the ocean, the trees, the colors…all that jazz.

Our stops included:

-Penguin watching: Penguins who live out of sea stand still, stare out into space and do very little other than the very occasional wing flap or waddle. Still, it was very exciting to look at so many penguins in one place.

-Ocean View Township: My first visit to a township was a little strange, considering that I pulled in on one of 15 coach busses filled with mostly white students. We all poured into a community center, where they fed us a delicious lunch and welcomed us warmly. We also got a glimpse into the growth of community development in the township as we enjoyed watching members of Ocean View’s talent program perform. The dancers were amazing. We also heard a young, budding, not-so-amazing singer….at least she tried. I’m excited to start volunteering so I can start really spending some actual time in a developing community.

-Cape Point: Our last stop of the day involved a brief and breathtaking hike and a chance to look at the southernmost point of Africa where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet (except they don’t actually meet until several hundred miles out… but it’s more fun to say they do). Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

Overall Cape Town Observations:

This place is seriously complex. At times, I feel like I’m in a completely developed city. But racial segregation still runs deep and poverty surrounds the city. Safety is much more of an issue than it is in New York, and this has definitely impacted my independence in terms of being able to meet people out at a bar or run to town on my own. There have been a plethora of safety talks—don’t get into non-metered taxis, don’t ever take public transportation at night, always go out with others and don’t be an idiot. To all the concerned grandparents out there, I definitely definitely feel safe—my house is in a cute neighborhood (and the locked gate, security guard and razor wire help), I’m making good choices and the most serious crime I really have to be concerned about is theft.

Classes start on Friday the 13 (an omen?) so after registration this Friday, we’re pretty much off for the week. Not sure yet if I’m going to stay in Cape Town or do a bit of traveling around the country…. we shall see.

Okay. I promise this will be a LOT shorter next time… and I hope to bring you a toilet visual soon.