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| Table Top Mountain |
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| V&A Pier |
So day two of Cape Town can be checked off as Success! My time in Soweto ended on a high note with
treating the kids to hot dogs and spending as much time as possible with them
before I left. I can’t even begin to
describe the amount of love that I found at Tsogang Sechaba, Poppy holds a very
dear place in my heart; I will miss her amazing stories about standing up for
herself in a time where women and Africans were not allowed to even fight for their
rights. Tony is also a role model of
what we should all strive for in our lives, following your passion and
contributing to the betterment of society. As trying as my finals days were at
Tsogang Sechaba, being able to pay my respects to the families of the wonderful
people I met who had passed on helped me to get closure and to appreciate the
fact that I’m still here and living life to the fullest. I look forward to
being able to apply all of the lessons I learned and the stories that were
shared with me to the courses I will be taking with Professor Moja.
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| Back on the water! |
As far as Cape Town, I was taken back by the fact that I was
a bit culture shocked when first arriving; Soweto, was a completely different
world and it is mind boggling to me that it is only two hours away from CT
(flying) yet, they are as different as night and day. Cape town is picturesque
and ideal with its beautiful mountains; peaks coming through the clouds and the
reflection of sailboats on the water...it’s perfect. Though, you still sense the presence of
segregation to a certain extent and it’s the most interesting thing to observe
how far South Africa has come since the end of Apartheid, yet it has a very
long way to go. I’m still trying to
understand not only the history of South Africa, but the issues that the country
is dealing with at the moment, Immigration and the devastating effects that the
lack of government involvement has had on education has sparked my interest. I
think it will be my research project while here in SA. I am beyond thrilled to start learning from
Professor Moja; I don’t think I’ve felt this much glee over a class in a long
time!
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| J&H group dinner :) |
So far, I am enjoying my mini vacation until my
classes begin on Tuesday. I have visited
the V&A Waterfront which has a mini “London eye” tons of delicious
restaurants with fresh seafood and tasty bakeries! It reminds me very much of
Barca, the mountains, the ocean, the palm trees all come together to make
something truly magical. I spent my first day exploring the area and treating
myself to a mini-shopping spree; I am completely justified due to needing
clothes urgently since I definitely under packed! The night before last we all
went out to dinner to this Victorian-esque restaurant/bar called Jekyll &
Hyde. We feasted on “tapas”, Tequila beer and some delicious South African Red
Wine. Everyone so far is enthusiastic about the program, very outgoing and looking forward to some awesome adventures! I
relish in the fact that I still get opportunities to make new friends at NYU,
considering I pretty much know everyone in my own program so this is all
extremely refreshing! Everyone always ask
me if I miss my friends/family and I do but at the same time, taking what I
learned in Soweto and pairing it with what I know will be a significant
experience here in Cape Town and Pretoria;I know I made the right choice.
Sometimes you don’t get to choose the changes that come about in your life; they
are sudden, sometimes jarring.Then those opportunities come along where you do
have a say in taking on an experience that will change you, mold you and
strengthen you and that is exactly what this has been. Time is flying by way too
quickly so I’m trying to live in the moment as much as I can!
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