Day 1

Ok I've never done one of these before so bear with me, but I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I am traveling to Cape Town, South Africa for a combined service and study abroad program through Vanderbilt's  VISAGE program. We will be taking classes at the University of Cape Town and volunteering in a youth development center in Manenburg, a township of Cape Town. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to be able to look back and remember everything and to give you all a glimpse into my life in Cape Town. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this.

After 32 hours worth of travel, Jill and I arrived in Cape Town exhausted but excited to begin our six week adventure. Unfortunately, my luggage did not make it on the flight from London to Johannesburg but is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I was frustrated but I guess it's all part of the experience. The flight into Johannesburg offered a view of the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. I also forced myself to stay awake on the flight to Cape Town. I'm glad I did because we got to see Table Mountain and the ocean while we were flying in. It was truly breathtaking. After going through the incredibly lax South African customs, Jill and I walked to the departures exit, not sure if our ride was going to be there or if we would have to take a taxi to an unknown address. Obviously, we were hoping for the former. We were relieved when we heard someone yelling our name as we walked out the door. We looked over and saw Tess and Stephanie and two of the SHAWCO (the organization we are volunteering with) organizers waiting for us. We then waited for Harry, Carrie and Rachel to arrive, before driving to the house.

This brief drive offered a true snapshot of the diverse experiences Capetown has to offer. We saw beautiful Table Mountain as well as one of the poorest townships. In contrast, as we got closer to the University, the houses reflected great wealth. Finally, we arrived at the SHAWCO house we would be staying in. The house is great, right by the University of Cape Town campus and has tons of room. We dropped our bags off, got our keys, and immediately started exploring the area. We walked around the area right around the University, and stopped at a place for a late lunch. Despite ordering my meal mild, it was still way too spicy for me. Hopefully this experience will improve my tolerance for spicy food.  After this, we stopped at a convenience store to pick up some toiletries. A few of us were waiting outside for the others when we saw a man sprinting out of the store with a backpack on. Two store clerks started sprinting after him. At first we were very confused, until we saw a police officer joining the chase. We realized the man had stolen something from the store. We had heard that Cape Town has a high crime rate, but I didn't think I would be witnessing one within my first 2 hours of being there!

After that, we walked back to the house to nap and shower before dinner. We went to a place called Marco's for dinner, which serves traditionally South African food and entertainment. I ordered the "famous chicken," and an Amstel which were both delicious. There was a band playing traditional African music. Eventually, the dancers convinced Stephanie and Harry to dance with them, which was hilarious. We then had a true group bonding experience when we all went up and learned traditional African dance. Everyone got over their embarrassment and just had a good time. It was really fun. Then Harry convinced everyone to check out the bar scene on Long Street, despite us being extremely jetlagged. We checked out a few bars, which were all extremely different. They were fun, but we went home around 12:30, all exhausted from the long hours of traveling. I slept for 10 hours and am now refreshed and ready for day 2! I finally got my camera charged so I will start taking lots of pictures and hopefully I can figure out how to include them in this blog. Also, I know this post was kinda long, so if you took the time to read it, you're awesome. They won't all be this long, but I have a lot of energy after sleeping for 10 hours!