Adventures in South Africa: January 2016

I've been here in South Africa for almost 2 weeks now and I'm just finally getting time to document my adventures. These 2 weeks have been busy but super fun! We don't start class until this Monday, February 1st, so a few friends and I traveled to Cape Town this week to enjoy the beautiful city. We've also explored our new home of Stellenbosch quite a bit. We've done so much that it seems like I've been here forever already, but I know the semester is going to fly by.

Our campus here at Stellenbosch University is gorgeous and the city of Stellenbosch is a very lively college town. The biggest difference from the St. Mike's campus is the size. The school has 30,000 undergrad students and it's very spread out. I'm used to walking 5 minutes to get to any place I need to be on campus and my friends, but here the campus buildings are at least a 20 minute walk from our flats. Horrible blisters and swelled feet were a harsh reality during the first week, but we have all adjusted to the walking for the most part now. It's a much different experience being at a school with 30,000 students when St. Mike's is only 2,000, but I'm glad I'm getting to experience it.

The sun and weather have also been a tough adjustment since we arrived during what the South Africans called a heat wave. Coming from 15 degrees in Boston to the 90s here was a crazy shock to my body, but just like the walking, it's something we've all adjusted to. When we first arrived every store in town was sold out of fans, but I was finally able to get one last week... thank god!! The heat wave has also passed by now, so today is only supposed to be a high of 90. We've all been told that February is the hottest month here, so hopefully the fans will hold up!

Last week was busy with orientation for international students which was very helpful and I met a bunch of students from all around the world. There are lots of students from Germany, France, and Finland here, so it's great to meet people from everywhere, not just South Africa and the U.S.

On Monday, my flatmates and I took an Uber to Cape Town, a half hour away, and we stayed in a hostel for 2 nights while exploring the city. We walked all around the city and went to many restaurants, the Botanical Gardens, and the District Six apartheid museum. On Tuesday we went to Muizenberg Beach, one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world (I didn't try surfing this time, but before I leave I'm planning on taking a lesson). On Wednesday we hiked Lion's Head, a mountain that overlooks the entire city of Cape Town. It was possibly the most beautiful view I've seen in my life. For the past few months, I had been looking up pictures from the top getting excited for my trip, and it was surreal to actually reach the top and see it for myself.

So far this trip has been everything I've expected and much more and I'm so excited to see what adventures are in store for the rest of the semester!