Cape Town: November - December, 2022
Cape Town was THE country. We walked the least and heavily relied on private transportation (Uber) because of the programming rules over safety concerns. While in Argentina and Barcelona, leading up to our month in Cape Town, a few staff members mentioned and reminded me that Cape Town would be “so good for my music career”. I was mostly looking forward to being a part of and being around more culture, especially coming from the last two countries (more harshly, coming from two white-praising nations).
The weather was always good in Cape Town, except for one week where it was so windy that just about everything would be canceled due to safety. If I were given a free or even discounted round-trip to any of the three countries that I visited, I would go to South Africa without a doubt. I was very well received there, in a way that could only come from understanding others from an individual and respectful place/open mind. The people of South Africa were caring, giving, and warm. I even went to church two weekends in a row, followed by hanging out at the Biscuit Mill – a must! At this point in my travels I was intentionally surrounding myself with people that uplift me and making more conscious choices of how I wanted to spend the last few weeks of my study abroad.
I socialized a lot in Cape Town with people from all backgrounds, including those from townships outside of the main city (which reminded me of favelas in Brazil) and those who lived close to Table Mountain, which is an indication of wealth. I made friends with people visiting or even living in South Africa from the US and other study abroad programs as well. I’ll continue to say it often; I don’t have regrets from my time abroad or travels, but I definitely plan on re-visiting the cities that I spent four weeks in and doing even more. Hopefully I can manage a trip to Cape Town before this year ends.
During our first week in Cape Town, I had put on adhesive eyelashes for the first time in months, and told a team member that I had felt close to that I “felt like my true self for the first time since starting the semester abroad,” and his response was “Cape Town will do that to you.” I loved it!
I feel as if the staff in Cape Town was more receptive to us as young and curious adults. We had a lot more holistic sessions and were made to understand the societal challenges that everyday people suffer, and made aware of microaggressions that the minority of citizens still contribute to the majority. In Cape Town we focused on Urban Planning and the representation of heritage. Within the first few days of walking the city as a program, I had a heavy feeling in my chest that wouldn’t go away, and could only be labeled as grief and resentment. After being a tourist and student in three different cities, I now know that the way that the majority of people travel is unacceptable. In all three cities, we managed to see people who survived for a living. People who were innovative and revolutionary, people who change the lives of hundreds everyday as they continue to demand and even create change.
Being a student while traveling meant I learned so much more than my brain could really process in just three months. I wish I had six. I wish I had a nine, I wish I had a year. As I mentioned before, I was reserved in some ways, but my personality does not falter regardless of where I am. It was in South Africa however that I was able to voice how I felt more or was able to be more quiet whenever I didn’t have the energy for doing lectures and seminars. Being in Cape Town for me meant being able to be whomever I wanted to be with the people I wanted to be.
I had fun. I was at peace. I was switching up how I looked every two weeks. I was able to express myself creatively and academically, pointing out things that, since the beginning of the semester in New York, I was saying were obvious. I don’t know if that hit anybody as much as I intended it to, but I do wish I did.
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