With each passing day, our time in Cape Town seems to get better and more exhilarating. Our day long bus trip began with a brief go around of the city. The downtown area, district six, and other neighborhoods were passed through as we made our way to Cape Point. Between the beginning and the end of our voyage, we took a boat ride to the harbor. Here we saw seals and mountains as the ocean roared and the winds thrashed us about the boat. Right now in South Africa it is fall nearing winter so the climate is very humid and rainy. Parts of the day are super sunny and warm, while other parts make us feels as though we are enduring a monsoon. The weather doesn’t seem to affect the penguins, however, because we saw scores of them lining the beach. Additionally, we saw baboons, and let me tell you, they are not docile beings. One was easily the size of a Labrador and had the strength of a body builder. Plucking deeply rooted plants was as easy for him as it would be for a human to pull a blade of grass from one’s lawn. Unreal.

The other day I saw the ocean for the first time—today I touched it. The Indian Ocean is beautiful. Verbal descriptions are no way to even begin to paint a picture of this wonder. Honestly, I am in such awe at all of the sights. Maybe I am so amazed because of my lack of experience abroad. Either way it's incredible. The only thing is is that I am currently a tourist. I haven’t yet been totally immersed into the culture because unlike our interaction with the landscape, we haven’t really interacted with the people. I think this will come when we go out into the townships, though. (Don’t worry Mom, I’ll be safe). I really want to hear first hand accounts of what life is like in this region of the world, as it is so different from anything I’ve ever experienced. It is so easy to make judgments about a place so early on into one’s stay, but it won’t be until we really connect with the people that one can truly understand the culture of Cape Town.

Day two proved to be just as eventful and thrilling as the first. Today began with Nate making us all breakfast followed by an uphill trek to our first lecture. Undoubtedly, we go lost as we twisted up and around the campus in search of the African Studies building. Upon our arrival, we heard a brief history of South Africa which was followed by a discussion of how that shapes the country’s current state. The conversation gradually progressed into American politics and the up coming election. What surprised me the most about this class period was just how knowledgeable these African men were about US matters. One of the two presenters had never even been to the US, yet was considerably more knowledgeable about our country than a majority of us were. If the roles were reversed, I probably could only have given a minute summary of the current evens in South Africa. This man could have spoken about America for hours. This small comparison was enough to bring about the thoughts of how small minded I am.

The afternoon was comprised of a trip to the district 6 museum, exploration of the downtown area, a grocery store run, and dinner at Nandos. At the museum we learned about an area predominantly settled by people of color decades ago. These people were forced to leave their homes on the sole basis of the color of their skin during apartheid. I couldn’t even imagine someone or some group asking me to abandon my home because I was the “wrong color.” Now, their buildings have been demolished, but their stories continue to thrive.

When downtown, we saw the parliament building and other big executive buildings, highlighting the wealth and power in this country. Interestingly enough, just a block away was a market with a ton of street vendors trying to entice tourists to buy their imitation Coach purses and expired bath products. I was surprised to see such poverty and power in such close vicinity. Even on our walk home from the pub that evening we saw numerous homeless people huddled up against office buildings, sheltering themselves from the pouring South African rain. How interesting was the contrast.

I may have found heaven on earth. This city is incredible, and I’m guessing that I’ve seen maybe a tiny fraction of it. We walked out our front doors and were greeted by bright blue skys, a light breeze, and the clouds sweeping over table mountain. Our walk to the Cape Town University campus was scenic and informative, but more than anything it was breath taking. The U is situated on the mountains. As you advance from the base to the top, the buildings and the sights progressively become more and more amazing. One could compare some of the sights of this campus to ours. There is a grand hall in the center with huge pillars that reminded us of Northrop. There was another section with a walk way like thing with the buildings lining the side which was similar to the mall area at the U of M. The point differential was the topography. The contours and curves are unreal, the colors are vibrant, and the various building materials are so diverse. I’m still amazed.

After the campus tour, we had a brief run down of the popular main street attractions. The restaurants, bars, and shops are definitely places we intend to frequent. Apparently, the KFC here is better than the one in the US. Even Colonel Sanders is in love with this place.

Lunch was unbelievable. We were sitting on the coast, over looking the ocean with mountains in our peripherals, a harbor behind us, and the most incredible dishes sitting before us. This eatery, Primi Warf, served up huge portions, delicious cocktails, and provided the perfect place for mid-afternoon reflection on the days events. So many of us felt that this city was so metropolitan-like that it didn’t yet really feel as if we were in Africa, but instead in some US or European city. Others sensed that this experience was too good to be true. There were multiple times where I needed physically lift my jaw because it had just dropped in amazement at the things I was experiencing. For a great majority of the day, there was a perma-smile spread across my face as I took in everything around me. (Speaking of perma-smile, we bumped into two girls who were on America’s Next Top Model. Cole and Nate got their numbers, and apparently we are invited to a party they are hosting tomorrow night! Ha! Also, I forgot to mention that I shook Rev. Run’s, as in Run from Run DMC/Run’s house, hand in the Minneapolis airport. Two celebrity run-ins in two days? Not bad!)

Whew! After months of anticipation, weeks of planning, days of packing, and hours on an airplane, we finally arrived in Cape Town. The flights were l--o--n--g, but the excitement of our upcoming trip made it bearable. When we landed in Cape Town on Monday night, we were tired, cramped, hungry and sweaty, but couldn't have felt better knowing that we were finally on the ground in Africa. The 16 of us from Minnesota met up with our professor, the interstudy crew, and a fellow classmate who were awaiting our arrival at the airport. Once our luggage had been collected, we set off for the houses we would call home for the upcoming weeks.

The initial excitement of us jumping out of our taxis in front of our house was comparable to that of the first episode of a season of the Real World. Never had I seen such exhausted people re-energize so quickly. The remainder of the evening consisted of settling in. In addition to unpacking our belongings, it was also a time for us to unpack so many thoughts, concerns, and hopes about our up coming experience. All night long, we bounced the “what ifs,” and “I can’t wait fors” around the house.