this time for africa.

our first day in cape town.

           South AFREECA! Now, let me preface this entry by saying that I had wanted to study abroad in South Africa since the beginning of my sophomore year of college. I have just felt for a long time that a piece of my heart lies there. For one reason or another, it did not work out and I ended up on Semester at Sea. Not too bad of a bad place to end up. But, my point is, I was very excited for this port. So, when I found out that my 21^st birthday was going to land right in the middle of our time there, things got real. Then, the cherry on top…my parents came to meet the boat in Cape Town.

            We got off the boat at 8 A.M., when I immediately met up with my parents. We went on a tour of the city. We visited a paper mill that employs women in the hope that they will become economically and socially independent. We saw penguins on a beach called Boulder’s Beach. We ate lunch at a wharf. And we walked to the top of the Cape Point, which is the southwestern most point in South Africa. It was a busy but beautiful day.

            We got back to the hotel with just enough time to change before dinner, where we met up with 3 of my friends from the boat and one of my dearest friends from college, Leah, who is studying abroad at the University of Cape Town this semester. We went to a restaurant called Gold, which served a 14-course meal of traditional dishes from across Africa and had performers that sang songs and got us to dance with them. So much fun. After dinner, we met up with a bunch of other students from Semester at Sea for a night out in Cape Town.

            My parents and I were up early the next morning to catch a flight to the bush for a safari! Once we reached Nelspruit airport, in the middle of Kruger National Park, we had to catch a small plane that would take us to our lodge’s landing strip. I was surprised when we got in the plane though and the pilot explained that it would work kind of like a bus and we would be dropping people off along the way with small 10-20 minute flights in between. Quite the experience. Quite the experience.

my 21st birthday party.