Today was the first day in South Africa I did something I consider normal, everyday, or common; I went for a run. I came out of the Loch Rd. house through the gates, walked down our street to the Rondebosch Commons, and circled the commons one and a half times before realizing that I wasn’t standing out for being in a group of 23 Americans, whistled at by a passing minibus taxi for a ride, experiencing an amazing cultural aspect or landmark, or even hearing “Welcome to Cape Town!” After being here for about a week, Cape Town finally felt normal and real. It felt like I was blending into the scenery with the other native South Africans on their daily runs. Although it feels odd to say, it felt like Cape Town was my home too. The feeling was absolutely incredible.
So far in my semester here in Cape Town, I’ve done things I’ve never done before in my life. I can now say I have: been on a plane for 15 hours, lived in a house with 16 other people, taken a ride in a minibus taxi with true Capetonians, seen poverty that is so shocking it doesn’t seem real or even possible, experienced summer in the middle of January, been in the minority (as far as race) almost everywhere I go, seen a World Cup stadium, been to an island where hundreds of political activists were held under horrifying conditions solely due to their politics, eaten antelope meat, been a student at a University other than UConn (University of Cape Town!!), and seen first hand the work of several amazing people working to ease the problems of South Africa despite facing intense opposition. The positive aspect of that last point is that myself, as well as the 22 other students here will be joining those amazing people to change what little part of South Africa we can while South Africa changes us. I can’t wait!
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