For Ashley it just keeps getting better

Katherine & Ashley

I cannot get over the fact that every single time I walk out of my house I have the view of such a beautiful mountain.  I also cannot believe that I’m actually in South Africa right now.  I’ve been waiting for this moment for months now.  It’s been such an amazing week filled with activities, first impressions, and reactions.   The first few days were the most difficult for me because of the incredibly long trip.  While driving to the house I simply kept thinking about the fact that I had been on a plane for about 17 hours! Ahhhhhh.  Thankfully I can surely say that it was most definitely worth it.☺

This has been the longest and most exciting three days of my life! It was amazing taking a tour around the area I will be living in for the next three months.  I was placed in Malleson which is the smaller house and I absolutely love it!  At first I thought I would have preferred being around more people but it turns out that the living arrangements couldn’t have turned out any better.  On our second day we went shopping for necessities and used the ATM’s.  To be honest after all of the security briefings I was extremely nervous to use the ATM’s. After a week here I am glad to say that I feel completely comfortable using an ATM and walking outside of my house on my own; with caution of course.  One of the things I love most about Cape Town is how much it reminds me of the country my parents were born in.  I would look forward to visiting the Dominican Republic every year and now I get to live in a place that reminds me so much of it for an entire semester.  I honestly couldn’t ask for more at this point.  It has been rather difficult adjusting to the exchange rate and learning to distinguish what’s expensive or not right away.   I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon.  Another thing I have learned to love are the mini-bus taxi’s that drive past you every three minutes already filled with people, yelling for you to come in☺ It makes me laugh every time I see it.  It wasn’t as big as a surprise for me to see these vans packed with people sitting on each other laps because I had seen it in the Dominican Republic but I love the fact that I am in a completely different part of the world and the same means of transportation are being used.  I can’t wait to use these on a daily basis.  I’m sure I’ll come back home with plenty of interesting stories.   The next day was the visit to Cape Town University.  I could have never imagined this place to look any more beautiful than it already did in the pictures.  I couldn’t believe that this is going to be my school! The views, people, and sites just keep getting better and better as the days go by. 

I had expected to be a little more homesick by now, but that has definitely not been the case.  Surprisingly! Missing my family and friends was one of the things that had me worried most about taking this step.  I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I’ve been really busy or that Cape Town is just so amazing that there is no way I can feel any type of sadness while here.  Literally everywhere I look is an amazing view.  I also feared that communication with my family would be an issue.  I’ve actually spoken to them every day since I arrived.  It’s definitely not as difficult as I thought it would be. I’m looking forward to the rest of the orientation week and getting to know a little more about Cape Town and how my internship will turn out. This is just the beginning of my experience and I already love it here.