Student Bloggers
From Tourist to Resident
Date
March 27, 2016
I arrived to this beautiful city a little over two months ago with three over-packed suitcases and zero knowledge of this town that would be mentioned in recent conversations as “home.” This month, school was more demanding because all of my major assignments were strategically due before Spring Break. Talk about a stressful week! For holiday (the word for break) I traveled to Durban, South Africa. In comparison to Cape Town, Durban has a more relaxed city vibe and the beaches are graced by the warm Indian Ocean, as opposed to Cape Town’s cold Atlantic Ocean beaches.
After returning to Cape Town, I decided to embark on another adventure. I hiked my first mountain, Lion’s Head! Lion’s Head supposedly has the easiest hiking trails in Cape Town, but the deathly ladders, three-inch wide cliffs, and questionable routes could have fooled me. At one point in the hike, we were walking through the clouds, which was amazing. Reaching the top of Lion’s Head was an accomplishment and taking in the incredible view was worth the “near-death” experience.
March also marked a change in mindset from a tourist to a resident of Cape Town. It took a while to realize that Cape Town is going to be my home until July. Here were some more light-bulb moments I had: I also realized that I don’t have to rush to do every touristy event in the city. I have time for everything and more. I am now starting to shop at more stores to get the best deals. There is no fear taking the barely-legal minicabs. It’s a great way to save Rands, South African currency. Views of barbed wire surrounding properties are less startling. My school routine is set in stone and the wifi hotspots are making themselves known. I am finally a genius at calculating the time difference between Cape Town and Eastern Standard Time in the States, so I don’t contact my family and friends while they are sleeping. You could say I am pretty used to Cape Town at this point.