Maria looking forward to being reunited with study abroad "co-educators"

I cannot believe I am writing my last blog about my study abroad experience in South Africa. After extending my trip 10 days it doesn’t feel real to be back living in my own home since I have been away for about 4 months.  While it has been so nice seeing my family and friends I cannot stop thinking about Cape Town and just how free I felt and how at home I felt.

I was so fortunate to be able to extend my trip; attending Afrika Burn was really a once in a lifetime experience and it was totally worth it. It is a community-based festival almost in the middle of the desert that resembles how people believe life should be lived. Onna, Dani, and I and our 2 friends spent 4 days there meeting people and having great conversations. It didn’t feel like we were in the middle of the desert because people made us feel so at home. After arriving back from the burn we had a lot of time to relax and unwind before we headed home. Writing about my time in Cape Town is much easier to write about than my transition home. It was something that was always in the back of my mind since I was really nervous to tell my friends all that I had learned and seen. While they appreciated everything I had to say, no on can fully understand unless you experience it yourself. Being home has also made me even more eager to get back up to school so I can be with the friends I made abroad. This was not something I was expecting but I really did make some friends that will last a lifetime.

Overall my transition has been okay but it is definitely a work in progress and I think will be for a while. I am looking forward to taking our reentry class when I return to school in the fall so I can have the great conversations I was used to having while abroad. Here are a couple of pictures of Afrika Burn that I took!

Maria hoping folks at home understand the transformation she's gone through

Writing one of my last blog posts is extremely emotional for me because I can’t quite grasp the fact that my time here in Cape Town has officially entered the home stretch. Although I extended my trip 10 days I don’t think that will be enough time for me to fully reflect on my experience before leaving. This last week as been filled with “I want to go here one last time” or “omg this is going to be my last time here” ITS SO WEIRD. Some of my others friends have recently arrived back home and I try to picture myself home but I can barely recall what that is like. I know I probably sound dramatic but I now call Cape Town my home and leaving is extremely unsettling. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Dani, Onna and I are attending Afrika Burn and will be leaving this Thursday morning. I believe it has the potential to be the experience of a lifetime. It is basically a community based on arts, creativity, love and music that bring people together. You have to leave with everything you bring and the only thing you can buy at the burn is ice; everything else is based on trade with all the unique people you meet.

Part of me is ready to go home to see my family. One thing I have realized while being in Cape Town is how much I truly love my family. We talk a lot in class about our values; working with so many children who come from broken homes has made me realize more than ever how lucky and thankful I am to have a loving and supportive family. We watched a video in Vincent’s class called “Miracle Rising” and as soon as the film ended I emailed the YouTube link of it to my family members because I thought it depicted so well the history of South Africa that so many people just don’t understand or are not educated about. I am excited to tell all my friends about my journey here but nervous at the same time because I hope they understand the transformation I went through.

Even though it is sad that we are all leaving so soon we know we have to make as much time as possible for some fun. Here is a picture of a few of us on a sunset cruise, which was absolutely gorgeous. The water was so calm and the sun was showing off big time. 

I have come to love scuba diving since starting it here; it is such a relaxing activity and really makes me appreciate the ocean and all the species in it. Here is a picture of Christina and I having fun just before going down for a dive. The gopro is quite the camera and I was able to capture rally cool things with it while being in South Africa. 

Christina & Maria

Maria's not leaving quite yet

It’s pretty hectic, as many South Africans would say that our time here in Cape Town, for now is coming to a close. I have been extremely busy these past couple of weeks trying to fit every possible thing in that I wanted to do throughout the semester. A few days ago I was in a gift shop and picked up what was labeled a South African passport. As I read through it I realized I had been to or experienced all but 2 pages that was listed as top things to do in Cape Town, which was a pretty cool feeling. I am such an avid hiker back home so being able to bring that love here and finding awesome hiking trails to enjoy with friends has been one of my favorite parts. Here is a picture of Jess, Caitlin, Bernie, Christina, and I at the top of Table Mountain after hiking it. For some of us it wasn’t our first time up but for others it was their first time so it was a good mix. The hike was extremely hard, probably one of the most mentally draining hikes I have ever done.

           

Jess, Caitlin, Bernie, Christina, and Maria on Table Mountain

The weather temperature dropped pretty quickly here just as most people said it would but I refused to believe them until now. I have no reason to complain though because by cooling down I mean it is now in the low 70s. The beauty of this place ceases to amaze me. When John, Dani and I were walking to work one hazy morning a rainbow happened to be hovering over Table Mountain, which was a sight to see. The past week one of our assignments for class was to watch a few videos and one of them was called “Look Up” which was about putting down your cell phone and enjoy the world around you. Before watching this video I started to notice myself and how I was becoming unattached to my phone in a way; meaning I wasn’t dependent on having wifi in a restaurant or running straight up to the common room every time I got home to connect to the wifi. This is a habit I most definitely want to bring home with me. 

I am so happy I am fortunate enough to be able to extend my time here in South Africa. Dani is staying until the end of May but Onna and I are staying until May 12^th. We are all attending AfrikaBurn and if you don’t know what that is I suggest you Google it because it is such a unique event that takes place here. They adopted the concept of Burning Man, which is held in Nevada back in the states.

           

It’s going to be really sad to see my fellow peers leave for the semester but I know that I will see some of them this summer and definitely all of them once we return back to school in the fall!

Maria values her first hand experiece

I’m not really sure how to handle reality right now realizing how little time I have left here in Cape Town. It crazy to think about getting here in January and talking about how far away excursion was and here I am reflecting after I have returned from excursion. We attended so many meaningful places during our time spent in Johannesburg but I was absolutely blown away by the Sharpeville memorial and the talk we had with Alice. As I was sitting there listening to her tell her story I have never been more engaged in something, I wanted her to keep talking and to keep telling us things that she experienced. The graveyard was so powerful and its moments like that, that really hit you and makes you realize how good we have it and how the things that these people fought for are slowly coming forward. I am so happy we got to go to these types of places because it is no comparison seeing them for myself versus reading and talking about them in class.

Besides Sharpville I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Soweto. The boys and girls club was an amazing day and I think everyone can say the same. You could see the appreciation in the eyes of these children every time you gave them a high five or even smiled at them. I played basketball with Bernie, Christina, and Julia for 2 hours straight and probably could have played for 2 more if it wasn’t lunchtime. Between working with the Firefighters and volunteering at the boys and girls club I think it made me realize that I absolutely will be spending some of my summer volunteering at the boys and girls club near me and will continue to do so throughout my life because it truly does make such a large impact for everyone involved. The picture here is of Bernie, Christina, Julia and myself with some of the kids we played basketball with.

         

As the our time in Johannesburg came to a close it was now time to get super excited about the next 3 days that would be spent in Kruger National Park. I grew up seeing elephants, giraffes, and lions on television and seeing some in the when I was younger but like most things, nothing compares to the real thing. I loved the fact that we were in the wild and most of these animals had no human contact and survived based on what they were able to do for themselves. The safaris we went on were beautiful including all of the animals, the terrain, the sky and stars that were above us. The show the sky put on for the 3 days we were there was impeccable; from sunset to sunrise to the sky spewing with stars it was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed. The safari guides we had were so knowledgeable and knew the answer to almost every question we asked which I was extremely appreciative of.  The picture here is a herd of elephants that walked right by our truck, there must’ve been 20 elephants and it was definitely the coolest thing I have ever seen as the sun set in the background. 

             

Maria looking forward to more adventures

I feel like I am at such a happy point in my life. I look forward to every day here in Cape Town and it truly is a unique feeling. I love going to work which is a statement only a few can say because I really love what I’m doing with the kids and I know they appreciate my presence as well. Morgan, Jenna, and Emily were here last week and it was so much fun to spend time during their short time here. Morgan is my roommate back home so it was so good to see her since I was used to seeing her everyday back at home. I was able to stay in the city with them for one night and in Camps Bay for another night which was really fun. We had such a nice dinner on the water which I don’t really get to do often since getting to the waterfront on a week night isn’t too ideal. Here is a picture of Morgan and I sitting in these cool chair with the Camps Bay beach behind us. 

I am finally scuba certified which is super neat and definitely something I wouldn’t even thought of doing back home. I really hope this encourages me to travel places so I can scuba and explore the ocean all around the world. The ocean has always been a fear of mine just because you cant see what’s below you swimming around. Scuba-diving has allowed me to understand the creatures that live and reside in the ocean which has made me appreciate sea life fully. I have officially extended my trip until May 11^th which I am so thankful for because its going to be the experience of a lifetime. At the end of our trip, Onna, Dani and I are attending Afrika Burn which is basically a man built community based on arts and music. It is a spin off of burning man that is held in Nevada in the states which I hope to attend someday. We leave for excursion in a week which I have been really excited for mainly for the Kruger part because I have never really seen while animals like elephants and lions, I can’t wait!

Maria's enjoying this magical place

This past week has been extremely busy with activities and people arriving. I went scuba diving and sky diving last week and skydiving was one of the most thrilling things I have done to date. It was such a cool feeling free falling through the air. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be since I usually don’t like heights but thankfully I was really excited the whole time. It was a bummer that some people didn’t get to go the day we went because the winds really picked up but they will get to go next time. Everyone’s visitors are here and things are getting pretty hectic in a good way. I am so happy that Morgan is here since she is a really good friend of mine so it’s unique that we get to hang out and do really fun activities here in Cape Town. We plan on a lot of beach time, hiking, and definitely a surf lesson, which I am really looking forward to because I have never been. The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately since the seasons are starting to change. Its been in the low 80’s which leads into a beautiful nighttime temperature. 

Maria's flying high

A few of us went on a sunrise Lion’s Head hike and it was amazing seeing the city in that light. The picture here is at about 6:10 am. We only made it halfway to the top then had to stop so we could watch the sunrise from there….I guess the 4:50 am wake  up call wasn’t early enough! When we finally got to the top there was an adorable husky which definitely made our day. I think we all plan on hiking at sunrise again because of the natural beauty it displays. It’s going to be a really fun week with all the visitors and activities in this magical place. 

Sunrise from Lion's Head

Maria's loving this amazing place

We’re about halfway through our journey here in Cape Town and I honestly cannot picture leaving this amazing place. The past couple of weeks have been so busy and I hope it continues because I love all the activities we’ve been doing. I am getting scuba-certified along with a few others and it is so much fun. It such a unique experience exploring the water and especially being able to breathe under water with all that equipment on. I am a little nervous to start diving in the open ocean since I am pretty scared of what lurks in it but I think it will help me get over that fear. Today a large group of us went sand-boarding and it was awesome! We traveled about 40 minutes to an area called Atlantis where they had beautiful sand dunes. They were all different heights, some being steeper than others, luckily I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly since I have been snow boarding before back home. Christina, the instructor and I built a jump to make it a little more exciting and the picture here is me going off that jump mid-air! We have a lot of things planned during the next week like sky-diving, scuba-diving, a color music festival and a concert at Kirstenbosh; so this is definitely going to be one of busiest weeks yet. I am so excited for Morgan and her friends to come visit next week. They studied abroad here last year and the fact that they want to come back and spend their spring break here just proves how amazing this place is!