Cape Town 2020

Learn the Culture: Poverty and Crime in Cape Town After church last Sunday, where I learned that my friend Mitchell had been stabbed, I said hello to a man I assumed was a part of the congregation, taking part of the coffee after the service. Only after he blatantly told me, "I have been 15 years on the street," did I see his clothing and backpack and realize he was a homeless man. He wouldn't make consistent eye contact with me as he told me of his 'secret,' that he had a son and he quickly asked me to come with him a couple blocks down the street to 'buy his son a meal' at the fast food place there. Thankfully I was riding home with Wesley (our missions mentor) so I pawned off the responsibility easily to him who had a better understanding of dealing with poor folks in town and so that I wouldn't compromise my own safety. He disappeared. As we left he was waiting outside and urged me to ask. I asked Wesley if I could buy the man a meal. He said no. ...

Itinerary: Week 3 (Sun, Feb 9 - Sun, Feb 16) Events: Mon, Feb 10 - Fri, Feb 14: First Week of Classes: Wow! Hectic, but God was faithful! ISA Excursions: Sat, Feb 15: Old Biscuit Mill: An opportunity to shop for some interesting homemade goods and eat delicious food! The Old Biscuit Mil: Yikes! We'll try from left to right... Back: Mitchell Wall, Brett, Chaz, Martin, Elizabeth, me, Bo, Kenneth Middle: Grace, Olivia, Emily, Mercy, Gil, Esther, Katie Front: Megan, Morgan, Jane, Salamine Learn the Culture: UCT Class Registration and Add Drop Period My intent is not to complain or paint a bad picture of UCT's academic system out of spite, but to inform of the hardships of studying abroad, that I most certainly didn't expect, to prepare students interested in studying here. I mentioned in my last post about registration, that it was hectic and done on paper. We registered Friday of last week (not this resent Friday) which involved figuring out which ...

Itinerary: Week 2 (Mon, Feb 3 - Sat, Feb 8) Events: Tue, Feb 4 - Fri, Feb 7: UCT Orientation and Registration: Only for international students. Covered topics from curriculum to gender based violence. Drum Cafe came in for an interactive performance on traditional African drums! Hectic paper registration! Wed, Feb 5:  Peninsula Tour: Bus tour around the peninsula where Cape Town rests. Visited the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, which are gorgeous! Fri, Feb 7: Church Picnic: Watched the sunset and met more members of Hope City Presbyterian! Sunset Church Picnic: My roommate Brett and friend Gil. Sat, Feb 8: Rugby:  My first rugby game and the largest sporting event I've ever attended. In the Dhl Newlands Stadium. The Dhl Stormers (our team) vs. the Vodacom (my phone company here) Bulls. We won. Learn the Culture: Gender Based Violence in Cape Town Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in this topic! I'm just trying to be helpful in processing a proble...

Hello! This is the first post of a weekly blog I will be writing covering my time studying abroad in South Africa! I'm going to split my post into four major themes: Itinerary , Learn the Culture ,  SPIRITUAL LIFE , and 'join me.' Here's how it'll look! Itinerary : Week 1+1/2 (Wed, Jan 22 - Sun, Feb 2) I have been fortunate to be with a pretty ambitious group of students that are very inclusive in the excursions they plan! Also, having just arrived, ISA (International Studies Abroad) had several excursions that we were able to go on for free...ish! Here's the low down. Life Events: Wed, Jan 22:  Left home:  I left around noon after hurrying to unpack my overweight suitcase. Flew out of Minneapolis at 5:00pm and landed in Chicago at 7:00pm. Flew out of the States at 9:25pm for an eight and a half hour flight to Munich, Germany. Had a six hour layover before flying out to Cape Town, arriving at 8am Friday morning. Roughly Mon, Jan 27: Normalized: My bo...