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Month: September 2014

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By rbhargava

As usual, Week 7 in South Africa was another fun-filled week of fun activities and adventures. Some of the highlights were a braii (barbecue) with classmates from the LSCE course I am in on Friday, a trip to Simonstown on Saturday with some residents of Metanoia, and paragliding in Cape Town on Sunday. This week I'll talk more about life in Stellenbosch and focus on some of the everyday aspects of being a student here.

I may have mentioned it earlier, but in the center of campus is a student mall called the Neelsie - complete with dining options, a small grocery store, pharmacy, barbershop, bookstore, and more. On the top floor is a computer lab and space for student society offices. During the day, the mall is completely packed with students, and is a great place to grab lunch and appreciate how many students are at Stellenbosch, and how diverse the student population is. Although Afrikaans is the language of choice for most students, you'll hear English, Xhosa, German (so many German exchange students), and many other languages while sitting in the dining area of the Neelsie. By far my favorite part of the Neelsie though is the movie theater inside - run by the Pulp Film Society. The movie theater has 2 theaters, each showing 4 movies everyday of the week. Each theater has a selection of 4 movies that it shows everyday, and those movies rotate throughout the week. Members can come in and watch any of the movies playing for free at any time, and can grab popcorn or some snacks from the snack bar. The society also has a large range of dvds that members can rent for 10 rand (about $1). The selection of movies playing both in the theaters and available for rent are superb, and thus I have gone several times to watch movies in my free time. Most recently, this past week was German cinema week in one of the theaters, so I was able to watch two fantastic German films - The Lives of Others and The Edukators. As one can assume, the Pulp Society is quite a dangerous one, as any free time can easily be devoted to going to see a movie for free. Pulp is one of the reasons Stellenbosch is such a great place to study, and I can only hope that GW can follow suit and create a similar society with proper facilities in DC to enrich student life in Foggy Bottom.

Having been in Stellenbosch (or Stellie as many students like to call it) for over a month and a half, there are also many funny details about life here. Although Stellenbosch is a relatively small town and one can walk almost anywhere in the town within 30 minutes, many international students end up renting/buying bikes. The university rents bikes out to international students called MatieBikes and quickly ran out within the second day of international student orientation. The bikes are relatively cheap bikes that a Dutch student astutely pointed out were actually part of a bikeshare program in the Netherlands that the university must have bought are painted over with "MatieBike" written on it.  Many more international students who wanted bikes did not get a MatieBike in time, and therefore were forced to buy the cheapest bike - a "Spider" from a local bike store. By far the cheapest bike in town, the Spider has taken over all the bike racks in town along with the MatieBikes, and local students enjoy laughing at these ridiculously ugly and poor functioning bikes all over town. The fact that the majority of bike riders in the town are international students anyways makes the town an interesting home to the most uniform (and horrible) bike selection in the world - MatieBikes and Spiders.

Although there is much to do in Stellie, many international students (including myself) have all found many different things to do in their free time. For many, this means wine tasting as there are over 200 different wineries in the region. So if you want to become a wine connoisseurs in your free time as a student, this is the place to be. Stellenbosch also happens to be surrounded by beautiful mountains, so many others like to hike the mountains. There are a few nature reserves nearby, and the hikes are absolutely beautiful. From my previous posts, you probably noticed I fall under this category and have hiked several times since getting to Stellie. The last big thing to do around here is of course surfing. Stellenbosch is about 20-25 minutes from some of the best beaches in the world for surfing, and some exchange students here have come primarily or partly because they wanted to surf here. The surfing society here takes students out to the beaches twice a week, where they can escape the stress of university life on the waves. With all that said, between wine tastings, hiking, surfing, and all the other great outdoor options in the area, it is easy for everyone to find something to do around here. Where else can you wake up on a free day and have a million different choices of what to do and where to go. In any given day, students can hike a mountain, surf a wave, go on a safari, whale watch, visit Cape Town...No doubt, it would be hard to find a better place to be a student and appreciate life than here in Stellenbosch!

 

 

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Traveling anywhere in Africa, you can’t help but notice the effects of colonization. It’s an eerie thing to see, especially if you’ve traveled to countries in Europe who took hobby in colonizing. I’d seen a brief hint of colonization in being part native, and knowing that what was once estimated as a population of 1-10 million in the United States before the Europeans arrived, now makes up 1% of the population. However, the effects of colonization are much more prominent in African countries.

Similar to the United States, South Africa also had a native people known as the Khoikhoi or the Khoisan. Also similar to the native tribes of North America, the Khoi lived off the land, were primarily nomadic, knew the land better than the back of their hands, and defended themselves with instruments like bows and arrows rather than guns. True to colonizing form, the Dutch-when deciding to finally settle some people in Cape Town (they’d originally just used the area as a place to stop, restock and regroup on the way to India) they made friends with the Khoi, traded their goods, learned their ways of the land, and then brutally murdered all of them.

IMG_0550There remains a small population of Khoi left in the Southern section of Africa- that being South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. However, even the more modern population of Khoi got the short end of the stick in government policy.The Native Land Act of 1913 aimed itself at “regulating” the acquisition of land by “natives”, or as the rest of the world calls them, blacks. It was the first and arguably most destructive first step in introducing a formal apartheid system- as remember the actual implementation of what we know as “apartheid” didn’t actually happen until 1948.

The Native Land Act stated that only certain lands could be owned by blacks, and by certain lands, they meant 10% of the land in South Africa. Keep in mind, white’s at the time only made up less than 20% of the population, and yet were declaring 90% of the land their own. Imagine this from a practical standpoint. It’s like when packing up my college dorm room, I attempt to, instead of scattering my various things in separate boxes, cramming everything I own into one tiny box. It doesn’t work. People were forcibly removed from their land, and considering many blacks made a living off of farming, their one source of income was taken away. Additionally, the land they were given was so overoccupied and overfarmed that land quickly lost it’s lushness, causing food supply to slowly diminish and people to starve.

But going back to the Khoi- they too lost the land that was so vital to their culture and lifestyle. Between hunting, migrating, and teaching their youth the intricacies of nature and the wild, these things weren’t possible anymore.

IMG_0549
Our Khoi Guide

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to what might be called a Khoi-reservation, though Khoi don’t actually live there. Rather, it’s Khoi land and one gets to see where, in concept,they would be, and how, in concept, they would have done things like hunt and make clothing and build a fire, etc. I assume this visit would be much like visiting a Native American reservation in a place like North Dakota or Washington, where as enthusiastic your native tour-guide is about their culture and the jokes they tell and the culture they share, you can’t help but feel like it’s a mask for an unfairly dying culture. Our tour guide, as I have no better term for it, seemed to be the single person there who was able to recall the traditional ceremonies, way of dress, and how to hunt. His counterparts were learning as he did things, and the clothes, tools, and instruments were passed around with care and returned to saddles afterwards as they were some of the only left.

It made me sad and slightly uncomfortable to stand there and not think about the elephant in the room. In the years after apartheid law ended, and land restitution act has come forth to give back land to those who lived on it previous to apartheid laws being enacted. Despite the Khoi receiving land back, it’s too late and things won’t be the same when you wait about a hundred years to give a group their land back. It’s a great gesture, but it’s just that, a gesture. It makes me wonder whether populations like this losing their culture or even disappearing constitutes itself as a natural part of the world evolving and moving. Can these populations survive in modern days and live side by side to industrialization? I don’t know.

On a funny note, our guide told us how the Khoi ask someone to marry them. In this case, the male gets a little arrow that almost looks like it’s for a toddler Robin Hood, and they stalk the girl they are interested in before eventually hiding in a bush. They then shoot the girl in the butt with an arrow and if she’s nice but doesn’t like you, she will politely pick up the arrow and hand it back to you. If she’s mean and doesn’t like you she will break the arrow over her knee. If she wants to indicate yes, then she will pick up the arrow and place it over her heart. We proceeded to ask him how many broken arrows he had, of which we got no answer.

 

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By bbarfiel

Growing up in the NYC metro area, I have been exposed to one of the most diverse areas in the world. I once read an article saying how there were over 15 different languages spoken in one given square mile. With that being said, some of my best friends growing up spoke Spanish, French, Italian, and Arabic. I have had the privilege to be taught amongst different cultures. From Pre-K to 3rd grade I was enrolled into a private Christian school that was made up of predominately African-Americans. 4th grade to 8th grade, I attended a predominately white “gifted and talented program”. While we may have had similar interest at that time (sports, music, video games) I was too stunned from the culture shock to engage with other students. After conquering that culture barrier, I attended a predominately Hispanic high school in New Jersey. Lastly, but definitely not least, I am currently enrolled in a predominately white institution, otherwise known as a PWI. ...continue reading "Growing up in the NYC metro area"

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By bevvy2212

I have been in Paris for a week now and even though France and the U.S. are both modernized, developed countries, I definitely did not mistake myself for being in the U.S.

 

  1. College—French Style.

GW automatically enrolled us in the Welcome Program that is offered by Sciences Po, which I am truly grateful for. Even though going to classes is a bit of a bummer in comparison to those who aren't participating in the Welcome Program, I have benefited greatly from the classes. The French, they are a classy bunch, and they like to think their education is a superb and exquisite pursuit to true knowledge. Hence, their expectation of us had quite hit the roof. They like to question everything, just like Descartes had put it, “I think, therefore I am.” For the full week, we learned how to dissect question prompts to pieces. For example, we were given an essay prompt, which was “Should we live in a world without borders.” From first glance, this seemed like a pretty easy topic to go at and I would have probably attacked it from all the wrong angles according to the French standards. Our professors walked us through the process, dissecting each important word and gave those words boundaries. For example, we had to narrow down the word, “borders”. Does it include political borders, or national ones, or geographical ones etc. Then we would have to derive a paradox from the question, like, border has a negative connotation to it yet humans need borders in order to establish their individuality. So towards the end of the week, I was really paranoid and started to question everything… It is as if I am in Inception or something. Where am I? Am I REALLY in Paris? Is this real? Am I real?

The French also put a lot of emphasis on exposés, which means oral presentations. I personally really dislike speaking publicly. Don’t get me wrong, I usually can be a chatter box and go on and on for days. But once you put me on a podium, I’m like a deer in the head light. We had to each do a five-minute oral presentation for our classes and mine was on the U.S. policy in the Middle East. It went fairly well, which was surprising. My professor thought I was quite composed and relaxed, which again, was blasphemous. But after it was all over, the exposé doesn't seem nearly as bad. So I guess at least I’ll come back from France, fully able to take charge and give public speeches. *I hope*.

 

  1. Cat calling.

Another aspect of the French culture, or maybe the European culture in general which I find quite appalling, is the amount of cat callings I have received. I admit that maybe I should have swapped dresses for pants, seeing as how most Parisians think winter has descended upon them already, but it’s been 60 to 70 degrees, like, come on. I have felt very uncomfortable walking down the streets in my dresses simply because of the amount of vulgarity and explicit sexual content that was directed toward me. For heaven’s sake I’m in France! I never expected for this to happen. I never considered myself to be a true feminist but after a week in Paris, I feel the strong need to advocate the fact that the way men view women as if they are some fresh meat need to be changed. Like, I felt safer when I was in Peru. PERU! (Not like I’m discriminating against Peru or anything, I love the country.) Way to go, Paris.

 

  1. Pick pocketing

I think I should consider myself lucky that I have yet to be pick pocketed, in the U.S., or in France. But I feel like sometimes, things such as theft seem very far to you unless they actually happen to you. We have been so used to the safe environment in GW that when we are outside of the cocoon of campus, we don’t realize that we obviously don’t blend in with the locals and are easy targets for thieves. My friend actually got her wallet stolen in the Paris Metro. The thieves were two girls, and their moves were unbelievably fast. Luckily for my friend, she was able to hold onto one of the thieves and a nice Parisian rang the alarm in the Metro for her. The thieves freaked and gave her back her stuff. Nonetheless  I know for sure now that I am going to be extra careful with carrying my bags. (Though I can barely find my wallet most of the time, I’d like to see them thieves try.)

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By mcbitter

In less than 24 hours, I will be boarding a plane to Paris! It seems like many of my peers have already left for their programs, but my departure date was perfect for me - it allowed me to spend about two weeks with family and friends at home, as I had stayed at GW the majority of the summer for an internship.

One question I've been asked a lot is "What are you most looking forward to in Paris?" That's an easy one for me (and no, it's not sampling all the croissants and macaroons I can find, though that's a close contender!). After paying a visit to all the typical tourist attractions and sites, I'm really excited to discover what we can call 'city gems,' or the niches that locals enjoy regularly and that a tourist might stumble upon while exploring a neighborhood. (Hopefully, finding these places will help me feel like less of a tourist!) Although I'm not originally from the area, I've found many places like this during my time in Washington, DC, and they've really made me feel like I have my own grasp on the city over the years. (For example, if you have a sugar craving and need a cupcake in Georgetown, go to Baked & Wired rather than Georgetown Cupcake! GW students practically swear by this.)

Another thing that I'm excited to enjoy is one advantage of participating in the GW Paris Fall Business Program (which is for GW Business students). Though we have classes Monday through Thursday, each Friday includes a "site visit" (aka field trip!). Some of this year's highlights include visiting the European Union, paying a visit to Normandy, and seeing Monet's Giverny estate. It should be a lot of fun!

I could probably go on for many more paragraphs, but I'm going to limit it to this - gotta get some sleep before the big day! Safe travels to all the other GW students out there!

Only a week after arriving, and it's already been jam-packed with new and interesting things
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By rosessupposes

It feels a little strange to be blogging in English- here at CIEE Dakar Development Studies, we take a challenge to speak French (or Wolof) all the time, unless we absolutely must speak some English. I arrived on the 24th of August, but it already feels like my French has improved from constant use.

This week, we’ve covered all the orientation material you’d expect- like proper hygiene, safety, local transportation, cultural differences – and some you’d probably not expect. Like how to eat ‘around the bowl’, eating the national dish of Senegal, Thiebou jen, with our hands out of a communal bowl. And since I’ve been at my homestay, I have eating every lunch and dinner in this way, though with modifications, like using spoons or pieces of baguette.

But eating here is not the challenge. Living with the Diallo (pronounced like Jell-O) family has redefined the term ‘language barrier’. English is incredibly rare here- my family members have bits and pieces, but nothing substantial. I know only some greetings and polite questions in Wolof, which is their first language. So French is our primary means- and that is by no means smooth. No amount of worksheets at GW could give me the knowledge I need to completely live en français . I suppose I was being a tad overoptimistic when I envisioned communication being less of a worry than cultural adjustment.

Unfortunately, I know that my French can only improve with time, which is frustrating when I was to talk to my host sister and all the words I want to use seem to be fleeing from my mind. But my continuing studies in Wolof delights all of my family, and my brother Papi is especially enthusiastic, volunteering to help me review what I learn at school once I’m home. It is hard, and often frustrating, but staying optimistic on average really isn't difficult- there are new things every day!

 

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By Jess Yacovelle

One of the things the GW Study Abroad office will stress before you begin your journey is that you should travel light. Pack only what you need, and make sure that the items you bring with you don't exceed two suitcases. The Study Abroad office also recommends bringing a small, empty duffle bag with you to transport any purchases you may make while abroad back home. Go for a simple cloth duffle that you can roll up and stick in your suitcase.

The question is, in terms of souvenirs and remembrances, how many should you buy? Obviously you want a souvenir from every major country or city that you visit, but you don't want to clutter your small abroad room or exceed your baggage limit on a plane. How can you purchase all of the remembrances from your trip that you desire without going over the limit - and without breaking the bank?

My trick? Postcards. For awhile now, I've collected postcards from all of the places that I've visited. They're cheap, lightweight, and you can write fun anecdotes on the back about where you were and who you were with. I date each postcard I buy and write the exact location I bought it on the back so that I'll always remember the details of my trip. Are postcards not your thing? Then find something small that you love! Maybe you'll try to find a magnet or keychain from every city you visit. Who knows? But find something small and inexpensive to help you remember your trip.

Obviously there will be one or two larger souvenirs you just have to have. Maybe it will be a native scarf or dress from the country you're visiting. Maybe you'll fall in love with a hand-carved figurine. Maybe you just love the chocolate and you want to bring it home for your friends and family to try. It's okay to buy a few big-ticket items, but make sure you really want them. Don't buy things impulsively! Save the room in your suitcases for the purchases that you fell in love with, and use small items like postcards to simply remember your trip!

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By kcampbell94

A Few (out of many) Things I’ve Learned During My First Week In Rwanda:

 

  1. How to chew sugar cane while simultaneously watching Nickelodeon in French
  2. Monkey in the middle is so important. As is an old deck of cards
  3. How to use a toothpick after every meal
  4. French fries are also called “chips”
  5. Fancy airlines give out very comfortable complimentary socks

And lastly, something I thought I had known all too well,

  1. Life is a very funny thing

 

Among the very many funny things, I’d say the funniest turn of events since I’ve gotten here is this: My homestay is in a beautiful mansion. There I had been, since I first applied to SIT Rwanda, taking note on the art of bucket showering, laughing at my mom in BJ’s when she asked if I’d need laundry detergent, thinking, “Oh mom, don’t you know I’ll be washing my clothing in a river?” I guess it goes to show how ignorant I had been while I was scoffing at everyone else’s ignorance.

When I had arrived last Monday after a very luxurious plane ride with Qatar airlines and after I had experienced the flesh-melting heat of Doha, Qatar if only for five minutes, Kelsey and I were taken to the hostel our group was staying at where we took a very disorienting nap. After, we met the other people on our program and for the week we had orientation. This meant a lot of lectures and learning about what not to do here (eat in the street) and what to do (first hug then shake hands when meeting someone new). We met our enigmatic language teacher, Master P, who has the type of smile that immediately makes you smile even if you didn't want to. Always bursting into a fit of laughter with an almost musical laugh, Master P has no problem with engaging us in learning Kinyarwanda. We also met a doctor who explained to us kindly that “Africa is not a zoo” when he told us a story about someone who asked him if he rode lions in the street.

We took walks around the outskirts of Kigali, observing the rush of people as they called out, “Muzungu!” or white person as we passed. The streets look and feel like a rusty clay and you can see the hills upon hills of houses and buildings and plantations on the horizon. When I tried to run up on of the steep hills near the SIT office one morning, it felt as though my lung was made of lead, and I realized the altitude was something I would need to get used to. During this past week, I also grew very close very quickly to the other students in my group. It was stunning how similar, especially in values, they are to me. It was on Friday that we were to be picked up by our homestay families to spend the weekend with them. We spent hours discussing how we should respect the Rwandan culture and what we should expect. Come 2pm, when we were expecting the families, we all sat outside our hostel, feeling like puppies about to be adopted from the pound. Finally, a young girl came and was looking right at me, and said, “I think it’s you.”

Her name is Clemance, but she goes by Bebe. She is 20 years old as well, and she lives with her sister (my host mother) and her three children. The three children are named Miquel, Ganza, and Mikah. Miquel is 9, Ganza 7, and Mikah 1. When I first got here, I was stunned by how nice the house is, which is nicer than most homes I’ve been to in America. I have my own room and bathroom. No bucket showering whatsoever. The family’s meals are prepared by people working in the kitchen and there is a cleaning crew constantly wiping up this and that after everyone. Today, I went into town with Bebe to get school supplies for her nephew, which was really fun and made me realize how similar people are no matter where they are from. At first I had a hard time getting to connect with the boys because they were very invested in watching movies and TV, but today, I taught them monkey in the middle and crazy eights, and we bonded big time. My host mother referred to me as Ganza’s older sister before dinner, which really made me feel welcomed. I realized during dinner how normal it all felt. I felt very at home and at ease. No, I am not bucket showering and I am not playing hide and seek with my host siblings out back with the chickens. None of this is what I expected, but that makes this experience all the more valuable. Life is a very funny thing, through which I know I have to keep laughing and learning.

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On September 3, I will have been in São Paulo, Brazil, for two months; August 28 marked 8 weeks--measure it however you want. I've been in classes for four weeks now, and the four weeks prior were for my Portuguese classes. It feels simultaneously like I've been here for ages, and like I just arrived yesterday. Some background on my time here: I'm here with the CIEE Liberal Arts program, which included a month-long summer session with intensive Language and Culture classes; since the beginning of August, I've been an exchange student in PUC, a private/Catholic university here in São Paulo. I'm living with a host family, although in my case, it's just one woman. She lives in a nice, residential neighborhood about a 30 minute walk from my school. Since classes started, that has been my main focus--I've been fully immersed in Brazilian home and academic culture. The overwhelming sensation since I've been here, that only grows stronger with time, is one of not being a visitor, but of truly living here.

This has its pros and its cons. At the beginning, I was very good about getting out and "experiencing" the city; I went to museums, I walked around neighborhoods, I did the suggested cultural activities that CIEE planned (they are, by the way, incredible about this). Recently, however, I had a crisis--I was not being cultural enough. I was not looking at art, going out to eat, exploring new neighborhoods, what have you. I sat down and I planned itineraries for myself of places I wanted to go, see, do--and have proceeded to do exactly none of them.

I had to think a lot about this, though. I came to Brazil to learn about Brazilian culture and, specifically, to understand the concept of development and community service in Brazil. My concentration in my International Affairs major is International Development and I study Anthropology as well, so here, I'm interested in understanding the work done by NGOs and non-profits in a range of contexts and the role that these play in the lives of Brazilians. In a broader sense, I want to understand the culture of Brazil, in all of its forms and manifestations. I thought that all of that looking at art, going out to eat, exploring new neighborhoods, and, especially, volunteering would be the way to go about this. Instead, I'm finding this to be an exercise in what culture is and where it manifests itself. It is immensely challenging for me, this new approach.

For example, even though I'm here very specifically to have a wide range of community service experiences, I have not started volunteering. But, as my friend pointed out, there is a cultural explanation for this. As opposed to the United States, where the basic unit of everything functional and cultural is the individual, the basic cultural unit here is the personal. It's a difficult concept to explain, but certain things form the base of Brazilian culture here, and none of them is the autonomous individual--instead, social ties form the base of Brazilian culture. All of this is to say, I have not started volunteering because even though people really care about the work that they do with their organizations, finding me, individually, a volunteer spot is not a priority; in other words, it's not about me, because Brazilian culture revolves around something bigger than an individual.

In this absence of volunteering, I've been spending my time doing other things that are also cultural at only more than a first glance. The three classes I'm taking here at my university--which is phenomenal, a very progressive and community-based space--have been incredible: The Sociology and Society of Brazil; Interamerican Politics; and Identities, Culture, and Tourism. My host mom is incredible, and has been so welcoming of me into her home and her extended family, allowing me to tag along to birthday parties, family dinners, soccer-game-viewings, everything. The food is incredible; although I rarely go out to eat in a formal sense of the word, food is everywhere and always very, very good. The bars are incredible--possibly because Brazil is so social, nightlife is very important and very central to the social life as a whole. The beach town that I went to in early August was incredible. The graffiti is incredible. And all of it, even if I have to think about it long and hard, is, in fact, cultural. The challenge, for me, lies in not becoming passive, not letting my time here slide by; I need to start volunteering and I do need to go look at art, walk around, all of that, but I also need to make sure that I'm really thinking about everything and understanding the culture that surrounds me every day.

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By rbhargava

This past week was another fun packed week with a many memorable events including a bike ride from Stellenbosch to the Jonkershook Nature Reserve, watching a movie at the student movie theater on Palestine as part of Gaza Awareness week, attending my dorm's House Dance on Friday, going to Cape Town on Saturday and visiting friends from GW at the University of Cape Town (UCT), hiking the frontside of Table Mountain on Sunday, and going to a movie screening of Unearthed (a movie on fracking in the Karoo) in Cape Town and meeting the director of the movie! As always I continue to keep myself busy and take advantage of all that Stellenbosch and Cape Town have to offer. This week I want to talk about two things, the House Dance on Friday and my time in Cape Town over the weekend.

Practically every student residence at Stellenbosch organizes a fancy ball for all its residents called Huis Dance or House Dance. Living in Metanoia, I was fortunate enough to attend the event and enjoy one of the most looked forward to event of the year. This year, the residence had its dance at the Town Hall, a beautiful building in the center of town. It is hard to compare the dance to anything like that at home, but the closest comparison would be a fraternity or sorority's formal event, but slightly fancier...so almost like a high school prom for college students. The guys buy the girls flowers, and only after arriving at the venue did I realize my grey suit and purple shirt was a bit too casual for the event. I was lucky enough to attend the event with a South African date, and sat on a table with a few other international students from Metanoia. We all enjoyed the experience of being at such a formal event in Stellenbosch and one that very few international students have the chance to attend. The night was also full of Sokkie dancing, which is the traditional Afrikaans ballroom dance. Just for the Huis Dance, Metanoia had organized a lesson a few nights earlier, so I was able to learn the basics of the dance and slowly pick it up during the Huis Dance until I was relatively competent in it (I think). The entire experience reminded me how lucky I am not only to be at a university with such a rich student life and culture, but also to be living in a dorm that allows me to get involved in these events.

Moving on, this past weekend my program - CIEE - set up a weekend in Cape Town where the three of us on the CIEE program in Stellenbosch were able to stay at the Alrge apartment building in Cape Town that hosts about 200 CIEE UCT students. On Saturday I was able to run into two friends from back at GW,  which was a nice change of pace as they were the first two faces I had seen in South Africa that I actually knew from home! It is quite interesting to think that for the past 6 weeks I've solely been interacting with people I had never met before. Not too often one has the chance to do that! Talking with my friends from back home,  it was great to discuss our time in South Africa and compare our experiences at UCT and Stellenbosch. I am definitely happy to have chosen to go to Stellenbosch, where my program is all of 3 Americans, whereas their program at UCT has somewhere around 200. I can't imagine coming to another country to study abroad and living in an apartment building solely for Americans. What a waste of time!

During the weekend, I had a chance to experience the famous nightlife of Cape Town on Long Street, which has very similar architecture to New Orleans. We also hiked up the front side of Table Mountain on the Platteklip trail that was an extremely steep, but direct hike to the top. The hike was an intense 2.5 hour trip up, but the views from the top were stunning, and made me appreciate the beauty of Cape Town on an entirely new level. There's not a city like it! On one side of the mountain you could look down and see the city bowl, Robben Island, and all the iconic places of downtown Cape Town. On the other, you can see the beaches of Camps Bay and the mountains that stretch down the peninsula until Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. After the hike, we attended a film screening of Unearthed, a movie about fracking in South Africa, at the Labia Theater in Cape Town. The director was also in attendance and it was extremely interesting to see fracking from the South African perspective, especially since that is a topic that I have studied in detail at GW. The film was very similar to the American film Gasland, and we had a chance to talk to the director briefly after the movie. Quite cool to talk to her as she is at the forefront of the fracking debate in South Africa. It's one thing to study abroad and experience living in a new place, and it's another thing to slowly become involved in the issues that you are passionate about back at home in that new country. It's exciting to become increasingly involved in the community here and feeling less like a tourist.

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