Tag: tinavisc

By tinavisc

I’m finally in the last 3 weeks of my semester and have been contemplating all the adventure trips I’ve yet to check off my to-do list. Cape Town has so much to offer adrenaline junkies like myself, so I thought I might list a few things in writing to encourage me to knock a few off my bucket list:

1.Skydiving -on every single person’s bucket list on this planet. Cape Town offers the most beautiful fall from a plane in the world. The ride itself up into the sky boasts views of all Cape Town’s attractions, from Table Mountain to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela spent 20 years imprisoned while battling the Apartheid regime), to the incomparable Atlantic coastline. A bird’s eye view of Cape Town coupled with the threat of impending doom is sure to set every adventurous soul ablaze.

2.Paragliding from Lion’s Head. Lion’s Head, one of Table Mountain’s peaks, offers a 360-degree view of splendor. Willing participants jump alongside trained professionals right off the side of one of the world’s most beautiful cliffs straight into bliss. Threats of 50-knot Cape winds don’t stop anybody from sailing over views of the South African horizon at sunset.

3.Shark Cage Diving. Sharks cluster around vulnerable humans wailing around in chummed water, stirring their appetites for human flesh. Until you look a great white shark in the eyes, you can’t die fulfilled.

4.Abseiling. Otherwise known as ‘repelling’ in the USA, Abseiling offers the thrill of one slim ling holding your body weight over the side of an entire mountain. If the threat of the drop doesn’t distract you too much, the sight of the beautiful geology and stunning city are enough to curb your adrenaline fix for another few months at least.

By tinavisc

As the end of the semester is approaching at the University of Cape Town, I've been reflecting on my time studying over the last 3 months. One of the biggest surprises I encountered when I first arrived in Cape Town was the academic culture of UCT. At first I was inspired by my world-renowned professors at the top of their respected fields in Southern Africa. Each professor was truly passionate about their research and sharing their knowledge with us young minds. After the first week, however, their projected tasks for the semester grew daunting.

My study abroad program, CIEE, explicitly warned us of the work load we would encounter at UCT. Often times Americans come in expecting a sort of working holiday while abroad. To succeed at UCT, however, only those on top of their game from day one will survive. The structure of courses is as follows: There are, on average, 2 essays assigned for the entire semester, perhaps a mid semester test, and finally, a final test worth 40-60% of your grade. And that's all. On first glance, this set up sounds like it leaves a lot of wiggle room, but in reality the greatest amount of your final grade is based on how much work you put in throughout the semester, teaching yourself the material and reading ~3 academic papers per class per week.
Much more emphasis is placed on the students -we're expected to put in a lot more work on our own than we're used to at home.

Navigating through this system was tough for me, as it was for many of us abroaders, because I was constantly tempted by the thrills of Cape Town as a city. I glanced at the syllabus, realized I had only a couple of essays and a test, and happily pushed off putting in the work in the beginning. Catching up has been extremely difficult, but my final exams are only in 2 short weeks.

Because I've had a difficult time balancing abroad life with academics, I have some very important advice for future study abraders: Stay on top of your readings from the first day you arrive in your host country. There will be plenty of time to do everything your heart desires if you maintain a manageable amount of work throughout the week. Getting behind may give you an extra day to explore the city in the beginning, but will have you reeling to catch up at the end, when you want to spend more time outside of the library to take advantage of your last few weeks before you arrive back at home (it'll be over before you know it!). Never forget to enjoy your free time abroad, but balance is key!

By tinavisc

This past weekend was spent at Rocking the Daisies, an annual music festival held about 1.5 hours outside of Cape Town. Youngsters, Oldsters, and everyone between gather for 4 days of rockin', rollin', and campin' on the Cloof wine estate in beautiful Darling, South Africa. Besides the gale-force winds, the weekend couldn't have been more perfect. What stuck out to me was the diversity of the crowd, much like that of Cape Town. Different races and religions joined together garbed in a rainbow of neon socks and face paint to celebrate music and that joie-de-vivre. As an American in the crowd of the Daisies festival, I stood out more than I expected, and certainly more than I do around my university's campus. Upon hearing my American accent, many South Africans around me and my fellow Americans were suddenly inundated with inquiries as to our nationality. I suppose many foreigners stick to the major cities when traveling around South Africa, so our presence was as much a surprise to them as their interest was a surprise to us. All in all, the festival was similar to those in the States.

We battled the wind to keep our tents together and upright, we were denied showers for four days, we cooked bacon and eggs on a burner the size of a candle, we lost shoes and cash, but we were reminded of our humanity in this world -something so valuable to remember so far from home.

By tinavisc

A day or two will go by and I’ll barely remember that I’m living 5,000 miles away from home until I notice the quirky yet routine differences between Cape Town and Washington DC. I’ve put together a short (fun) list on some culture shock triggers that always remind me I’m far from home:

1.Wearing shoes in Cape Town is entirely optional. On nice and sunny days, you’re sure to find a handful of students on campus going about their business barefoot. The closer you get to the beach, the fewer people with shoes you’ll see. I tried this one custom out for myself today. I went to the city’s botanical gardens barefooted and delighted. I didn’t get one strange look on the way, and feeling the grass beneath my feet was incomparable, but the soles of my feet sure did hurt when I got back inside.

2.Minibus drivers will yell at anyone and everyone to get them on board. They’ll even yell amongst themselves when driving close by to each other (all friendly, of course). Main road in any part of Cape Town is laden with minibuses and the persistent hollering so quintessential to the minibus industry.

3.Barbed wire around every single wall serves to remind us of the crime so present within South Africa. I remember how uneasy the barbed wire made me when I first arrived, but it always prompts me to be careful and aware of my surroundings.
4.Traffic light’s are called “Robots.” I still can’t stop chuckling when someone asks to turn at the “robot.”

5. Greetings are of the upmost importance to Cape Townians. Almost every interaction begins with, “Hello, how are you?” to remind everyone we’re all human.

By tinavisc

I was warmingly warned of this phenomenon called "Africa Time" the second day after I arrived in South Africa. Apparently many foreigners have come from their organized, timely homes only to discover time does not exist in Africa as it does in most other continents of the world. Time, here, is not so much a number to be counted, but a feeling to be sensed. "Now" doesn't necessarily mean immediately.
For example, someone may tell you they'll attend to a task "now now," which could range from 20 minutes to 2 hours. "Just now" ranges from 2 hours to 2 days.

During the time I've spent here, I've come to loving accept "Africa Time." It's one of the many things I've found Africa to do better than at home. Allowing ambiguity in a timetable allows for unforeseen circumstances -opportunities to thoroughly live in the present without worrying about what you must do in the future. It allows you to fully appreciate and think about exactly what you're doing in the moment. I've never felt more at home.

By tinavisc

Upon arriving in Cape Town, I was inundated with the amount of community engagement opportunities available to students: working with children in schools, organizing creative or sporting events with young ex-convicts, volunteering at medical clinics, interning for an academic department at the university...the list goes on.
Feeling overwhelmed and gloomy that nothing presented to me seemed to be a good fit, I outsourced my search to the world wide web. I knew from the get-go that I desired an engagement opportunity that would both expand my own knowledge of the world and allow me to contribute something positive to the city providing me with a home for my months abroad. ...continue reading "the big blue"