Week 3: The week of adventure and sore legs

The Studying:

This week was definitely one for the books, and probably the most exercise I’ve gotten in a looong time. After arriving home from our week-long excursion, we kicked the week off by celebrating Charley blonde’s 21st birthday (there are two charley/ies in the house). The South African students in the house took us to some of their favorite spots and we danced the night away, all a little happy to finally be home. We returned to our classroom at UCT and started the section of class taught by our two South African professors Shari and Pippin (I really love them btw). This section of the class covered topics in urban geography and ecology, and involved a lot of field trips. In preparation for one of our field trips, we read about District 6. District 6 was a neighborhood that was bulldozed during the apartheid era to make room for new whites-only housing. The community of district 6 rebelled so much against the destruction of their home, that the government soon faced backlash from other parts of the world and as a result the land was never developed. A museum, which we visited on our field trip, was built to remember what used to be the lively neighborhood of District 6. We also visited the suburban neighborhood of Wynberg where expensive suburban homes can be found in the middle of a bustling urban community full of informal sellers and lower income housing. This suburb perfectly displays the disparities and inequities that are still so prevalent in Cape Town.

We stopped at Cosy Corner for lunch, where Shari and Pippin introduced us to the monstrosity that is a Gatsby. It is recommended to split one half between two people.

Huge fabric store in Wynberg

Ellen and I found the most perfect fabric and have decided we’re going to make matching pajama pants.

Living and such:

Many of us were happy to return to our house and normal routine. We also kick-started our meal groups. Since there are 16 people living in Charlton house and only 1 kitchen, it’s nearly impossible for everyone to cook their own dinners every night. Following the advice of peers from previous years we split into two meal groups: veg group and meat group. I decided to join the vegetarian group which was a great decision. We decided to meet up on Sundays to plan our meals, and have two people do the grocery shopping each week. Not only does this save money, but it’s just so much more efficient. It’s also fun trying new recipes with your housemates and learning how to cook. Veg group’s meals for the week included vegan chili with roasted potatoes, butternut squash soup, veggie tacos, and zucchini pasta made by our resident Italian student. For my first time roasting potatoes I was thoroughly impressed with myself. We even celebrated Chinese New Year and had a dumpling making workshop together with meat group. We’re still figuring the logistics out on how to keep our kitchen clean, but we’re making progress. The app Splitwise has been a lifesaver with keeping track of who owes what to whom.

The Adventure:

The week has been packed with fun activities. Monday after class we went over to Camps Bay to chill on the beach. To our horror the winds were ridiculous and we were pelted with tiny grains of sand, which felt more like needles. We also did some rock climbing. That same night we had a Braai at our professor Mike’s very lovely house. Braai is the South African equivalent to barbecue and we have had several thus far. We played a game that involved picking up a tiny box off of the floor with only our feet touching the ground, and it required extreme flexibility (I came in 2nd place!) Thursday night we went as a big group to a $5 yoga class, which includes a delicious vegetarian dinner at the end of class. We definitely plan to do that frequently. Friday, one of the South African students, Cam, took us to Kalk Bay to hike, cave, and end at the beach. I told my family one of my resolutions was to do more hiking and adventuring so I agreed to try it out! Because I am severely out of shape, the hike up was tiring, but going through the cave was so much fun! We ran into some bats, and army crawled our way out of the narrow exit, but the views were so worth it. It also turns out that being as short as me comes in handy when crawling through caves. We ended the day on the beach, where some of us rested and others went to swim in the rock pools. Our final field trip was on Saturday, led by Mike. We headed back in the same direction as Kalk Bay to Simon’s town where I finally got to see the much talked about South African penguins (my favorite animals)!! The experience was blissful, and I can’t wait to see them again. We then hiked down to Dias Beach, where the water is a pretty aquamarine color near the coast. The hike back up the stairs was miserable and so windy I almost flew off the mountain a few times. My legs are noodles now, but I definitely want to follow through with my resolution, so here’s to more noodle legs. After a long two weeks, I am feeling exhausted mentally and physically so I’ve spent my Sunday in bed recharging and catching up on my blog posts. Stay tuned for next week’s adventures.