Sorry about the lack of posts in my first few days. I’m sure that now I’m settling in posts will become more frequent. I have had a great time in this beautiful city and met some great people.
I arrived to my apartment late Friday night after almost 30 hours of travel, combined with a long layover in Amsterdam. The view of the city from my room is amazing. I live in an apartment building called Perspectives in a nice central location on Roeland Street close to almost everything I might need. Perspectives lies in the City Bowl, the part of Cape Town between Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean.
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| The living area of our apartment with a view of the city. |
Friday night I unpacked my things and settled into my new home. Because one of my roommates was out on Long Street and another didn’t arrive until Saturday, I did not meet them until the next day.
My first Cape Town experience was a good one. Saturday I took a minibus with two other Connect 123 participants to Old Biscuit Mill, a market with lots of interesting foods and people, where I had an ostrich burger. It was not what I expected ostrich to be like. I guess I had thought eating ostrich would be like eating a giant turkey. It was actually a dark meat more like beef than any bird I had ever eaten. Nonetheless it was a good lunch. Later I saw a man shopping in an Ohio State hoodie so I felt obligated to give him an “O-H!” Unfortunately he looked very confused and when I explained to him that my school was on his shirt I’m not sure he completely understood me. It was worth a shot.
After an exciting minibus ride (every minibus seems exciting… people hanging out of the car yelling to attract customers and all of the crazy drivers here) I had my orientation and learned a bit about the city.
That night we went to Long Street which was lively and a lot of fun.
The next day we took a walk to the grocery store which is about 5 minutes on foot away from my apartment. Finding food was an adventure, but luckily food here is very cheap. Eating out is also cheap, but at night its not always an option because its best not to be walking around, especially alone, after dark in some areas. Here it gets dark around 6.
The afternoon was spent walking with one of my roommates, Rick, through the colorful Muslim neighborhood, Bo-Kaap, and to the V&A waterfront where I got some great pictures.
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| Bo-Kaap |
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| V&A Waterfront |
Sunday night I joined about 20 of the interns with Connect 123 on the roof of Perspectives for a braii, which is Afrikaans for a barbecue. This was a great time to meet some of the people I’ll be living with for the next two months. Unfortunately I’m the only Ohioan and there are about a dozen MSU Spartans, but we’ve agreed to focus more on our mutual hate for UofM than our differences.
Monday was my first day of work at Hoops 4 Hope. For the first day I got a ride from one of the Connect 123 program directors, but since I’ve been making the ~20 minute walk to work. I work near an area called Woodstock in a building called Ikamva Labantu. I will be doing a lot of work with communication and PR, which will be a great experience for me. So far I’ve worked on the SSCN (Sport for Social Change Network) monthly newsletter that goes out today. Next week I’ll be taking over for Daan, another intern from Holland that I’ve been working with who leaves this weekend. My duties will be to work on the SSCN newsletter, Hoops 4 Hope/Soccer 4 Hope blogs, and work on creating a new communications strategy for SSCN in the Western Cape, including improving their website. It’s an exciting opportunity for me to get some good experience and I think I will definitely benefit from my work here.
We had a 4th of July celebration at a place called Van Hunks on Monday night. It was a good time and I got to meet almost everyone here with Connect 123. The theme of the night was to dress up as your favorite American. There were some good costumes, but I wasn’t alone in dressing conservatively. I chose to wear my Neil Armstrong Homage t-shirt and felt that was enough for me.
In my first 5 days I’ve noticed a lot of cultural differences from driving on the other side of the road, the music, television, the food, etc. Its very different being a minority and its something I’ve never really experienced until now. The city has a lot of diversity, even compared to the metropolis of Wooster, Ohio.
I miss my family, friends, and Ohio. Having to follow baseball from Africa is going to be a challenge, but I will manage (Austin Kearns?!?!). They love sports here, especially Soccer, Rugby, Tennis, Golf, Cycling, and Netball… which is like basketball minus the athletic ability required and the exciting moments.
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| Table Mountain as seen from the V&A Waterfront |
Regardless, I’m having a great time in Cape Town! August 31st will sneak up on me before I know it.
Thank you Mom & Dad for making this happen! I love and miss you!
-Ben
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| Nelson & I |
