Hey everybody! This is a somewhat lengthy post so please bear with me!! I can’t believe that it’s been two weeks since I arrived in South Africa. I can now confidently say that I’m getting adjusted to life in Stellenbosch! Every day I find new reasons to love the country and I am just so happy that I’m here. I’ve been trying to get my photo editor to work but for some reason it won’t… so that’s why there’s been such a delay in my posts. Here’s a little overview of my past two weeks…
We had a three day orientation and then we had a couple of days to ourselves before we went into Cape Town for a day trip. We spent the morning at the Waterfront and the rest of the day at Camps Bay Beach, which is so beautiful. The mountains in the background around the beach are called the Twelve Apostles.
A couple days later, some friends and I hiked up part of one of the nearby mountains. We only made it about half way but the view was spectacular. There are a lot of false peaks apparently but once the weather cools down a little bit I’m going to climb the whole thing!
Then we took a 3-day trip into Cape Town so we could explore more of the city on our time. On average it takes about an hour to get into Cape Town but it also depends on the method of transportation. Uber and shuttles are pretty cheap if you go with a lot of people because you can easily split the price and it comes down to maybe 5 or 6 USD per person. There’s also a train that runs between Cape Town and Stellenbosch and only costs a dollar but you have to be careful with the times that you take it.
Our trip consisted of a trip to the aquarium and the waterfront, kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean (while seeing seals and dolphins and even a whale), walking around the city, seeing the colorful houses of Bo-Kaap, going to the beach, visiting the indigenous penguins at Boulders Beach, spending a night out on Long Street and eating and drinking at numerous delicious restaurants (post about food to come soon).
Every year the university holds an event called Vensters (pronounced “Fensters”) which is where all of the first year students perform skits and dance for the town. The first years’ entire first week at the university is dedicated to learning their routine. Huge stages are set up all over the campus and anyone from the public can come and walk around while watching them. It’s really entertaining and turns into a big party afterwards.
The next day my friends and I decided to throw a little braai (pronounced “bry”) which is a bbq. It’s a really big thing here and lots of fun with good food. It took us a long time to prepare the food, get the fire going and cook it all but it was so much fun that I don’t think anyone noticed.
This past Sunday I had the opportunity to go see Mumford and Sons in Cape Town. It was a very last minute plan but absolutely worth it. They are awesome live and would definitely recommend seeing them if you have the chance. It was the perfect ending to my two week “vacation” before classes started.
So that has basically been my past two weeks! It really feels like I have been here much longer than that. Now classes are about to start, which I’m both super excited for and dreading. Although it means less time to travel and do things outside of Stellie, I’m going to be taking some really cool classes that will teach me about the culture here and help make me a better individual while also pursuing the subjects that interest me most. I’m also planning on joining some cool societies and volunteering to get more involved with the community.
This was actually suppose to get posted on Monday but I wasn’t able to get it up- so another post is soon to follow! I hope you all are surviving the snow back home.
xo
Kim
Doing the kImpossible 
I love the pics! If you see elephants, I’m going to flip my lid!
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Hopefully there will be some soon!! 🙂 Thanks so much for keeping up with my posts! Sending my love to Colorado
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What?!?! You’re not homesick and crying every night! Jk! Daddy and I are so proud of you. We hope you’re taking every opportunity to explore and experience as much as you can. It sounds like you’re off to a great start. Good luck with classes. The whole family back in MD misses you!!!! Love you, Mom.
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Pictures of mountains, wildlife, food, the sea – makes me envious! I love your attitude and willingness for total immersion. Keep it up!
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