"In January, I decided to apply for a summer travel abroad program to South Africa. The trip lasts 4 weeks and is centered around global health and the issues that South Africans face today regarding their health. The week before the program started, a few of the other study abroad students and I decided to check out Cape Town because our formal program was centered in Johannesburg and Kruger.
So far, we have seen many aspects of Capetonian life. We visited the township of Langa and learned about their culture and way of life. It was great to experience how Capetonians live, not just the commercial aspect of the city. It was also very cool to see the different community projects that have been put in place and are making a real difference in the lives of those in Langa. For example, a community center has recently been built in the middle of the township which provides an after school program for adolescents, rather than leaving them to be influenced by drugs, gangs, or violence.
Another day in South Africa, we rented a car for $20 (crazy, right?!) and drove through the little towns and stopped at the beaches and cliffs to take in the gorgeous backdrop on the way to the Cape of Good Hope. One thing we found ourselves saying was, "These pictures don't come close to doing it justice." About halfway to the Cape, we stopped to look at the penguins that were hanging out at Boulders Beach. After we got to the Cape, we hiked up to the light house at the Cape of Good Hope, where we could see the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. We ended the day by watching the sun set on Camps Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Today, we ended our stay in Cape Town with a morning stroll through Bo-Kaap, a predominantly Muslim neighborhood with the brightest, most colorful houses. After that, we visited Robben Island, where many political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were jailed during apartheid. The history that is interwoven into every detail of Cape Town is by far what has made my experiences here so rich.
Tomorrow, I head off to Johannesburg to begin my study abroad program and I can't help but to recognize how bittersweet it will be to leave this incredible city."
From South Africa to Sri Lanka, Spain to Ireland, and everything in between, our sisters are definitely creating some fantastic memories this summer!
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