Before School Starts!

The last several days have been so busy! University of Cape Town registration is much different than University of Wisconsin registration. I’ve never appreciated the UW timetable so much. In Cape Town, you have to be preapproved for all of your courses, unless they are a 100 level course. This means that you have to stand in long lines in 85 degree weather and wait for the approval of the head of the department, and then wait in the same long line for approval at registration. Luckily, I was preapproved for courses through Wisconsin so I didn’t have that much waiting to do but it was still overwhelming! Not to mention the enormous campus and my lack of directional skills. Everything is done physically, by actually talking to the professors and head of the department instead of just clicking your mouse. I am taking a couple courses that I am excited about, and a couple that I am not so excited about. Business Law=not exciting at all, Intro to Finance=equally not exciting, Sacred Art and Image=exciting, and Theories of Art=exciting but I’m nervous because it’s a 300 level course the grading system here is very different than in the States (almost impossible to get an A). Other than registration, I’ve gotten to do some very cool things. We took a trip to the townships, which are essentially South Africa’s ghettos. There is a large volunteer organization here called SHAWCO that works with UCT students and children in the townships. My experience was touching, to say the least. We arrived at the township (I forget the name)which was composed of huts, shacks, people, trash, run down apartments, clothes lines, chickens, and abandoned buildings. The community center we stopped at was essentially a one story building situated on a field. From the minute we got off the bus, we were greeted with high fives by smiling children ages 4-12. We had a brief introduction to the township and the program, and were given some time to play with the children. Sydney, my roommate Alex and I made our way over to a shyer group of kids sitting toward the back corner of the field. Within moments, the girls were holding our hands, asking our names, touching our hair, asking to be picked up, showing off their cartwheels and handstands and begging to play Duck Duck Goose. We were only there for about 20 minutes, but it was an incredible experience. These children literally have nothing, they live in single room homes and the highlight of their day is coming to the “school.” Yet the shocking thing was this was the happiest, liveliest bunch of children I have ever met, curious, smiley, appreciative, and in need of attention. One girl just continuously raised her arms to me to have me pick her up. When we left they ran after us and waved us down on the bus asking “Will you be back tomorrow?” I am definitely going to become involved in SHAWCO. My roommates and I also made a train trip out to Muizenberg, which has a great beach. The train is very inexpensive, it costs about $1USD for a round trip ticket to Muizenberg, which is about 40 minutes away. The beach was very beautiful, yet extremely windy. I came home with pounds of sand in my ears, eyes, swimsuit, hair, etc. We walked a little ways along the beach and there was a swimsuit model posing on the beach-cool! The beach is on the Atlantic Ocean so the water was so cold! We didn’t really swim much, just sat around on the beach and walked around the shops. School doesn’t officially start until the 16th, so I’ve got some time to travel and explore. My next adventure is coming up tomorrow, with a trip planned to Maputo, Mozambique. Wish me luck!