Wondering Around Cape Town

This time it was without a tour guide or a giant bus to keep us safe. Dana, Sarah and I decided because it was a holiday weekend (National Women's Day) we would spend the day in Cape Town! We took the early train from Stellenbosch to Cape Town at 9:00 am. The train ride itself took about an hour to travel the 40 km between Stellenbosch and Cape Town. The train ride itself was boring and uneventful. We paid only R14 for a round trip tickets (at the current exchange rate it was about $2) and we sat in third class. Traditionally third class was reserved for black South Africans, whereas white South Africans took the more expensive first class coaches.











We got into Cape Town about 10:00 am. After stumbling our way through the crowded train station we made it to the street. It was from here that we took a 10 minute walk to the V&A Waterfront. We went and saw the Two Oceans Aquarium, which was fun, interesting and educational. Some of the high-lights include the sharks, the kelp forests and the penguins. It was quite an experience, though we were surprised at the small size of the aquarium. We figured a city boasting about four million people would have a bigger aquarium.















After our two hours at the aquarium, we enjoyed sack lunches on the waterfront. We then hit up a craft fair that featured local made nick-nacks, photos and artwork. Afterward, we explored more of the Victoria Wharf shopping center and the V&A Waterfront.













On the way back to the train station we walked up Long Street where Cape Town's night life comes to spend most nights in pubs and clubs till odd hours at night. We found many colorful buildings of Dutch, French and Victorian architecture styles. We also tried, somewhat successfully, at avoiding some of the local drifters and poor. In South Africa the homeless beg a lot harder for coins or food. They tend to walk with you for a few blocks before they take the hint. It gets slightly annoying and can be quite intimidating.













Our train ride back was a lot more cramped. Third class filled up quite a bit but most got off the train before our stop at Stellenbosch. All in all, I would say it was a pretty successful day in Kaapstad!

Springboks Rugby Match

International sports are awesome! In the States we have a few international teams but none get as much recognition as the NFL, NBA, or NHL. On Saturday I experienced my first Springboks rugby match. The Springboks, who are the national team of South Africa, played against the Wallabies from Australia. We killed the Wallabies with a final score of 29 to 17. The Springboks star player, Morne Steyn, scored almost all of the points for the Springboks. He is apparently the up and coming star on the team and is expected to surpass some of the older players on the team in terms of stats and skill.









Rugby is the national sport for South Africa, even though South Africa is hosting next year’s World Cup in Cape Town at the Green Point Stadium. Rugby is a much more rough form of American football. Although, the two games share very little commonalities, other than there are two teams fighting for control over one ball and forcing their way into either end zone. Rugby players play without padding or helmets. Both teams’ players take a beating on the field, mostly getting tackled and racked with cleats.







No sporting event is really complete without an appropriate pregame complete with plenty of meat and beer! Thanks to some local connections, the gang and I went to Guguletu (a township just outside of Cape Town) and went to wonderful restaurant call Mzoli's! It was an experience to say the least. We ordered meat from a local butcher and then took our bowl/tray of meat to the back of the restaurant. It was there in a smokey room that a Braai master took our rare meat, seasoned it, and cooked it to order. It was probably some of the best meat I had since coming to South Africa. The best part is that we ate with our hands and got pumped for the Spingboks together. Can you imagine anything better than Black Label, steak, braai sausage and friends? The correct answer is NO!











The Springboks play in the Tri-Nation tournament with Australia (Wallabies) and New Zealand (All Blacks). Currently the Springboks are number one in the tournament as we have defeated both New Zealand and Australia. I’m not exactly sure how the ranking works out or when the actual tournament is finalized. All I know it is all very exciting!

Culture Lessons

Stellenbosch is the second oldest city in South Africa. As apart of its legacy, the town has a deeply rooted history as one of the major strongholds of apartheid ideals. During a tour of the some of the oldest parts of town, you could see the in both photos and paintings of the segregation between races. African housing, if they had housing, was simple with few rooms and dirt floors. They often had 10 to 15 individuals living under one roof. Dutch Afrikaners lived in more modest housing with yellow wood flooring and single level homes. The British colonizers had the most elaborate housing with multiple levels and many different rooms.






Food in the Western Cape is fabulous! There is a lot of ostrich, antelope, pork and beef. What is most common here is what is called a braai (pronounced BR-eye). It is about equivalent to an American BBQ. And they grill out about every chance they get down here. Even my friends and I tried our hand, somewhat successfully, at our own braai. We had sausage, burgers and chicken over an open fire. Though, we need some help getting started. Our head student Grant, a native South African, had to help us start the fire. My own cooking down here has improved slightly, if I do say so myself!






Classes are pretty easy and thus far. The homework has been limited to reading and short essays on our thoughts about the readings. I have tests at the end of October and if I don’t get the grade I like on those tests I have a second chance at the tests at the end of November. Afrikaans is currently my most challenging class. The words pretty different than English and pronunciation are difficult. I hope to strengthen my vocabulary over the next few weeks and maybe attempt at posting in Afrikaans. Currently I know only my Ps & Qs, like dankie – THANK YOU & essablief – PLEASE, which are important!

First Week in Stellenbosch

First week in South Africa’s second oldest city has gone fairly smoothly. My cardinal directions are back and I know my way around town. The seven-hour time difference doesn’t seem to affect me as much any more and as of late the weather in Stellenbosch has been sunny and cool. Students have returned to campus for their first day of school and the city has seemingly come alive. I didn’t realize how big the student population was until some one said around 20,000 students. Stellenbosch University is about the same size as the University of Nebraska.

The campus is very nice. It is situated between two main streets in town: Merriman and Victoria. Victoria is lined with huge old oak trees. Many look like they have probably been around since the beginning of Stellenbosch! This place is gorgeous! No one told me how absolutely beautiful South Africa could be. My pictures do not do this place justice.













This past weekend was busy. I explored more of Stellenbosch, were I found a lot of neat stores and shops. Sidewalk cafes line a lot of the streets and it reminds me more of Europe than Africa (although I have never been to Europe). In on shop I found a signed photo of Hitler for sale! I went to my first "Braai" and we had a tour of Cape Town, which was wonderful. Cape Town is a beautiful city. It’s weird to think that people wake up to the sun shining on Table Mountain everyday. I will blog more about the beautiful city later! However, I do need to tell you about an incredible mountain trek up Stellenbosch Mountain.

We started at 9:00 am in the morning and got to the summit at 1:00 pm. We started out hiking up the mountain with a group of seven of us, Sarah, Steven (our friend from Holland), Jake and Andy (my two fun and crazy roommates), Max, Carly (one of five Nebraskans here in Stellenbosch) and I. What we thought would be a leisurely hike up a gentle sloping rock face soon turned into a death march through chard brush. After we got above the brush line the ridge seemed to raise only a few hundred feet to a weather/ communications tower. We took a few pictures of the valley and the surrounding area. We could see for miles (or kilometers) to Table Mountain and False Bay. We then trekked another couple hundred feet to a second ridge.

Here we were half way up the mountain, the small grass and brush stopped and the terrain turned into a moon-like landscape with giant boulders and steep ledges. Sarah and Steven decided to stay behind on the second ridge while Jake, Andy, Carly and I continued to the peak. An hour and a half later we reached the Peak of Stellenbosch Mountain. The view was INCREDIBLE!!! You could see for hundreds of miles inland and out over the ocean. You could see Cape Point and the entire Stellenbosch Wine lands valley.







The hike down was dangerous and rocky. We ended up back in Stellenbosch at about 4 pm. I have never been more exhausted in my life!

Stellenbosch

Well, I have successfully made it to the other side of the planet with no hassles! The flights were extremely long and the food was OK, but over all they were uneventful. I didn't loose my luggage! Always a plus, and when I arrived I got my first handful of South African Rands. The money here is exquisite, appearing with some of the big five wild animals on the African Savannah.

I got into Stellenbosch at about 11:00 pm South African Standard Time (SAST) local time, that is about 4:00 pm CST. The past few days have been spent getting used to our surroundings. I have made a few friends, three of which are from Lincoln and we have another one coming in this weekend from Omaha. Sometimes this world seems too small! Anyways, I know you guys are really only here for pictures. So without further ado: I give you Stellenbosch!















More to come! Stay tuned! :)

I leave for South Africa tomorrow!

This is it! I am leaving for South Africa tomorrow at 1:20 pm out of Kansas City International. I am slightly nervous about traveling and I am dreading my 2 connecting flights in Detroit and Amsterdam. Hopefully, my lay overs will go smoothly! Wish me luck and you will definitely hear from me once I arrive and get settled in Stellenbosch. Here is what my life looks like crammed into two suit cases and a carry on.



Forget me not Lincoln!