Pre-Departure

Welkom to my blog! I’m a junior at the University of Vermont, majoring in Anthropology and minoring in African Studies and Geography.

The fourteen hour flight to South Africa is the first chance I’ve had to take the time to reflect and compose my first blog post since I’ve been busy preparing for this semester.

I have been wanting to come to South Africa for a long time and couldn’t think of a better place to study abroad than Cape Town. I’ve been anticipating today for so long that it still hasn’t hit me that I’ll be spending the next six months living in South Africa.

Between having my wisdom teeth out, complicated visa applications, last minute packing, vaccinations and Vermont’s sub-zero temperatures, I am ready to finally arrive in Cape Town and begin settling in.

What I am most anxious about is how long it will take to feel comfortable and confident in Cape Town. I have had some experience traveling, but it is always during the first week or two away from home when you feel really out of place and actually question what you are actually doing in a foreign country with nobody you know. I already have some confidence knowing that everyone else on the program will be going through the same thing and that IES will be there with us along the way, but I am also excited to settle in and gain some independence living in South Africa.

I am looking forward to many things this semester. Besides the beaches and the IES trips to the Garden Route and Kruger, I am hoping to travel to some neighboring countries such as Namibia, Mozambique, and Swaziland. I am excited to learn (attempt) Xhosa at UCT and I’m also looking forward to cage-diving with the infamous great whites and going to some of the festivals that friends have recommended.