Junior Ali Foreman, along with junior Kate O’Brien and senior Peter Jorgensen, is currently in Cape Town, South Africa, for a seven-week exchange trip. Foreman is blogging for the Black & White about her experience.
It has been ten days since my arrival in Cape Town, South Africa, thousands of miles away from home. It’s 30 degrees (in Celsius) right now, I saw a baboon walking down the street yesterday, and when I asked for ketchup at lunch today, the waitress looked at me like I was crazy. Needless to say, this side of the world is far different from our “Bethesda bubble.”
The most glaring difference between Bethesda and Cape Town right now is the heat. For South Africans, December to January is the height of summer. Everyone here, including me, walks around barefoot and wears shorts to cope with the heat. I’ve been swimming often, so “costumes” (swimsuits) and “slip slops” (flip flops) are now staples of my wardrobe. Last Saturday, I even shared the beach with a group of penguins, not an uncommon occurrence here. While the penguins’ stomachs remained white, I came home with the worst sunburn of my life.
In Cape Town, I am attending Wynberg Girls High School with junior Kate O’Brien, who is also studying in South Africa. Every morning, I put on a loose, button-up white blouse and a brown, plaid skirt. I also have a pair of penny loafers to match the uniform, though I often find myself slipping them off in the school’s heat. Only one of my classes is air-conditioned, and while the school does have a pool (no, I’m not kidding), we can only visit it once a week.
My classes here are wildly different. As Wynberg’s school year begins in January, I am restarting junior year in some respects. I am learning Afrikaans, in addition to my art, history and cooking electives.
I have made new friends among my host sister’s group. We discuss many of the same things I would talk about with my friends at home, though we often have to stop and clarify vocabulary. For most Americans, I have found, Africa is seen as this big, mystifying continent filled with dangerous wildlife, impoverished people and unbearable weather. For most South Africans, they have ideas of American teenagers from “Mean Girls” and “Glee,” and they ask if I eat fast food every night.
My host family has been more than fantastic. I have my own room, which is across the hall from two of my host sisters, 14-year-old Amy and 16-year-old Sarah. Sarah will come to the United States with me in April and study at Whitman. As she put it, she can’t decide if it’s like a seven-week sleepover with a best friend or if it’s like she found a twin. Emma, the youngest of the bunch at 9-years-old, attends a separate primary school. My host mom, Nolene, and host father, Steven, have been incredible as well, and they’ve cared for me well during my sunburn and slight homesickness.
My first blog post has to be cut a bit short as I am preparing to pack for a four-day trip to Kruger National Park, a game reserve on the eastern side of South Africa near Mozambique. Wish me luck as I set off to walk along the rhinos, lions and elephants I’m so looking forward to meet. Toetsiens! (That’s “goodbye” in Afrikaans).
