Laura G loving Cape Town more and more each day she's here

This weekend was amazing! About thirteen of us decided to go to Ultra, which is an electronic dance music festival. It’s not normally the kind of music I listen to, but it sounded fun! We all got dressed up in bright colors and sparkles and danced for 10 hours. It was a really amazing experience and so much fun! Who knew I liked that genre? I definitely look forward to listening to it more. Following the theme of music for the weekend, we went to see The Soil at Kirstenbosch on Sunday. For those who don’t know, The Soil is an a cappella group that sings in both English and Xhosa. We had gone to Kirstenbosch previously during orientation to see Lira, and we were all super excited to go back. We didn’t have time to explore before the concert, but vowed to come back and walk around the grounds more. The concert was incredible! The music was beautiful and everyone was up and dancing the whole time. I loved the atmosphere. Even though we couldn’t understand the music, it was still so great and set a good tone for the week.

Monday at my internship was really fun. I walked around with two women at the shopping center near our building in Khayelitsha. One of the women is my age, and spent the time educating me about the Xhosa culture and some of the traditions they have. It was really interesting! She informed me that, in her culture, every woman has curves and no one is ashamed of their bodies, no matter how big or small they are. We talked about the US and how it’s so much different there. It really made me think about how I see myself.

After that, we went around to the train stations in the area and did an audit of them. That consisted of writing down if they have functioning bathrooms, access for people with disabilities, and accurate schedules, among other things. I got to bond with people more, and one woman told me she wanted to take all 17 of us out in Khayelitsha. She told me how important it is to get a sense of the culture in South Africa, and not just focus on the touristy sites. After that, we got food and I went home! All in all, a very exciting day.

I’m super excited for the homestay! I can’t wait to meet a family and form a bond with them. Everyday I’m here, I’m loving it more and more, and I know that will add to the experience.