I’ve reached the final stretch of my study abroad experience. One month to go! The point has been reached where people have formed their set friend groups and every weekend means a new adventure. This weekend was two of my friend’s birthdays and we had planned on going to Stellenbosch from Friday to Saturday. I finally had the chance to compare a different part of South Africa with Cape Town.
From my four months of being in Cape Town I have found that no two areas of it are the same. You can travel from the waterfront, which is considered to be extremely touristy and ritzy area, to the most down to earth location, such as Mzoli’s, which was described in my last blog.
Stellenbosch is a completely different shift from this. There are areas where you can wine and dine and the rest is like a giant college town where you can get fro yo go dancing. It was beautiful. It became clear to me that Cape Town would be like the New York of South Africa and Stellenbosch would be like, say Colorado.
However, it was great to experience a change of scenery with friends. We met up with a fellow Georgetowner who is studying abroad but in Stellenbosch. He showed us the ropes and we met some interesting people, all of who had never been to the states but who have always dreamed of going there. It is always interesting to hear people talk about the US as some fantasyland that doesn’t seem real. One person’s home can be another’s dreamland, which was the way I viewed South Africa when my plane landed. Now this dreamland feels like a second home.
