The waves crashing on the beach under a beautiful sun set. Palm trees lining the streets. Sun blaring giving a sunburn. Sounds like a great vacation. Those are some of the reasons why I am so excited to be in Cape Town, South Africa for my study abroad experience in the Winter of 2023. While it?s chilly at home we get bright suns here. When coming here I knew it was going to be beautiful since it is a tourist destination, but also understand the political unrest that happened here not long ago that is still impacting them. I just didn?t know how bad it might have been.
When we first got here it was all rainbows and sunshine. Almost looked like what you would see with going to most big cities in the United States. Way more westernized than I thought it was going to be. We went on a cable cart to get the amazing view from Table Mountain and a few of us hiked up Lion?s Head Trails to see that view. We ate at amazing restaurants and walked on the beach.
Then we were able to talk to business operators here! I was super excited to see how the businesses here worked compared to the United States. I got to really learn about how hard it was for those that did graduate to actually find a job unless you were at the top of your class. How for small businesses here it is hard to get loans and you really only have one shot to start it up, that?s all you have.
Seeing it being more westernized at the beginning I thought it was going to be more of that experience; however, it was the Cape that is really westernized and a tourist area and then the lower areas and small businesses that needed help. Their education system is not good with it failing and making most turn to have to send their kids to private schools for them to get a good education.
All flowers and sunshine but the cracks in the soil showing what is truly here. This is an amazing experience. Being able to see what it is really like for businesses here and the economy without just seeing the Instagram post about the sand and water. This is such an enlightening experience that is already helping me develop myself and I am excited to see how the rest of the experiences here will bring me.
