Cape Town

Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

Gabe, Angela and I had a FANTASTIC time in Cape Town this past weekend. The best part about the entire trip was the weather. We could not have asked for better weather, especially since it is winter is South Africa right now. We had sunny skies, warm temperatures, and low winds the entire time. It was truly a blessing to be able to experience the beauty of Cape Town with such perfect weather.

On Friday, we arrived at the Cape Town International Airport and made our way to our accommodation, Cape Town Backpackers. It was 2 houses connected that they converted into a hostel type setting. We had a room with 6 beds. The first two nights we had 2 roommates. A boy from South Korea and boy from Joburg. They were both really fun and we got along great. The guy from South Korea even played cards with us on Saturday night. On Sunday night we were the only ones in the room, so we went and hung out with some others staying in different rooms in a common area. It was a great place to meet people traveling from all over the world. 

On Saturday, we did a hop-on/hop-off bus tour around the city. Our first stop was Table Mountain. We took the cable car to the top and had a 360 degree, breathtaking view of the city and coastline. It was a perfectly clear day, so we could see for miles. I found it very peaceful on top of Table Mountain and used that atmosphere to do some reflecting about my trip. Sitting atop a large boulder protruding from the edge of the mountain, I overlooked the beautiful coastline and played back different experiences I’ve had in South Africa over the past five months. I also realized the vast amount of new things I have learned here. Every day I had a taste of something new from cultural learning like in my Afrikaans class to leisurely adventures like learning to surf. This trip as a whole has grown, challenged, and expanded my horizon in a multitude of ways. I am so thankful for the opportunity to make this journey and spend an extended time in a forging country, especially one as rich in culture and beauty as South Africa.

After Table Mountain, we continued on the bus tour as it wrapped around the outskirts of Cape Town along the beautiful beaches and coastline. We stopped for lunch at a seafood place with a beautiful view overlooking the ocean. I had my favorite seafood here, Calamari, which is a type of squid. I tried Calamari the first week I was here and have been hooked ever since. The best part about Calamari is that is served practically everywhere for a very reasonable price. I am going to miss it, but I am excited to start eating fish I can actually catch myself on the lakes back home.

The next stop on our bus tour was the Cape Town Aquarium. I had heard lots of good things about it, so we made it a point to stop there. All I can say in WOW! The Cape Town Aquarium is fantastic in every way. There was so many different types of sea creatures I had never heard of, let alone seen. My favorite was the Lion Fish with the penguins, of course, coming in second. The aquarium offered plenty to do for little kids like touching pools and different hands-on experiments. My favorite tank was called the predator tank. That’s where all the big fish and sharks were. It was a cylindrical tank that you could walk all the way around on two different levels, allowing for an up close and personal view of any animal of interest in the tank. The aquarium was defiantly a highlight and a must see in Cape Town.

We finished out the bus tour on the mini-peninsula route which took us to the wine country and past the botanical gardens. As the bus headed back into the city, the sun was just setting. We had a beautiful view of it as we rode along the coast on the top, open-air deck on the bus watching the sun set into the ocean. We couldn’t have asked for a better ending to our fantastic day. That evening we went to a local tavern and had a hearty dinner. It turned out there was a big rugby game that night, so there were tables of sports fans screaming every so often when their team made a big play. It made for a great atmosphere and they were no different than sports fans back in the US.

Sunday was devoted to our big excursion of the trip, shark cage diving. We were picked up by a van and taken 2 hours out of Cape Town to where we would be doing the dive. In our van, there were 4 other American students from the University of Kentucky that were doing a summer study abroad program though their university. We had a good time talking to them and they wanted to hear all about our experience in South Africa being that they had just arrived the week prior.

When we arrived, we were fitted a wet suit and water shoes and given a waterproof bag for our dry clothes and cameras to take on the boat. We then were served a nice hot breakfast and shown documentaries about sharks from the Discovery Channel. We were then briefed on the safety rules and told specifically not to put any body part outside of the cage. If anyone did put a body part outside of the cage, the boat would have to come back to shore, or the company would lose their permit. After the briefing, with our stomachs full, we boarded our vessel and headed out to sea.

The ride out wasn’t to choppy being it was a calm day. However, once the boat stopped, the waves were quite large and had the boat rocking like crazy. I, among others, became sea sick, but I was able to work it off and still have the full experience. The first step was to lure the sharks near the boat. They did this by throwing chum in the water, with the help of us sea sick folk already helping the chumming process…gross I know, and by throwing fish heads out attracting the attention of the shark. Once the sharks were nearby, the first group got into the cage. The best place to view the sharks was either from below the water or from the top deck of the ship because the glare from the water prevented view from boat level.

Being in the cage was a lot different experience than watching from the boat. Before jumping in, we were given goggles and a weight belt. Once in the cage, there was an inner handrail that we had to hold on to and use to submerge and surface within the cage. Whenever the spotter saw a shark coming after the fish head floating in front of the cage, he would yell “Dive!” Being under the water and watching a shark coming full speed within a few meters of you is, as you can imagine, exhilarating and full of adrenaline. One shark even skipped the bait and went head first at the cage, trying to fit its mouth between the bars. There was no way the shark could get through the cage, but just having it a foot away from you slammed up against the cage was absolutely terrifying, but in a good way. We had a great time and got lots of good pictures and videos from both Gabe’s Go-Pro and the on-board videographer and photographer. You can see one of the videos in my previous post of just how awesome the whole experience was.

By Sunday evening, we were all spent. During the 2 hour drive back to Cape Town, every one of us in the van were fast asleep. Back in the city, we went to a delicious burger restaurant near Long Street and had some mouthwatering gourmet burgers. Monday morning we had some time to run to the city market quick before our flight. The Cape Town market is much more extensive that Port Elizabeth’s in addition to the dozens of stand-alone souvenir shops. We then had breakfast at a small café that we had researched as being one of the top 10 places to have breakfast in Cape Town. The reviews weren’t kidding. I ordered the best French toast I had ever had. What made it the best was the bread had a nice maple taste to it and was covered in large pieces of bacon, making each bite full of flavor. Definitely a new way to prepare French toast. After breakfast we checked out and took our flight back to PE to spend 2 more days in South Africa before flying back to the US.

I am currently sitting in the Johannesburg airport finishing up this blog post. I still have 20+ hours of flying until I am back in Minnesota. I enjoy flying, so I am looking forward to the remainder of my journey back. What is going to be the kicker is the 7 hour time change I am going to have to adjust too. Also misquotes…I haven’t seen a mosquito then entire time I have been here, so getting acclimated to bug spray and bug bites when going outside with be just fantastic…not. Oh well, I guess every place has the pros and cons. At least we get a break from the bugs during winter in Minnesota.

This has truly been a trip of a lifetime. It has been a bitter sweet goodbye as I leave my new friends here, but am soon going to be reunited with my friends and family back home. I am excited to begin the next chapter of my life and can contently close this last chapter with an unforgettable experience studying abroad in the beautiful county of South Africa. Cheers everyone!

Waterfront

View from Table Mountain

Shark Cage Diving

Back in Port Elizabeth

Shark Cage Diving

This is the footage from the videographer during shark cage diving.

Last Week

Thursday, June 18th, 2015

Hi everyone,

I am now in my final week here in South Africa. It seems as though my time here flew by fast, but going through my blog posts, it is evident that I did keep busy and make the most of this experience. I had two final exams today. They went very well and all my studying this past week has paid off. Tomorrow, Gabe, Angela and I fly to Cape Town. I am excited to have 4 stress-free days of leisure as my time here comes to a close. Cape Town was definitely a highlight of my trip and I am pumped to have the opportunity to go back again.

When I started this blog, I created it for documenting my travels and sharing them with my friends and family back home. There is no doubt that I accomplished that and am so glad that I spent time and energy to write about my experiences each week. However, there have been some pleasant surprises with what has become of my blog.

This blog is currently viewed around the world by people I have never met. There have been over 2,300 hits in the 141 days I’ve been here so far. I get hits on this blog from over 5 countries a day and the list is growing. This is largely because I’ve shared my blog with other international and local students and they have shared it with their family and friends back home, who follow it regularly. My co-workers at my internship back home are also avid followers and drop me a line once and a while telling me how much they enjoy my blog. Of course my close family and friends keep up with it too, but they have been sharing it with many of their friends as well. These are people who I have never met, but enjoy reading my blog, which is awesome! At St. Cloud State, my university back home, my blog is being shared with those who are going to be studying in South Africa next semester. Even a past teacher of mine shared it with her class during her lesson on blogging for a class writing project.

I do however need to give a special shout-out to my girlfriend, Emily, for always being there to annotate my blog posts and help me with some formatting, especially in the beginning. It is always nice to have a second set of eyes whenever you are publishing anything. My blog wouldn't be what it is without her.

This blog has evolved into something far greater than I ever imagined. I am pleased that it has been able to be informative and…of course…entertaining (I got a lot of feedback about that time I did the poop spitting contest, ha) to so many people across the world. This blog has also created a unique experience for myself because it caused me to think critically and recall specifics about my experience each time I post. There is no doubt that by keeping this blog I have grown in numerous ways that I otherwise would have not on this trip.

I wish all my readers the best and sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read about my travels and experiences.

Stay tuned,

Blake

Took Lily to "Spy" for her birthday

Baked Lily Birthday Cookies

My last day on campus

Canyoning

Here is my footage from canyoning. Enjoy!

Rowing Team

Wednesday, June 10th, 2015

2:00pm South African Standard Time

Weather 66° F Sunny and low winds for a change

Another great couple weeks in South Africa. Over the past month, I’ve met a lot of students in my classes that are from South Africa and I’ve had the opportunity to get together with them outside of class. I met many of them from a group project I had in my Meteorology and Climatology class which required us to meet outside of the classroom. I have been having a fantastic time getting to know them and finding out even more about the South African culture.

Two of my friends, Grace and Andreas, are on the NMMU Rowing Team and invited me to come watch them practice. So, last weekend I met up with them at 6am on a Saturday to come to a practice on a river just outside of town. I knew next to nothing about rowing before the practice, so it was a day of learning all about the sport of rowing.

Upon arriving, I joined the team for their warm up run around the neighborhood near the river. It was a beautiful morning and we got to watch the fantastic sunrise as they prepared the boats. To get the boats in the water, each person grabbed a side and followed the strict commands of the boat captain, called the Cox, as he directed in a military like style when to pick up, move, flip, and set the boat down once into the river. I was very impressed with the discipline of the team and how they all had to work together both in and out of the water.

I had the luxury of riding around in a small motor boat with the rowing coach, who also happens to be named Blake. Blake was very happy to have me there to watch and explained everything that was going on throughout the practice. During the morning session, they ran one 8-person boat and a 4-person boat. Each boat captain (Cox) sat in the front or back and did not have a paddle, but was to steer the boat and ensure everyone was rowing together. Since this was a practice session, the Cox was also instructing different skills to his or her boat members with the help of the coach.

After the morning session, the team had a breakfast braai. It consisted of a gas grill in which they cooked 30 eggs and 4 packs of bacon and used hamburger buns to make sandwiches. It was delicious and totally how South Africans cook around here. During the break Grace and Andreas both practiced rowing in a single boat called a Skull. A skull is very hard to balance because of its short length, whereas an 8 person boat is the most balanced. Andreas tried the skull first and took it slow and never tipped it once. Grace didn’t have such luck; she tipped her Skull after only a few moments and Andreas had to swim out in the river to help her.

During the afternoon session, the team continued to run drills and work on different aspects of rowing strokes. The river we were on is the only river in Port Elizabeth and is surrounded by large rolling hillside. It was a great escape from the city as we buzzed up and down the river in our boat following the rowers. It was fascinating getting to know Blake and hearing about his worldly travels. He has been all over Europe and even to the US, so it was fun to share our love of travel with each other.  He is now currently on a 2 week business trip to China.

Blake said that I would be a Cox if I were to join a rowing team, meaning I would be responsible for steering the boat, giving orders on when to start and stop, and coaching on proper technique. He said my slim build makes me best suited for a Cox because I wouldn't add much weight to the boat that the muscular rowers are already adding. I was fascinated learning all about rowing and am excited to look into joining the Rowing Club at St. Cloud State when I return this fall.

In other news, I recently got hired as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for a company called Event Medics which provides medical staffing for various special events nationwide. I will be providing medical care at events in and around the Twin Cities and am excited to being working as an EMT since earning my certification last summer. I have also been hired for the second summer in a row as an intern in the Minnesota 4^th District Court IT Department. There I will be gaining experience in my field of study, Information Technology Security, which is an excellent opportunity that I am grateful to have while completing my undergraduate degree. I have a busy and short summer ahead of me when I return on June 25^th, but I am looking forward to every minute of it. For now, I am just living each day to its fullest here in South Africa as my adventure of a lifetime begins to wind down.

McDonald's now delivers here...and the fee is only 88 cents USD per order. So yes, our hotel has now become a McDonald's.

Paintball!

Friday, May 29th, 2015

3:00pm South African Standard Time

Weather 75° F Partly Cloudy

My final month in South Africa has begun. I have finished all of my classes and have a week still before my first exam. I've been keeping busy with a good balance between work and play over the past two weeks, and now just have to study hard as my exams approach this month.

Two weekends ago, I went paintballing with 22 other international students at a field just outside of town. Most of us had never played paintball before, so it was fun to all learn together. We started with a game of capture the flag and then rounds of Ironman, in which you play until your gun is empty. We played on many fields including a large and extensive woods field that was quite the challenge because of the many hiding places and tress for cover. Everyone had a blast and it was a great way to get together with many of the other international students staying across PE.  We ended up going through 6,000 rounds of paint, which left for some nice welts and orange hair on all of us. We had a braai in the evening and none of us could stop talking about the game as our “war stories” seemed to go on all night about who shot who and how much fun we had.

Speaking of group outings, I went to a rooftop party in Central Port Elizabeth the other weekend. It was set up in the same way as the boat cruise I went on in March, meaning there was a good mix of international students and local students to mingle with. The party was on the roof of a film studio and had a nice view of the harbor and downtown PE. We would have caught a nice view of the sunset, but it was very cloudy and eventually started to rain. We didn’t let that stop us as we just took the party inside and finished out the night socializing and dancing on an empty set inside the film studio.

Aside from the occasional rain shower, the weather has been very nice this past month as autumn is now upon us in South Africa. There was initially a few weeks of very cold weather (around 50° F, 10° C) in April, but since then it has been staying in the high 60’s during the day with little rain. It has also been beautiful weather for surfing. We found a store where we can rent surf boards for $3 an hour and have been going out every once and a while. I find it much cheaper and more fun than golf, so I think I will wait to continue my golfing until I return home. I also taught a friend of mine how to surf this past week and she was able to get up during her first time out. I’ve only had 4 surfing lessons here, but I found it pretty easy to teach the basics and had a blast teaching while my other friends surfed around me.

Throughout the next 3 weeks, I have 4 exams before taking my final trip in South Africa. I will be traveling to Cape Town with my friends Gabe and Angela, who are also both freshman from St. Cloud State. We are planning on going Shark Cage diving and just seeing the sights while enjoying our last few days in South Africa before returning to the states. From my wonderful trip to Cape Town in March, I agree it is the gem of the country and am excited experience even more of its rich culture and stunning beauty. 

Local Seafood Restaurant 

Group sushi dinner 

Paintball Group

Someone went to the Color Run

Monkeys chilling on campus

G caught a fish this morning

 Port Elizabeth Sunset

Birthdays

Wednesday, May 13th, 2015

1:00pm South African Standard Time

Weather 75° F Sunny

I guess May turned out to be the birthday month in our study abroad group. Angela’s birthday was on the 3^rd, Erin’s on the 5^th and mine was on the 8^th. It was quite the week with all the celebrations. For my 20^th we just went out for dinner as a group to a local seafood restaurant and then hung out at the hotel for the evening. I was lucky because mine was on a Friday, so we didn’t have to worry about class the next day. The group of people I am here with is like one big family to each other. Although we don’t always hang out or go everywhere as a big group, we get along and are there for each other when we need to be. Oh yeah, and my crazy-awesome girlfriend Emily got people to make me feel loved by hugging me all day and meow “happy birthday” to me because she loves me soooooo so so much. I love you too babe!!!

These last few weeks have been a bit tough for many of us as the arc of our trip is on the decline. School is getting out at home and we still have 3 weeks of class and a month of finals to go before we can be done, so there is a longing for the summer plans my friends are already making that I will miss. There is no doubt that I am still having an amazing time here, but I know I will be more than ready to come home and be with my family and friends again.

To be perfectly honest, these past few weeks haven’t been very exciting. School is coming to a close and that means lots of studying, final projects, and essays as my courses wrap up. Two of my courses have already ended and now I have to wait over a month to take the final exams; this is much different from St. Cloud’s final exams which all occur the week after our last class. From talking with other international students, we’ve figured out the main difference between USA universities and those here. The classes here are way easier, but the tests are exceedingly difficult. When grades transfer back, a 75% on an exam is an A here, whereas in the US a 75% is a C. That just goes to show how much more difficult the exams are here and the caliber of studying that we must put in to prepare for each one compared to home.

Now, I’m not saying that the classes back home are any easier; the vast majority of classes are continuous assessment, meaning there are weekly assignments and quizzes to access our knowledge of that week’s or unit’s material. At the end of the class there is often a comprehensive final exam on the entire content of the course, but its grade weight isn’t as much because the other assignments balance it out. Here, most of the classes are not continuous assessment. Instead they typically have 2 tests during the class and if you achieve 40% or more on them you are eligible to take the final—in which you must get 50% to pass the class. There are no other assignments or assessments that factor into your grade, making for a very unbalanced approach to grading. Both methods require that you learn the same amount of content, but the grading style in the US is 1) what I’m used to and 2) a much more balanced system to grading our understanding of a course’s content.

Sorry for the boring school talk, but that is really all I’ve been up to. Every day is still a new adventure and the people I meet are fantastic and very interesting. They really look up to America here and I can’t count the number of times a local resident has asked for me to take them back with me to the US. Their comments and this entire experience have helped me gain a deeper appreciation for having the privilege to live where I do and not face issues to the same extent as those here. I know that my experiences, knowledge and memories made here will forever be a part of my life; they have provided me with a much bigger view of how I see the world—from its struggles to its beauty. I recently discovered the quotation below, which sums up what it really means to travel. It was a realization I had before coming here of what it really means to have an experience versus a “trip”.

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might as well stay at home.”

-James Michener

Kenna and Blake

Rainbow on walk to campus

Chillin at the hotel

Tamarah, Erin and Kenna with their comfy pants

I made cookies...

...for Erin's birthday...she posted this

What happened when I left my phone with Erin and Tamarah :)