final lessons - the 'you ought to know' session

First photo taken in Cape Town. I've drank at least one cup of tea everyday I've been here and I've no regrets.

I don't think there's anything as great as looking back on where you've been and where you are now, but I'll be sure to post my reflective thoughts when I say goodbye to South Africa at the end of this week. For now, I'd like to take a moment for some 'final lessons' which I wish someone told me coming to Cape Town. Most of these, however, are things people actually did tell me, but I highly underestimated its truth! I'll make this post a bit more unique than the other weekly 'lessons' by organizing it as countdown and ranked by vitality. Here we go, what I wish they told me coming to South Africa:

7. "Cape Town is cold." And just because you're from Colorado you think you know cold. There is also no central heating, so oftentimes the outside is much more warmer than the inside temperature. Thus, make sure to bring a jacket and more than three pairs of socks. Might as well bring a robe while you're at it.

6. "The University of Cape Town is difficult." I suppose many student abroad students get by with ease by taking all first-year courses but if you aim to satisfy relevant requirements with coursework back home UCT is real. When you hear that it is the number one university in all of Africa do not think that the standard is automatically lower. These students are highly intellectual, motivated, and work their tails off for education.

5. "Don't be so smiley." I often enjoy people too much and sometimes I can't help but show it. Clearly kindness should never leave you, but I've quickly learned that you must be able to recognize the environment around you and respond to it appropriately (if anything, various things you will see cannot merit a smile).

4. "It goes by too fast, before you know it it's all over." I can probably say the same thing about college seeing as I am more than halfway finished, but this experience has flown by. I have looked back at some of the larger events/get-togethers I had to miss out on while here but I still remember not having time to do much more else.

3. "Life continues without you back home." Knew it was true but it didn't/doesn't really sink in sometimes--though relationships really ought to be developed and grown back home. It's almost a perspective that can be argued on both sides; many of us are living out incredible adventures abroad so others assume we are busy. In the same way, you wonder if your communities back home have given you much thought this past school year. It's always a two-way stream and I have now experienced both sides, so it's interesting to see how true it is. I also hear that upon return most people really don't care to listen to you rave about abroad experiences, so I'll definitely be cognizant about that one.

2. "You will encounter racism." I knew this was inevitable and that I could handle it, and I still can. South Africa is very much still in a dynamic and transformative period in their history, so much of society and its troubles are still rooted in 'color.' The worst part is when you realize you are no better; we racially profile people on the streets to a degree that it almost becomes 'normal.' It is a shame but nonetheless real.

1. "Be careful because you will fall in love with this place." Heard this several times before and it's not that I did not believe it, but I didn't have any context to grasp how true it would become for me. And I'll leave it at that.

Enjoy the start to your week my friends, a few more posts will be coming out this week before I say cheers to this beautiful country.