Cape Town Bus Tour

Today was my third day in Cape Town, South Africa and my second day of orientation with Volunteer Adventure Corps. I was joined by three other students, Nicole, Mary, and Sara, all of whom arrived on Monday like me. Our orientation consisted of going on a bus tour of Cape Town where we could hop-on and hop-off at various points of interest throughout the city. It was definitely a touristy thing to do, but it gave us the introduction we needed to our new home.

On the top deck of the Sightseeing Red Bus Tour. We are excited to see all that Cape Town has to offer!

A small glimpse of the famous Table Mountain. Some days, the low clouds cover up much of the mountain, including Devil's Peak. Today's no exception, although later in the day, the clouds will end up clearing up. 

Our first stop on the bus tour was the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Nestled against Table Mountain, this 89-acre garden was established in 1913 to preserve and showcase the many unique, indigenous flora of South Africa.

Even with an hour spent walking through the beautiful garden, we only managed to see half of it. We are looking forward to coming back soon to see the rest!

Walking along the Boomslang Tree Canopy Walkway, we were able to appreciate the vastness of Table Mountain and the 1300-acre Kirstenbosch Estate.

With the clouds cleared up, we can finally see the top of Table Mountain!

Our second stop on the Red Bus Tour of Cape Town was Groot Constantia Wine Estate. Founded in 1685, it is the oldest wine estate in South Africa. Past famous customers include Napolean Bonaparte, who ordered 30 bottles a month while in exile in St. Helena until his death.

Of course, we didn't come here just to listen to Groot Constantia's great history. We had to try the amazing wine ourselves! Sara, Mary, and Nicole tried wine & cheese pairings while I decided to go for the wine & chocolate coupling. 

Each wine was paired with a specific chocolate imported from Belgium and infused with distinct flavors right here in Cape Town. There were a total of five pairings (only four shown here because I was too excited for my first-ever wine tasting). While I know next to nothing about what constitutes a "good" wine/wine pairing, my favorite was Groot Sauvignon Blanc with Tropical Guava White Chocolate.

After the delicious wine tasting, we hopped back on the bus, which took us on a drive around the coast of Cape Town. Our timing couldn't have been better - we got to see the sun set over the ocean as we drove along the beautiful coastline.

On the other side of the sunset is Table Mountain again. One of my goals during my time here is to hike up the many trails around this mountain, including to Devil's Peak and Lion's Head.

One of our next trips will definitely be to one of these sandy beaches along the coast! Surfing, anyone?

This picture shows just how much Cape Town has to offer. From the breathtaking views to the abundance of activities, such as hiking, swimming, snorkeling, or surfing, there is no limit on the number of things you could do here. I am so excited and blessed to call this gorgeous city my home for the next 11 weeks. 

I had the time of my life exploring Cape Town with Nicole, Mary, and Sara today, and I can't wait to go on many more adventures with them and everyone else I meet in the months to come.

Stay tuned for more!

Let's Go? Not So Fast.

Today was a stressful day. Not because tomorrow is supposed to be the day I'm leaving for South Africa. Not because it's so hard having to choose what clothes, books, and shoes to take with me for my 10-week internship in Cape Town. Not because I'm apprehensive of being away from home for so long by myself in a foreign country.

Actually, it's quite the opposite.

Today was supposed to be an exciting day. I was supposed to be hastily packing, imagining the kinds of adventures I'll have, friends I'll make, and lessons I'll learn in the next three months. Instead, it was spent waiting for the South African Consulate in New York City to call back with news about the status of my visa application. The better half of my day was spent in emotional turmoil. Part of me was hoping, praying, that the truck that I heard coming down the road was the mail truck delivering the oh-so-important pieces of paper. And yet, the other part of me knew that I wasn't going anywhere tomorrow, confined to the comforts of my home for who knows how many more days.

The worst part about this experience is that I sent in my visa application with plenty of time to spare.
One thing about me is that I really don't like to procrastinate unless I have to write a thesis-driven essay arguing the finer points of Gatsby's green light and how it symbolizes how depressing his life is or whatever. I'm the freak that likes to do next week's homework on Friday because I love the feeling of having all my work done days before it's due. And if it's done before the weekend even starts? Life doesn't get any better than that.

Personally, it stresses me out even being around people who are hurrying to submit their work 10 minutes before the deadline. In my attempt to avoid this kind of stress, I got my required vaccines to enter South Africa all the way back in February. I applied the same reasoning (or at least I tried) when I applied for my visa. The South African Consulate said that the visa application takes 5-10 business days to complete, so naturally, I sent in my application 19 business days before I had to leave. Apparently, that wasn't enough time (is this what people mean when they talk about "Africa time?"). When I sent in my application, I carefully went through the website to check that I had included all the documents listed there. But lo and behold, I found out earlier this week that the website hadn't been updated in a while and that there were 3 additional documents that they needed in order to approve my visa.

In hindsight, I should have submitted my application months before. I suppose I lost track of how quickly second semester of sophomore year was coming to an end. We're all busy college students after all...especially with all the Netflix we have to watch and finding ways to squeeze in all of our other work (just kidding, Mom!). But really - who would have thought a Consulate's website could be such a mess? In any case, it's a lesson learned - or rather, lesson reinforced on why never to procrastinate.

On the upside, my grandparents are visiting right now, so I will be able to spend more time with them. It will also be nice to be able to spend more time with friends back home. Fingers crossed that I won't run into any more problems with my application and that late next week, I will actually be on a plane bound for Cape Town.

Until then, thanks for reading my first real blog post! I promise the next ones will be much more exciting and won't be about me lamenting about my life. :)

Introduction

Hi everyone, and welcome to my travel blog for the summer of 2015!

In case any of you are not familiar with my summer plans, I will be going to Cape Town, South Africa for 3 months from mid-May to mid-August. I will be interning for an economic consulting firm called Urban-Econ. They specialize in urban development, and I will be a research assistant for them. I was able to get this internship with the help of Volunteer Adventure Corps (VAC). They are a Cape Town-based organization dedicated to helping students like me find internships and volunteer opportunities that suit our individual interests. As a statistics and economics major at the University of Michigan, I wanted to gain research experience this summer. This internship with Urban-Econ seems perfect for me, and I can't wait for it to start!

Another great thing about VAC is that they host many exciting activities. I hope to take advantage of their program so that I can learn how to how to scuba dive and how to speak one of the native languages of South Africa, Xhosa, during the time I am there. They also host free Friday "field trips," which I hope I will be able to participate in often! Some of the previous trips they have taken were to see the renowned Table Mountain, to a cheetah sanctuary, or even to one of the many South African vineyards! I will try to make it my goal to post once a week in order to keep you up to date on what I know will be one of the most memorable summers of my life.

I have never written a blog before and writing is not really my specialty, so I will take the time now to apologize for any imperfections in my writing! But I hope that I can write well enough so that I can share the wonderful things I get to experience this summer with all of you.

Thank for taking an interest in my summer plans. I'm so lucky to have all of your support! Feel free to comment on any/all of the posts - I would love to hear from you while I'm away!

Love,
Juyeon