Elisabeth's Blog

Done(-ish)!!

Hey everyone!!

So, I hope all is going well back at DU. I've been talking to some friends back there, and it sounds like mid-terms came and went and that the weather has been pretty up and down? Sounds pretty standard! Other than that, I wish everyone the best with finals week coming up, trust me the exam process there is nothing compared to UCT--talk about intimidating! I think it's simply because there are so many people, but I took my first two "official" exams this week, and it is such an intense process! It's in a gym, there are rows and rows and rows of desks set up, there are these super official testing booklets and attendance slips on each desk, you have to sign your test books and slips and show them your id, it was just a whole different animal than anything I've done at DU. Weird to adjust to, but I just have one more now and it's not for a couple weeks, and at least now I'll know what I'm in for!

Anyway, life in Cape Town has been surprisingly eventful. Now let me think of why I said that? Actually, I've pretty much just been preparing for exams since my last post, and just taking breaks to spend time with friends, go to the beach, and eat good food! So actually, it's been pretty much business as usual. BUT, I did make an impulse decision to go on a safari in Kruger Nat'l Park next week, so keep an eye out for some pictures from that! And I did have a pretty interesting day at the beach last week. I hadn't really planned to go, but some friends and I ended up there after a church bazaar, and I ventured out onto the rocks fully clothed, where I was aggressively overtaken by a wave that was definitely taller and stronger than me haha. It was pretty funny, I was drenched the rest of the day! Haha, here are some pics from that fateful day!!

before the wave! I shoulda known from the wet rocks not to go out so far! lesson learned...

drenched!!! look how far up the wave came!! haha i'm so glad they caught this moment...

Finally, some dry clothes haha.

Some other pics:

Earlier that day, candied apples at the church bazaar. Soooo messy (and good)!

the sea (that overtook me just minutes later) in Muizenberg, just minutes from Cape Point... isn't it beautiful??

Other than that eventful day (crazy, yeah?), it's pretty much just been classes and exams and work with Africa Jam! I'm really looking forward to summer, and being able to spend more than just my one day a week out in Khayelitsha with the kids. Also more time for reading (reading books I actually choose, instead of a professor haha), getting to know the city better, adventuring, and just really growing the friendships I've started out here (even though I have to say goodbye to so many people in just a couple weeks!). It's gonna be an awesome summer, I can already feel it! Write again soon!

Done Already?

So today was my last day of class for the semester! How crazy is that? Turned in one last paper this morning and now I don't have anything until my exams in November! So crazy. Now I'm sitting here and I don't really know what to do with my time. Anyway, in big news... I filled out my summer housing contract today and I'm gonna be moving into town from November 'til January! I'm so excited, I'll be living with two of my friends from Africa Jam and I'll be closer to the office and able to do a lot more for fun, so it works out really nicely. 

Anyway, it's been a hectic few weeks, bru (I'm so South African haha...) but yeah, time has really been flying by! We had our interstudy farewell dinner this last weekend, it was soooo nice but so crazy to think that the semester has already come to an end and all these people are going home in less than a month! I will miss them so much. I'll post some pics from that dinner, we all cleaned up so nicely! Oh yeah!! In other big news... we had our dance recital on Friday!!! It was so awesome man, I've never had that much fun. The studio was packed, I don't think our teacher was expecting anywhere near that many people in attendance. It was insane. I'll put some pictures up from that too! Other than that, I had a really awesome day on Saturday at the beach with the kids from Africa Jam, and our guys won a soccer tournament that was going on there! Awesome, right? What else...

I feel like everything out here is just moving so fast! It definitely feels like home now, and the thought of ever not being in Cape Town is weird to me. I've gotten used to taking the crazy minibus taxis all over town, to the incredible weather, to the laid-back approach people here take to things (including timeliness haha), and just a lot of things about this city that I've really adjusted to! It's so nice to be at home here. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, how every year of my life has been the best year yet! I don't believe that's going to change as long as I live. I'm so pumped for next year, being back at DU and working on my thesis and getting ready for the real world (eek!) and graduation, etc., then from there I'm sure it's just going to get better too! How blessed am I to be where I am? It's just so awesome. So yeah, lately I've just been doing my best to enjoy my time here, not stress too much about classes etc., get to know the people I'm here with (because so many of them are leaving so soon!) and just try to make everything slow down a little bit! But it's not working! Aah well, anyway here are some pictures!

gettin ready to DANCE!

dance dance dance!

Africa Jam and some beachside soccer!

Andiswa and Busi, two of my beauuutiful Africa Jam girls!

DU representin' before our farewell dinner!

Dinner... the restaurant (Marimba) was so nice!! Well done, interstudy, well done.

Anyway, that's about it for now, I hope everyone is enjoying their fall (I wanna see some changing leaves! This just ain't right!) and that classes are going well. Finals are inchin' up on ya DU, get ready! Feel free to leave a comment, if not I'll talk to you all when I write again!

My First October Spring!

Yo People,

How's everything going? Weather's changing, everything's moving and changing, and life is gooood, right? I heard it snowed in Colorado last week? So crazy! It's finally warming up into summer out here, it's going to be so weird to be able to go to the beach on Christmas. People around campus are starting to bring out the shorts and sundresses, it's such a weird October for me. I had to change the background on my laptop to snowy Colorado mountains just to remind myself what's going on on the other side of the world ;)

Everything is awesome out here! I'm soarin' through the last week of class, then I have 3 exams in November and I'm home FREE! Summer vacation, baby. No huge summer plans, I may go on a safari in Kruger Nat'l Park, I'll probably be heading out to Durban for Christmas, and then I have camp with the Africa Jam kids and my family is going to visit! Now that I write all that, I have a pretty busy summer ahead of me. God is so good, I hadn't planned for it to fill up that quickly! 

The last few weeks have been such an awesome opportunity to get to know the people I'm here with so much better, and it makes me really sad that they're all taking off in a month! Our program went on a hike of Table Mountain this weekend, it was a day-long adventure. I wasn't nearly as sore the next day as I thought I'd be, and the views from the top were absolutely breathtaking. That mountain did not get the best of me, I'll have you guys know. Being here has made me realize how much more outdoorsy stuff I want to do once I'm back in Denver. I don't really take advantage of those mountains as much as I do in Colorado Springs and Cape Town, and I'm really realizing how much I love it! 

Other than that hike, it's been pretty quiet around here. The other night, some of the guys from Khayelitsha came back to stay the night with some friends of mine in the suburbs, so I went and hung out with them for awhile and cooked a huge dinner and attempted to watch a movie, it was a lot of fun. I've really been growing close with the people I volunteer with and the kids (even though a lot of them are my age or older haha...) out in Khayelitsha that we've been working with. They're just an awesome group of people.

I know it's only month 4, but I'm already realizing how hard it's going to be to leave this place. I feel like my roots are getting set so deep here, and I am just so thankful for this opportunity! It's been mindblowing. Here's some pics from our Table Mountain hike:

Still got a ways to go...

View from the top... that little peak down there is Lion's Head, the hike I thought was pretty intense a few weeks ago. If only I knew what was in store!!

Some of the DU girls at the top! Aww!

View from the other side of the Table... so breathtaking (the pictures don't really do it justice)

My city!!!

I have a bunch more, but I think you guys get the picture (get it? haha). Anyway, write again soon!

Movin' So Fast!

Hey there everyone

Time really is flying, I just realized that I only have 3 more weeks (not even!) of classes, then I start exams, then I'm DONE for summer! Wow, that is hard to believe. Anyway, this has been quite the week. There's just been a lot going on with friends and school and that makes everything move so much faster, you know? One of my friends had her birthday on Saturday so we had a massive braai (barbecue) here at our flats. It was really cool, sooo many people came (probably like 40 by the end of the day!) and we had such a good time. Some people even built that bean-bag toss game, and that was goin' all day too haha. And the weather here is getting sooo beautiful, everyone was in sundresses and shorts and it is really turning into spring! Gotta love it. Tonight is another friend's birthday celebration, we're going to have a big pizza dinner/surprise, and then go bowling and celebrate! I've really realized over the last week more than ever how the people I'm here with really are. There are just so many different personalities and quirks, and I just love these people so much and so differently! It's made me really sad to see them all go so soon. But I'm really excited because a lot of the people I've become closest with since getting here actually go to DU, and one girl actually decided to come back next semester, and we'll be living together! So at the end of the day, it's all good.

Other than that, life has been pretty standard. I've really had to be pretty focused on schoolwork lately, but that's alright. I'm really enjoying my classes and the readings I've been doing, and I think I've finally settled into the way that Varsity (that's what they call college here) works. It'll be nice to eventually be back to DU and the things that are familiar and favorable about it, but for now I'm so happy to be exactly where I am. 

Anyway, I don't have a ton to share right now! My life may pick up and begin to get a little more eventful again over the next couple weeks, but for now I'm just happy to be finally settled in. It's funny, I was laying on my bed the other afternoon after a day full of running around, and I looked around and for the first time realized that I was home. Cape Town has finally become home! I keep telling everyone in Colorado they'll be lucky if they get me back, and I mean it more than ever now! Haha just kidding. Anyway, here are a few more pictures!

Me and Kaitlin, a girl from my program, on another hike of Lion's Head. We're standing in the clouds!!

Me and my roommate Katie on a hike... we didn't plan this. 

Haha me and some girls from African Dance class, someone had the brilliant idea that we pose for a picture doing one of our moves from class... so corny but cute lol.

Anyway, that's all for now and I'll post again soon!

Movin' Right Along...

Hello there everyone! 

I hope you're all doing well, getting into the swing of things yeah? It's funny how quickly we adjust once life picks up, it feels like it's been this busy forever right? And then we just appreciate the relaxing times soooo much more when they do come.

Anyway, it's so crazy that I only have 4 more weeks of class! The semester seemed sooooo long at first, but it really has gone by quickly. It's weird that we have a month-long exam period, but luckily all of my exams are within about 2 weeks of each other. I've always really loved DU's schedule, and being away has made me miss it a little bit. I don't know if I've mentioned it lately, but why not touch on it again? But anyway, I really love having 10 weeks of class and then 1 week of exams, I feel like we get right down to business and it makes the year move so quickly. I've missed that since being here, but the change is alright and I think I've adjusted pretty well! 

It's weirder being away now that I know things are up and running at DU. Before, when it was just summer, it didn't really feel like I was missing. But now I'm getting e-mails from all my clubs and societies and I feel like so much is happening there without me! But it sounds like all of the organizations over there are doing some BIG things this year, and I'm so excited for you all even if I can't be there! Especially BSA (I miss my BSA family so much!), I looked at the pictures and read the minutes from their first meeting, and I can tell that they're starting out with a bang and that this is gonna be an incredible year for them! If any BSA people read this, I'm so proud of you guys and so pumped for you too!

The last couple of days have been awesome. I hiked up Lion's Head (one of the peaks of Table Mountain I think) the other day, and it was succcch an amazing hike. As you wind up the mountain you just see mountain and ocean and city and it is breathtaking. I'll put up some pictures of it. Other than that, we had a holiday last week so some friends and I took the day and went out to Simonstown, a cute little beach town about a 45-minute train ride away. That was such a good time, and who doesn't love a day off of school? Hmm, what else? Oh my gosh, how did I forget the wildflowers??! The other day 4 other girls and I rented a car and drove out to these wildflower reserves, it was so amazing! There are just fields and fields of calalillies and daisies and all kinds of flowers I don't know the name of, all set against rolling hills and no civilization in sight. How perfect does that sound? We packed a picnic and I brought a book and my journal and it was seriously one of the absolute best days I've had since being here. And there was an orchid show on our way there, so we stopped in there and got some amazing pictures. I'll be sure to put some up!

It's so hard to believe that I've already been here for 11 weeks! That is unreal. I'm really starting to settle in and it feels more and more like home everyday. Anyway, that's all for now and I hope you all enjoy the pictures! Write again soon!

On our way to the wildflowers!!

Field of calalillies, the picture doesn't do it justice!

Field of daisies!

Headin' up Lion's Head!

The view from about halfway up Lion's Head

The view from the top... isn't it amazing?

Me at the top!

Write again soon! Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or anything you may have! Love love love :) bye!

Happy First Day of School!

I hope everyone at DU is enjoying their first day back! I can definitely sympathize with the adjustment, today was my first day back from Spring Break (and it started with a test!), but it's all good! I have talked to a few of my friends back in Denver and it sounds like it's business as usual on the DU campus. I'm sure it's absolutely beautiful right about now, with all the trees all full and green, the flowers in bloom, the water gardens full, aaah... I've gotta admit, I miss that place. But anyway, like I was saying! Happy first day of school, I hope everything is going well :)

Cape Town (Mowbray, my neighborhood, specifically) is as busy as ever! Like I said, today was the first day back to class, so I peeled myself out of bed for a run this morning so I would be energized for the rest of the day haha. It is such a beautiful area to live in, with Table Mountain right there when I walk out of our flats, it just takes your breath away! But anyway, going back to class was not bad at all! Minus the test (which went alright!) and the test I have tomorrow (which I'm praying goes alright too!), I have a pretty laid back schedule during the week. But one thing that coming back and having these tests made me appreciate (and really miss) about DU is the quarter system!! It is so nice to legitimately be on break whenever we have a break. By on break I mean classes have ended for the term, you've taken finals, you've registered for the next quarter's courses, you have nothing to think about but vacation!! Not that my spring break wasn't amazing (I'll tell you about it in a sec!), but it just would have been nice not to have readings and reviews hanging over my head the whole week as well. But hey, no complaining, right? Haha I'm in the most beautiful city in the world having the time of my life and I have 9 more months of this ahead of me, the least I can do is suck it up and be a good student. 

Haha but anywayyy... spring break!! I decided to stick around Cape Town and save any big trips for this summer (which is coming up so soon! 2 more months!). I had a really good time, some of my closest friends stuck around too, so we got to do some fun touristy stuff, which I hadn't really been able to do too much since we got here. We got to go see the Castle of Good Hope (I always read about it and the East India Trading Company in my history books, I never thought I'd actually be there! so crazy!), the District 6 Museum, the Aquarium. Other than that, we just had some time to relax, read, shop, cook, all that good stuff! Here're some pictures:

This is the view of the city from about a 15-minute hike from where I live. Isn't it beautiful? If you look all the way to the left-hand side of the picture, you can kinda see the bay creeping in. The picture just doesn't do it justice!

Part of Table Mountain (from halfway up the side of it!)

A view of the V&A Waterfront

The view from the top of campus. Isn't it beautiful?

A few pics from the aquarium:

Anyway, I'll be back to write again soon! For now, I've got a test tomorrow that's already calling my name. Haha take care!

Ohh Cape Town...

Hello All! 

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, classes finally started picking up and I realized again that I'm here for study abroad, so I have to do more than just explore and have fun ;) But anyway, all has still been going extremely well out here in Cape Town, and I have so much to share!

One thing that I really wanted to touch on since I mentioned that classes were picking up is just how much I really miss DU! It is so weird to be a student at a new school, especially one so much bigger and busier than DU. While I love UCT, I think that being here has made me especially appreciate the experience I've had at DU. I definitely miss the small discussion-based classes, the personal attention I can expect from my professors, and just the fact that I can walk around campus there and actually know someone that I see haha. But seriously though, I really am blessed to be a DU student, because I get that fantastic community as well as the opportunity to fly all the way across the Atlantic and spend a year here, at what I'm convinced is one of the most beautiful and intriguing cities in the world.

Anyway, life has been so busy since my last post! Everything just feels like life now, not so much new experiences, which is a feeling I really like. I can finally get around town, bargain in the market, feed myself, and a whole lotta other things that didn't come so naturally at the beginning haha. So I'm thankful for that. Also, I've begun volunteering with a really cool organization out here, so I've been able to go into Khayelitsha, one of the biggest townships out here, every week and start getting to know the kids out there. I'm going to be doing a Bible study with a group of the older girls there, and other than that I get to just hang out with them and watch them dance (they are amazing!), which is always so much fun. I've really loved that, and I'm excited to be able to work a lot more with them during the summer, too.

I also had an awesome weekend away a few weekends ago and went up to Hermanus, a little fishing town just down the coast from Cape Town. It was so much fun, I went with half of my study abroad program and we spent the weekend sea kayaking, whale watching, paintballing, four-wheeling, and just relaxing on the beach. It was a much-needed vacation, and it was actually really nice to get out of Cape Town for a little bit. There's nothing like a change of scenery, right?

Anyway, I hope everyone's school year started smoothly! This is such a hectic time of year, I know, so my advice is to just take it one day at a time and enjoy the experience before school gets too intense! I would definitely love to answer any questions you guys have, and here are some pictures from Hermanus:

This one's just me being artistic ;)

Anyway, I wish everyone the best and I will post again soon! (much sooner than this one took) haha take care!

More Cape Town and... Classes?

So... it's been almost one month since I got to Cape Town! It's unbelievable, to say the least. I've been having an incredible time, I don't know how to explain it all! But I'll do my best... 

Since I last posted, SO many things have happened! First of all, we started class. Most people would groan at that, but I've actually been enjoying UCT quite a bit! My classes are a LOT bigger than at DU (I have a few lectures with 200 people!) and I don't know how well I'm adjusting to that. I really like the attention I get at DU, and that I can actually have conversations with my professors. But the courses I'm in are really interesting, so that helps a lot! I'm taking one class on African Literature, one on Romantic Literature, one on Culture, Identity, and Globalization in Africa, and my African Dance Class! They all present unique challenges and material, as I'm sure you can imagine haha. 

Anyway, besides classes, I've had some awesome experiences the last couple weeks! I know I mentioned when I last wrote that I was going to an African Drum Cafe, going shark diving (at the White Shark capital of the WORLD! Haha fun fact... 70% of all Great White documentaries were filmed off the island where I went Shark Diving!) and taking a biking tour of Stellenbosch (Cape Town's wine country). Well, I held true to that, and here're some pictures!

Drum Workshop... my hands hurt SO BAD when it was over!

Who knew there'd be a Cheetah conservatory on one of the wine estates? Haha...

Some pictures from the wine tour... it was actually really intense biking, we earned our wine haha!

Shark diving! A little cold, and nervous.

In the cage!

They come even closer than that to the cage! 

Anyway, those were all such incredible experiences. Other than that, I went to a Women's Day performance in Nyanga (Women's Day is a national holiday in South Africa, in honor of the women who protested apartheid at a march in Sharpesville, and Nyanga is one of the townships in Cape Town). It was incredible. Groups of older and younger women performed original song and dance, and it was just an inspiring afternoon. I don't have pictures from that on my computer yet, I'll post them as soon as I get a chance! We also went to Mzoli's, which is just like this massive braai (barbecue) under this huge tent, with a ton of meat, sides, music, dancing, and everyone just having a good time. It was an incredible experience!

Anyway, I've really been enjoying Cape Town, as I'm sure you can tell. It's funny though, I was talking to another girl who was here from DU, and we realized that we almost miss DU as much as we miss home. Being away has really made me realize what incredible experiences I've had there, what genuine friends I've made, and what awesome opportunities I've been given. I've really realized how proud I will be to go back to DU, enjoy senior year, and finally walk across that stage and graduate. And I must admit, I'm going to miss my Colorado winter this year! But I'm so thankful to have been given this experience, I wake up every morning and I'm amazed at where I am and what I'm doing. Wow.

Anyway, I will write again as I have more incredible experiences!

Woza Cape Town!

Hey everyone! 

I'm back, and blogging from BEAUTIFUL Cape Town, South Africa! I had a fantastic end to my (short) summer vacation, but it was full of packing and goodbyes :( not always a fun combination. But anyway, study abroad is amazing so far. There are like 20 people in my program, and it's cool because 9 of us are from DU! And I'd never met any of them before this! So it's really nice to have that common experience with so many people in the program, but we're still all new to each other!

Anyway, Cape Town is incredible. There's so much to share! The best part so far has been the UCT orientation, when they took us on a day of just being Cape Town tourists. We got the tour bus with the corny joke-telling guide and everything. Anyway, they took us to the Penguin Colony (they are so cute! Who knew that there were penguins in such a warm city!), to the community center of one of the local townships (the kids who performed for us were incredible), and then to the Cape of Good Hope, the south-western most tip of the African continent! I have sooo many pictures, here are a few:

It is all so beautiful! I'm still trying to make everything feel like home, since this is where I'll be for the next year! I finally re-arranged my room in our apartment today, we've done all our grocery shopping, and I'd say I'm just about settled in! I am so, so, so, so thankful that I was given the opportunity to be here, because this is a beautiful place and I can already tell I'm going to learn so much! I'm registering for an "Intro to African Dance" class, we had an African drum workshop this week, I'm meeting so many awesome people, and everything is so new! Who knows what's in store. 

I will definitely keep posting as more happens! On the docket for this week are shark diving and a biking tour of the winelands in Stellenbosch. Tough life, eh? I'll post again soon!

Summer!!

So I haven't blogged in awhile, but that is mostly because my SUMMER is off to such a crazy start! Actually, it's almost over haha. But anyway, the end of the year was pretty bittersweet. The mix of finals and moving out and saying goodbye to people and looking forward to summer makes for an odd mix of emotions. But overall, everything went really well. My roommate and I pulled an all-nighter and got entirely moved out by the 2nd day of finals week (neither of us had a ton of tests), and that was that! Just that quickly, my second year of college was over. It's so weird to think about. But anyway, my abbreviated summer has been FLYING BY! I took a trip to San Diego and loved it, then came back and settled into the good ol' CO Springs. It's great because I'm still so close to Denver and DU, and a lot of my friends stayed there to work over the summer. So I still get the best of both worlds.

Anyway, I'm sorry I'm kind of all over the place! I guess my brain is in summer mode :) But I know this is one of the most nerve-racking parts of the whole college process for a lot of you (the summer before freshman year!) My best advice is to just RELAX! Enjoy your summer, enjoy your high school friends, and when you get to DU just be yourself! It is a stressful transition for EVERYONE, so don't feel like you have to be someone you're not just to fit in or make friends. I guarantee that you'll make some of the best friends of your LIFE once you get there, even if it's not right away. But just enjoy your summer right now! My summer before freshman year was the most fun I've ever had in a summer, now that I think about it!

Soooo... I'm leaving TWO WEEKS from TODAY! How crazy is that? I finally came out of denial that it is winter where I'm going, and I started getting more warm clothes. You wouldn't think it gets too cold there, but I keep hearing that South African winters are no joke! I'm sooo thankful for this opportunity and I cannot believe it's almost here! Right now the biggest task is planning my MASSIVE going away party, since I'll be gone the whole year I feel like the whole city is going to be there! But that will be fun, and then next thing you know I'm outta here! I still look back and I'm amazed at how simple this whole processs has been! It's been lengthy and a little overwhelming at times, but I really haven't had to jump through any hoops or do anything too crazy to take care of getting study abroad taken care of, and everyone has been so helpful! I'm SO thankful I go to DU and I have all of these incredible resources available to me, because I know this trip is going to change my life! Anyway, I'll be back before I leave to post some pictures from this summer and the end of the year! AndI'll still be updating this blog from South Africa!