three weeks in

I have been here for three weeks now, and have just only now started a blog. I know it is a bit late, but three weeks into six months doesn’t seem too bad. After trying to send a mass email to about 190 people, I decided a blog would be easier to do, especially since the email came back undeliverable to at least 50 people.

Three weeks in and I only just started classes today. Like I have told many of you already, I have been quite busy with three different orientations, traveling, exploring the city and the townships, experiencing the nightlife, and so on. I have become friends with people from all across the United States, African nations, and beyond. As classes and volunteering progress, I look forward to meeting even more people from the rest of the world.

In my email I wrote a lot about the townships. Though I have been to the top of a mountain, swam in the ocean, and have gone all around the cape the townships have been my favorite part of the trip thus far. We visited two black townships and one colored township. I am amazed at how beautiful and joyful the people are, and also at how they live. The house that stays with me is the house in which there were three families (sixteen members) sharing a bedroom, sleeping in three twin beds. The people of the townships welcomed us and the kids crawled all over us. I can’t wait to start my volunteering. 

This past weekend our history class (everyone in my program) and our prof. journeyed up the coast to explore a fossil park and take a hike through the bush (it was 42 degrees Celsius, which I think is 107 Fahrenheit) to look at pre-colonial rock art left by the hunter-gatherers who lived there many years ago. We also went swimming in the hot and cold springs under the stars, which was astonishing. Going from Chicago to St. Louis, and even to a big city like Cape Town – it has been years since I’ve seen stars like that. 

I feel like I have finally adjusted here, and am exited to finally start my classes both with the study abroad program and my classes at the South African College of Music (I’m very nervous and excited for those). I’ll be keeping busy but writing as much as I can. I haven’t felt homesick yet but there were a couple of times I’ve been upset when seeing the poverty and how prevalent racism and segregation are years after apartheid ended. 

I hope to learn as much as I can about myself, South Africa, Cape Town, other African nations and international perspectives about the United States’ government and people. I also hope to learn about gender roles in society, and I look forward to my Socio-economic Development of Cape Town class. I’m sure I’ll be challenged a lot over the next six months especially when volunteering in the townships, so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. And email me at nshamel@luc.edu. It is always comforting to hear from someone back home while being away for a long time. That is all for now, check back at your leisure and I’ll keep you updated!