Reunions

Greetings! 

So before I departed Dallas for Cape Town last week, i planned on starting a blog. There was one problem. I could not come up with a creative name. My mother advised me to just start it in when I arrived.  I have decided to call this blog - The Cape Town Connection. I do not think this is the most original name; however, it captures how I feel about my time here and the project that I am conducting. I have more friends with a strong connection to this city than any other city in the world. Indeed,  a high number  of my dearest friends including Elin, Wilson, Ben, Stefanie, Will,  Brenna, Emily, and Katie have all spent time during there college experiences in Cape Town. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to connect to this place as they have. I will return to the US feeling "The Cape Town Connection" that they all have. 

 On another level, my goal while here is about making connections. I am, as I will go into more detail about later, conducting research on public policy towards people with disabilities. In doing so, I am seeking to find connections: connections through the people I speak to, between the information I gather, and between my project partners and my goals. Thus, in a strange way, I think my sort of bland name fits my feelings and intentions toward the next eight weeks. 

With that said, let me tell you about my experience so far. My journey began with two back to back reunions with great friends. First, during my 12 hour layover in London, my friend Charlotte greeted me at the airport. Charlotte was one of my roommates during my first summer in Kampala, Uganda. She then hosted my friend from Vanderbilt - Ashley - when she studied abroad in London.  Then, when I was in Glasgow, we visited each other. Her friendship represents one of my favorite aspects of the times I have spent abroad - the "connections" I have made. We went to one of my favorite places in London - The Borough Market.  We shared a curry and gnochi.  Then, I had the most delectable veggie burger. Better then the food was the conversation. I am so happy that we connected and that I made my flight! 

When I arrived in Cape Town, Cathy Arendse's husband, William picked me up. Cathy is a central figure in my project. She is a Humphrey Fellowship Recipient. The Humphrey Fellowship is granted to outstanding leaders who have achieved masters degrees and worked in their field. I will go into more detail about Cathy and the project in my next post. William was great and a comforting personality to encounter upon arriving in a new place. He was friendly and helpful. It was a cold and rainy morning in Cape Town yet as we drove to my home for the next three weeks, the beauty of the natural landscape was evident through the clouds. I can't wait to start exploring! 

I am staying in a wonderful neighborhood - Mowbray. It is right near University of Cape Town. There are wonderful views of Lions Head and Table Mountain from outside the home. I am staying with Rene and Clive Caesar. Rene is a wonderful ball of energy and full of love. She greeted me with a great big hug and excitement when she arrived home from work. However, my time to chat with her was short because my friend Katie Ullmann arrived to take me around Cape Town 30 minutes after I arrived! This was reunion number 2.  

I was abroad in Glasgow in the fall and Katie was here in the spring so we had only seen each other for a few days in the last year. Coincidently, I arrived in Cape Town at 9am and she departed for home at 11pm, which meant we literally had one day together. We made the best of it. She showed me around UCT and the area that I am living in. She took me to meet the waiters, her   friends, at Cafe Cocoa Wah Wah (where I happen to be writing this right now). I also was able to go to a lunch that honored her for the service she conducted with an organization called Young in Prison. Funny story: at this ceremony, they asked everybody to introduce themselves. Katie whispered to me to say that I was friends with Ben Scott ( one of my good friends). Everybody started cheering. I practically received a standing ovation for mentioning his name. He had volunteered with YIP during his time abroad and then conducted his Ingram summer project with them. My point is that "connections" are apparently helpful in Cape Town. 

After the ceremony, Katie and I went to town where we had the most delicious lunch at the one place that was reccomended to her that she had not been to yet - Cafe Paridiso. It really was paradise. There was a buffet with every type of salad you could imagine - beets, butternut squash, etc. We then walked around  Long Street, which was full of restaurants and shops,  as she explained to me everything I needed to know from public transportation  informationto where I needed to go eat (always important) . I am so happy that we had this time together. It was hard to say goodbye, but it was even harder to see her say goodbye to the friends she had made here as I know I will see her in August! 

Alright, I am going to end this post here as my internet may run out at any moment, and I have a few more emails I need to send regarding my project.  I will start my next posts, which will be about yesterday - going to church and exploring Cape Town - and my project. I just wanted to make sure to have a post for my mom and dad to wake up to!