Submitted by Madeline Zehr on the 2018 winter session program in South Africa sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health & Nutrition…
The past week and a half, we have spent in Cape Town and have been able to thoroughly explore this beautiful city. When we arrived in Cape Town, our entire group was blown away by how vibrant the city is. There are palm trees lining the streets, fantastic restaurants everywhere you look and gorgeous beaches. Unfortunately, Cape Town is dealing with an extreme water crisis at the moment. In every bathroom, there are signs to conserve water, most restaurants do not serve tap wate, and the hotel has signs everywhere to encourage two minute showers. In about two months, the city is predicted to be out of water. This is crazy to me being from somewhere where there is plenty of water. It has taught us how important it is to conserve water and energy all the time so that a crisis will not occur where we live.
A highlight of our time in Cape Town has been hiking Table Mountain. Most of us have agreed that is was one of the hardest things we have ever done. We took a path that was natural steps made of rock from a stream that used to flow down the mountain. However, we were able to reach the top in under two hours, which is making very good time for this hike. The hike could not have been completed alone, as working together with our peers and motivating each other was what got us through. It was extremely mentally taxing since we were unfamiliar with the hike and were unsure as to what was around each corner. Without fail, it was always more stairs. Through joking and chatting, we were able to focus less on the pain in our legs and more on creating lasting friendships amongst each other.
