Sunrise on a new horizon

I almost cried, when I found out that morning that I was only allowed to bring 20kg to Africa with me. I guess I was mad spoiled travelling to the US, where I can bring >50kg most of the time. After a hard time of figuring out what to take and to leave behind, I was wondering how I am supposed to bring stuff from Africa back with only that much allowed. Guess I will have to figure that out later.

Arriving at Singapore airport at 4pm in the afternoon, I was super excited. I have some major shopping that needed to be done. First thing is a camera. I've been putting a hold on getting one for a while, and now I really don't want to be in Singapore and to arrive in Africa without one ready, so I decided to buy one at the airport. After picking out some option, I decided to go with a Pentax chrome. It was a tough decision since I've always wanted a purple camera, but oh well, quality comes first. I spent the rest of the time, as in an hour and a half, at the Perfumes and Cosmetics store. I love whoever thought of duty free cosmetics. I walked out of the store with a new Juicy Couture perfume and way-too-much make up products. I was so tempted to buy Bleu de Chanel cologne just because I love the smell so much, but I ended up getting a few sample strips and put them in my wallet, lol.

The next exciting thing that I was dying for was Starbucks. I haven't had my favorite Green Tea latte for two months and just the thought of it made me feel all warm and happy inside. Sipping the beloved drinks, reading Gone with the Wind and listening to music, I was waiting for my best friend to get out of school so we could hang out. We only met at weird places this summer, instead of in the city, was what we told ourselves and laughed at.

I did feel like it was the last day of my summer though, especially since Morgan had already had to work on school work and being busy and all that. We went out for food, came back to her place to drop off stuff and rest, then walked around in the center district shopping at random stores and did lots of talking. Our original plan was her finishing her coloring homework and I helped her with it, but it kind of failed since Starbucks was way too crowded.

Leaving Morgan's apartment at around midnight to catch my flight, I swear I still hadn't felt the excitement yet. It was like the fact that I was going somewhere completely different to study wouldn't hit my mind. For some reason, I kept feeling like I was just going back to the US.

Thirteen hour of the flight went by like a breeze because I slept like a dead person. I woke up to the sunrise, on a completely different horizon. The couple sitting next to me, before leaving for the stop at Johannesburg, turned to me and said: "You will be fine. Don't worry. Cape Town is a really great place." Only then did it occur to me that I was going to a place completely unfamiliar and that I knew nothing about, and I started to feel excited.

I looked out the tiny window and in front of my eye was this scenery of nature and vastness. I smiled to myself because there was something about it that was exactly like how I imagined Africa would look like: with the brown safari and landscape that runs toward the horizon. Then I saw the ocean, the mountains, and the seaside town that I knew I was going to spend the next five months at. It was like I fell in love with this place at first sight: the vast blue sky, the blue mountains, the colorful house blocks, the brown grass, etc. And I thought to myself, I would have the time of my life here.

I arrived at the house where I was going to spend the next 2 weeks at before moving to another one. The architecture is so different than anywhere else I've been to. There is something so exotic about it. My RA and another friend came by and picked me up to take me to campus for a short tour. After hills and hills and hills, the campus slowly appeared on top of the mountain. I was warned about this by my friends who had studied here, but to see it with my own eyes were something completely different. It was breath-taking, and beautiful. The buildings gave me the feeling like they are made out of simple clay with the signature brown-greenish color, although the inside is fairly new and modern. Architecture is such a key to everything.

Sitting across my study abroad advisor, signing my life away on pages and pages of paper that includes phone bills, internet bills, electricity bills and other safety guide, I started to feel nervous and scared. Even in the US, I never really had to pay for anything on my own, everything is taken care off. All the money I have goes toward my extra spending like clothes, electronics or anything of my entertainment. I never have to worry about what other people consider as bare necessity in life: food, electricity, heat, communication, etc. I wasn't overwhelmed with information and I, as a person with no sense of direction, started to wonder how the hell I was going to get around in this huge campus and city, adding the fact that people kept telling me to be aware of the surroundings and not to walk around after dark.

I got to my RA's place, who was terribly hungover from last night so I let her rest. I did get my cell phone and being able to talk to my mom and to text my boyfriend made me feel a little bit better. However, I still couldn’t get my computer to work because they have crazy plugs here and I don't have a converter yet. Lying in a strange bed, with no one to talk to and nothing to do, with all the worries about how I was going to survive the next few months, I felt utterly scared and alone. The odd thing was, this wasn't the first time I had experienced these feelings. I guess I didn’t matter whether I was 21, or 19, or 17, or 16, I still got scared being by myself at an unfamiliar way. At one point, I did wonder why I did this to myself, to leave Rochester and to come here. If I was in Rochester, a simple phone call and I would have someone to pick me up at the airport, take me out for food, sleep in my own bed sheets, blankets and pillows, go out for parties and be with my friends. I don’t even know how to cook , how am I gonna feed myself, consider the fact that I had people cooked for me all the times in Rochester. Jeez, now I have to wait another 6 months for all that good things to happen. Or I could have been at home, in my own bed, with my mom's cooking and have nothing to worry about but whom I should call tonight and which coffee shop we should go to. I wanted to pick up the phone and call my parents but that would just make them worry for no reason and this wasn't the first time I've been abroad anyways. I wanted to call my boyfriend but that would just make me so dependent, and he wouldn't be able to do anything regardless.

I guess that was my moment of solitude and homesick (both Vietnam and US). I felt so much better after my friends here came pick me up to take me out for dinner and shop for everything I need, including a converter for my laptop. I received tons of emails and facebook comments from friends, wishing me luck and asking about my well-being and such. I definitely was just feeling down due to lack of communication because I felt so much better after getting the internet. (On a side note, texts and email from my bf as long as a chat this morning did make me feel a whole lot better.) Now the excitement is back. I mean, I'm still worried about things that will happen but I'm sure I will be just fine. I have been independent all my life and managed to live well and happily up until now. As soon as all my friends on the program get back from their field trip, I'm sure I will be back in the social network. I'm ready for a new experience. It's not going to be easy but I'm sure it'll be worth it.

Hopefully I'll be able to write less depressing entries and more exciting ones in the near future. 


(I didnt take any pics of the campus due to circumstances, I'll update later)

[az]