Wow, I have officially been living in Cape Town for two months now. That to me is such a crazy thought because I never knew if I’d be able to say that a couple of years ago. I have come to realize that I’m torn between two worlds in the sense that as much love I have for this city and for the second home that I’ve been able to build here, I can’t forget the love I have waiting for me back at my real home as well. It is a really weird feeling to be so in love with two places that are half a world apart. Missing home here is comforting because I know that I’m going home in a month and a half but what happens when I’m home? When am I coming back? I have found reassurance in knowing in my heart that I’m going to return to Cape Town again; it may not be next year or the year after but eventually I will visit my second home again. Don’t get me wrong, I know these thoughts are really premature because I’m not even close to having to leave South Africa yet but I can’t help but wonder how I’m ever going to fill this separation that I’m already beginning to feel. But since I don’t see myself winning the lottery anytime soon (sadly), I’m going to focus on the now and worry about then later.
Every week seems to be getting busier and busier. Last week went by so fast because of how busy I always was. Thursday was Ryan’s 21st birthday so we obviously had to celebrate that. After class almost all of us went on a sunset hike up Lion’s Head Mountain. We hiked up for about an hour and reached the top with about half an hour to spare before sunset (which I think is currently 7:14). We propped ourselves on a rock facing the ocean and watched a really pretty sunset. I swear once the sun started to really set, you could see the sun move it was setting so fast. After it was gone, we raced over to the other side of the peak to find a rock and watch the city lights turn on with the moon rises above it. I’ve seen some amazing sights since I’ve been to Cape Town but this one was definitely one of my top three. The sky had a rainbow tint to it until it got really dark. The moon was completely full and illuminated the clouds hovering over the mountains surrounding the city. These weren’t just any clouds either. They looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, without exaggeration. They were eerily creeping steadily over and down the mountains with what looked like extended arms leading the way. I couldn’t help but think that these were clouds out of Harry Potter because I couldn’t wrap my head around how unbelievably cool they looked. I know that I just rambled on about clouds but if you were to see what we did, you’d be just as awe struck.
Anyways, to make the night even better, people had telescopes set up at the peak pointing at Jupiter and the moon. When looking through it, I was able to see Jupiter’s two moons around it (they looked like very small specks but I saw them nonetheless). The moon also looked so incredible at a closer view. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to look up at the moon and say I’ve been there before. Who knows, all the more incentive for me to maybe one day be able to say that. Although I get dizzy going on a tire swing, let alone a space ship, so that might cause a slight interference to that plan. Back to the mountain, we eventually decided to hike down. I have never hiked down a mountain in the middle of the night before but I can’t say that anymore. It was challenging at some points because of lack of ability to see but the full moon provided enough light to make out most things. It was the shadows and depth of things that threw me all off. I managed just fine though and had a blast hiking down. I rolled my ankle on one rock which really hurt but I shook the pain off only to roll the same ankle again twelve minutes later. I haven’t rolled my ankle that bad since soccer a couple years ago. After that, hiking down turned into a “how high is your pain tolerance” mission. Thanks to that, I had a kankle for the next two days and a slight limp to my walk. I took the two days off from my usual daily runs just to make sure I gave it enough time to heal. I went on a run yesterday and it was pretty good so I’m glad I gave it a rest. Me without running just isn’t a pretty picture – I love my runs too much to ever be able to go without running.
This Saturday we leave for our week long Jo’Burg and Kruger adventure. In a way I feel like this entire trip has been a build up of excitement for next week. It seemed so far away in January but now its here and about to happen. As much as I’m looking forward to our spring break trip, I know it’ll go by way too fast. All I can hope for is to take in as many moments as possible. I have a feeling I’m going to absolutely love the experience. I really am unbelievably lucky to be afforded this opportunity. I can’t wait to share and write all about it when I get back!
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