Day 121

That's a wrap, UCT.

Yesterday I successfully, and painfully, completed my last final exam. All I have to say is, I burned a lot of my materials, donated my textbooks, got the heck out of UCT, and not looking back.

I went out with some good girlfriends for some celebratory drinks with dinner, then out to the typical Wednesday night spot where we were joined by many other American friends. Great night out to conclude a ridiculous semester of academics.

Today was probably one of my favorite days in Cape Town. However it got off to a very rough start...

When I booked my flights to and from South Africa, I scheduled it from Washington DC to Johannesburg then to Cape Town. When I leave South Africa, I will already by in Joburg. I called the airline over a month ago, before I started planning my last adventure, and I was told not being on the Cape Town flight wouldn't be a problem, all I had to do was go to the airport ticket sales and tell them. I called the airport this morning to double check the protocol, well apparently not. I was told I couldn't miss my Cape Town flight or I'd be bumped from all of it. Clearly I had a problem. After a little arguing and calling back fifteen minutes later to speak to a different representative, I was told I could just go to the airport and even though it was against protocol, they would take care of it for me. So, that's what I did. Spent my morning all around town running errands, and also going to the airport. What a relief to have that taken care of!

I got home and my housemate Joe and I and a couple of buddies headed to the beach. All of us were done with finals and had the day to just relax. Clifton is a great beach town with an appeal for the younger, white, wealthier demographic. You don't see many ferraris in Cape Town, and I saw one in Clifton. The sand is just pure white, and the ocean water is a gorgeous green-blue. With Lion's Head peak sloping into the town setting a great backdrop, it is absolutely one of the most beautiful parts of Cape Town. Of course numerous yachts cruised by as we all stared and wondered if we made the effort to swim out, if they'd let us on.  As the day progressed more and more people from our program came to join, bringing in a really great crew. Playing frisbee, jumping into the freezing water, telling stories, sharing beers, it was an awesome day. Days like today I wish I had more of while I was here in Cape Town.

And now, I'm packing.

It's a crazy feeling I'm actually about to leave this place. Words can't really describe how I'm feeling, but I still struggle wrapping my head around the fact that I lived in Cape Town, South Africa for four months.