My Experience in Cape Town

Will, one of our interns in Cape Town, writes about his experience there, exploring this amazing city!

My Experience in Cape Town

When I first arrived in Cape Town, I was pretty nervous. I don’t have much international experience at all, and I entered a whole new environment with so many things to learn.

After a little while, I started to understand how to live in Cape Town a little better. I learned the area well and the different suburbs, and I became more comfortable with interacting with South Africans and other people I met.

For me, after initially overcoming the culture shock and stepping out of my comfort zone, I felt very accomplished and proud. I knew I was going to experience a little culture shock, but it felt great to start to feel comfortable in a new country. I began doing so many activities, and I have done so many incredible things.

One of the activities that I have started to love is hiking.

In the United States, I never liked hiking too much, but I have loved it in Cape Town. I have climbed Lion’s Head twice and Table Mountain twice. The hikes are very challenging, but the views at the top are amazing.

One of my favorite stories during my time in Cape Town was when my friends and I decided to visit the national botanical garden. We were walking around the gardens looking at the tree canopies, flowers, and scenery, but we wanted a better view of the gardens. The botanical garden is built into the side of Table Mountain, so we decided to walk up the mountain a little higher. We kept on going up and up to get a better view, and all of a sudden, we were halfway up table mountain without realizing it. We decided we wanted to reach the summit, so we kept on climbing up. After around 3 hours, we finally reached the peak, and the views of the city and ocean were so amazing.

There’s so many spontaneous activities to do in Cape Town, and we never have run out of things to do.

I have been in Cape Town for six weeks, and I have accomplished so many things.

I’ve been hiking a bunch of times, I saw the penguins at Simon’s Town, I took a surf lesson at Muizenberg Beach, I have been to countless museums, I have volunteered at a township and local orphanage, I have been on a safari along the Garden Route, I have been to a rugby game, and so much more. All while working a full-time internship.

There’s not too much down time in Cape Town since there’s always something to do, and I love it. There are so many great people to meet and get to know, and dozens of awesome activities to get involved with. I still have a quarter of my time in Cape Town left, but I am already sad it’s coming to an end!

Cape Town should be on everyone’s bucket list.

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