As a recent Cape Town transplant, I am trying to document my observations surrounding my academic and cultural experiences. I am first and foremost a Los Angeleno. I grew up in San Marino California, a small suburb in the San Gabriel Valley. After staying in the same city until high school graduation, I had a short one year stint in Pennsylvania before returning to my Southern Californian roots to attend the University of Southern California. Finally, I am leaving my comfortable climate to venture to Cape Town, South Africa. So why am I in Cape Town? What am I hoping to get out of this experience? I am in Cape Town as a beneficiary of Rotary International’s Global Grant Scholarship. The Scholarship enables me to study for a year at the University of Cape Town. So no, I am not a study abroad/exchange student, but a post-graduate student completing an Honours Degree in International Relations over the course of a year. Being a Global Grant Scholar comes with numerous perks: the opportunity to study at a world-renowned university in a field I am passionate about, a local Rotary club which acts as a support system, a budget that allows me to study abroad without worrying about eating through my savings. However, it means that I am living in a city without the security blanket of other Americans to help me adjust. Despite this scary realization, I am looking at this time in Cape Town to focus myself personally and professionally, while also experiencing a new culture.
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AuthorI am a 22 year old female studying Honours International Relations at the University of Cape Town for the 2016 school year. Archives
December 2016
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