We arrived early (a first for us!) and were able to walk around the neighborhood. It was beautiful with tightly secured houses, perfectly manicured lawns, and hilly roads, so we were able to take a nice walk and explore the area, something we cannot safely do in our homestay community. The freedom that this granted was lovely, and we enjoyed it until the party began. We met many people working for the consulate, lawyers doing post-Apartheid and civil rights work, students on a Zulu language program, and more. Each person we met had a neat story for how they came to South Africa and got invested in the community; they were all very educated and seeking to further their education through various programs involving the aforementioned. We spent the afternoon eating hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta salads, and cookies—traditional American fare that I, at least, have missed (We eat lots of rice and meat usually). We also paired up with previously unknown students to do American trivia quizzes in hopes of winning the unknown prize—USA soccer t-shirts (Maybe for 2014?). Katie and her partner, a rising senior at UPenn, won the prize, and the rest of us were left to revel in how little we know about our own country. Did you know St. Augustine in Florida is the oldest city in the US? We sure didn’t. Fortunately, we were spared the embarrassment as our ride home had arrived, and we returned to Wentworth for the night.
Happy Fourth from South Africa!
