Table Mountain, Cape Town’s natural wonder.

Warning: the images you are about to see are mind blowing. They may cause new psychological behaviors such as wanting to book the next flight to Sydney or writing letters to Santa Claus for a trip to Australia for Christmas. Side effects include the dropping of your jaw, salivating, and an increased chance of applying to study abroad in Sydney next semester. Viewer discretion is advised.

This past weekend I walked from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach (approx. one hour walk). This will be my life for the next FOUR months:

You have to do a full moon hike up Lion’s Head when you’re in Cape Town. We finally had the opportunity to do it on Sunday night because the weather was perfect and the sky was clear! We got to the base of Lion’s Head just as the sun was beginning to set, but once we were about halfway up the mountain we had an incredible view of the sun dipping down behind the water of Camp’s Bay. We continued upwards and about an hour later made it to the peak.

Before leaving to Brazil the only thing I can think about is my family and my friends and how much I’m going to miss them but also how exited I am to make new friends and a new Brazilian family. I decided to ask some of the people closest to my heart here in Venezuela “if they were me where would they study abroad and why” and these were their answers:

There has been a lot of talk lately about my ‘re-entry’ into the United States after my study abroad experience. It was first mentioned as I was about to leave Berlin and has been said several times whilst I have been on American soil. Those in Berlin would ask me if I was ready to come home, see my friends and family, eat an American cheeseburger or if I was ready for classes to start again and those here in the US ask me what I miss most about Berlin and if I will ever go back.

I came back to the U.S. last Saturday (August 2), and I feel a bit odd about my reaction to being home. Two weeks ago, I felt like I was going to be having a really hard time readjusting to being home, since if I did have any form of culture shock, I either didn’t notice it or mistook it for homesickness.

Two months, two continents, three countries, many cities, endless country views, several new friends, and countless memories later, I am about two hours away from landing in John F. Kennedy Airport. Being homeward bound has left me quite reflective. It is cliche for me to say this trip has changed me, but in many subtle and obvious ways it has matured me, South Africa in particular.