A New Blog! (Pancakes)

In keeping with the tradition of blogging my out-of-America exploits, here is a new blog to document my upcoming time in South Africa.

So here's what's going on: around the end of January / beginning of February, I am planning to head off to the University of Cape Town for two years to get a Masters in City and Regional Planning. Here's a picture of the university, I think it's just stunning:

There's still a few hoops to jump through (visa, funding, etc.) so I guess there's still a chance that I won't make it all the way there, but I'll deal with that disappointment if it comes my way. In the meantime, I'm feeling... overwhelmed. And a little bit excited from time to time. But mostly overwhelmed. I'll have time to feel excited once I board the plane. In the meantime there's a lot to be done - coming up with money, getting rid of belongings, moving out of my house, figuring out visa, accommodations, insurance, etc. And Christmas and Thanksgiving. And work. And I keep coming up with things to put on my leaving-Seattle bucket list. I may not sleep much in the next couple months.

Regardless, this is a really exciting step for me (even though it won't sink it till I'm somewhere mid-Atlantic). I've wanted to go to grad school pretty much since I graduated from university, and it's taken a long time for me to finally figure out where and what I want to study. I decided on city planning because I thought it was the best intersection between my interest in international development and my experience in architecture and design. And I chose Cape Town because I'd ultimately like my career to be either in Africa or directed towards Africa. I've never been to South Africa but it looks fascinating, and I feel there's a lot that I can learn there.

University of Cape Town is one of the top universities in Africa and the oldest in South Africa, and is known in South Africa for its research institutes (including the Africa Centre for Cities) and for progressive thought, with a strong history of opposing apartheid. There are about 24,000 students, a quarter of which are in graduate studies.

Cape Town is the second-largest city in South Africa, and is the legislative capital of the country (Pretoria is the executive capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital). The city is on the southwest point of the continent, right on the Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Town is the top tourist location in all of Africa, home to (from what I've heard) some lovely mountains, wineries, delicious food, and wonderful examples of Dutch/Afrikaans architecture. I've also been told that it's so far south that penguins wander the streets. I will confirm or deny these tidbits at a later date.

Anyway, it will be sad to leave my home behind for so long, but I'm looking forward to a new adventure, (hopefully) warmer weather, and a new education! More to come, so stay tuned.