8 Rules for Attending the University of Cape Town

            I didn’t expect my short stint at the elite University of Cape Town to be the same as my home university, however, I could have never imagined the innumerable differences I was confronted with during my eight weeks of study. Going from a small, residence based, hole in the wall American school to a sprawling, heavily populated, and well-known university was definitely something I did not prepare for while packing for my African adventure. For anybody who cares, maybe you’re curious or maybe you will be going abroad in the future, I have created 8 rules to live by while attending the University of Cape Town that will hopefully save you the embarrassment and confusion that I endured during my first weeks there.

1.    The bus system, affectionately called the Jammie, will never make sense to you no matter how much you try to understand it. You can look at the maps a thousand times, memorize the stops, even take the Jammie as many places as possible, but I promise you it will never make complete sense, so don’t even try. Just know what bus you have to take and have confidence in knowing that eventually it should stop off at campus or your dorm. For anything other than those two places, take an Uber and save yourself the mental distress.

2.    In the sea of 27,000 undergrads who grace the campus every day, not to mention the professors, graduate students, and administrators, there are not nearly enough places to sit. Be comfortable with sitting on the ground, on steps, or in anybody and everybody’s way. Also, be aware that many people will be right where you want to walk, pay attention as to avoid tripping over somebody who is just trying to eat their lunch (I highly recommend sitting on the planter that houses a very large tree right outside the math building, its slightly out of the way but gets the brunt force of the wind on particularly windy days, so trust me when I tell you, choose a sandwich over a salad in these instances). 

3.    Continuing on the subject of paying attention, in the hundreds of years since upper campus was built, nobody has had the thought to repave the sidewalks. If you’re prone to tripping, like myself, watch out for the jagged and uneven brick paving that exists all over campus, otherwise you will trip more times in a day than you care to admit, often into somebody and while there are many people watching. 

4.    Carry hand sanitizer. The University of Cape Town likes to address the water crisis in South Africa head on, which is great, except for the fact that many bathrooms don’t have consistent running water, and even when they do, the soap dispenser is usually empty. Save yourself from this situation and just carry around hand sanitizer. Also, when it comes to the bathrooms, be prepared to wait in line, because just like places to sit, this is another thing that is severely lacking.

5.    If the power goes out, know your professors will always keep teaching. It doesn’t matter if their PowerPoints don’t work, the professors at the University of Cape Town are very resilient people. So, if there’s load shedding going on and the room is dark, still go to class, otherwise you might miss a very important lecture. 

6.    Be prepared and know that if you speak in class, 300 people’s heads will turn to look at the random American in the room. If you get shy easily or don’t like being called out by your professors for any examples in which they are trying to convey the differences between Africa and the United States, just keep quiet and save the class participation for your tuts (tutorials, which you will have to talk in). 

7.    Eat at the Indian food bar located most days in Leslie Social. It has the best, home-made food. It’s definitely a hidden gem on upper campus and the guys that work there are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Not to mention its only R40 ($2) for a very filling bowl. It took me way too many weeks to find this place, and I do not want you to go so long without it.

8.    Take in the scenery at least once, if not five, times a day. Upper Campus is nestled right in the foothills of Table Mountain with an amazing view of Devil’s Peak and an elevation so high that you can see the whole city sprawling out before you when you stand at the top of the iconic Sarah Baartman steps. Take in every moment of this picturesque view, because, if your trip goes anything like mine did, you won’t know when it’ll be your last time seeing it.