Alex Gehman, Pitt in South Africa Summer 2024
The semester before studying abroad was an insanely busy one for me. I barely had time to breathe between all of my obligations, let alone time to research the country before leaving. I think there were some positives to going in without research- I didn’t have any particular hopes or expectations, everything would be new, and I’d get to experience things in real time. However, I do wish I’d had the time to do some research at least into the country’s history. I vaguely knew what apartheid was before the trip, but nowhere near what I do now. I think going in with at least some information would’ve helped contextualize the two cities we visited, making me more conscious of their significance. I had no idea what Johannesburg was going to be like and my guess for Cape Town was that it’d feel like any city. Cape Town reminded me a lot of Pittsburgh, while Johannesburg reminded me of my hometown which, while not essential, could have been good to know beforehand.
Because I didn’t do research beforehand, most things about South Africa surprised me. Overall, I think the most surprising thing was how much it reminded me of home for better or worse. I knew it’d be more modern than western media likes to portray Africa in general, but I didn’t think it would feel as familiar as it did. There were similar shops and restaurants compared to the US, but the general vibe of Cape Town in particular felt like how I did in Pittsburgh. My professor mentioned that the weather would be similar to that of Pittsburgh, but didn’t mention the country was very hilly like Pittsburgh is. As much as I hated having to walk uphill it felt very familiar. I didn’t feel homesick at all during the program, and I think the familiarity of it all was a large factor in that. It also helped that all of my classmates and I got along really well, so I didn’t have the opportunity to feel lonely.
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