Runaway: Table Mountain. It's No Laughing Matter.

Who are we?

This blog is an agglomeration of the thoughts and experiences of two American girls who packed up and moved to South Africa on a whim. Caz from Fairfield, Connecticut and Mandy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin first met as roommates in 4127 on Semester at Sea in Fall of 2010.

In the interim, Caz returned to finish her Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biology (concentration in Microbiology) and Geography with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Miami in Florida, while Mandy took a hiatus to rediscover her real passion working with pregnant women, advocating for home birth and delivering babies outside of a hospital environment. We reconvened to follow both of our fields of study (read: hopes, dreams, asiprations, life goals, etc.) outside of the United States. Hello South Africa?

We are both here for at least a year and a half, though the more time we spend falling in love with South Africa, the more we'd like to think it'll be longer. We are both starting jobs in November/December: Caz working with infectious disease at a hospital clinic and Mandy beginning her training to become a certified midwife. Before then, we are both writing a book about our experiences leading up to this adventure as well as the multitude of serendipitous happenings that led us here.

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. If you have an interest in a topic, let us know and we will surely oblige you (within reason). Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Table Mountain. It's No Laughing Matter.

Lets talk about heights. I hate them. Today Caroline and I celebrated nearly 3 years since coming to South Africa for the first time by ascending the mountain. For those of you that don't know, Table Mountain was recently added to the list of 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and for good reason. It's fucking gorgeous. Breathtaking and humbling in it's stature and beauty, it hugs the city of Cape Town. But before we can enjoy the incredible view from the top, we have to get in the cable car and go over 1,000 meters above sea level. Greaaatt... So not only does this mean getting into a steal contraption with many other people, but the floor rotates meaning there's nothing to hold onto for dear life. I did better though, than the first time I was on the cable car nearly 3 years ago. Much better. I actually had my eyes open for like 60% of the ride! The rest of the time was spent with my face in Caroline's shoulder while she took an amazing video of the ride, which you can see here!

And this is Caroline's record of me hating my life.

Alright! Here we go! Let's get up that mountain!