Ekaterina, Magnitogorsk

"Only Russians can go to Africa just to earn money!"

Katya

AFRICA THROUGH MY EYES

Just like for Syoma, South Africa became the third country where I went to live and work. Like him back in the day, I went to England through the "HOPS" program, which was very popular among students, and worked on a strawberry farm. The following summer, after finishing my fourth year at university, I went to the United States on a "Work and Travel" program, where I worked as a waitress for four months.

I must note that when I was flying to America, I had already decided for myself: the next stage for me would be South Africa. I found out about the African program and got the email address of Alexey, who I knew was planning to go there. He was supposed to leave before I returned from America.

I messaged him. He helped me the whole time. Both with support and advice.

I returned from the USA and immediately started applying for South Africa.

Before this, I had never been away from home for longer than four months. And here I was, planning to go for a year, and to such a distant place!

After finishing my ninth semester, half of my fifth year, I took a one-year academic leave.

And I took off to Africa ???!!! Which, by the way, shocked not only my parents but also my friends and acquaintances. Many were stunned by my actions.

And so I arrived, landing in the most unusual place on earth! I saw one of the most stunning cities in the world — CAPE TOWN!!!

I didn't have any difficulties finding work or housing: at first, the guys took me in to live with them, and then I got a job as a hostess at a restaurant where Alexey also worked. So in that regard, everything went smoothly for me.

I had great difficulties with orientation. But here again, I am grateful to Alexey, because he supported me here too:

— Orient yourself by the high-rises! — he recommended.

And indeed, this advice helped me start navigating the city well very soon.

— Don't forget that traffic is on the left! — Lyosha was constantly pulling me out from under cars, by the collar! Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but for the first month and a half, when crossing the street, I really, instinctively, kept looking to the left instead of the right!

My adjustment to South Africa lasted about the same amount of time.

Two weeks after me, Ira arrived. From the city of Volzhsky, Volgograd region. There was enough room in the apartment for her too. Ira and I lived together for the whole year. Even after the guys moved out — Alexey and Dasha went home (we didn't catch Alisa at all, she left shortly before us), to Russia, and Liza soon moved in permanently with Edward, her boyfriend.

Over the year, Ira and I had to change two more apartments after that. We looked for apartments through newspaper ads. There are many ads, and by the local winter, rental prices drop! At first, we found one worse than the previous one and lived there for a while, and then, on the contrary, we found a cute little apartment in Sea Point. And from the summer (South African winter), we started living there.

In August, I decided to change jobs. In winter, it's not only cool here, but work is also much worse than in the season, which usually starts at the end of October and lasts until May. The restaurant became half-empty, they only gave us four to five hours of work a day, and, accordingly, the salary dropped significantly. Trying to find a more suitable place for myself, I came to this conclusion: when looking for work, the main thing is to have a visa in your passport. And also a work permit from SASTS, which should be given at the CMO when applying for the trip. Or print it out at the SASTS office itself, in Cape Town. To get a job, you need to walk, walk, and walk until they take you somewhere! They are much more likely to hire those who really want to work!

A year flew by in one breath. Looking back, I see that it was very eventful. A lot happened! New meetings, acquaintances, partings. And trips and travels. I was on Table Mountain several times. I climbed Lion’s Head and Devil’s Peak. I was on Robben Island. I traveled around and saw the surroundings of Cape Town quite well. I was at the Cape of Good Hope. And — my main TRIP, which, of course, I remember and which impressed me the most — was my tour trip in October two thousand and eight.

The journey began in Botswana. We traveled by bus. And what didn't I see in those twenty days! Crocodiles, hippos, leopards, elephants, and many, many other animals in their natural habitat, unusual for the eyes of a Russian person! In Botswana, I not only saw the Okavango Delta, but we also went boating on it, overcoming dangerous currents. We were flooded with water, capsized. I got such an adrenaline rush from this, you can't imagine!!! And the final point of our trip was Victoria Falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. A giant waterfall on the Zambezi River; various animals frolicking in the wild, in their natural habitat, did not leave any of us indifferent. Some completely incredible and amazing nature in its beauty! Semyon was envious when he saw the Baobabs in my photos!!! And he also seems to dream of getting to Victoria Falls!

In Zimbabwe, I took a bus to Johannesburg. And there, the next day, I transferred to one going to Cape Town.

The last three months were also eventful. Movies, cafes, the ocean, walks. I worked and met with my boyfriend. On one of the last days, we sailed on a yacht, watching the sunset on the ocean.

I returned to Russia to continue my studies on January 8, 2009.

South Africa is remembered by me as a country unlike the rest of the world. A country where, if anything reigns, it is undoubtedly contrast. And it manifests itself, in my opinion, not only in the black, colored, and white population. The contrast here is in everything: in the people themselves, their traditions, nature, lifestyle, mindset, weather, history...

I think it is precisely this feature that South Africa conquered me with the most. Only here can you make friends with black Africans who have recently been liberated from the apartheid regime and prim Boers — former Europeans ?. Plus, with many other representatives of various nationalities and peoples not only from the whole continent but from all over the world.

In the morning you can meet the sunrise on Table Mountain, and in the evening swim in the Atlantic Ocean, watching the sunset!

James, my boyfriend, often jokingly called me "I-want-I-want-I-want!" Because, in my opinion, you cannot live in South Africa and remain uninterested in all its diversity!

You can organize your leisure time in such a way that for the rest of your life you will remember with admiration the cuisines of different nations, safaris, shark feeding, surfing, parachuting, and so on and so forth. Everyone will be able to find entertainment according to their interests. And the energy and spirit here are very special: cheerful, light. I can't say exactly what exactly captured and "hooked" me about Cape Town, but I am in love with it with all my heart!!!

South Africa was a European colony for a long time, so a lot has been adopted from the culture of the conquerors. But all this is somehow transformed and accepted in its own African way. Some people think that in South Africa EVERYTHING IS SOMEHOW UNFINISHED. I would choose another expression that seems more accurate to me: EVERYTHING THERE IS SPECIAL! You need to live there to understand this! And at first glance, it may seem like anything.

Cape Town itself symbolizes for me the country of South Africa. And not just because I lived there for that year. For me, it is not just a beautiful city. It was here that I felt this different, unlike any I had encountered before, lifestyle. Relaxed, unhurried...

If you ask people who were born here and have lived here for more than one generation, you can learn a lot from their stories!

If you are bored, lack emotions, and just want something unimaginable, you MUST go to South Africa!!!

On frosty Russian evenings, I especially miss Africa. And now, sitting in a severely frozen Magnitogorsk, I dream of returning, even for a little while.

I don't know yet how my future trips will turn out. Living in South Africa, I often dreamed of going to Canada next time. But who knows, maybe instead, I will return to Cape Town again! If, of course, I can.