As I sat in my room looking for pictures to send to my mom, I was struck by the memories they evoked. I decided that I wanted to sum up my experience in Cape Town thus far with my 5 favorites pictures in my camera roll.
It was our second day at Aquila, and if there’s one thing I remember, it’s how cold it was while we were driving. We were all wrapped up in the black blankets the safari guide gave us, trying our best to stay warm during our refreshment stop. Nardeen, Alya, and I were in the middle of taking a 0.5 selfie when Allam photobombed. We pulled Allam and Sekai into the picture and took another 0.5. Ironically, my favorite photo isn’t even the 0.5 itself, but rather the one that someone else took of us taking it. I love the angle and how it caught all of us in the moment.
This meal deserves a spot on the list for obvious reasons. Since we made it ourselves, it’s automatically a 10/10. After our BoKaap cooking class, we got to sit down and enjoy everything we made together. Not only was the food AMAZING, but this photo is one of my favorites because the colors are so vibrant, much like everything else in BoKaap. Every time I look at it, it makes me hungry all over again. More than anything, though, this photo reminds me of how much fun we had cooking together.
This is probably one of the sweetest photos in my camera roll. One night, we all came to the conference room in our pajamas to watch Obsession. While we were getting everything set up, Naomi mentioned that she was planning to take out her braids. Within minutes, everyone had volunteered to help, and before long, there were so many hands working on her hair to speed up the process. I love this photo because it reminds me of one of our first real bonding moments as a group. It was such a small thing, but I remember thinking how sweet it was that everyone immediately jumped in to help.
After spending the morning at Oranjezicht City Farm and then stopping by a thrift fest, Liana, Alya, Nardeen, and I didn’t really have a plan. We realized we were so close to BoKaap, so we figured, why not go? We walked over, and as soon as we got there, we realized our outfits matched the colorful houses so well. We wandered around looking for the perfect background and eventually found this deep green wall, which ended up being our favorite. This photo is of Liana taking a picture of me and Nardeen, and I honestly think I like it even more than the final photos. It captures the fun and spontaneity of the afternoon.
We were on the Peninsula Tour when we stopped to hike up to the lighthouse at the Cape of Good Hope. Stuart, our tour guide, described it as a “light walk,” but little did we know it was actually a mini hike. Between the steep walk and the wind constantly blowing my long white skirt around, getting to the top was definitely more challenging than I expected. This photo was taken by Nardeen on the way back down, and I love it because everyone just looks so happy.