36
H
aving stepped off the plane into
exactly the same miserable
weather we thought we had left
behind in England, we swiftly introduced
ourselves to our respective exchange
partners and began our discovery of Cape
Town.
Barely had we landed than we had to start
packing for a five-day tour of the Garden
Route, along the South Eastern coast.
This is where we experienced the typical
Africa: feeding elephants, a sunset game
drive and zip lining over a waterfall were
just a few of the activities involved. This
tour was run by Herschel Girls' School, the
school which our exchange sisters attend,
and among us on this trip were some of
the other exchange students, including
four Australians, two Canadians, two
Indians, two Americans, and two other
English girls from Benenden. So now we
have friends from all over the world!
On our return to Cape Town we continued
our exploration. After a much needed
shopping spree, we visited the Aquarium
just in time to see both the penguins and
the sharks being fed, much to our
amusement. We spent the next two
weeks studying 'hard' with the girls at
Herschel, attending lessons in subjects
both familiar to us, and some completely
alien such as 'Consumer Studies'.
It has got to be said that we felt strange in
an all-girls' school, but that was nothing
compared to the day we spent at Bishops
Diocesan College: an all-boys' school!
Everyone was very welcoming, but
needless to say we felt slightly out of
place!
We managed to fit the majority of the local
attractions into our short three-week stay,
highlights of which would be going up
Table Mountain via the cable car, seeing
the penguins on Boulders Beach, going to
the Biscuit Mill - an absolutely crazy local
food and craft market - and most
definitely Charly's Bakery!
Our final day consisted of a teary farewell
party with friends and other exchange
students from Herschel, before we
returned to Cape Town Airport for our sad
but inevitable flight home. It is safe to say
that we have truly made friends for a
lifetime, and we are impatiently looking
forward to welcoming our South African
exchange sisters to England this
November.
South African Exchange
by Chantal Fifield and Penny Guess