IES Abroad Cape Town

I had the time of my life studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa! The city has everything you could want: beaches, beautiful landscapes and mountains for hiking, a vibrant nightlife, downtown shopping, art, and events, historical sites and museums, vineyards and wine-tastings, and much more! There is so much to explore and the time truly flies by. For classes, I took community health, and nutrition & HIV. The teachers were passionate and engaging, and I learned so much from them not just about South African healthcare but also about their culture and life. The classes are fascinating and you truly learn a lot and are at times academically challenged. You also get to go on fantastic trips through your classes, such as to public health centers and natural medicine practices. The final week of the program is class-free, and really just about traveling the country (including a safari!) before you unfortunately have to head back home. If you choose this program, you will make lifelong friends, live in the most incredible city on earth, and change your entire perspective on health, healthcare, and equality.

Studying abroad was always a dream of mine, but I didn't know if it would actually become a reality. Fast forward to my junior year, and in the fall semester, I start to seriously plan on going abroad. I originally planned on studying in Granada, Spain, until I became aware of the opportunity to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa.

Before fully committing to Cape Town, I spoke to students who had studied abroad there during previous semesters, and ALL of them absolutely loved it and said it was the most amazing and beautiful experience of their lives. I decided Cape Town was where I wanted to go and started to get extremely excited.

The students who I had spoken to did not go through a study abroad program. Therefore I was very hesitant in doing so when my study abroad coordinator recommended that I did. She was right, going abroad with IES was the best decision that I made! Immediately from the moment of arriving at the airport, IES representatives were so welcoming and easy to locate, I remember that day like it was yesterday.

Of course, going to a new place for six months is nerve-wracking, but IES provided fantastic housing, support, and field trips just to name a few things. I miss my IES family in Cape Town and which I could go back immediately!

Studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa with IES was everything I could've wanted and more. Academically, I was pushed hard, and the vibrancy of a major coastal city provided a multitude of activities to explore during my free time. I knew that I wanted to study abroad somewhere very different from the U.S., but I also knew that I'd do my best work in my home language. South Africa, then, was a great fit for me, and still provided the opportunity to hear and learn about the dozens of other languages that coexist there- even walking down the street is a stimulating experience. IES made me feel cared about as an individual, and supported me from the pre-departure phase all the way to my return to the U.S. If I could go back in time, I would choose them again. In such a creative and support space, I was really able to step out of my comfort zone and deviate from comfortable patterns I'd fallen into in the U.S. Incredible value and learning to embrace spontaneity were hallmarks of my time abroad with IES.

Studying Abroad with IES Abroad in Cape Town, South Africa has been more significant in my life than I could have imagined. I knew I would have fun, meet new people, and experience unfamiliar things, but I gained so much more than I expected to. I learned and improved skills such as understanding cultural differences, working in diverse teams, listening, tolerating ambiguity, and being flexible. I explored other countries in Southern Africa, including Botswana and Zimbabwe. I stepped out of my comfort zone daily, from trying new foods to learning new languages.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible support from IES Abroad. They provided medical, social, academic, mental, and cultural support in every way. They organized several (free!) field trips and excursions, many of which would have been impossible to do independently.

The University of Cape Town has a very beautiful campus that is centrally located. It is a short distance to the city centre. It also has many restaurants and bars nearby. The academics can be challenging at times but if you seek help should be ok. The campus life is very lively and there is always something happening. For those who are lovers of landscapes and nature this is the perfect experience for you. The highlight of my experience was the local tours we had as part of our program. We cooked local food, went to winelands, visited townships which overall created a very holistic experience. It was a life time experience which only helped me grow. Most importantly, the staff of the program is very supportive with anything. It really was home away from home.

The city, school, and program completely exceeded my expectations and I could not have asked for a better semester. If I hadn’t been a senior, I would’ve extended my time in Cape Town for a second semester. The IES Cape Town staff went above and beyond for their students. They planned several fun activities and field trips throughout the entire semester so we were really able to experience everything. The RAs were also extremely helpful and involved. They showed us around the school, helped us set up our phones, schedule doctors appointments, etc. Cape Town is the perfect city for study abroad because there are so many different things to do and see.

The city, school, and program completely exceeded my expectations and I could not have asked for a better semester. If I hadn’t been a senior, I would’ve extended my time in Cape Town for a second semester. The IES Cape Town staff went above and beyond for their students. They planned several fun activities and field trips throughout the entire semester so we were really able to experience everything. The RAs were also extremely helpful and involved. They showed us around the school, helped us set up our phones, schedule doctors appointments, etc. Cape Town is the perfect city for study abroad because there are so many different things to do and see.

Prior to arriving in Cape Town, South Africa, I knew that I was going to be studying in a very developed city, but I was still not quite sure what to expect in terms of the people and their culture. I remember feeling very anxious at first, but in a matter of about three to four days in what was initially an unfamiliar city, I began to feel more at home.
Right when I landed, I felt very welcomed by the IES Abroad staff because they immediately made me feel safe. The accommodations of the Program are extremely nice at the Mojo Hotel. My favorite part of the Hotel is its food market because it is very convenient to get lunch there in between class and service-learning. In terms of the setup of activities Program, I feel like it was very well planned out because the IES staff did a great job in providing us with a great number of options for certain activities, such as scenic drives, animal encounters, hiking, and more. In other words, they did not try to force us all to partake in the same activities and actually wanted us to partake in activities we were most interested in. In terms of service-learning and the cultural aspect of the Program, everything I learned definitely exceeded all my expectations. For example, I did not expect to see so much diversity in the hospitals, and I did not expect to hear so many different stories and learn about the wide variety of backgrounds patients come from. At one of the hospitals, I was lucky enough to see surgery, specifically the removal of an entire colon, which is so exciting as an undergraduate student. In terms of the course work of the South African Health Care class, I think the terms and theories we discussed in class were actually useful because they applied to our encounters with different patients during service-learning. I also did not think the assignments were too overwhelming, in fact I actually enjoyed writing the reflective piece at the end of the course because I got to reflect on how much I actually learned during the six weeks of the Program.
All in all, I feel like IES Abroad allowed me to really push myself to try new things during all the different activities, service-learning, and during my free-time. To all future students interested in this Program, my biggest piece of advice is to get out there and try new things during your free-time, like eating at exotic restaurants, going to comedy shows, completing the Three-Peak-Challenge, going to a traditional braii, and so much more. The city of Cape Town has so much to offer and I am so thankful for IES for giving me the opportunity to travel to the beautiful country of South Africa and take so much back with me back home.