“Five, four, three, two, one!” The words ricochet through the canals of my ears and diminish as I free fall to the river beneath me. A rush of adrenaline moves from my toes and up to my throat, and I choke on a stifled scream. Arms spread wide, gravity is my captor, and no more than four seconds pass before the cord tightens, snapping me back upward into a seemingly uncontrollable spiral. Keep your eyes open. Just keep your eyes open.
Although petrified of heights, I just jumped off of the Bloukrans River Bridge in South Africa, known in advertisements as the “World’s Largest Commercial Bungee Jump” at 216 meters high.
Looking upside down at the Indian Ocean while dangling from this structure is only one of the many adventures I had while studying abroad in Cape Town last semester. Marquette has a multitude of study abroad programs and opportunities, and the one that I found to be the most fulfilling was the South African Service Learning Program.
Like any major municipality, this port city is home to a multitude of cultures. Not only will students have opportunities to bungee jump, surf, climb the infamous Table Mountain, go on a safari and make lifelong relationships, they will also witness the results of a national civil rights movement resulting from the actions of leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu that led to the end the apartheid.
This study abroad program sets itself apart from others. Not only is it a chance for students to travel to another country, immerse themselves in a new culture and attend classes at the University of the Western Cape, but participants are also able to serve others in Cape Town.
One of the major components to studying abroad in South Africa is the opportunity to work at a service learning site. Individuals can do anything from working as teachers in elementary schools to working as counselors at a rehabilitation center. In addition, they are given the flexibility to choose where they want to work according to their majors and personal preferences.
As a broadcast and electronic communication major, I worked at Bush Radio. I was able to produce my own show and talk live on air to the people of South Africa. In doing so, I became a member of a historically significant part of the country’s populous. Bush Radio is known as the “voice of the community” because it was illegally broadcast during the end of the apartheid era. This station catered to the majority population and became a political landmark in the fight against the racial prejudice and social injustice that was upheld by the apartheid government.
To learn more, go to mu.edu/safrica. The application deadline is March 11. If you have any questions about the SASL program, please contact me at [email protected].
Corinne Stubbs is a senior in the College of Communication