Greetings from the Cape!

Hello everybody,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get internet, but its much more of a luxury here than in the states. We buy internet in terms of mb/gb. So the more juicy you use up online, the quicker your internet usage must be. Its more of an energy conservation technique (I think.)

I ended up sleeping in the airport when my flight got in at 11PM. That is the last time I will be doing that, as I was picked up at 9:30 the next morning. There are roughly 180 people in the abroad program I am in, which was  a bit overwhelming my first week of orientation- being around that many people. I have another week  of orientation this week, except this is the University Orientation. I am already orientationed out.

I am living with a host family, about a 20 minute train ride from campus. They live in a suburb called Plumstead. They are a coloured family, but it has a very different meaning and is not considered  racist like in the U.S. It is a rather large family, I have 3 host brothers. The oldest, Ryan, is 23 and he works. He has a girlfriend Sam who is over all the time, and is also a UCT student. She is very nice. The middle child, Matthew, is 18, and is quite shy. He is in his final year of matric, which is high school. The youngest, Caleb, is 9 and he is in the 4th grade. He is really interested in my accent, and wants to learn how to talk like me. He is a very curious young boy. My host parents names are Diane and Gavin Van Schalkwyk. (It's a very dutch surname) They are so nice to me, and are making me feel very comfortable in their home. Diane's mother and her husband also live at home. They speak Afrikaan as their main language, and have never seen snow before! It was very hard to understand what they were saying at first, but it will come much easier with time.

I live in a very safe neighborhood, but I found out my first day I moved into my host family house that they had their house hijacked. It must have been within the last 2 years. People with guns raided the house and made everyone lay down on the floor, and they took a bunch of stuff. Kind of scary, but they upped their security. Most of the houses have iron fences or walls around them. Safety is a much bigger issue here than back at home. You really need to be careful and watch your back- Especially at night. Never travel alone at night, walking is also iffy but if you are in the city by the water front it has lots of security and is much safer.
I didn't think I would have a culture shock here, but I did. Maybe it's because I've been around so many people at once for so long, that it's been a bit overwhelming. Cape Town is very divided. One minute you can be in the flats where it is very poor, and the next you can feel like your in the very wealthy areas by the harbor and the bay. It is interesting how we have the option here to just leave a situation (such as a very poverty stricken area) when we want and all of a sudden be somewhere completely different. People who are poor here do not have that option, and I think it is something we take for granted.

Classes begin on the 14th of Feb, so after this week, a few of us Americans want to rent a car and head to the Garden Route towards Port Elizabeth. I am already adjusting to the mindset of a new school year beginning, as summer vacation is coming to an end. Life is much different here than many thinks it is. Maybe because I am living with a host family and I am getting a more culture shock/experience. This is going to give me much more insight of living as a South African- which is a huge reason why I wanted to go abroad.
There are so many wild animals here that only live in the zoos in the U.S. I saw a bunch of baboons yesterday at the Cape of Good Hope trying to get into a car. They are dangerous animals here and will take your stuff! I also saw a ostrich roaming freely in the nature reserve.

I went to an African Braai (Barbeque) at a very nice restaurant near Stellenbouch, which is where all the vineyards are here. Lots of traditional African foods, music and dance. It was a great welcome dinner.

My brain can no longer think, as there is so much happening and experiencing.  Updating this may only come once a week/every 2 weeks. Right now if feels as though I've been away forever, but maybe it just because orientation stuff gets old after a while (Especially when you have to have 2 weeks of it) and makes the time go by much slower. I hope everyone is enjoying the cold, as it is very warm here. Cheers!

All Packed UP!

Well, I cannot believe the amount of work that went into getting everything ready for this trip. Whew. It was like another job, or class with a lot of homework this last semester with all the paperwork, e mailing, meetings, visa application, etc. So much planning, way more planning than I had foreseen, but I know this is all going to be worth it.

I spent my last day at home sleeping in, going to grandma's, running around town picking up last minute stuff, and packing. When I was in high school, my swim team went on training trips. The only thing I had to worry about was paying for the trip, which I fundraised- so there were no costs.. My coach took care of the rest. Props to Lynn for the work load that goes into setting that all up.

A friend of mine Erica Derifield  is going to meet me at the airport. Her mom works for the airline and she checked the availability on my flight to Amsterdam and there are a lot of seats still open. Well, Erica is going to accompany me to Amsterdam! Luckily for her, her chances of getting home look pretty good as she has class on Monday. Her random acts remind me a lot of myself. It will be nice to have a traveling companion for my first leg of my 20 hour trip to Cape Town.

Pre-Departure

I'm new to this whole blogging thing. I prefer to journal with a pen and paper instead of this electronic stuff. However, I feel if I blog every now and then people may not e mail me so much of what I've been up to. (I still plan on journaling)

I leave on Sunday, I have a layover in Amsterdam and then an 11.5 hour flight to Cape Town. None of this is really hitting me yet, except for the fact that I said goodbye to my girlfriend today. Lots to do before I leave!