Day three!

I feel like I have been here for a week - our days have been jam packed so far with various orientation activities. Everything is really interesting, but waking up at 6am and getting to bed after midnight is getting exhausting! Luckily tomorrow we can sleep in a few more hours!

I am living in a house in the suburb of Mowbray with 11 other students from my program, and there is an 8 person house attached with more of us. Our two houses are secured inside a gate with a 24 hour security guard and we also have four different keys to get in the house and our own individual bedrooms! It is great living with so many people, there is always a group of people hanging out and we all have single rooms when we want to be alone. My room has the best view, when I figure out the best way to get pictures online you will be able to see what I get to see every morning! Today we visited the Langa Township, the oldest township in Cape Town. We got to walk around guided by a few men that grew up and still live in the township; we saw houses, churches, schools, art centers, shops, and overall the day was a great window into how the "blacks" of Cape Town live. There are three races that have official labels used by everyone including the government, there are blacks, coloreds, and whites. Each has its own unique history and culture and although the terms would seem to imply a racist undertone, they are used as simple classifications that everyone accepts.

This weekend our orientation for the University of Cape Town starts with all 500 international students that will be there this spring. I am looking forward to meeting people outside my program and spending more time on campus. I saw some Zebras today in the distance as we drove along and I had a, "Wow, I'm really in Africa!" moment- while we are with mostly Americans wandering around such a small part of Cape Town it is easy to forget where exactly we are. I am already planning trips to surrounding countries, everyone is so eager to travel it's great!

So far so good, hope all is well with all of you!

Travel beginnings!

As I write this I am in London, it is about 1am here and my cousins are still awake busy about the house! I am writing this in a Word document and will post it as soon as I get to South Africa- when you read this it means not only have I arrived safe but I have found a way on to the internet! England has been amazing and I want to write everything down while it is still fresh in mind, even if I cannot share it right away.

I arrived ahead of schedule but the line to get checked at the UK border took a painfully long time. Jennifer and Norman, my cousins, were right there to greet me as soon as I passed through customs. It was bright and early in the morning for them, but it was nearly time to sleep according to my body. I managed to nap for an hour or two and then prepared for a family filled afternoon. I got to see lots and lots of British relatives and specifically lots of little British cousins! Everyone is doing just great and for those of you that know the lot, they send their love. That evening I got a fabulous driving tour of London with Jennifer, Rochelle and Adele. With no traffic to slow us down we hit all the major sights and then some, albeit in the dark, but it was amazing. I was exhausted by the time we were through and promptly fell asleep when we got back around 10pm. Today Jennifer and I made our way back into London, this time on foot, and walked and walked and walked. I saw Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar’s Square, The National Gallery, Covent’s Garden and more! We even managed to snag tickets to see Dirty Dancing at the theater for the evening- a fabulous show. You all might find it hard to believe but I managed to only purchase one article of clothing and it was on sale for ₤9.

Tomorrow I will wake up early to say bye to Paul as he stops by on his way to work and Norman before he leaves as well. Jen and I are planning lunch with Paul’s wife Nicky and I hopefully will get to see their babies again- they have two twin 4 year old boys, Joshua and Alfie, and then two twin baby girls, Amber and Saskia. Then it is back to Heathrow, boarding an 11 ½ hour flight, and traveling to yet another continent. This will be the last time I see family for quite some time. No homesickness yet, but I am starting to grasp just what I am getting myself into. It will be a long while until I see traffic driving on the correct side of the road again!

Cheerio loves!

P.S. I arrived in Cape Town very early this morning and have had quite the exciting day! Tomorrow once I have started orientation and find a way to charge my laptop I will let you know all about it! I am safe, happy, and overall very excited about the next five months – I wish you all could be here enjoying this warm beautiful evening with me. My bedroom has a perfect view of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak!

Pre-departure information

I am not sure how soon I will be able to post once I begin traveling about, so here is a little overview of what I will be doing for the next five months.

I am leaving on Saturday, January 24th for London where I will arrive around 5am and spend the next few days with my British relatives. It has been ages since I have seen them all, and I am more than excited to rendezvous across the ocean for a bit. Not to mention it will break up the traveling- I will still have 11 hours of plane time to get to Cape Town!
On the evening of the 27th I will board my British Airways flight part II and get into Cape Town the next morning, hopefully stepping off the plane to find a lovely IES abroad representative waiting for me. From there your guess is just as good as mine, I assume I will meet the other participants and make my way to my apartment. We are all placed in apartments 5-30 minutes traveling time from the University of Cape Town. I have no roommate info yet, but I am optimistic and looking forward to living in a new city!
Classes do not actually start until Feb 11th, but I have a packed few weeks of first program and then university orientation including tours, field trips, barbecues and I assume lots and lots of information. Then the learning begins! My schedule is unknown as of yet, but I am counting on getting some cool classes so my senior year isn't a (complete) scramble for credits. I fly into Boston around June 13th, assuming my plans do not change!