I went on my first run this morning in the African heat! I woke up finally feeling rested and decided I should start getting into a more normal daily routine. Campus is all hills, but eventually I will find a good route. It is extremely windy here today, the breeze is more than welcome.

This week we have 3 hours of intense South African History each day and next week I will be starting my UCT courses; I am taking an International Law course and Intro. to Political Economy. I am really looking forward to all my classes. I am starting to really feel like I live here and am not just on vacation. I did my first load of laundry yesterday, however it was quite unsuccessful. I accidentally put a new pink tank top in with all my white and, as one would expect, I now have zero white clothes and lots of pink ones. I am going to get some bleach and try to re-whiten a few things, but needless to say I will not make that mistake again! I did make a very delicious dinner for myself last night - a pasta dish with roasted veggies. Later that night we explored this bar walking distance from our house and had a low-key evening. I am finding that even in Africa the six degrees of separation theory is proving true. I feel like everyone I meet from the States knows someone I know or has some odd connection. I have even run into a few South Africans I randomly met out at a club several times since. It is nice seeing familiar faces as I start to learn the area.

I have been to several beaches so far, we have been going a lot this past week. My friend had a little run in with an ocean kayak and had to get 7 stitches in his back! These beaches are world renowned for three things: their beauty, the surfing, and sharks. Apparently the shark watching system is so sharp, however, that there is also the lowest incident of attack. The beaches are gorgeous and the water is warm so it is easy to push the fear of a shark attack out of my head.

I am having the time of my life so far! We saw an outdoor concert at Kirstenbosch gardens the other night and I can honestly say these botanical gardens were the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Between the green fields, the flowers, the mountains and the live music - it was probably one of the nicer things we have done since arriving here. Now I am showered and dressed (in my now pink shorts) and will probably hike up to campus to grab a sandwich before class. There is this little stand called Souper Sandwich that doesn't sell soup...but their sandwiches are amazing. The food here overall is not particularly "African" due to all the mixes of cultures. The African BBQ, called a Braai, does not have hamburgers and hotdogs which we were all a little disappointed to find. They instead have grilled chicken and various sausages, something I think we are all a little sick of already. In town I have already found my favorite cafe- they serve mango-mint smoothies that are absolutely to die for!

Speaking of food, I'm off to lunch! All is well in Cape Town, I hope you are all not too cold back in the northern hemisphere!