Today was the last day of UCT orientation and I am glad to be done with this period of endless days and long lectures! Tomorrow we just have a meeting about research projects in the afternoon but the rest of the day is free. Registration for the university is on Friday and then I will officially be a UCT student! I'm so excited to spend the semester here, the campus is absolutely gorgeous and the faculty seems really helpful.
Everything is still great on the home front; we are finally settling in and are starting to make communal meals etc. We built a large fire pit in the backyard and have bonfires every night! I am starting to really get to know all the people on my program and making some good friends, everyone is laid back and outgoing so most of us get along well. We have started to explore the area and we have had a lot of fun together.
Today I went to the beach with four other people for the afternoon, however we picked an extremely windy day and reconciled to come back a different day to spend a longer time. We did get to explore the train system and the different beach stops, so it was definitely a worthwhile trip. Tonight we are heading in to town, as in the downtown Cape Town area, to get a feel for the nightlife in the city. Each house has one RA that is basically there to settle us in and help us get to know Cape Town throughout the semester. They have been so helpful from everything to finding a good restaurant to getting tips for getting around campus. As students of UCT themselves, they are a good resource for information about student life and are more than happy to show us around and take us out at night to fun, but safe, places.
They spent a while drilling in security information and we all felt a little nervous at first, however now I realize that as long as I take their cautions into consideration and stay aware I have little to worry about. South African culture is different but exciting, and the more I learn the less I am afraid as I now feel more confident than when I arrived. The train ride to the beach was really interesting listening to all the different languages being spoken. Around campus I am with a lot of other Americans and there are a lot of white South Africans, however in town and on the train I am very aware that I am a minority in this country. I am learning how to make the clicking noise used in many of the 11 recognized official languages in South Africa and have also begun to learn a few words in Afrikaans. I want to try and sit in on a few language classes while I am on campus over the semester so I can pick up some conversational phrases. Our security guards have been slowly introducing some terms in Afrikaans and tell us they are slowly getting used to our accents (although they still claim we speak too fast).
Next week our intensive IES South African history class starts and the following week we begin UCT courses. I still need school supplies but luckily all the shops we could ever need are walking distance. I have also expanded my view of walking distance; all the walking around is great but the walk to the closest shops feels longer each day. The exchange rate is incredibly in our favor, and while I know the weak state of the South African economy is a bad thing, spending less than $20 US on an average grocery trip is nice. Eventually the novelty will wear off, but it is hard to eat in when you can get a nice meal and several bottles of wine at an average restaurant at the cost of one McDonalds trip in the States. The weather is still great, minus the wind today, and I am really excited about future beach trips and more outdoor activity. We are constantly outside walking somewhere and my tan is getting better by the day!
Okay, time for dinner! Tomorrow we get to sleep in, something we are all looking forward to. I will write more about the different places I have seen hopefully along with some pictures in the near future, so keep a look out!
You're never going to want to come home!!!!!!!
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