.. finally in Capetown! For the past week we have been in the Northern part of the country for our program orientation. There are 23 students on my program (four guys and 19 girls) and three staff. Our academic director is named Shane, he is from Ireland and is quite a character. Sometimes when we ask him questions he pretends to be sleeping. Nomuwethu is like our group mom; she is from the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is our Xhosa teacher. (yes, I can officially confirm that the language I will be speaking is a click language.) Our third staff is named Nokutuli; she is a bit younger than Nomuwethu and is like a sister to us. She is also from Africa. Our first few days were spent in a backpacker (hostel) outside Jo-Berg, where we got to know eachother better and sat through a lot of debriefing sessions on topics such as health and safety. We went to the apartheid museum which was very intense, but I'm really glad that we went on the first day. It was a reminder that this country is still very much effected by apartheid and its after-effects. It has only been twelve years since South Africa became a democratic, one-man-one-vote country, and the system of apartheid is still very much an issue here.
On Wednesday we went on a safari in Kruger national park which was AMAZING. We saw elephants and giraffes and hippos and rhinos and pumba the warthog and even two leopards, which are apparently very rare and difficult to spot. (hahaha get it? spot..) The backpacker we were staying at outside Kruger was quite...unique. There were frogs in the shower. The two guys running the place were drunk all day long and kept forgetting to make our meals. On the day I mistakenly wore shorts (which we were advised was OKAY) the owner stared at me and said "I haven't seen legs in 8 years." On our last night Alex turned 21, so we bought him a bottle of Jose and celebrated South African style with our local van drivers. Yesterday morning we woke up early to go to Constitutional Hill (an old prision in the inner city of JoBerg) and Constitutional Court (the legislative branch of the new South African government). It was a very moving and intense experience. That afternoon we flew from Jo-Berg down to Capetown. It is strange to remember that in other countries flying is an everyday occurance, and requires little to none of the ridiculous precuations we deal with in the states. By the time we were on the bus to our hostel outside Capetown it was dusk. The city at night is absolutely gorgeous. The lights seems to go on forever. Every backpacker we have been in so far is always a new and exciting surprise, and this one was no different. The room we are staying in is about the size of a connecticut college double, and is accomodating myself and TEN other girls. Its like a mix between a 3rd grade sleepover and a brothel. Needless to say, some of us had wine with dinner and the amount of giggling that went on in that room is beyond description. It will be quite a change to move into our homestays with our families and all go back to sleeping alone. This morning we woke up and had a debriefing on the purpose of experiential learning, and then commenced our first real assignment: the capetown drop-off. This consisted of each of us leaving the hostel, getting into a very squished minibus (taxi) with 8 other South Africans going into Capetown, and then getting dropped off at some random location in the city. And now, here I am.
Finally being in Capetown is a very exhilirating feeling. From many points in the city, you can look up and see table mountain looming above you, and look down and see the waterfront and the ocean. The houses that are built into the mountain are all painted bright colors, as are many of the buildings in the heart of the city. Tonight we are going out to dinner on Long St. which is often compared to Bourbon St. in New Orleans, and will probably go out dancing after. Tomorrow we move into our homestays in the township of Langa. My family consists my mama (single mother) my sister/sisi who is 25, my brother/bhudi who is 19 and sings, and a 3 yr. old grandchild. Rumour has it that my mama is the village cook and loves to bake. Rumour also has it that exercise is a very bizarre habit here, and there is nowhere safe to go jogging even if I wanted to. (This means, Georgia, that we will possibly be going to healthpoint when I get home. or not.)
On Monday we will finally establish some type of a routine, in which we will live at home in Langa with our families, and take the bus in everyday to Rondebosch to attend language class, our seminars on multiculturalism and social change, and our seminar on beginning to plan for our independent study. Rondebosch is the city in which the University of Capetown and my program office are. As of now, I hope to do a practicum/internship involving prenatal care and infant healthcare. However, our ISPs do not begin until November 6, so I imagine that may change a bit. I'll most likely be living in a flat in Capetown during that time if anyone wants to come visit me over thanksgiving!!
The juice here is 100% natural and absolutely delicious. Kids call their friends their "China". Stoplights are called robots and packies are called bottle stores. People drive on the left side of the road, and everyone operates on 'african time'. This pretty much means that everyone and everything is going to be late, but we arent allowed to be ever because we will screw up our overly packed program schedule.
I have not yet been bitten by a mosquito and gotten malaria, nor have there been any spiders in my shoes. However, we have been functioning pretty much in a bubble up until now, and this will most likely all change when we move into Langa tomorrow.
We have only been here a week but it feels like much longer. I really like all the kids in my program, and living together 24/7 and sitting on top of eachother for 4 hour van rides has really brought us close.
I miss home and all of you very much and think of you guys all the time. Its sad to me that I won't be home for my favorite season; the crisp new england air, the changing leaves, buying new sweaters, going to soccer games on harkness green, thanksgiving.. these are things I will truly miss. However, Capetown is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the weather is pleasant, and they are just moving from Spring into Summer. Life is good.
I'm sorry this post is so long- I'll be able to update much more often now that we are back in civilization. Thanks to everyone that has emailed me- I can't tell you how nice it is to hear from people back home.
Loving and missing all of you.
