Friday, April 5, 2013

So I'm in Africa?

Hi friends (read: Kets, Jeb, and Annie)! Here's my blog. I can't believe I am in South Africa; it's day two and I don't think I'll be able to return to NU because I am really liking my life here so far...

Anyway, let me start with saying a bit about my journey to get to this paradise (because it was hard and I want everyone to know). 
 Before I left I had to commandeer my parent's bedroom to pack. Thanks guys!
Back to the voyage: It started at 3:50 AM when we left for the airport. I got on a flight from LAX to JFK (6 hours) to meet Samm, Hailey and Michelle. From there I boarded a flight to Amsterdam (8 hours) and then finally it was on to Cape Town (11.5 hours). In that time span I consumed 3 pasta dinners, watched 6 movies, and slept. WHOOOOO! From Cape Town we were driven to Stellebosch University where I will be staying for the next 3 months. Hope and I are roommates and it's fabulous!

The next morning we were told to meet in the lobby at 8:30 AM (this was less than ideal considering the 9 hour time change from home), but we went to a dank brunch at a super cute hotel, so it was ok. 


 After 2 days of airplane food, I nearly cried tears of joy when this was brought to us. Then we headed back to campus for orientation, shopping, and general admin stuff. I am now the proud owner of a Nokia phone circa 2004, and it has snake so I'm pretty stoked. We think it's pretty vintage. 

That night we decided to go to dinner and then out to some bars/clubs. It was Deuce night, so I should have guessed that it was gonna be a winner. We ended up at Bishop's (not the spot, but we made it the spot). I think it was supposed to be a sports bar, but we decided to turn into into a club. Tequila shots are $1. I'm never coming back to US. Also, they have specials like 3 drinks for some ridiculously cheap sum of money. I think the idea is to split them, but clearly I decided to indulge and have them all. South Africans are SO friendly. We stayed at the bar for a while until our new friends decided they wanted to go to a new place. Hailey, Samm and I were in rare form so we hopped in the pick up and went with our new comrades. The night was a success as our friends dropped us at the dorm and asked up to brunch, we declined because we had a bus tour the next morning......

Flash forward to the next morning. I thought I was going to die. We got on the bus and I chewed like 17 pieces of mint gum to try to get rid of my hangover, it didn't work. By the time we stopped, I was feeling better and we got out of the bus to walk around Kayamandi (a black informal settlement). The poverty is unsettling and it was a little too much like a human safari. The children were so nice though and just wanted to hold our hands and get pictures. I took a few of some homies.

Homies

Kayamandi Township

We left the township to go to a B&B place for refreshments. They feed us like every 35 minutes, and it's pretty lovely. After refueling, we played soccer at a park with little kids. I'm super sporty, so clearly I crushed it. The kids are all so sweet. They are all unsupervised running around because it is a holiday and there parents are at work. We were talking about how if this happened in the US, parents would be arrested for negligence or something (Hailey might want to be a lawyer, so that's all her). 

We hopped back on the bus and went to lunch around 1. We ate in a winery on wooden benches. I had a goat cheese tart with caramelized onions. It ranks in the top 5 moments of life.

 The view from the winery was incredible!

Now it's off to a Michelin Star restaurant that ranks in the top 100 restaurants in the world. I have to figure out my smart casual attire. Life can be pretty rough. 

But for real, I love it here! I am so happy to be on this journey and I'll keep you all posted.

PS I haven't taken a class yet.

3 comments:

  1. love the blog...especially the part about unsupervised children. I should move to south Africa! It sounds amazing and am so excited for you. keep up the posts...xxaunt margaret

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    1. word. charlie, hannah, and kate would fit right in!

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    2. Stop putting an "h" at the end of your cousin Hanna's name....love you! Xx

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