My first post!

Hey everyone! Sorry this is late, but would you expect anything else from me? My first week in Africa has been a whirlwind.. this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I started off with an unexpected layover in Dakar, Senegal. Our plane broke down as we were about to take off so Delta set us up in a 5 star hotel with beautiful hotel rooms. It was on the ocean and we got pretty much free everything. So, all in all, it wasn't a complete disappointment. It was actually really interesting and luckily there were a lot of other Interstudy folks on my flight.. it's safe to say we bonded through our semi-crisis.

So after staying a night in Senegal and an 8-hour flight later we finally arrived in Cape Town! Words cannot describe our excitement.. it had been a long 3-day journey and we were excited to be home.. weird that I can call it that. We got set up in our apartments.. they're nothing fancy but they're cute in their own way. There are gates everywhere... it takes me a remote control and 4 different keys to get all the way up and in to my room so the security is pretty prime. We're living in Mowbray which is sort of a suburb outside of downtown Cape Town. I'm in walking distance from grocery stores and the like.. plus the "Friendly 7 Eleven," which is nothing like American 7 Elevens.. and get this: their hours are actually 7-11.. who woulda thought? Anyway, I go there a lot.. they serve all the necessities, fresh fruit, and of course wine... which is wonderful. By the way, bottles of wine here average around 26 rand.. meaning about $2.60. The dollar goes the distance here, which is very helpful (especially at the bars.. maha).

All the Interstudy people here (mentors and students alike) are fabulous people and I can't wait to get to know them better. The first couple days were for orientation-like things (setting up a bank account, figuring out my cell phone situation, and getting to know campus and the registration process). At night, however, the mentors are like are personal bar escorts. They tell us where to go and party with us all night.. it's so wonderful. :) People in South Africa drink like it's their jobs.. I highly approve of this lifestyle. When you think of local South Africans, think of a mix between Australians and surfers from California. Everything's fine and lazy here. Time is never an issue. In fact, there's no such thing as being on time. When someone tells you to meet them at 8:30, for example, they often meet 9:15. It's something we're all trying to get used to, coming from a society where time is money. Everyone is so friendly here and loving life.. (how could they not, they live in a tropical paradise...)

Yesterday we hiked Table Mountain and made it to the highest point in Cape Town. It was a very strenuous and sometimes treacherous hike (which none of us really expected). Picture a bunch of panting, sweating Americans climbing up rocks and cliffs.. but the top was worth the climb. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And it's one of the few places in the world that you can see two different oceans standing in the same spot. You look to your left and see the Atlantic, then look to your right and there's the Indian Ocean. It's pretty much indescribable. And the hike down was even harder. Jumping down rocks and boulders and trying not to fall to your death really eats up a lot of your physical and emotional strength.. plus apparently I have the knees of an 80-year-old man.. so.. yeah. I was quite sore and sunburnt today.. which brings me to the happenings of today... probably like 15 of us hopped the train to another suburb (the name escapes me right now) where we hung out on the beach overlooking the Indian Ocean all day.. yeah, my life sucks huh. :) It was beautiful and a bunch of people rented surf boards.. By the way, for a 15-20 min train ride, it costs the equivalent of about 55 cents in american money. And apparently they never really check for tickets so we just didn't buy them.. supposedly you can only ride the train until about 5pm and never alone because it gets really dangerous at night.

That's another thing that's so different from here.. all the security precautions are crazy. As in, I can't walk anywhere alone after the sun goes down.. and forget walking home from the bars. It's taxis all the way and you can't even take those by yourself. They have taxis here called minibuses which are basically big kidnapper vans, only they have lots of windows. There's a driver and another guy that yells out the window at you.. as in, you don't hail cabs here, they find you and yell at you and you can nod your head and they'll stop. It costs 5 rand or about 50 cents to go anywhere in the city. But that's another thing you don't want to ride by yourself or after dark. The only safe transport after dark are certified cab companies.. it's really weird. You just have to be on your toes a lot. The homeless people start begging and roaming the streets when the sun goes down so we always travel in big groups. Ok, this is sounding negative but I love this place so much. One of the best decisions I have ever made.. sooo come visit me if you want? k thanks. :) All right everyone, time to shower all the sand off me and aloe myself.. my fair Minnesotan skin doesn't even know what to do with sun like this. Check my facebook for pictures in the upcoming weeks because it's expensive for me to upload them on to the web while I'm at my apartment. Peace, love, and delicious wine.

Love,
Nicole