Today was my first full day in CapeTown. In the morning, we had our orientation at the University of Capetown, and then spent the afternoon at the waterfront shopping and walking alongside the ocean. I still cannot get over how beautiful the mountains settled all along Capetown are. The view is absolutly breathtaking. It makes me wonder if people visiting the University of Minnesota think our campus is just as beautiful? Do I take it for granted? I wonder...

I am still adjusting to this new environment. Usually I cannot stop running my mouth, but here, I have been quieter because I am taking in all that is new- our housing, streets, university, bathrooms, people, etc. Our house is absolutly adorable. I will post pictures later......a good sized lavendar villa nestled on a street, and when you look up on our street you see the mountains. We left our house this morning around 8 am and as I stepped out of our doorstep, it was one of those "surreal" moments- sunny, peaceful, and beautiful. I still cannot believe I am in South Africa....

Here is a list compiled of some of the things I have done so far and what I have observed in my new environment...

1. I LOVE South African accents. It's a mixture between Australian and English, and hard to explain but so interesting!

2. I road a pirate ship today, that's right. We all took a cruise/tacky tourist trap on the ocean along the harbor and watched 2 outrageous guys sing songs and act like pirates would, all while listening to trance/techno music. Be jelous.

3. I still have no concept of how South African money, also known as rand, translates into American money.  The South African rand is 8 to 1 of our American dollars, which means we are getting good deals. That means I have NO concept of budgeting....this could get dangerous.

4. We have a great group of "interstudy" faculty/leaders/possy that escorts us around the city and campus. 

5. The whole security measure that are taken into account here are interesting. Each home is gated and has bars on the windows/doors, as well as panic buttons. It almost makes you feel as if you are in a jail cell at times. Security is supposed to improve safety, and it can be scary to see how serious they take it into account and makes me feel leery of an unsafe environment. However, overall, I feel very safe because these measures are taken.

6. Buses are called jammies.

7. One of the most profound thoughts that has stuck in my mind is that I am still in Africa, technically a 3rd world country, however I am sitting in my house ( which is very comfortable and nice), on my labtop using wireless, eating gourmet meals, etc. so the aspect of 3rd world doesn't really apply in this setting. I think it will sink in when we do our homestays in the village of Guguletu all of next week. My first perceptions of Africa are totally unexpected of what I had perceived before coming here. 

Tomorrow's agenda- our first lecture and then we are visiting the district 6 musuem......more to come! 

Emily