[blessed by rain].

so i might start blogging every night because trying to summarize two days is a difficult task. today is thursday.. and i will start with wednesday.

wednesday (5/28/2008):
we started off the day with a lecture at the uct campus. actually.. the day started when we freakin hiked vertically uphill, across a highway to our classroom. haha.. it was okay.. we took the "scenic" route. the lecture was covering a brief view on the history of south africa and the apartheid. it was such a brief lecture and there was so much that was probably left out. i could have spent hours learning about the history of south africa.

the next thing we did was go to the district six museum. district six is a section of cape town, where during apartheid, thousands of people were displaced. they were forcibly moved from their homes.. and their homes were destroyed. the museum was a memorial of all those who had lived there. the centerpiece of the museum was a map on the floor of district six, and the former residents came back to sign their names on the place that they used to live.


we then moved on to long street and to the markets. it was interesting to see all the stalls and the items that were for sale. i wanted to buy everything.. but i held back. hilary and i need to work on our haggling skills. i felt like we had "sucker" written across our forehead. it must be the minnesota nice!

oh.. and for dinner.. we went to nando's. very delicious chicken. enough said.

thursday (5/29/2008):
today.. was.. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. this is where i have to slowly try and organize my thoughts. first of all, i would like to mention that these first couple of days seems very touristy. we are taking tours and just taking in the beauty of the country. today was our tour of the cape. we had several stops during the day.. all of which were maybe once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing.

our first major stop was a boat ride to see the island where the seals mate/breed/make babies. it started off sunny and great.. and were just coasting in the atlantic ocean. then all of a sudden, it grew very gray and wet. haha.. here in south africa, rain comes horizontally due to the winds that meet. so it was raining sideways! although, one of our tour guides told us that is a blessing to be rained on in south africa? or in general? anyways.. the waves got rough so we had to go inside the boat (which was filled with awkward-aged children and the odor of stinky fish). we got to were the seals were hanging out.. and there were so many of them. they were just floating on the top. but it was hard to watch them because the waves were tossing the boat around. so that is the first time that day we got rained on.


then! drum roll.... dee dee dee. PENGUINS. we saw penguins. amazingly cute penguins! up close and personal. they were amazing! we went to a shore where all the penguins just hang out. and this little guy let me get a close up of him. we bonded.

.. and frolicked in the indian ocean! now.. i have been in three oceans! the water was so clear and blue.


i will give a very brief summary of what happened next because there is something i really want to talk about.. but i refuse to go out of order. we also so baboons.. and oh wait.. that might be it until the next little bit. our next stop was cape point. cape point is the southern most part of the continent of africa. it is like the last thing to stand on before you hit antarctica. we had to take a hike through some trails to get to cape point. it was a tough for someone who is very out of shape (me). but it was worth it!

halfway to cape point, there was a beach.. with white sand and no footprints.. we frolicked on the beach and waded into the indian ocean. it was gorgeous. i never imagined in my life that i would be in such a beautiful and surreal place. i am just so blessed to even get to be where i am right now. anyways.. we continued to hike the rest of the way through the peak... and pretty sure it started rain SIDEWAYS again during the second half of our hike. blessed twice in one day!

one thing i found interesting was something our tour guide had said on the bus. as we were passing the site were district six used to be, she mentioned a few facts about it. she said that the people were forcefully removed from district six due to the fact that they were slums. but at the district six museum.. they said that district six was in fact, not slums. it was just an excuse to remove colored people from there. so i thought it was interesting, that a white woman would say that about district six. not a judgment.. but interesting.

anyways.. i can officially say.. that i have been to the southern most part of africa. like if you are looking at a map of africa.. and you see the bottom tip.. i was there. mind blowing.

[travel & day 1].

this post is to organize some of my thoughts and events that have occurred since leaving minneapolis. it has been quite a long journey since i arrived at the airport at 5am on may 25th. currently.. it is 1:10am on may 27th here in cape town.

for most of you who have been in the car with me at some point.. you know that i get terrible carsickness. well.. i was happy to find out on this long trip that i might have plane-sickness? i felt terrible most of the plane rides. but i made it through! i haven't been on a plane in quite a while.. and it was an experience going on four different planes.

when we first arrived in cape town.. i don't know how to explain it.. but something just felt so different. if i had to pin point it to something.. i felt like the air was different. it smelt different than minnesota. not that it smelt worse or better.. but there was just a different scent to cape town. we arrived at night so we didn't get to see much of cape town that first night.. but we did notice that they drive on the left side of the road! i could never drive here. i would never make it out alive. i also noticed the cars are a lot smaller.. not like the huge suvs we have back home.

we arrived to our amazing homes. we are split up into two groups. the house i am staying in is a bed and breakfast originally.. so it is pretty much just gorgeous. i still need to go throughout the house and take pictures of everything. although, now that i think about it, i probably should have taken pictures of the house before we got all comfy and settled in. the rest of the group is in the house across the street.

but seriously.. i know that i have used the word 'amazing' many times in the last two blogs.. but honestly.. if i did not use that word.. i would be.. speechless. when we woke up this morning.. and walked out our front gate.. mountains! amazing, gorgeous mountains. ahh! something we need in minnesota for sure!

but as for day 1.. it was a pretty awesome day. . a typical tourist day? haha.. we started off with a tour of the university. it was huge.. and amazing.. and GORGEOUS! haha. i am sure that people think that of minnesota when they visit??? but i hope that the students at the university appreciate the beauty of their campus. it is right at the foot of table mountain.

afterwards.. we were shuttled to the va waterfront. it is the shore to the atlantic ocean. it was just amazing to see the ocean. another thing we need in minnesota! we had lunch at an amazing restaurant that overlooked the ocean. it was fun just getting to hang out as a group and getting to know the awesome interstudy faculty! seriously.. the most awesome company ever.

the restaurant was part of a giant mall that we got to walk around in after lunch. it was very ritzy and full of very high end stores. but since i have been in capetown, that is the feeling i get from the people i have seen so far. especially down by the waterfront, there were very many expensive cars and people in expensive clothes. i think that it is a case of the rich being very rich.. and the poor being very poor.

it was a fun day to be a tourist.. and to experience the "good life", but i am looking foward to the other aspect. we travel into the townships next week.. and that will be a complete 180 from what we experienced today. we are all hoping that things stay under control in cape town and that no more violence breaks out.. because that hurt our chance to do the homestays with our host families.

a lighter note.. i have to mention our people sightings. at the minneapolis airport.. we saw rev run. LIKE FROM RUN'S HOUSE. i love run's house. so it was pretty cool! we were all giggling and chatting like little school girls... pretty sure he heard everything we were saying. sarah even got a picture with him! and when were at the waterfront.. we saw lisa and bianca from america's next top model. AND.. cole and nate got their numbers. we will not hear the end of this for the next three weeks.. guaranteed. haha.. oh what an adventure.

missing everyone! and love you guys very much!

[the long haul].

our house! 7 wegelegen.

finally here! after a long series of flights.. all of us made it safely and promptly to cape town, south africa!

3 hour flight to new york...
6 hour layover at jfk...
8 hour flight to dakar...
1 hour layover in dakar...
8 hour flight to johannesburg...
2 hour flight to capetown...

it was a long trip over here.. but it was completely worth everything! it is such an amazing feeling to finally be in cape town. it is more amazing than i expected. the weather is similar to the weather in minnesota, but just a bit windier. the people are amazing!

devil's peak.. view from the front of our house.

i just cannot complain at the moment! the whole day... i could not stop smiling! i do not want to list all the things i did today.. but i will give you some highlights of the trip so far.

- we saw rev run at the minneapolis airport. haha.
- got a tour of university of cape town.
- went down to the va waterfront. <- BEAUTIFUL! this blog may be really choppy because i have a million things i want to say.. but do not have the attention span to write it all down organized. the weird thing that we are getting used to in cape town is literally locking ourselves in our houses. there is a high crime rate.. so we have to make sure our house is locked up securely. but so far, i have felt safe. the interstudy staff are amazing and did an awesome job of making sure we are taken care of.

table mountain.. and the university of cape town.

i have fallen in love with south africa. the va front was pretty much the highlight of my day. it was just gorgeous. i wish i could put all my pictures up right now.

view from the restaurant we ate at.

the harbor at the va waterfront.

i apologize for the random/short blog. i feel like i am still trying to collect my thoughts.. and still in the process of realizing that i am actually here. i just wanted to let everyone know that i got here safely.. and i am having the time of my life!

[twenty hours].

um... about twenty hours or so to go! about this time tomorrow, i will be at the jfk airport in new york. i can hardly believe that it's already time to go. i can tell it's almost time to go since my nerves/excitement is growing by the minute.

i don't know if a lot of people know about the recent events that have occurred in south africa.. but you can read an article in the following link.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24731834/
so naturally my mom is freak out mode. also, a travel alert has been issued for south africa.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3250.html
but we are told not to worry.. and i'm trying not to! hopefully this will be a safe and wonderful trip.

but i wanted to thank everyone who helped fill my suitcase! it is full now and ready to travel with me to south africa.


my suitcase is filled with medical supplies, school supplies, toys, and a pair of soccer cleats. totally awesome! thank you once again!

also.. i am still not packed. well.. i'm halfway packed but like everything else in my life, i am procrastinating. but this is what my room looked like two days ago. i ripped my room apart to prep for the upcoming three weeks.



haha.. this added to my mom's anxiety. :D

well i suppose i should finish packing.