[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!