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Published: February 5th 2008
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Camps Bay Beach
We just stopped for a little while here and loaded up on the bus. But I've been back to this spot since then, and got a sunburn to take with me. So, the plane ride went really well, with no delays. I was worried that the snow we got on the first of February in Detroit was going to push my flight back. I met up with other Michigan students at the metro airport and we took the next three flights together. It was really nice getting to know them a bit better and keeping each other company. :-) We flew from Detroit-> Dulles --> Joberg --> Cape Town. I met some interesting people on the way to CT, including a woman in the parking garage in Detroit. My mom and I were walking with two women to find the skywalk over and I found out that a lady (white, might I add) I was walking with was born and raised in Cape Town, but hasn't been back in 13 years. She may have left when there was a lot of violent protests against apartheid. What a coincidence! I also met a nice man on the Joberg--> CT leg that was a geologist for the USGS...and we talked a bit about global change of course. ;-)
The last couple of days have been packed with getting to know my housemates, get
Ocean view township
Here is the neighborhood where we stopped for lunch on our Peninsula Tour during our first day of orientation. It felt really strange coming there because everyone was at the end of their driveways looking at our large super tour buses coming into their town where they live in poor housing conditions. They hosted us in their community center building. familiar with the public transportation system, where everything is located, what the UCT campus looks like, and drinking (legally!). Our first orientation day, the whole lot of us walked together to find a mini-bus taxi to fit ALL of us inside…plus some other people that were already in it. These are taxis that you find readily available on the Main Rd. and it’s the fastest way to get around and it’s about $0.80 per ride. Everything is so cheap here…the hard part is just mentally making the currency conversion. UCT set up a really nice tour of the Cape Peninsula for us on our first orientation day. We all loaded up into tour buses and drove around the city, learned some history, and took off to the Cape of Good Hope and Boulder Beach. We hiked around Cape Point and saw where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet (they actually meet somewhere between this point and the actual southern tip of the continent, which isn't as impressive looking as the Cape of Good Hope). At Boulder Beach we saw penguins doing there thing, living in sand rather than snow. We also had lunch in Oceanview, a township outside of the
Penguins at Boulders Beach
There were so many of them! city. We had a braai (a South African barbeque) with lamb, chicken and pasta salads. The people from the community performed for us and hosted our stay there (there were over 200 students in our program). A lady sang many American love songs and some small children were break dancing (one looked to be 7 years old, he was so cute!). The day was exhausting (I only had 5 hours of sleep before it) but really worth it. It was challenging trying to remember so many new acquaintances’' names, oh my gosh!
The house that I live in is quite nice...we have a large kitchen, two living room areas, a dining area and we each have our own bedroom. We all share 3 full baths and 2 half baths...so it's not too bad, easier than what I'm used to. The first couple of days, the landlord hired a security guard to help us ease into living by ourselves in the city. And he only spoke French, so I finally found a practical use for my French studies We have a front gate that automatically locks and then another front door that does the same, for our own protection
Cape of Good Hope
a view from a point that we hiked to. against crime. Crime is a reality in the city, but it’s very easy to take precautions for. It’s really great living with so many people because we walk with each other in larger groups for security and it’s more fun.
I really like everyone that I’m living with, they’re all really nice and we get along very well with each other. In our house, there are many students from countries other than the US, which is kind of uncommon to find. I would say that 80% or more of the semester study abroad students are from the US. We have some from Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. We’re all planning on venturing out to Long Street tomorrow night (lots of clubs and bars), which is more downtown and hopefully going to the beach the day afterwards. The funny thing about Cape Town is that there is a cold ocean side (the Atlantic) and a warm ocean side (the Indian Ocean), both adjacent to the same city, how crazy is that? So we’re hoping to go to the warmer beaches. Although, I’d like to go back to Camps Bay (from our bus tour) to go boulder hopping
(this is the name for a favorite activity of mine, from a guide book for SA).
I finally got a cell phone here, which is so relieving having that connection…I was going crazy without it and the internet. (I know…I know…I shouldn’t need it so much, but I won’t be using them quite as often as I usually do). And my phone number is (with the international code included, so you just type these numbers in) 27 0829658854 and all of my incoming calls and texts are free! So, if you decided to get Skype or an international phone card…you’d be able to talk with me for very little $. Skype is the cheapest and you just pay less than a dollar for the entire call (your computer -> my phone). And Skype’s computer to computer phone calls are free. I’m really impressed with this. I haven’t made a Skype account just yet, but if you’re interested in chatting on the computer, email me and I’ll give you my number. Remember, I'm living life seven hours ahead of Michigan time.
I’m having a great time right now and wish you could be here! One thing that you can
definitely not be jealous about is how our registration process is going to work…all by hand one by one..after waiting in a “queue,” as they call it here. I hope I get into the classes I want, but regardless, I’ll be satisfied.
Until later, and I’m going to load some pictures soon up here when I go to the internet café that’s down the road, it’s much cheaper to do this there. My internet service is pay per usage, by MB usage and length of time—kind of steep. And my phone is pre-paid, too. That’s how the South Africans do it. It is definitely proving to be the most modernized country on the continent, for I even found my favorite shampoo and make-up products and the stores here. Globalization…amazing, eh?
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feng
non-member comment
Hey Jamie!
Hey Jamie, glad to hear you arrived at Cape Town safely! Sounds like you had an awesome time. Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences! Cheers, Feng