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Published: January 24th 2008
Greetings from South Africa!! After 12 hours of flying I landed in Cape Town around 6 on Monday morning. Phew! Where do I even begin? This week has already flown by and I am for the most part settled into my flat. I am sharing a kitchen with Courtney, a girl from Rhode Island, and we each have our own bedroom and bathroom. At first I was not very happy with the living arrangements, but after moving in and meeting my flatmates I am beginning to feel at home. I am living in Academia which is comprised of 15 buildings...I live on the 3rd floor which is very nice for safety reasons and I get to keep my window open all the time. Let me just say that after 3 days in London and the plane ride, I still had NO idea who I wanted to live with - well, as always, it worked out just fine. Courtney is very chill and easygoing and our other flatmates on our floor that we share a living room with are: Whitney and Julia, two other girls in the AIFS program...Lyria (Holland) and Irina (Germany)....and Niko (Germany) and Alex (Guana). They are all wonderful and the other night we went out to Bohemia - a bar downtown Stellebosch and had drinks and limed. 😉
The last few days I have been going to orientation presentations for all international students - I believe out of the 20,000 students, international students make up 15% of the school population. Most of the international students are either American or Dutch with a few Germans and students from the Netherlands. It has been amazing meeting so many kids from all over the globe...I guess what I've been thinking about the most is how privileged I really am. To be white and speak english specifically. Of all the german and dutch students I've talked to, they all speak at least 3-4 languages. I felt so embarrased when I confessed that while I have taken 6 years of spanish, I have not retained any of it. (although it did give me the opportunity to brag about my older wiser sister who had travelled to Mexico for 6 months.) I understand that for most of them they were required to take English in school, but the fact that they make the decision to actually put it to use and travel - that's impressive. One girl from Holland shared with me how impressed she was that there were so many Americans studying here in SA - because what she has always been told was that American's never travel outside the US. yikes...I will confess that I was very aware of my nametag that I wore during orientation - my name, with USA right below it. I'm not gonna lie, I did not appreciate being labelled with the US. I am already seeing how people act when they find out I'm from the US...and there is no way to hide it! As soon as I open my mouth people know that I am not from here. Anyway, everyone is very friendly and while it has been incredibly overwhelming to be meeting tons of new people everyday I am beginning to recognize more and more faces.
So earlier today I bought a used bike! It was a good deal and at the end of my trip I can return it and get 1/2 of my money back. (assuming it is not stolen or breaks down) My bike is red and black and on my ride home I had to concentrate on driving on the left side - oh my gosh..which brings me to something else - the drivers here are crazy! they do not care who you are - they will take you down if you don't watch yourself. I've also heard that there is a huge issue with drinking and driving at night - so bad people have been advised to walk at night as little as possible.
Issues with electricity has greatly impacted Stellebosch - I found out the first day when around 2pm I was with some girls downtown and everything shut down...it turns out that South Africa is responding to the issue by sharing the power - so, everyday for 2 hours the power goes out in this area while other areas in the country receive power. And no, it's never during the same two hours. Today it started at 10am during someone's powerpoint presentation at orientation. She simply laughed and announced that we were going to break for lunch and to come back at noon. When Hestea, my AIFS contact in SA, told my group about the current situation she shared with us some wise words..."there is nothing we can do about it, so we might as well make the best of the situation. Buy some candles and go look at the stars." :P
So I must tell you guys that I am doing much much better. As we landed in Cape Town the sun was just rising and words can't describe what I was feeling. Something so deep inside me...I know that this is what I've been waiting for. There are still moments when I feel panicky - usually in the evening as I go to bed - and I know that there will more difficult times to come over the next few months but...I feel like I survived the initial breakdown. There were moments in London and the plane rides that I seriously felt like my heart was going to burst through my chest, I was in so much emotional pain. Even after only a few days I can already appreciate the downs...John sent me a lovely email while I was in London and I have to share a part that I feel will be an important and significant aspect of my trip.
"The bitter things you taste now will sweeten everything you taste for the rest of your life, and the burdens that weigh you down now will strengthen you and, when you can finally set them down, make you feel nearly weightless."
My sweet man, I love you.
Just a few more things before I sign out... Next week the University partakes in what they refer to as "Joole" or "Rag"... next week all 20,000 students return to campus and basically there are events such as racing shopping carts, body painting, parades with floats that each residential hall make, and drinking 24/7. Nobody will say much about it except that the crazy partying is neccessary to kick off the school year. Everynight so far I have been going to bars and braai's. (Braai is basically a BBQ). Tonight there is one right by my flat and after I finish here at the internet cafe I am heading over to the grocery store to get some meat and corn to cook for dinner tonight. These South African's certainly know how to party!
Lastly, next week in addition to Joole I register for classes, get internet set up in my room, and get my ID card. Phew...and then finally classes will begin on Feb. 4. And then things will slow down...right? This weekend I am very excited - we go to Cape Town!! When I get my laptop set up I will make sure to put some pictures on my blog - I can't even tell you how beautiful Stellenbosch is...from my flat I have an amazing view of the mountains and everyday so far has been clear skys and 85F. Starting next week it's going to be in the 90s for the next month or so. Woohoo! By the way, Mom and Blah, you will be happy to know that I have been applying daily 30SPF. 😉 I just need to get some sunglasses...
Okay, I think that's most of the big stuff... I have loved reading the messages some of you have sent me...it's so nice to hear from home. I'll write again in the next week or so once I have internet set up in my room.
I love all of you so much!!
Peace & Love,
Ashley
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April
non-member comment
hahaha.
I love these. So why is it that they only advize the bad people? (third paragraph last line) love