Safe in the Cape! ;)

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Hey everyone!

I arrived in Cape Town around 5pm yesterday! I will be ahead 6 hours, so I arrived around 11am (Florida time) Tuesday morning. Luckily, all my luggage made it with me. I was worried because my plane from NC to NYC was late and I had to run through JFK to make my flight to Cape Town. I had to skip the entire security line at JFK in order to make it... I would not have made it otherwise. Sharieff, the driver, was there with a sign with my name on it to take me to Bonani B&B where I stayed last night and will be again tonight. Thursday night I will take an overnight bus to Upington (13 hour drive approx). I will then be there for 5 weeks completing my volunteer project- I'm really excited/anxious to get settled in my home stay.

Last night I enjoyed my first African meal. We had chicken,spinach, potatoes, cabbage, butternut (pumpkin), chakalaka (salad- but not the type of salad you're thinking of), and pap (which I'm unsure of how to describe). It was all really good though. Started my "traveler's antibiotics" very quickly this morning though.. hahaha...

Two other girls arrived this morning to go through orientation with me. They are friends from Minnesota and are volunteering together on the Eastern Cape. We started orientation and watched a few videos about the culture here. Tomorrow we will be doing some touring and I will hopefully be able to write more. Once I get to Upington I don't know how quickly or how often I will be able to write. They have an internet cafe on town there but I don't know how close it is to home or work.

I miss everyone a lot! definitely feeling out of my comfort zone.. but I know I'll adjust within a week or so. Should be getting a phone today though... I'm going to get a cell phone here because their SIM cards won't work in my phone. So I'll buy quite a bit of minutes to call home in case I am unable to access the internet once I arrive in Upington.

Cape Town is GORGEOUS. The view from the plane was incredible. I saw some goregous areas on the way to the b&b and on the other hand some small communities with houses that were made from any kind of scrap they could find. Willie told me about these small towns and everything she said was completely correct. The houses are made from metal, wood, fabric.. anything that could possibly used for a wall or a roof. It's incredible how o one side of the street there are nice houses and big buildings and on the other side of the street there are shacks. I'll be taking a lot of pictures to show everyone! Dab the AIDS bear will be making quite a few appearances in these photos as well.

Miss you all,

Krista

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Comments

[Shelby]

lala
I am SOOO jealous! You are going to have an amazing time! Post pictures soon so we can see what you are seeing

[Daddy Dab]

congratulations
So glad to hear that you made it safely and are having a great time. Sent you an email about some exciting news. Take care of yourself. At least you have Dab the AIDS Bear with you to keep you safe. big bear hug, Daddy Dab