Hi All!! So I’m here and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!! South Africa far exceeds any expectations and hopes I came with. Below you will find my patchy and random notes from my journal because I have been rather distracted (go figure) and haven’t wanted to spend much time behind my computer. And trust me, my notes don’t give my experiences so far justice, but it’s a glimpse. J And I still have many, incredible days to fill you in on (but give me a couple days)!
1-10-10
Arrival
Saying goodbye at the airport
Got through baggage check and security just fine. At the Atlanta airport I was waiting to board my plane and I began talking with a 4 year old South African boy who had the most adorable accent. I fell in love with the country then. The plane trip was 14 hours. Fortunately, I slept for at least 7 hours which made the trip very tolerable. We arrived in Jo’berg at 5 on the dot. Mark and his friend, Cobus, picked us up from the airport. It was so welcoming to see the face of a friend from home upon arrival in this new country. Thank god for the timing of our trips. Mark and Cobus took us on a scenic route back home. I got to see the beautiful, lush green that South Africa is so well known for. It was also time for the sun to set so I got to see the sunset from the top of a high hill outside of Pretoria and got a tour of the more wealthy side of Pretoria on my way home. Plus, the weather was PERFECT! Aaaaahhhh! It took my breath away, especially after coming from the frigid cold of Oklahoma’s winter.
After we made it back to our housing addition at the University, Mark took us to Roman’s for pizza and wine. If you know me then you know just how perfect this was for my first night. Once Mark dropped us back off at Tuksdorp (the housing addition), Vianne and I met up with a handful of other exchange students who had already arrived. We played cards with two students from Canada and two from Holland. My first day exceeded any expectation I had.
1-11-10
Woke up at 3 in the morning and couldn’t fall back asleep because I was thinking about all of the things I had to do so I decided to get up and organize my clothing and shower than go back to sleep for a while. I ended up waking up at 6 to the sound of birds chirping. If you know me well then you know how annoyed I would usually be but not this time… with the sun shining in my open windows (because it gets so hot and we don’t have air conditioning) and the birds chirping I was excited to get going. Later in the day I came home and slept for 4 hours though. Haha.
Mark took us (a large group of us int’l students) to the campus and then to Hatfield square (the shopping center with food, groceries, clothing, electronics, home supplies, etc.). At the University we pretty much just figured out that we needed to get a lot of stuff and come back so we didn’t get all that much accomplished. Oh well. Then we went to the square for phones and lunch. I only had to buy airtime for my phone that Haley (a girl who studied here a year ago) gave me, but a new phone with sim card only cost R150 = $22. Imagine! Then we went to the BagBean for lunch where I ordered chicken stir fry and a banana and what I received was hilarious!! A plate of chicken stirfry topped with a chopped up banana! Hahaha… My first of many instances of cultural misunderstanding.
Then I came home and took a 4 hour jet lag nap. After that I went with all of the other international students to Castle which is a bar in the square for dinner and drinks. I got 2 glasses of wine and a full meal for ~$4.50!! Unbelievable. The night life here is very different than I expected. It was only a Monday night and the square was full of girls in outfits like it were a Friday night back home and tons of drinking. The bars and clubs here don’t close until at earliest 4:30 in the morning! It’s very interesting.
A few of the In't students :)
After our night out I just came home and slept… not very well but no surprise with my 4 hour nap earlier.
1-13-10
Today was orientation at the University. UP is gorgeous with a variety of trees everywhere. The architecture of the buildings is meticulous and unique. I love it. I was really surprised that it is a nicer and bigger campus than OU. So far my experience with South Africans has shown me that they are sincere, generous people with a great sense of humor. I’m constantly smiling or laughing when I’m talking to someone from here.
I am also realizing how much I took for granted back home. The usefulness of things becomes very clear when you don’t have full access to them… like the internet and phones or being able to walk around by yourself. I’ve never wanted to go running more than I do now that I can’t just go whenever, wherever I want.
1-14-10
This morning I woke up to a lizard in my room! It was tiny and cute until it started running rampant around my walls… creepy. There was no way I could corner the thing on my own but fortunately my house cleaning lady came in and helped me sweep it out the door. Mary was more jumpy than I was. Haha.
One of our friends, John from Canada, has his birthday on Valentine’s Day so we four girls, myself, Vianne, Krista and Emka, decided to plan a nice date and take him out for dinner…next month. We made an official invitation and made reservations at the wonderful restaurant we ate at last night with Mark and Cobus. John was so excited by it. It was super cliché but adorable!
Next, we made a piñata for Jullian, one of the Dutch boys, because his birthday is Saturday so we are going to bring it out at midnight tomorrow night after our Braai (South African word for barbeque). It is very likely that he has never hit a pinata before in his life!
After making the piñata, we made dinner. Chicken stirfry Mmmmm! The girls are teaching me how to cook…multiculturally too!
Lastly, I began my schedule of studying for the MCAT… yay
