the jump...

the jump...
yahooooo!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cape Town!

I'm gonna attempt to upload fotos! me and the family went into cape town on sunday...to the V&A waterfront. very touristy area, but lots of south african history and local shops as well. we ate at the cape town fish market, a very popular restaraunt chain in the cape...and we also had a very nice view of table mountain as well. it was pretty cool seeing all of the entertainers on the street...everywhere you went, people were doing something. i saw a tin man - dancing all robotically and whatnot ;) i also saw some ladies dancing with fishing poles in traditional clothing...it looked like fun so i joined in. the lady grabbed my arm and started dancing with me! that was cool. there's so many different cultures here, that there really isn't a typical south african - which is kind of cool in a way. i'm making friends at school that are from all different ancestry and ethinicity, all with their own culture...and it's pretty eye opening. many people portray south africa as the now happy-go-lucky democratic rainbow nation. and it is, in some aspects, and especially with the younger generation. but south africa still has many many many problems that it needs to work out. it's quite the shocker coming from my little bubble that i lived in in america into a country that has had a pretty turbulent past. some things i don't understand, and i never will - but i've learned to accept that. i sometimes don't agree with the views of many people here. but, i've realized something. people are people, and in south africa especially, they've grown up in a society that associated superiority with the whites...some whites here still believe they're superior. i don't agree with it, but like i say, people are people. it's just a situation that i have to deal with, and take as a learning experience. i feel very very fortunate to have grown up in a society where racial tensions and discrimination/segregation are virtually non-existant. i can't wait to go to orientation on the 25th! really looking forward to seeing how everyone is doing.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Update

So, I've pretty much decided that I'm a terrible blog writer...sorry! Well, here's an update - same routine...going to school, hanging out at home. I might go out this weekend with some friends...not too sure yet. This past Friday we went to the 4x4 derby-thing. That was fun. What else...not too much. The wildfires are coming closer to home, but they're still pretty contained in the mountains. Well, I'll try to update every few days or so...or after we do something really cool. And I'll try to upload pictures.

Friday, March 6, 2009

I'm in Cape Town!

Well, it's been an eventful week. Too much to write in one blog, so I'll give the following summary: We landed in Joburg on Thrusday and had a 3 day orientation. There were three American students(me, Trish, and Sebastian), two thai, two german, one brazilian, and one paraguayan. We had fun, and then on Sunday we had to catch our flight into CT. I met my host family, who are all very nice people. Gerhart drives really really fast haha. Anyway, we went home, I got settled in, then we went down to Table Bay to get ice cream. I had a nice view of Table Mountain and the city, which was so surreal. Then, basically I've just been going to school and hanging out at home. I've been making some friends at school but you definatley have to work at friendships here - it's not like in the U.S. where someone smiles, and you're friends within two minutes. Anyway, I'm a bit culture schocked, but I'm managing. School is hard, but what can you do? It's hot hot hot here - 115 fahren. yesterday. Hopefully it'll cool down today.

South Africa's Anthem

Location: bottom of the African continent

Location: bottom of the African continent