WAKA WAKA

So I'm pretty sure that our plane passed up Earth and landed in Eden... wow! No guidebook could have prepared me for the experience that I've been blessed with. I really wish that each and every one of you who have not seen Cape Town before could witness this place with your own eyes. No picture could do it any justice whatsoever. But I will rave over the Cape a later in this so, lets start where I left off before... oh yeah, airplanes and more airplanes.

Luckily, Regan and I had no issue with luggage, making our flights, customs, etc... but I have to say I HATE flying with stinky foreigners who don't all shower and 9 year old rugby teams. So not ideal. Although, I was fortunate enough to land an empty row on both flights so I really shouldn't be allowed to complain in excess. I did realize however that I have a huge sleep problem on planes... in other words, I just don't. But I got over it, because I mean who wouldn't in order to make it to Cape Town... seriously folks. Once our first plane landed in London at Heathrow (a hella airport by the way, I felt like I was in Snoopy's Dog House), Regan napped on an extremely uncomfortable bench while I watched Sex and the City until Lauren's flight got in. The three of us then scuttled on over to the local Hilton in order to drop our bags and then explore a bit of London before our next flight. Our first valuable lesson to learn in London while on jet lag is NOT to take the regular tube to the city... what. a. long nightmare. It took us almost 1.5 hours to get into town.. but it was well worth it. What a beautiful city! Its unfortunate that we didn't have much time to spare, but we managed to see "Big Ben" and Buckingham Palace and also a local pub where I legally purchased my first pint of Amstel... hurrah! It's just too bad that my mind had taken refuge in limbo and therefore I couldn't fully appreciate this landmark in my young life. We then departed on yet another long tube ride in which consciousness seemed to be checking out every five minutes. I'm sure that we all looked like a bunch of hoodlums that were really cracked out. Sorry America, we haven't helped your image. After showers and what not, we re-boarded British Airways and endured the long eleven-hour flight to Cape Town.

The first view of the land met my gaze with an amazing South African sunrise smiling at me from outside the airplane window... what a sight. My heart beamed, as I was able to acknowledge at last that... I've arrived.  The next few hours was met with the hustle and bustle of meeting up with the CIEE staff, moving luggage to our orientation sight, and also stretching our fried brains to remember all of the new faces in our study abroad program. From the beginning, I knew that I would cherish this country. Even while walking through customs, the agent was a merry South African with the most precious gapped tooth who happily said, "A student Visa ya? What are you studying in Cape Town?" After I told him that I was really interesting in African History and Politics, he chimed, "Oh a history, what a history! Mandela Mandela! Waka Waka!" His spirit was a contagious one. What a beautiful and vibrant population. I think that for the first time in my life I have fallen in love with something so much greater than anything I've known before. The people, Table Mountain's illuminating presence, and the drinking age (ha).

For the most part, these last few days have been filled with orientation lingo and the meeting of other USA students on my program. Already, I've managed to meet equally crazy and quirky people to go out and "explore" the city with. However, its been undoubtedly a little depressing that we have yet to completely break away from our American roots due to the compacted size of our study abroad group. It will disperse soon, but for the moment all we really have is each other. We moved into the houses today and all of my housemates are fabulous! I have had a decent amount of local contact due to the fact that I am whimsical woman without a social fear in the world, but then again maybe I shouldn't be? Nonsense I say! In terms of the culture, its really not too different from what you would get in the USA. The food is diverse, the night life is unbelievable, and everyone love to socialize. The major exceptions include the third world that exists in the townships and the variation in safety in terms of public transportation and going places alone. Also, there are other small things (or big depending on how you feel about them) such as the drinking age and the plethora of GORGEOUS people here. However, I think that many of the fears are perpetuated to unreasonable highs by outsiders who don't understand the balance between being street smart versus forever fearful. Cat calling is a legitimate sport here. Every street corner that a group of us walk by is met with and un-translatable mixture of jargon followed by..."hey White Girllll!!" Never in my life have I felt more... loved? Ha, I'm just kidding, but seriously, its a consistent buzz in the background of the streets, especially since we are all still sticking out as Americans due to our loudness, misguided whereabouts, and a frigid determination to wear flip flops in 40 degree weather.

Orientation has been a sluggish process, but among the highlights of the whole thing were our first views of the UCT campus (unbelievable beautiful beyond all measure) and also our trip to various non-profits that we will be able to choose to volunteer with. The UCT campus is built up into the base of Table Mountain and is elevated above the city. It is also enormous and is physically exhausting without the use of a bus called the Jammie. On the other hand, as modern and magical that the campus and downtown are, there is the extreme opposite type of living environment located no more than merely 15 minutes away. Our non-profit tour included visiting a Tuberculosis Clinic, a refuge for the impoverished and abused near a township, and a school for children who would otherwise be undereducated. The severity of living conditions amongst those living in metal huts in the townships, so vast and blanketed with trash that is picked through by thinly clothed residents, is heart breaking. Many of the children in the TB wards and nurseries were sleeping sockless in the chilled air due to their parents' lack of financial means. The people working within the non-profit sites are unbelievable and so admirable. It was hard not to become overwhelmed at the site of such devastation, but just feeling sad about it isn't enough. We need to do something about it. I am so pumped to spend time at a non-profit of my choice and to experience the lives of these people through spending time with them and learning about the types of things they undergo everyday. Already, I have been completely stunned at their incredible spirits that have not been broken. We walked pass a group of women singing and dancing whilst gardening at the refuge... its amazing to see considering that we were all raised in a world in which material happiness seems to take priority much of the time.

Sorry about the length of this post... however I have a feeling that they will not shorten anytime soon. This place is so amazingly diverse, dreamy, and downright breathtaking. I miss all of you so much and I hope that this email finds you safely and surrounded by so much love and beauty!

Until my next lengthy rant...

Hopper :)