(Dear loyal Readers: I would first of, like to apologize to everyone who has been wondering when the next update would come, as life here has been quite busy with settling in, and that little horrible thing called homework.. But have no fear!! I am back with both an update about life in South Africa, and a soon to come continuation of our Safari!)
Since arriving here in South Africa (every time I walk by a sign that says “Africa” on it I still do a double take... holy cow, I’m in Africa!) life has been full of new adventures. The day after we arrived we were taken by Corlia, Dave and Sean to their beach house, which was on a bay that connected to the ocean. All I can say is WOW. It was a beautiful house with an even more amazing view of the ocean. The beach was covered in really cool wildlife, and the beach was even home to a herd of wild horses (how cool is that!). We were treated to a typical South African “Braii” (translation: a national past time in South Africa when people stand around an open fire and cook meat.. kinda like a BBQ with an open fire and no gas) and a much needed beginner lesson in Afrikaans. I do say, that this was a good start to our stay here.
As many of you know, approximately a month before we left for our voyage, we packed 4 large boxes full of clothes and whatnot which was supposed to arrive in Cape Town at approximately the same time as we would arrive. Since we had just gone on a safari, we each only had approximately 15 kg (the airline limit) of safari appropriate clothing with us. Now the Safari look Is what you are going for, then this would have been ideal… I wasn’t going for that look, and was in dire need of “normal clothes”. My mother said that or temporary lack of clothing was “an enriching experience” as it showed how people can get by with soon much less them normal (I wasn’t quite so sure of this). We quickly found out that not only had our boxes not arrived, but they were sitting in Belgium, enjoying the snow. Corlia heard my desperate calls for clothing and kinda volunteered to bring me to a giant warehouse store where there was a great sale going on. Little did she know that this experience would be like releasing a kid into a candy store. I, who am normally not excited about shopping, was in heaven, and the savings were GREAT!! I left with a giant heap of clothes, and only spent the equivalent of 35$$. This (I know, it’s sad to say) was definitely a highlight of my weekend. (update : our boxes finally arrived 2.5 weeks after we arrived (so much for beating us here), and the experience of opening my box was like opening presents on Christmas!)
My mom pretty much covered the whole “rag week” (which is the equivalent of frosh week in Ottawa) so I won’t steal her glory, but I would like to say I was impressed how well organized the events were, and how bonded the dorms were (without similar traditions to the Ottawa U tradition of covering each other in various condiment and making them run around the city… what a loss!)
My mother has since become quite the busy person (and she thought she was going to need to take up knitting with all the free time she would have!). She has gotten herself involved to 2 major groups, the Spice group and the kyamundi project, as well as attending a history of South Africa course at the University. She assures me that a detailed description of these 2 groups will be posted within a few days.
I have been quite busy since the my arrival here. I would first like to say that I have fallen in love with life here. The people are outstandingly nice, and the laidback lifestyle is suiting me well. I am taking 2 ecology classes here and am loving them. I have gotten myself involved with the Stellenbosch University Riding club, as well as Habitat for humanity. I have been making lots of new friends (who all seem to have a love from the Braii!) and am settling in well.
In an attempt to meet new people, Philippe and I went, with a bus load of other international students from the University of Stellenbosch, on a day trip to Cape Point and Simon’s town. It was great to finally talk to people under the age of ...well...old (there is only so long you can go only talking to your parents) and we met people from all over the world. Cape Point is absolutely beautiful (though not for the individuals who don’t like climbing mountains). We, going our separate ways, both got a change to see both the cape point, and the cape of good hope. We then went off to Simon’s Town to see the famous cape penguins (yes, there are penguins in Africa! They are very cute but very smelly!).
More updates to come!
Danielle
