I'M HERE

So I have been in Africa for 2 weeks now. Chances are I'm not gonna update this often...

Things I am thankful for since being here

1. cheap/free internet and/or wifi

2. internet that works more often than it doesn't

3. heat waves that mean 85-90 degrees max. at noon. not 95 degrees from like 11am-7pm

4. mulletless men

5. supermarkets less than 1 mile away that I can DRIVE to

6. air conditioning

7. equal rights between whites/blacks, men/women

8. being american

So I didn't have internet for a week. Kind of weird, but not too bad. Then when we finally get it...we have to PAY for it. Yeah, I know we have to pay for it back in the states too, but not by like megabyte. I have force myself not to go on between 8am-5pm because it's most expensive, and even after 5pm isn't that cheap. I've racked up quite a lot. I also don't think their measurements of how much you use are too accurate. So I must wait for Sundays--the cheapest, or after midnight to skype or upload pictures.

I have 3 pretty sweet roomates. We all get along super well which is nice. The group this semester isn't as awesome as last semester, but I suppose it would have been silly to expect them to be. I have my own bedroom, AND bathroom. We also have a house keeper. She's a really nice lady who I think lives in the township nearby. She doesn't speak english very well, but it's good enough to get by. English isn't the first language here. Afrikaans is what is mostly spoken, but Xhosa is also popular around here. Xhosa is mostly spoken by blacks and includes clicks and stuff. It's pretty cool.

South Africa has definitely given me a pretty huge culture shock. The amount of poverty that surrounds me is unreal. And it's even weirder because it is mixed in with the middle class, and even the high upper-class community. I took a train to Strand the other day and the train station was located right next to Kayamandi Township...I think it's the 2nd biggest township in SA. There were brand new mercedes and land rovers driving right through where it was. People who cannot afford shoes or a proper house to live in are mixed right in with those who splurge on a stupid car. It's kind of sickening actually.

Racism is huge here too. I've seen it just in the last couple weeks. I have only ever heard the word "colored" used when we were learning about the civil rights movement in history class. It is openly used here still to describe a certain skin color. Unreal. I've also heard stories about what happens on the wine farms around here. Pretty close to slavery in the south back in the day in America. Not so much as to selling and buying humans as property, or the terrible abuse. But many of the blacks working along with their children have to call the owner master, never by their first name, and are paid with liquor instead of money. It's unbelievable to think that kind of stuff still goes on in this world. I obviously know that it does, and even worse things in other parts of Africa, but to see things with my own eyes,hear second hand stories, and see where it is taking place makes me fully realize.

I'm going to be volunteering while I'm here. I am hoping to work at a pre-primary school as a teachers assistant in Kayamandi. If that doesn't work out I'll do the after-school program with the older children or one of the many other opportunities in the surrounding areas.

All in all, it is absolutely amazing here. When I walk out of my house I see beautiful mountains. The ocean is only about 40 minutes away. The weather is too hot to be honest, but I guess I prefer this to the weather back home...kind of. As much as I miss home, I really love it here. I'm not quite sure why yet, because the people aren't the nicest, but maybe I'll soon figure it all out.

Oh, I just booked great white shark cage diving for February 19th. SO EXCITED :)