Let's go! Tuesday January 24, 2012

We began our orientation with a breakfast in the Neelsie student center. I had a egg, cheese,  and tomato sandwich for about R22, so about $4. It was delicious! We learned later in orientation, food is prepared fresh when you order it. That means you actually have to sit and wait for your order to be up rather than grabbing it and going. In restaurants, it’s common to order your meal and wait for over an hour for that meal to arrive. That sounds crazy to an American who thinks about leaving a restaurant if we don’t get our food in less than ½ an hour! In reality, though, this South African way is much more relaxed and gives those dining out time to sit and talk and enjoy themselves. You can also stay as long as you want at a restaurant, even when you are done eating and have paid the bill. I’m excited to go out to eat here, but I know I have to set aside about 3 hours to do so!

AIFS students went to the university museum, called Sasol Museum. This museum used to be a primary school long ago, and it now is home to art done by students and renown South African artists alike. The sculpture in front of the building is both incredibly beautiful and scary at the same time. I’ll be sure to post a picture of it later. 

Breakfast at the Neelsie with Kelly!

After our museum orientation, all of us students were shuttled to both the bank and local shops so we could get money and go grocery shopping. The banks here are much like the ones at home, but you have to pass through two doors to go in. Once the first door closes behind you, the second door is triggered to open. Groups of about 5 people were in this small doorway passing into the bank. I just thought it was funny. Another thing is that the bank tellers don’t have any sort of box to talk through, so you kind of have to listen very hard to hear them through the glass, which is annoying. The conversion rate today is something like $1 is equal to R8.1. So $200 became about R1,300 after taxes and such. I’m rich!

Grocery shopping wasn’t very different from the states either, but I did notice one change. There were no white people working at the grocery store, only darker Africans. That struck me as odd and I’m going to be honest, it did make me a bit uncomfortable. It just really makes you realize how much of an impact apartheid has had in this country and how everything is still not equal. 

The weather here is absolutely incredible. I think it was about 80 F all day, and breezy throughout. Later in the afternoon, the wind picked up and whipped my curtains around the window in my room. The vegetation is very close to home, but the grass feels more like turf than real grass. There are also some incredible trees with networks of large roots the width of my arm and about a foot longer. I want to go to the botanical garden soon so I can learn what these trees are and what everything else is. The campus is so beautiful itself. 

In the evening around an early 8 pm,  all 28 of us went out to the local bars. Legal at last! One main difference about drinking here and in the US is probably that here, they don’t really drink to get drunk. The dance floors aren’t like US dance floors either, and people are much more apt to give others their own space to dance like they want to - which is greatly appreciated. I’m very grateful to have our student ambassador Janien take us out and introduce us to all her friends. We went to two bars, the first was very chill and crowded crowded crowded. There are tables set up both in and outside with palm trees up against the outdoor patio. Inside, there was a live set where a man played guitar and covered songs by Van Morrison, the Beatles, Nirvana, and Jethro Tull, just to name a few. He was absolutely fantastic and he really made my night that much more memorable. It’s really surprising how South Africans listen to so much American music but I love how they appreciate the classics. Yes, Mom, they played Jethro Tull. And it wasn’t Aqualung. 

Totally borrowed this picture from Corie. Thanks, girl!

The second bar had two levels, with the second being up a spiral staircase to a dancefloor. I was very concerned with what the music scene would be like before I got here, being the electronic-music loving fan I am, but I was overjoyed when I learned that the club next door played dubstep after midnight. I even got to hear my favorite Rusko song!

I want to close today’s post with…THE VIEW FROM MY ROOM IS INCREDIBLE. I can see the peaks of about three mountains just sitting here, and if I stick my head out (there are no screens), another three. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it is. The rocks jut out from the vinelands below, which are made up of green squares criss-crossed with paths. The sky is perfectly sky blue and clouds come and look like they’re breaking on the tops of the mountains or sit behind them like fluffy cotton balls. In the evening, the sky turns the most incredible blue burns orange color. 

Beats looking out over some trees behind South Hall, I think.