Trekkin' around Tuesday January 31, 2012

Today continued my quest to get my swallowed bank card back. After spending over two hours in the bank, I learned everything would be ok and that I should get my card back on Thursday. I won’t feel relieved until I have it back in my hands! That bank guy never came on Monday or Tuesday. Blah.

After the event at the bank, I decided to explore the campus library. The library is located entirely underground, which makes it really cool – literally! There are a lot of books there (obviously) but from what I saw, most are in English. It’s just a really big university library. Lots of desks, lots of study rooms. I think there are two floors. Over the library is the main red brick walkway for all the students which is in the middle of the student center and faculty offices.

I also today found the Botanical Gardens on campus. They are stunning! I’m not sure how big it is, but it’s large enough to house both a small restaurant and a garden shop. I got a cup of coffee and walked around the area, taking notice of the incredible trees and flowers around. I love summertime! There were cute couples around and a handful of people taking naps in the grass. I can’t wait to go back and explore the garden store more. They sell a lot of organic beauty products as well as teas, coffees, books, and accessories. Yay!

We had another braii tonight as well, but this time it was much smaller. About ½ of the AIFS students came and ½ of the French students. It was a lot of fun, and this time I made baked potatoes for everyone and they came out pretty ok. I still feel hungry though. I wish they had vegemeat here! Or maybe they do and I’ve yet to find it.

I got three bags of 9 small potatoes for R10. That’s like $1.50. For three bags of potatoes. Such a steal! Somehow I spent a lot more on groceries than I thought though, after I calculated my budget f the week.  I bought a lot of cheese, but I realized I really really don’t like the taste of it over here. Cheddar doesn’t taste like cheddar. Most people say they like the food over here a lot better than at home, but I think I disagree. Reading the labels, a lot of the food here has so many preservatives I’ve never even heard of. Even a lot of the salt and seasonings I saw at the supermarket has MSG in it! The feta is the only thing I love. That and Nutella. 

Tomorrow is February 1^st. And I’m going to the beach. That sounds awesome.