finally in cape town

i'm here, and it's gorgeous. more than gorgeous. it's hot, and sunny, and green. 

we got here last night, and everybody else was out at the bars and whatnot, but they came home pretty soon after we got in so we had a chance to throw our stuff in our rooms and then meet everybody. there are about fifty kids total, i think, and they all seem really fun. last night we went to a few people's apartments to look around and meet people.

this morning we had orientation for a while; we mainly learned about the academics here at the university of cape town - grades, registration, what to expect, etc. registration sounds like it's going to be an absolute pain, but i'm blocking that out until we have to deal with it. then we took a walk around the campus - there's an upper, middle, and lower campus, so it's huge - and hilly. i guess i'm used to a large campus since the u is pretty big, so it's not really a big deal, but i just definitely need to get a better grasp on where everything is. i have a horrible sense of direction, so i'm sure it'll take me a little while. the campus is gorgeous though (i just posted pictures on facebook) and it was great to get out and walk around. then we had a braai (barbeque) on campus - braais are apparently extremely popular here.

we were then set free, so we went down the street to the grocery store. we went to a surprisingly nice, lund's-like grocery store, but the food was still pretty inexpensive compared to what we'd pay in the US. however, they did warn us today in orientation that it's easy to get swept up in the notion that "oh, this is so cheap! it's only two american dollars, so i can buy it!" we need to start thinking in rand, not in dollars, because otherwise we're going to blow through our money really fast without realizing it... so i'll work on that. for now, though, i need necessities. i still need a power adapter, because mine doesn't fit, and i need a blow dryer and straightener. tomorrow we're getting our bank accounts set up and then i can take out more rand to get those things. it'll feel good to have all the necessities so i feel a little more settled. 

tonight we're all going out - our "mentors", aka leaders, aka camp counselors basically, told us that we all HAVE to be ready by 8:30 because we're going out! they're very serious about having fun. so i'm looking forward to that.

my apartment is pretty nice - it's more spacious than i expected. i have a double bed and a fairly large room. the place itself isn't especially fancy or new, but it's clean and has everything we need. oh, except a washer - which i was told we would have, so i don't know what that's about. one of my friends has a washer in her house, so i'll either use hers or find a laundromat. joy of joys.

tomorrow is some more orientation, and then we're going to run a few errands to get things we still need. friday we're hiking up table mountain, which should be a treat - the trip is nine hours total. it's apparently very strenuous, but we're going to see some great views and i'm sure it'll be fun. so i'm looking forward to that. 

for now, though, i'm going to go clean up some more and get ready to go out later. oh, mom, i bought a paper today with inauguration stuff on the cover. SCRAPBOOK!