First Week of Classes

So things are finally beginning to fall into some semblance of a routine here, and it's certainly a welcome change. I'm taking four classes (The Making of the Modern Wold Economy, The Making of the Modern Middle East, Southern African Hunters and Herders and Logic and Epistemology), and all seem pretty good. The last one is a bit of a let down, because the two subjects are split into completely separate components, and I've already done all of the logic covered and much more in depth, but who doesn't like an easy A where you enjoy the course material? As for the others I'm always a bit concerned when I have to write a paper that doesn't include a "methods" section, but I'm sure it will work out...
As for those of you bored enough to follow this little blog, I just want to lay something out for future reference so that nobody gets the wrong idea. Race is a very very big issue here (obviously), and it's often important for explaining things to mention someone's race. Also, "colored" here isn't a derogatory term, but instead refers to someone who has mixed race parents. Just wanted to put that on the table so that when I make remarks about that kind of stuff nobody will think I've turned into some crazy Afrikaner.
Aside from that, a few observations (because I don't have pictures at the moment):
Salad dressing is almost non-existent here
Everything is wide-rule, two hole punch
Even though white people are a stark minority, most drivers seem to be white, whereas most walkers seem to be black (thank you legacy of apartheid)
People are much more into processed, prepared and frozen foods
Interracial dating is still very much a big deal here (although, after some honest conversation, most American friends (including myself) would admit that it's still somewhat of a deal at home)
Watching another people's race relations really makes you more honest and realistic about the (often messed up) nature of your own
Obama is the best thing that could've happened for people traveling abroad
Every South African seems to like a braai (huge barbecue)
Here it's referred to (at least by one of my professors) as the war ON Iraq, not the war IN Iraq (it does somehow seem more accurate, doesn't it?)

And that's about it for now, when I come up with more I'll jot them down...

Love and miss you all!

What a trip!

The ferry to De Hoop (notice the guy literally pulling the ferry along a rope on the far right)

Sand dunes at De Hoop

Zebra!

Maggie and Andrew practicing rugby at the beach in Mossel Bay

So, we all managed to return home (rather triumphantly, at that) from our road trip along the Garden Route. A short recap:
Having rented our car from Thrifty (the only place that would rent to us youngun's), we set out for Mossel Bay the first night. The hostel was really gorgeous, and really cheap, so it was a great time. We had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant, with lots of wine, desserts and butternut squash ravioli. During dinner we got a call that some friends also in Mossel Bay had been robbed, but everything ended up being ok, and though people were short a few dollars, everyone was safe.
The next day we went for a short day at the beach in Mossel Bay, and all managed to burn the hell out of ourselves. Me especially. I was so sunburned on my legs I couldn't walk the next day. After our beach excursion and a short picnic lunch we set out for Wilderness (an actual city).
We did two days in Wilderness, which was in fact beautiful. Andrew, Shannon, Jeff and Maggie went for a hike while I loafed around the hostel, whimpered about my legs and read some South African Cosmo. An exciting day for sure.
After Wilderness we started heading back to Cape Town by way of De Hoop nature reserve. We took a ferry to get there, and it was pulled by the people working it, which was pretty interesting to see. Once we made it to De Hoop we even got to see wild zebras and antelope. It's actually really exciting to see something in the wild that you only ever see in zoos and National Geographic documentaries. We also climbed some beautiful dunes, and generally had a good time.

That's about it for the past week. The first day of classes was Friday, but things were pretty laid back, and aren't too intensive until Monday or Tuesday. But more on that later...

Off on an Adventure!

So, just a quick little post before we set out on our road trip. Some friends and I managed to rent a car (shocking when you realize that we're all under 21), and are about to go pick it up for a 5 day tour of the garden route (think the southern coast of SA). The car's a manual, and we're not used to driving on the wrong side of the road, but I'm sure it will work out (mostly because I won't be driving - thank God!).
I finally have a bit more access to internet, so there should definitely be photos from that...
As for the past week, we did more orientation at UCT, as well as registered for classes. I'm not taking a single bio class, which will be a bit weird, but a nice change of pace. Registration was somewhat hectic. It took almost two hours to wait in line to get our IDs made, but other than that it was bearable. They still do everything here with paper forms, which was a not-so-fun part of it.
That's about it for now. The city is still beautiful, the restaurants are still great, and the weather is still amazing. Too Cool!

Almost a week in Cape Town

And what a week it's been! After some orientation in a hotel, I moved into a homestay near the University of Cape Town campus. UCT and the home I'm staying in are both in an area called Rondebosch (or something to that affect) and I've just been getting used to it. The woman I'm staying with is named Rose and she hosts events out of her house. The first night I was there there was a wedding. It was really ornate, but a little bit wierd in it's own way. Everyone there seemed to love it though, so a success! Rose also hosts other students, mostly kids in an English program. There's a Brazilian girl and French boy. It's definitely interesting!
Yesterday we went on a tour of the Cape Peninsula. We loaded into huge tour busses, and went all around the peninsula. We saw african penguins at a place called Boulder Beach, and then had lunch in a township called Oceanview. It was cool because the local kids did some breakdancing for us, as well as singing, and one kid did firedancing! Pretty neat. After that we went to the Cape of Good Hope, the south-western most point in Africa. It was completely beautiful, ocean all around. I think that I even saw two ostriches out the bus window!
My login's about to end, so I've got to go, but pictures soon, and I love and miss you all!