Here I Am!

I'm in Cape Town! Last night was my first night here. I got in and got to my hostel where I'm staying for at least 6 nights. It's really cool. I love it - I love that it's designed for warm weather... definitely makes me want to move somewhere warm in the US so I can design my future house similarly! :) It's been pretty nice. Last night was a bit chilly in the hostel's courtyard but still very nice considering it's winter here right now - nothing at all like Minnesota's winters! This morning I was too warm walking around in a sweatshirt.

So far everyone I've met has been very friendly and helpful. I've met three from Holland, three from Sweden, one from France, one from the US (Missouri), and one from England. There's probably about 30 people staying at my hostel, and I think they're pretty much all Europeans. Last night there was a braai (similar to the US barbecue) at the hostel in celebration of Mandela's 90th birthday. I just hung out there and had a few beers with some of the other people at the hostel. Beers here are cheaper than they are in Winona, even! haha.

My flights were fine, but kinda long, as one might expect. When I got to the airport I found my driver waiting with a sign with my name on it. Driving to the hostel we passed some of the townships (shantytowns), so I feel like I've already seen a good variety of types of the city. The area I'm staying, Long Street, is full of boutiques and little restaurants. This internet cafe I'm at now is less than a five-minute walk from my hostel. Later today I hope to get out a bit more, perhaps making it over to the District Six area. There's a renowned musuem there. District Six was a racially-mixed part of the city that was demolished when the apartheid was enforced. Many people were forced to leave the vibrant neighborhood they grew up in and raised their children in, so I think it will be very interesting, as well as relevant to my research here. I see similarity between District Six and Rondo in St. Paul for those of you who are familiar with it as in they were both demolished under racially-motivated reasons.

I plan to get a cell phone sooner or later, but it depends when I can justify the expense to myself. haha. It will primarily be for calling South African numbers or for emergency purposes. I have called some of you using my phone cards and will continue to do so - so long as you don't mind! :)

It's nice - most things are pretty cheap here. You can get a decent meal for under R50 which is about $6. I haven't bought that much, and I've only eaten one meal, but people I've met in the hostel said things are pretty cheap. Though they're coming from Europe, where things are a bit more expensive than the US... We'll see, I guess.

I uploaded some pictures below. Check them out! The first one is a view down Long Street from the balcony of my hostel. The second is a view of the courtyard area inside the hostel. I love all the live plants!