MADE IT TO CAPE TOWN! Saying goodbye to family and friends was difficult, but with each passing hour I am more and more sure that this is where I am meant to be. I have only been here for about two days, but I'm learning so much already. Things like:
1. they do drive on the left side of the road and the streets are really narrow
2. the taxi drivers will whistle and call out to you on any main street to see if you want a ride
3. South Africans like their meat- good thing I'm not vegetarian!
4. it is SUPER windy, especially at night
5. night life in Observatory (outside Cape Town where I am staying) on a Monday night is probably not an accurate picture of the fun that is to be had

Sorry this is a little scatter-brained...traveling was a long and tedious process. I left Saturday afternoon on a flight from Chicago to Washington D.C. After we landed in D.C. we ran to the gate for our next flight because we had been delayed a little due to ice in Chicago. From there it was a whopping 17 hours to Johannesburg (a quick stop in Dakar, Senegal to fuel and change crew). From Johannesburg we had a little trouble because apparently we unknowingly skipped customs and almost missed our flight to Cape Town, but alas we made it. That first night we did not have any food in the house, it was midnight, and we did not know the area. So, of course our live-in RA took us to McDonalds! We ended up having to walk through the drive-through line because that was the only part open and we did not have a car. Not exactly my first choice of experiencing South Africa in the form of McDonald's, but hopefully it will have been my first and last stop there this semester.

Tomorrow we are going to the U.S. Consulate for a presentation and then maybe to the beach.

I promise I will have a more comprehensive and coherent update in the near future, but for now I must say goodnight!

Me and Mama Kaz in Chicago before I left!