Waterfront and Class bonding-ish

Today we got to see more beautiful landscape as we made our way into Cape Town. Even though we drive the same route almost every day each drive is different because of the ever changing weather. The weather hasn't been too bad but it definitely doesn't relate to the US right now. I would compare it to the end of a New England fall, sunny most of the day then bone chilling once the sun goes down if you aren't dressed properly.
Our first stop in Cape Town was a walking tour through the botanical garden and past government buildings. The garden was gorgeous, a wonderful mix of exotic flowers, greenery, and wildlife. The most stunning of all was the "birds of paradise". Our walk through the garden lead us to the South African Museum where Frans lead us through explaining the history of South Africa. The most mind blowing thing was how they crafted all of their tools to get through a days work and entertain themselves. They take ostrich eggs and break them up into pieces to then shape them with their teeth to small discs that are used as beads.
For lunch and the rest of the afternoon we headed to Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, known as V+A by the locals. The waterfront views are breathtaking. It is like you are looking out onto a mixture of New England, Florida, and Colorado. The sands are as soft and white as Florida, the color and nature of the water and its currents reminds me of my beach at home, and the mountains surrounding the water resemble the view of being in the valleys of Colorado.
A group of us found a cute outdoor Italian restaurant to grab some lunch. The food was fantastic!! We even all tried a bite of Ostrich that John had ordered. I would definitely eat it again. We went off for a bit of shopping but knew we were coming back at the end of the trip so decided to wait to spend money on ourselves.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side today so we couldn't go up on table mountain. The cable car up does not run if it is too windy and if it is cloudy there is no point in going up because you wont see a thing. I will fill you in on Table Mountain once I get there. We did get to drive up Signal Hill, opposite Table Mountain, to see an almost ariel view of Cape Town.
We spent a bit more time out then planned and ended up being late for dinner. Big no no!
Once finished with dinner a group of us sat down and had a bonding chat. We all came to the conclusion that we need to plan what to do after dinner because we all split and people get left not knowing what others are planning on doing or end up just bored until they can fall asleep. It was a successful chat and hopefully there are more to come.
Meganne

annoyed

I was going to try and blog today but what I felt like writing aparantly doesnt meet standards. I am here to blog about my days and exactly how I feel about them Im not here to sugar coat anything or keep it politically correct. Sorry

Uneventful day of Class

Today we began class at 9:30 and listened to guest speakers from Downhill Adventures, A research project creator, the directors of Rocklands, and about the history of Africa (by Frans) until 4:00. We had a lunch break at 1:00 same situation as dinner, yay! I decided that on one of my free days that I will be going cage diving with Great White Sharks. I can not wait!! That should be a thrilling blog for ya! Another dinner at 6....the town must be into rec fishing or something on weekends because the whole place smells like bait and is really unappetizing. Calling it an early night. Off to Table mountain tomorrow, I hope the weather cooperates so pictures will be good,
Stay in touch,
Meganne

Cape Peninsula Tour

Good News!!! Breakfast was full of recognized food like eggs, cereal, yogurt, and bacon. It was a relief to know I would start the day with an enjoyable and filling meal.
The coach (bus) left promptly at 9:00am to begin our scenic tour up and around Cape Peninsula. I felt as if my camera was never off for more than 5 consecutive minutes. the landscape in South Africa is breathtaking, it is like nothing I have ever seen before.
Our first stop was Duiker Island where a colony of seals (mostly male) live. There was a man on the bulkhead playing with his 500lb seal, who he has been training for 8 years, named Peachy Boy. We were allowed to pet and feed him and even give him a hug for a picture. Amber and I took advantage of this opportunity and got a picture together with Peachy Boy. We boarded the tour boat and took a gorgeous ride out to the island. Everyone was snapping pictures of mountains and jumping seals.
About 40 minutes later we arrive by coach into Table Mountain National Park to see Cape of Good Hope and Cape point. Cape of Good Hope is the southern  most part of western cape. Cape point is home to an old lighthouse that holds the highest visual distance from sea, 63meters. Before entering the park our tour guide, Frans, gave us a serious warning about wild baboons. They will approach you if they suspect you may have food and snatch it away. This means they will steal handbags because they have learned that there is most likely some food in them. If you are caught feeding them you will be fined.
The view from Cape Point Lighthouse is fantastic. You get a 360 view of the western peninsula, as far as you can see that is. The walk up is the hard part though. Amber and I decided we should try and run it, we didn't get too far :-( but it's the effort that counts.
WE stopped and Cape of Good Hope for about 20 minutes to explore. We climbed the rocks for a bit and then the wind picked up and it got a lot colder. The weather changes so fast here.
On our way back to Wellwood we stopped at Rocklands, the camp we will be working at for a week while we are here, to take a quick tour so we had an idea of what to expect. The facilities are amazing, they have everything from as swimming pool to an indoor rock wall. It made me begin to think that this may be a good place for me to have my externship. Need to look into that.
About a 10 minute drive and we were back at Wellwood to get ready for another interesting dinner. I'm not going to go into it because I don't want to bore you with the same situation every night.
Headed to the Internet cafe after dinner then hug out at a local bar for a bit. Again not going to go into it but because I'm not blogging to start drama or bitch about stupid things. Lets just say I should have gotten more sleep than I did but didn't because of immature behavior.
Waking up at 7
Meganne

Day Cont...

After moving into our "shoebox" we all met for a brief meeting with the owners of wellwood lodge, where we are staying for most of the trip. Wellwood is owned  by a couple that is very serious about their beliefs and the way the lodge is run. I thought it was odd that they refer to their staff as "our black staff" when speaking about them. during orientation everyone was so tired that no one paid any attention to the rules that the owners laid flat out for us, blah, blah, blah....It was a bit much to handle after not sleeping for almost three days.
Amber and I decided to figure out how to tetrus all of our stuff into our "Shoebox" after being told the rules. We then needed to fix our internet craving and went on a search for the internet cafe in town to continue our blogs and catch up with people at home.
We were left to explore Fish Hoek before dinner at 6. The shore is the most stunning part of Fish Hoek. When you look out to the horizon all you see is water and mountains. It is hard to describe becasuse I hsve never seen anything like it. Today was cloudy so pictures did not come out well so I will have to try another day. The local kids run around and play rugby on the beach and will even come up to us and chat because they are curious of new people.
Dinner...pretty much all i need to say ughhh. Amber had the worst experience and will probably be scared from it for a while. The culture over here is very different and they look down on you for wasting food wven iof it was'nt intentional. They serve us 3 courses and expect us to finish absolutly everything on your plate. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against experienceing and learning about new cultures I just have a problem when I am degraded because I havent conformed to their exact ways.
The dinner was unidentifiable and at a point when you are full completely unedible. I managed to force feed myself every last bit but Amber had trouble. The staff refused to clear her plate with a small pile of meat still left. They passivly made her finish her meal by doing this. It was painful to watch Amber struggle with this slimmy meaty substance. After an eventful dinner we decided to lay low and head back to our "shoebox" and try to stay warm and continue our journals.
Fun to come,
Meganne

Arrival into South Africa

We took a bus into the small town of Fish Hoek (means fish corner) from Cape Town International Airport. the views along the coast were gorgeous!!! I was expecting coastline but I have never seen such amazing views consisting of both mountains and ocean on either side of the street. I am so over tired that I may just fall asleep right at this desk writing. We arrive at Wellwood Lodge in Fish Hoek and get assigned to our rooms.
You know what really sucks?....Two girls with two large suitcases EACH sharing a room the size of a SHOEBOX while everyone else has ample room for all of their stuff without having to climb over empty suitcases. But at least we have hot water and a shower. We are left with the rest of the day to ourselves to explore Fish Hoek and settle into our (tiny) room. Amber and I decided to head to the internet cafe to catch up on our missed emails and blogging. Glad I could get caught up.
It will become more eventful soon. We are going to see penguins tomorrow!!
Speak to you soon,
Meganne

Up Up and AWAY!!!!!

I arrived at the airport at 7:00 pm on June 1 for my 10:30 flight to London. Come to find out our flight is also occupied by a group of english students (about high school aged) that were full of energy. This was going to be a looong night. the flight went smoothly though I only got about 30 minutes of sleep. We landed in London then Amber and I started our search for the Yotel (pay by the hour room for long transfers) about and hour and a half later we finally made our way into our cool and comfy beds for a much needed nap. About 1 hour before boarding an announcement over the PA is looking for both our Professors. We never did find out why they were so late but they nearly missed the flight because of it. Great first impression for all of us who never met them :-/ At 8:30pm June 2 we were finally on our way to South Africa!!!! 10 hours later and hardly any sleep we all staggared off the plane to find our guide, exchange money, and get working cell phones.
Now the REAL adventure starts.
Meganne

Adventure Begins...on the way to JFK!

Expecting a nice ride to JFK my family and I (missing a few) jumped in the truck. We hit traffic an hour in and then the bickering began. Dad can't follow a GPS, mom doesn't like the way Dad drives, and the dog is barking at strangers in cars next to us. To make a long story short, the easy ride to JFK turned out to be a 5 hour mess. I considered walking at one point we were going so slow.

Down to the WIRE!!!!

One more day until I fly away!!!!
Eerything seems to be snowballing into one day. I still haven't touched my suitcases and there is still one paper just waiting for me to write. ughhh Starting to stress out just a bit. There is so much I need to get done but also so much stuff I want to do. Its Memorial Day and I'm not on Block Island (family tradition) or at a BBQ because of all of my organizing. I am determined to be done with everything today so I can enjoy tomorrow with my friends and family with out any stress.
Let ya know when Im fully EXCITED
Meganne

Packing and Papers OH MY!!

Time to stop procrastinating!!! I have a lot to organize in order to leave Tuesday. My room is scattered with the many random things that some how need to get into 2 suitcases ahhhh!!!! The weather in South Africa can be unpredictable this time of year. One day is could be 70 and sunny and the next will be 50 and overcast with rain. This calls for a wide range of clothing and plenty of layers (meaning more stuff!!).
Since I am traveling for a Study Abroad program its not all about the sightseeing and learning about a new culture, I do have some work to do to earn credit for this. I have 3 papers to complete by tuesday as pre-departure assignments. I'm not quite back into school mode after the end of Spring tri so its been a bit tough to get started. But have no fear they will be finished by takeoff.
Speak to you soon,
Meganne