Every Day

This post really won’t be in order about things…just random thoughts that I’ve been having.

First, things I’ve noticed about Americans that are different from South Africans:
-We announce our questions, most Americans say, “Can I ask a question?” or “I have a question.” Or “I was wondering…” Why don’t we just get to the point and ask what we want to ask?
-We are obsessed with being tan, why do we attribute darkness to attractiveness? So much so that people use tanning beds and spray tanner? Thandi, my RA, asked us about this last night. She asked, “Why do you like getting so tan?” and the only reply was that it is viewed as attractive. This absolutely blew her away because here in South Africa, especially because of apartheid, paleness is more attractive. The order went white, colored, black. It’s interesting to think about. Tanning.
-We interrupt a lot. All the time. When someone else is talking, people will just interrupt when, if we just wait, we can find out what we had wanted. Patience people patience.
-We want things FAST. Walking, talking, getting picked up, starting a meeting, food, getting tickets to a play, everything we want fast. This goes along with the previous one a bit. I for one am enjoying going at a bit slower of a pace.
I’m sure there are more but I’ll keep ya’ll posted

The sweet potatoes look normal on the outside but here are white inside and not orange!

In other news, our group continues to bond-we have
some really great people here. Exploring Capetown together has been a blast. Taking the train to different beaches and small towns, walking around, grocery shopping, going to the market ANNNNDD the BIKE SHOP!!! That’s right, I now am the proud owner of a mountain bike! It was quite the trying decision to choose mountain bike over road bike, but apparently mountain biking is much more popular around here and is one of the best places in the world to mountain bike! So I’m taking up the sport of mountain biking, first ride tomorrow  I’m also biking the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, a race/ride in which over 30,000 riders participate (including Lance Armstrong) and all the roads in Capetown shut down. It’s world famous and I’m going to do it!! So excited!

This past week, and also next week are pretty laid back because classes don’t start until February 14. In the meantime we continue to visit the possible service sites and try to narrow down our selections. I still have no clue, any advice is welcomed. We have also met our professors (they came right to our house to have a meeting with us! It seems like we are treated like royalty around here). Service Learning CIEE students get many perks that Arts and Sciences CIEE students do not. Our excursions and activities are so wonderful. The mountains still catch me off guard, when I turn my head and there’s the mountain! Right there! So big and majestic and powerful. Soon I will conquer it with my new (used) bike!

That’s it for now, I’m still loving every moment, still stunned by the beauty of it all and still heartbroken by the suffering and need that is surrounding this city and country. Every day.