I'm a terrible blogger. I've been here now for over two weeks, and this is my first post. I blame it on the fact that I don't have internet here, other than at the internet cafe or the grad student lounge (which I only discovered this afternoon). All of the pictures you see here have been stolen off the internet, because I haven't uploaded mine yet. They'll be coming soon, though.
I was also homeless for my first week in CT, so I spent a lot of my time trying to find a place to live/stressing out because I didn't have a place to live. Fortunately, my amazing Rotary Scholar friends allowed me to sleep on the spare beds in their house. (Thanks Emily, Ilya, Mel, Jen and Jen...) I found my new apartment on website posting, and it happens to be only a bock away from what I call the aforementioned "Rotary Cottage". I live with two girls and a guy. Olivia is 17, from South African, Lexie is 19 from Namibia, and Varun is 21 from Botswana. At 23, I am the old maid of the flat. I'm young at heart, though. We all seem to be getting along fine, which is great. I live right down the road from campus in a suburb called Rondebosch. One of the downfalls of living in the 'burbs is that I haven't spent much time at all in actual Cape Town. I've made one trip into town, plus a trip to the beach. It's called Muizenberg (pronounced Moo-zenberg) and it's where all the surfers hang out. Unlike some of my "half-Spanish" friends, I only got only mildly sunburned on this day trip.
Then there have been two trips to my Rotary Club in Hout Bay, which smells like the ocean just like the Danversport Yacht Club (where my home club meets) but is about ten times more beautiful. Not that there is anything wrong with Danvers, though.
I started classes at UCT this week. I'm taking "Intro to Gender and Transformation Studies" (which, contrary to popular belief is not about transgendered people, but about studying gender in countries transitioning to democracy) and "Theories of Rights and Justice". I also have an internship at the International Center for Transitional Justice. My boss, Alex Boraine, pretty much thought up the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (what I am here to study). I'll probably be working there about 20 hours a week, but it counts as a course, so it won't add too much to my work load. Working at the ICTJ is pretty much the reason why I wanted to come to Cape Town, so I'm psyched about this internship!
This weekend is my Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar orientation weekend. I'll be hanging out with these cool folks: http://www.ambassadorial07.blogspot.com/ Hopefully we'll get to do lots of touristy things, in addition to the usual Rotary indoctrination.
I'm leaving now to go enjoy a 15 Rand grilled sub from the stand down the street. It's the best $2 sandwich this side of the Atlantic!
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