Greetings from South Africa

1/9/11 9:30 PM

Greetings from Cape Town! Currently, I am sitting in my bed (yes, this will be a common thing) at my host family’s home.  It is so good to finally be settled in to the place where I will be for the next couple months. The family is so sweet, and I really feel that it will be a great place to live. They have 3 boys: Josh (16), Aaron (12), and Jason (10). The mother’s name is Lavona and the father Pete. Their grandma also lives with them, but she has her own little place in the back, so we haven’t seen her yet. Krystle Halvorsen is my roommate, and I think we are going to get along really well! She is very outgoing and personable, so I think it will be fun to be around her as much as I will be.

When I arrived Thursday night, Wayne (the dean of the school) picked me up from the airport and took me to the Bible Institute of South Africa. This place was beautiful, and had a great view overlooking the ocean. I will post pictures! By the time I got there, everyone else was asleep except for Tammy, the study abroad coordinator. She let me use her phone to call my parents and let them know I had arrived safely.

The next day, Friday, everyone else arrived. There are 9 of us total from the states that are here on this journey together. There are 3 of us from George Fox, 5 from Bethel University, and 1 from Wheaton. We are quite a diverse group, but our backgrounds make for a lot of beauty and intrigue within us. I can’t wait to get to know all of them more. So Friday was spent getting to know each other at the institute, and we took a walk down to a town nearby called Fish Hoek. There were a few shops there and a beach that we walked around for a bit at. That night we had a “briee” which is basically the South African version of a barbeque. I have quickly learned that South Africa is very fond of their meat, and this was an occasion that this was very apparent. There was lamb, chicken, and sausage. We met some of the Cornerstone faculty and some of the other students.

Saturday we set out for a day excursion around the area. We stopped at Boulders to see the penguins. I know…who woulda thunk that there would be penguins in South Africa? But there were lots! And yes, I have pictures of them as well. From there, we went to Cape Point, which was unfortunately very foggy so we didn’t have quite the view we would’ve hoped for. So I don’t really have pictures, but it’s normally a beautiful place, so you should look it up. J Then we went to a place nearby to eat our lunch near a beach. One interesting thing about there area is that there are a lot of baboons. These baboons are quite intriguing creatures. They have become so adapted to human civilization that they have learned to open car doors, screen doors, and take your food at parks. Some people’s job is actually to follow the baboons and make sure they don’t get into trouble. So, sitting at the park eating lunch, we had to keep our eye open for baboons to make sure they didn’t take our food, and the monitors kept watch as well. We made a couple other stops at some viewpoints after lunch, and then headed back to the institute for the night.

This morning, we packed up our stuff and headed to church. This church was unique because it was racially integrated. Most churches around here are still separated black and white. So, this church was a bit confusing because as the pastor was speaking in English, there would be a translator speaking at the same time in Xhosa (a local language). It was confusing. And I hadn’t been feeling good already, so I can’t say I fully enjoyed it. But it made for a new experience. After church, we went to Cornerstone (the school I will be attending) for lunch and to meet our host families.

And now we are “home” and getting ready for bed. It’s only 9:30, but we are really exhausted. Jet lag is a weird thing, and I really am not fond of it. Hopefully we will find our energy soon enough. Tomorrow morning we get up for our first “History of South Africa” lecture.

So I would like to explain something. I do not have internet at my host family’s home. Internet down here is very expensive so even when host families do have it, it is advised to not use it much. Therefore, the time that I write my blog posts will, for the most part, not be at the same time they are posted online since I will have to wait until I am on campus. I will write the date at the beginning of each post of when they are actually written, so don’t be confused!

I am so blessed for this opportunity. I will admit homesickness has already hit me harder than I expected. But being able to unpack my stuff and a have place to call home has already made me feel better. Thank you all so much for your interest in keeping up with my adventure. I love you and miss you all!