Hey everyone!

I’m in South Africa. Katie finally made it to Cape Town after a 14 ½ hour flight from NYC to Joberg! I found that I enjoyed travelling alone (though I wish the best travel partner and best friend a girl could have, Beth, was here with me!) because I managed to meet a lot of cool people!

                Once I arrived to CPT, on a plane full of the U20 Argentine National Team, it was so nice to be picked up at the airport by people from my internship, as well as taken to get a phone and check my email.  

                I am fortunate enough to be staying with a friend of a friend.  I am staying with 3 very nice, cool guys. Their place, which has two balconies, is in Seapoint and is literally half a block from the ocean! From one of their balconies, you have a clear view of the Atlantic Ocean. 

                I was quite jet lagged the first couple of days, but I quickly got into the rhythm of things. On the second day, I decided to be brave and ride on one of the 15 passenger shared mini taxi/buses. They are quite awesome and so very cheap. From Seapoint to City Centre is about 2 miles, the shared taxi costs me 6 Rand, about 70 cents. And you don’t have to wait for the transportation; it usually takes about 30 seconds tops for one to stop for you. They are everywhere!  This is the first time that transportation policy actually seems interesting.  In a city of almost 4 million people, to not have a more formalized system of transportation is incredible to me.  There is actually a new movement by the government to register all the mini buses and make it a formalized, regulated system. Usually, the drivers are black males that blast music that has a lot of bass, but on my 3^rd morning, I got into a mini bus of a woman driver who was also Muslim, pretty cool!

                When I came home after my first full day of work, I had my first lost in translation debacle.  I knew the apartment was on the 2^nd floor but had only taken the elevator to it. So I walked up the stairs and started trying to use the keys to open the door.  I was standing there for about 5 minutes trying to get in, then texting Ryan to ask how to open the door, when suddenly an old woman appeared at the door.  I was on the 1^st floor, trying to “break in” to this woman’s flat! We just don’t have a ground floor in the States!

                After figuring out that I needed to be on the 2^nd floor (3^rd floor in American standards), I walked the half block to the ocean and walked along the promenade. After work, this walkway is packed with runners, walkers, and cute gay couples with matching outfits and dogs (hehe). I try to go down and either walk or jog along the promenade after work each day. It is an amazing way to relax and truly realize how great life can be.

                Beth and Jeff, I have already sampled a myriad of beers that we had while here for the World Cup, including Castle, Hansa, and Windhoek. I also have found out that not everyone is in love with that crazy group Die Antwoord… but most young, white South African people have at least a couple of their songs on their iTunes (haha). Also, I found out what the green tea is!!! It is called Easy-Med… they knew exactly what it was when I described it.  I can’t wait to get some! Haha.

                I’d like to end this post by saying that I have not yet seen a Zebra on this trip.