First Update!

Hello everyone!  Well, these last few days in Cape Town have been absolutely amazing.  The area is absolutely beautiful.  The mountains, the trees, the wildlife...it's all great.  Two days ago we went to the US Consulate in Cape Town and learned about the country which was really interesting.  We went to the beach yesterday, and the water was ICE cold but it was just so amazing with the mountains as a backdrop (see picture below).  The group went to a traditional African restaurant today and I tried 4 things that I honestly NEVER thought I would try... oxtail, ostrich, springbok (the little animal), and kudu (the bigger animal) in the picture below.  I thought they were ALL disgusting, but at least I tried! I also tried some kind of authentic beer that may be the worst thing ever, but still.

 I have been talking a lot to our RA, our program director Melikaya, and our driver about South Africa and have learned some absolutely crazy things about South Africa.  For example, when voting in political elections the people of South Africa vote for the PARTY they want to win, and the party chooses the person they select as president.  Everything here is INCREDIBLY inexpensive.  You can ride a cab for what is under 1 US dollar, get Chinese food for about 4, and buy groceries for 1/10 of the price back home in the states.  That being said, I was SHOCKED to hear that the "average" salary of a working person in South Africa is about 150,000 Rands, which translates to about $15,000 in America.  It is CRAZY!  Their huge beach houses can go for about 5,000,000 Rands or about $500,000.  Try getting a house like THAT back home!  The driving is absolutely crazy.  When you want to get in a taxi, you wait until the taxi/mini bus screams as you pass them, you hop in, and get crammed in until they fit about 20 people in it.  This country is definitely incredibly diverse, and I am absolutely loving my time here.  If you have any questions so far, comment or check my Facebook album or email me or message me or whatever you want!  Talk to you later!!!