JAWS!

On Sunday morning, I was lowered into a cage in the middle of Shark Alley with fish heads and guts poured in the water surrounding me. No this was not my death sentence or a form of torture created in South Africa...I was willingly Shark Cage Diving!!! The only way to describe my experience is, INSANE. Exhilarating, jaw-dropping (hehe), breathe taking...the list goes on. For those of you who know me well, you know that my swimming abilities are pretty sub-par. At 19 years old I have still yet to master diving and my attempts at doing so have proven to be a fun party trick for my sister Brooke to show off. Anyway, with that being said, let's just say my family was a bit nervous for me to be in shark infested waters where swimming would seem to be a pretty crucial aspect. But don't worry people! I'm still alive n kickin' with all of my limbs in tact. So..let me begin my in depth description of this wild afternoon.

10 am, wake up and board the mini-bus outside of our flats. Everyone is tingling with excitement and wishing that we had remembered that liquor stores are closed on Sundays because we wanted to pop a bottle of champagne after coming back alive. I wish someone had warned me that the car ride to the docks was going to be 2 hours because I was literally shaking with excitement and had nothing to occupy myself with besides pestering everyone around me. Once arriving at The Great White Project's office building, we were greeted by a lovely spread of food for lunch while we waited to get out on the water. I knew not to eat too much before going on a boat but some of my comrades were not as fortunate. Once going through some brief (very brief) safety precautions, we boarded the boat and headed out to Shark Alley, a strip of water on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, aptly named for the multitude of sharks that habitat the area. I kept my eye on the land to avoid having my stomach jostled by the waves on the 15 minute ride out. Once out there, I along with 5 of my friends immediately volunteered to be the first group in. Had I known that getting into a wet suit would be the hardest part of this whole endeavor, I would have started putting it on on the car ride there hours before. With the waves rocking the boat, I tugged the sticky wet suit on with as much coordination as Bambi walking on ice. We then lowered our bodies into the cage in the icey water as the crew started tossing out chum to attract our Great White friends. I was initially nervous that I wouldn't be able to hold my breathe for long enough and would miss seeing the sharks when they came but quickly learned after seeing my first Great White at arm distance that holding my breathe wouldn't be the issue, remembering to breathe in general would be more important. As the sharks would approach the cage, attracted by the massive fish heads floating in front of us, their eyes were like soulless black marbles. After about 10 minutes, we got out and gave the next group a chance. Little did I know, while I was under water infatuated with the largest predator of the sea, those left on deck were having a rough time getting their sea legs. A rough time is a complete understatement, people were really losing their shit, pardon my French. And I don't mean freaking out about the sharks..people were puking left and right. This is where I have to say, Thank You Dad for taking me deep sea fishing with you because my stomach was solid as a rock. Because so many people were losing their lunches, I even got to go into the cage twice and I think the sharks were attracted to their puke because the second time in I saw a HUGE one that skimmed the cage and chomped down on the bait in front of us. I even saw a cute little seal (dumb, but cute) swim past and (hopefully) escape the sharp teeth surrounding us.

Overall, what an experience!! We got back to Rondebosch at about 7:30 and after showering headed to our favorite sushi restaurant, Beluga, for some fresh fish and drinks. Later that night, I even met some famous surfers that were in Cape Town filming a documentary. Of course I was too awkward and spastic to hold a conversation with any of them but my friends did a good job at making them think we were normal. A great end to an amazing day.

Wet Suit Seal Conspiracy 

I stole all of these pictures from my friends because I somehow managed to avoid taking a single picture. oops?

Hiking, Classes and Minions

Okay before I recap anything else, I need to explain how excited I am to see Despicable Me 2 tonight. The Claremont movie theater has a half price special on Tuesday nights which means I get to see my favorite little animated characters for super cheap. I love them so much that I used up all of my internet allowance in my house watching Despicable Me youtube videos. Who knew that Youtube sucks up so much internet..I sure didn't. But 3GB later and here I am. So now the only way I can use internet is on campus or at an internet cafe. I am the joke of my house at the moment. Anyway, back to my minions. I LOVE THEM AND I AM SO EXCITED.  I'll be sure to update you all on my review of this fantastic film later tonight.

In the meantime, classes have begun! Yesterday was the first day and I ran around like an 8 headed chicken with all of its heads cut off and its shoe laces tied together. Not only was I sweating and panting by the time I walked up to the top of upper campus (never doing that again) but once getting up there I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing.  I was the stereotypical image of a stupid lost American. Today has been a lot better sooo hopefully it only goes up from here! 

On a brighter note! I hiked Lions Head for the first time on Sunday. It was the most rewarding and exciting thing I have ever done. I definitely underestimated how much of a climb/hike it would be, as the trail quickly disappears and turns to steep rocks that must be climbed near the peak. My thighs were burning as we reached the top but once I looked up and soaked in the views that surrounded me all thoughts of pain immediately vanished. 360 degrees of breathtaking views with Table Mountain behind, the Atlantic Ocean ahead and the city of Cape Town below. This hike made me even more excited to get to the tops of Table and Devils Peak. 

Heaven on Earth

If I could put into words how amazing the Old Biscuit Mill market is, I would. But I simply can't. It is the most magical, delicious, happy place on this planet and if I died today I would die a happy lady because I have been to it. For those of you who don't know what it is, OBM is an open air market like nothing you have ever seen before. Walking into it for the first time yesterday, I was immediately overwhelmed by how many options lay before me. Rows upon rows of food vendors selling everything from delicious smoothies to paella to sandwiches and more. The entire place smells so good that your mouth starts watering the second you step foot on the premises. As we snaked through the market trying to decide what to buy for breakfast I was so happy I could cry. We did laps around the entire place to see everything before making what felt like the most important decision of our lives.  Rachel and I bought a glass of sangria for R20 to try to settle our nerves a little. Mom, you know I love your sangria but this was the best sangria I have ever had. Then finally, I chose a a sandwich from Black Plate. Fresh arugula, tomato, avocado, parmesan, pancetta and balsamic vinegar drizzled on top resting on thick, crunchy bread the size of my face. YUM. Rachel and Hailey chose butter chicken over rice and these little cheese puff concoctions which they said were delicious. After eating ourselves into a coma, while being serenaded by a live band,  we decided to check out the other section of shops that had clothing and other various knick knacks. One of the stores, Exposure, sold all things to do with photography and I bought two packs of film for my fisheye camera. I could have spent hours in there looking around. All in all....best morning of my life and we have made a promise to ourselves to never miss a saturday at OBM. EVER.

On a less happy note....NEVER GO TO THE PLANETARIUM IN CAPE TOWN. I can't even write about it because I don't want to taint the happiness expressed above. But all I will say is it is not fun, not worth the money and the worst experience of my life. Think of the most boring let down of your life and then multiply it by 100 and that will get you close to our experience. So I guess I can check that off my list and know where to send someone who I really don't like in the future.

You take classes abroad?

I just got back from registering for classes for this semester. I have been here for about two weeks now and the "study" aspect of "study abroad" and about to begin. I have never been so thankful for the system that we have in place for registration back in the states as this morning. Not only is the campus huge and I still have absolutely zero clue how to navigate it, but registration is done by paper, requiring you to walk around and wait in endless lines to get things signed. It is a completely miserable process. But it's over! and I got all of the classes I wanted! I am taking Religion, Spirituality and Ecology; Media, Power and Propaganda; Images in Conflict; and Origins of the Contemporary World. I am especially excited for the religion course because it looks at how different religious groups are dealing with the current environmental crisis and their theories behind it. Should be really interesting!

On the exploring side of things...I went to the beach for the first time yesterday. This week has been really warm compared to the rest of the time so we were able to soak up a little bit of sun. We took the train from Rondebosch (where I live) to Muizenberg beach which took about 30 minutes. I didn't think it was possible to have a worse train system than Metro North but the trains here definitely have it beat. I have been with my guy friends every time I have taken it but it is definitely not something I'd want to do solo. It is for sure the cheapest way to get to the beach though so I am completely fine with it. Muizenberg beach is where everyone goes to learn how to surf because the waves are pretty manageable. I didn't surf this time but I definitely will in the near future. Along the beach there are lines of these beautifully colored little huts that are changing rooms but I joked to my friends that I would live in one. It honestly wasn't a joke..waking up every morning and stepping out onto that silky smooth sand with mountains on the horizon line and at my back would be a blessing. I brought my film SLR camera with some black and white film as well as my digital SLR camera to snap some pics. After a long day of lounging in the sun, my flat cooked dinner together and drank some Pinotage (our new favorite) before going out. I'm glad I didn't go as crazy as all of my friends last night because they were not feeling too hot at the registration process from hell this morning. Tonight, we are going to take the train to St. James beach which is a couple stops past Muizenberg and is apparently very nice to watch the sun set. hopefully it isn't too chilly! 

Here are some pictures from the beach yesterday :) 

I am all moved in and settled in my new apartment!! I have a single which is awesome and I live with two other people named Hailey and Luke. I hate them...just kidding they rock. But we have a cute little living room area and a kitchen and a balcony which will be amazing to have once it gets warm. The only bad thing about the place is the bathroom. It is a joke. Anyone over 170 pounds would not be able to fit in it, I promise and the door is a sheet of paper. The three of us are going to get very comfortable with each other. But I am still really happy to be in this flat because we have been able to have people over to hang a bunch and the living room is really comfy.
On Sunday we did a Peninsular tour which took us all over the city and opened our eyes to the millions of adventures to come.We ate lunch in the Ocean View township at the community center and people from the community sang and danced for us. I tried to tell all of my new friends that I am a professional break dancer back home but not of them believed me, as they shouldn't. Brooke, I am still making up facts left and right and Hailey has already caught on and calls me out on my BS. The last stop on the tour was my personal favorite. We went to the Cape Point Nature Reserve and walked up to the light house at the point which had some great views and then to the Cape of Good Hope. At the Cape of Good Hope the ocean was insane...I think I'm gonna learn how to swim for real while I am here because that will probably be an important talent to have, especially when I go shark cage diving (next week most likely so keep a look out for that post). Then at  night we went to dinner at Beluga sushi for half priced cocktails and sushi. Beluga is a really nice restaurant and the bill total was ridiculously cheap, definitely going back here every sunday. After eating some of the best sushi I have ever had, we went to Cafe Caprice in Camps Bay. It is right on the water and is a hot spot for celebrities and SA professional athletes so of course everyone there was very pretty.

some Tulanians!

view from the Cape Point light house 

Dinner at Beluga

Yesterday during the day a group of us went into the city to do a little bit of exploring. We went to the waterfront first to the craft market there. If I like you enough I will definitely be coming back with some goodies from this place. All in all, the waterfront is just a touristy spot that is 100% foreigners so I probably won't be hanging out down there very often but it is really nice because it is right on the water (obviously). One aspect of the waterfront that is really cool though is the ferris wheel type thing that looks like the London Eye. DEFINITELY want to do that at one point because I'm sure the views are unreal. After the waterfront we walked to Long St. which is like Royal St./Bourbon but nice. There are a ton of bars on it and really cool shops and then on the side street plazas there are little markets. We went to Greenmarket Square on Shortmarket St. where I bought an awesome tapestry that will be perfect for house in NOLA and my room here. I am practicing my bargaining skills, I got the lady who sold me my tapestry to drop the price from R350 to R200 :) Anyway, after an awesome day of shopping we went up to the top of Table Mountain with a couple of bottles of wine to watch the sunset. Pinotage is the type of red wine that is unique to South Africa and can only be produced here so we have been drinking that and it is delicious. The views from the top of Table Mountain were incomparable to anything I have ever seen. I felt like I was on top of the world. We all agreed that this was the greatest thing that we have done so far and we got some great pictures to remember it by. At night we went out with two RAs named Linda and TK who have fire cracker personalities and are absolutely hilarious. We went to a bar called Mitchell's (Hey chels and mitch! ;)) for karaoke night and my friend Taylor rapped which is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I wasn't feeling too hot this morning though. Now I am about to go pre-register for school. Because the internet is pretty spotty in Cape Town, registration is all done by paper, so you have to wait in line for hours. After that is done,  if I don't throw myself to the sharks, we are going to the flea market to get some cheap.

Lunch at Neighborhood on Long St.

view from the top of Table Mountain

Hailey and I are becoming close with our security guard Abbo and he is teaching us how to speak Xhosa (pronounced Cosa). He is going to teach us a word a day. Here is what I have learned so far..not sure how to actually spell them but this is how they are pronounced:
Mol-loh: Hello
oon-jah-nee: how are you?
pee-lee-lay: I am good!
la-la-goom-nand: have a beautiful sleep (this is my favorite and is really nice to say)

Moving in out and around

We are finally moving out of the dorms and into our permanent living!!! I couldn't be more excited as I was getting a bit sick of living out of a suit case. I am living in the apartment above Vodacom (the phone store) with 10 girls and 2 guys. The flat is split up into clusters of apartments, 2 with 3 bedrooms and 1 with 4 bedrooms and then there are 2 bedrooms that are doubles. Two girls already offered to take one of the doubles and you would think that the boys would offer to take the other but of course they didn't so we are picking numbers from a hat to see who has to take the other one. The apartment seems like it's in a really convenient area as it is right on Main Rd and pretty close to campus. I am praying that I don't get the double or the one room in the middle of the apartment that has no windows. How depressing does that sound?? No windows. That must be a health hazard or something. I am also really hoping that I don't have to share a bathroom with one of the guys. Mom and Dad, I know you think I am a pig but we can all agree that most boys are on a different level. Anyway, I am really excited to get moved in and settled so that I can finally unpack and make a space my own. Later today I am going to try to find some things to decorate my room with and make it a little more homey. So, as I sit here waiting for it to be my time to move out/in let me recap my past two nights.

4th of July was so much fun..even though I wasn't in the country that it celebrates. South Africans love Americans. I know you probably don't believe me, but it's true. They are just as into wearing american flag printed things as the frattiest frat star out there. During the day we did a scavenger hunt around the UCT campus which was supposed to get us "acclimated with the campus" but it honestly made me ten times more confused. The campus is HUGE and it feels like you are walking up-hill in all directions. Besides getting lost every day on my way to class and having no clue where I am going, I will at least have a nice butt by the end of this. After finishing this "AMA-zing" race as they called it, we had a braai which is the South African version of a BBQ. Not sure what all of you hooligans did back home for the 4th but I'm sure it consisted of something similar to drinking a beer and BBQing. At night we went out to this club called Tiger-Tiger. I swear, you would have thought you were in the states based on the decorations...red white and blue EVERYWHERE, bartenders wearing american flags as dresses, and an Uncle Sam on stilts...it was insane. The club itself was awesome, there is this circular dance floor in the middle of the place set lower than everything else and they played every single kind of music from rap to techno to throwbacks. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate 'merica day.

Last night was the most fun night that I have had here yet. During the day we had some free time so I was able to go down to Cocoa Wah Wah which is a really yummy cafe that gives 100mb of free wifi to customers. For all of you that have no concept of how much wifi you use on a daily basis, I wish that I could explain to you how much 100mb is but I still honestly have zero clue. Bottom line, it gave me enough time to call Brooke on viber and catch up and open the 40 snapchats that I had waiting for me. Keep em coming people, they gave me a good laugh. Then, at night, we were bussed to a  restaurant called Moyo about 40 minutes away. I had heard that this night was really fun by people who have gone on this program in the past, but any description of it didn't even do it justice. Once arriving there and getting off the bus we walked through a little gift shop that had all of the classic "I went to Africa" trinkets for sale and then into a bar area that looked like it should be in the middle of a rainforest somewhere. There were fountains and fire pits and little sitting areas with couches and tables etc that looked like they would be really fun to hang out at during the day when it wasn't freezing. For all of you who say it's Africa it never gets cold...WRONG. It's cold people, and I'm not just saying that because I am a complete wimp and have poor circulation..it is actually cold. So after making our way through the bar our entire CIEE program, including all of the RA's, settled in this tented area that was set up in the back with dinner tables, heat lamps, a dance floor and an endless line of buffet style food that smelled amazing. Before coming here I didn't really know what to expect food-wise but let me tell you, I have not been disappointed. Even though they are really into meat, which is not my favorite, everything is super fresh. Avocado is in absolutely everything along with pumpkin, sweet potato, feta couscous...the list goes on, and includes all of my favorite foods. The seafood is also amazing and the calamari that I ate last night was cooked to perfection. I didn't even realize until later in the night that the restaurant is set on a vineyard which would explain why the wine was also amazing. Women came around a painted our faces with little designs and the music and wine continued late into the night. I can honestly say that this was my favorite experience here so far. Here are some pictures from the night :)

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July! Today I wore an american flag scarf in honor of all of you back home. Here are some pics taken from the past 4 days :) I have 3% battery left on my computer and the new converter/adapter that I bought today somehow doesn't work? I real post is coming soon I promise

I saw my life and it was Cape Town 

the 3 peaks from city center 

Table Mountain from Signal Hill

Lion's Head and part of Table behind us 

Sunset at Signal Hill 

cotton candy sky over Lion's Head mountain

Modeling our stylish neck pillows 

GOOD MORNING AFRICA! 

A milisecond of internet

Rachel's room somehow miraculously has internet right now because I clicked some strange button on her computer so this is going to be a brief post as I am afraid it will suddenly disapear but I wanted to get some of this down before I forgot it!!

The flight was surprisingly not that bad. I watched 4 movies, including Almost Famous for the 100th time, and Searching for Sugar Man which really got me in the Cape Town spirit. For those of you who have never seen it..WATCH IT. It is one of my favorite documentaries now and Rodriguez(the guy who it is about) is an amazing musician. I watched the sun rise from my plane window and then as we came into Cape Town airspace I was greeted by the amazing mountains surrounding the city which were jaw droppingly grandiose.  Once getting here..it has been a complete whirlwind of activity. I have no sense of time or direction and my head is in a cloud/my brain is noodles but I am having an amazing time. Cape Town is the most beautiful city that I have ever witnessed in my life...Table Mountain is constantly in your line of vision and is hUGE. Today we walked around the city center which I am super pumped to explore on my own and then we went to the top of signal hill which overlooks the city. I got some great pictures of the sunset and Lion's Head, Devil's Peak and Table which all sit next to each other. Now we are all planning on going out for dinner/drinks which will be really cool to see..apparently there's a bar with live music which is cool.

I also just found out that the apartment I will be living in is literally above the cell phone story hense why it says the name of my living place is VODACOM(the name of the phone company) on my student ID which I think is hilarious maybe you all won't but oh well. Oh another funny fact...one of the bars we are going to tonight has a special of 1 Rand shots....aka 10 cent shots. And we thought 50 cent night at the Boot was a good deal (Rachel was literally just saying this in the room i'm in so thanks for this Rach)

ALRIGHT I'm leaving so much stuff out but I will post again once I am settled in my apartment and have a life of my own but right now I am in like South African day care/camp hahah

TA-TA for now! -_-

Here we go...

Hello world. I am new to this blogging thing so hold your rotten tomatoes as I work through the kinks in these first few posts and try to get the hang of it. Hopefully after a couple you will actually start to enjoy what I have to say. If not then please, still hold the rotten tomatoes.

It's 8:35 pm, the night before I leave for the semester and I have yet to finish packing....this should be interesting. We just finished an awesome dinner that my mom made consisting of paella, steak, salad and key lime pie (yum) and I got to spend the weekend with miss Lydia Green which was AWESOME. Mom, dad, Brooke and I are leaving for the airport at 7am tomorrow where I will meet up with Rachel for our flight at 11. Thank god we got seats next to each other on the plane or I don't know what I would do for the 15 hour flight. Hopefully I don't annoy her tooooooo much, but no promises.

So, here I am, sitting in my house in Wilton, CT, with only goals and aspirations for the next four months floating through my head. As I travel half way across the world, I will pass through 6 time zones, cross the equator and trade Summer for Winter...borrowing words from OMC, "how bizarre"

To wrap things up, here is a sneak peak into my bucket list, I hope to accomplish everything on it and experience even more along the way

1. go skydiving 
2. go great white shark cage diving 
3. go paragliding 
4. hike the "3 peaks" (Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak) in one day...but also hike each of them individually 
5. spend time in a township 
6. go on a safari
7. learn how to surf 
8. avoid bungy jumping at all costs 

Wish me luck! (Especially for this whole packing ordeal) 

Lindsey