24th January 2012

            So, today was our first official day in South Africa and our first day of orientation. We met with Hestea and Janien, (our helpers for our international journey and our guardians) in the Sasol Art Museum on campus, which is filled with art from all sorts of local artists, and the pieces are very interesting but strange. We went over safety, culture shock, paperwork, and many miscellaneous topics, then we went to Neelsen’s Student Centre which is where we can use our campus cash to get lunch and dinner. We are given $150 or about 860 Rand. Then, we had time to go to the Eikestad Mall, where we were allowed to exchange money, which was actually a very long process. Then we walked to the Pick and Pay which is a local grocery store and purchased items for the apartment. That was quite a bit overwhelming, because many of their products are different, especially their dairy products which are not refrigerated like eggs, milk, and cream. One of the big things about Stellenbosch is that the campus is huge! I would say it’s about 10X the size of Assumption, and you walk absolutely everywhere, my mom would be very proud of me because of all the walking. Another shock is that driving is opposite the United States, so I almost myself killed, because I am so accustomed to looking left and then right before crossing the street, but it’s the exact opposite. Also, walking through the grocery store you walk on the left side instead of the right. Another big thing in South Africa is that a lot of people walk barefoot everywhere, in stores, shops, restaurants, classes, and even bars! It’s definitely something that I could get used to. Another thing is that everything is really REALLY cheap here, you can get a good meal and drink for 30-40R which is between $4-5. So, we all took a nap after going grocery shopping and went to a bar that night called Bohemia, it was a lot of fun and such a good time to bond, we all headed back early, because we had to get up a 7am the next morning for full time orientation with ALL of the International students, I have met a couple of Germans and French people already and the campus is extremely diverse.