So, I don't know if anybody still reads this or not....I haven't been very good about keeping it up, but for the few that continue to check this page, here is an update.
The elections happened--I woke up at 2am here to walk down to Starlight (a 24hour American diner with a large tv) to watch the votes roll in. There is an 8 hour difference between good old central time and south africa time so the timing was just right. I'm pretty sure every American living in Rondebosch (my suburb) was crammed into that diner watching CNN. I'm pretty sure everyone in the diner was cheering on Obama as soon as CNN projected that he was going to win. Time passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was 6.30am!! Crazy!!! That day, I was congratulated numerous times by Africans on my new president and for the first time in Africa, I was proud to say I was an American. (note-in some countries, being an american gives you star status....not here) My friend Thabo jokingly commented that we were a little behind the times...."I mean, come on! South Africa had it's first black president in 1994!" :)
Anyways, the rest of my days have been spent finishing up papers, studying for more exams (Xhosa is on Monday and is worth 50% of my grade!!!), enjoying Cape Town, hiking Table Mountain (yes, that's right, I climbed the mountain finally!), driving on the other side of the road (no, I didn't hit anything, thank you, I did quite well), being ushered out of the mall because of bomb threats, having dinner on Monday evenings with my new Dutch and African friends, eating pasta (budget is running low), and breaking doors at the Nygaards house.
So, I guess you could say I'm pretty busy. I think I said this before, but most of my housemates move out on November 15th which is a week from tomorrow. I can't believe that my program is almost over and that they will be stateside in a week! How weird! This semester has gone by so quickly. It's going to be so sad to see them part, but I've changed my plane ticket to see a few of them when I go home. Instead of coming on the 16th as originally planned, I will now spend 2 days in New York with Liz, Marianne, and Drew and be home on the evening of the 18th. I've always wanted to see New York at Christamstime and the fact that 3 of my housemates live so close is the perfect excuse.
I should probably get some sleep now. Tomorrow we are all going to town to go market shopping!!! I am so busy this next week it's crazy! I've been getting up sooo early and going to bed sooo late because we are all just trying to get the most out of what little time we have together. Hope you all are enjoying the fall colors in the States! I'm enjoying the new summer here!!
Much love!
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Hey, Lindsay! I'm still reading. The view of American politics from there is interesting. The feel here doesn't hold quite the excitement, at least not in my circles. It is more like apprehension. It has nothing to do with the color of our new president's skin, who is just as much white as he is black. It has more to do with where he and congress will lead us over the next few years. We of course are in an economic crunch we haven't experienced in a very long time, too. That makes tensions rise as well. But hey, some good news....gas is $1.96. It only cost me $30 to fill up my tank instead of $60.
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