So I arrived in Johannesburg last night at around 6 pm local time. I had met about 5 other people on my flight from Washington D.C.--> Dakar, Senegal---> here. We quickly found the rest of our group (22 students in total) waiting for us at the ground floor. Everyone was really welcoming right from the beginning, but I nevertheless felt the same way I did on the first day of college. Nervous, excited, and extremely awkward.
We all piled into a shuttle, looking up at pouring rain and an incredible thunder storm. After arriving at the hotel, we ate dinner, discussed the upcoming week of orientation in J-burg,and met our three SIT program directors. There is Vennessa, Mama (this is not her first name, but out of respect we call her mama), and Japissa (sp). Exhausted from the day, we attempted to play UNO, which failed. We were too tired.
Today was busy. AFter having an early breakfast, we had our first Xhosa language lesson. Xhosa is the language of the Xhosa tribe, which is a predominant group in SA. Because 3 out of the 4 of our host families speak Xhosa, it is helpful to have some background. I have heard that Xhosa is a language that is hardest for native english speakers to learn...the clicking sounds are unfamiliar, and I anticipate it to be difficult.
After Xhosa, we climbed into the van and went to constitutional square. This square was where jails were used during the apartheid movement. We were able to view isolation cells, group rooms, and the place where Nelson Mandela was held. But today, only part of the jail structures are intact because they have since been replaced with the constitutional court of South AFrica. The placement of the new court was strategic, built there to remind everyone of the past (the recent past). The inside of the building had beautiful pillars with organic tiling and enormous iron leaves hang from the ceiling. The two together are meant to represent SA's judicial history, in which justice was carried out under the shade of trees.
Our group later ate lunch, explored the city a bit, and finally came back to the religious lodge in which we are staying. We ate dinner, saw a movie, and are now thinking of bed.

I know I will have internet access sporadically throughout my stay here, so I am sure that many of my later posts will not be as detailed. In case I cannot write for awhile, our group will be in Johannesburg until wednesday, when we fly to Langa, a neighborhood close to cape town. There, I will stay with a xhosa family for three weeks while attending classes. I am nervous, but know that I will learn a lot.

oh, and my skype address is macurtis89.

packing?

So I leave tomorrow at 7:30 AM. crazy. At 5(ish) pm local time on the 29th, I will arrive in Johannesburg.

I love getting mail (who doesn't), so if you want to send me something, my address is:

Margaret Curtis
c/o SIT Study Abroad
P.O. Box 203
Newlands, 7725
SOUTH AFRICA




cheers!

I caved in and made on of these things.

I am leaving for a semester abroad to South Africa, and I figured that creating a blog would be the best way to keep family and friends updated on my whereabouts and travels. My experience has not yet begun, along with the packing of my suitcase. Surreal is how I can describe my thoughts thus far, and this surrealism of the next few months has not yet given way to the reality that I leave the US in 4 short days. Maybe this will not all become believable until I step off of the airplane in Johannesburg. I suppose time will tell. More info to come!