Getting to South Africa

First of all, I want to say I didn't think about this trip much beforehand. I knew that it was going to be an emotional and life changing experience. Besides that, I didn't think about much else. I wanted to focus on finals and the MCAT. I knew that if I did think about the trip, I would not be able to focus on my studies. With that being said, all of this came up really fast. I had no time to have feelings of excitement or fear, until the plane took off. This is when I thought about what I was getting myself into. I suddenly felt apprehensive and unsure that going on this trip was something that I wanted to do. I assured myself that this would be good for me. No matter what I felt, I knew I would take a lot away from this trip.

Day One
We arrived in Capetown and got picked up from the airport. I felt like it was late at night, but it was 11 a.m. We were taken to our house. We were given cell phones and keys. After we settled in, we walked down the street and got something to eat. There were many different kinds of food, the same kind of food that is around campus at U of M: pizza, pasta, chicken, and Chinese. We decided to eat at a pizza place. They didn't have any plain cheese, so I got Margaretta. It was pretty good, but the sauce was sticky and was dark like barbeque sauce. This kind of grossed me out and I lost my appetite. I realized that even if a place looks American, that doesn't mean it is. I tried to tell myself that just because it is sticky, it doesn't mean it is bad. It is just different from the pizza I am used to. It was interesting that there was not any food that was "South African." I wonder what the students at the Capetown University eat. I would be very suprised if this is what they eat- the same food around U of M, except with a South African twist.

We came back to the house and hung out for a bit. Later, we went to a different restaurant with Christen, the instructor for the class, and her husband. It was great to talk about the trip and what we had already experienced. We went back to the house and the rest of the group arrived from the airport. It was exciting to see everyone here. We were all really tired. We unpacked, talked about our flights, and went to sleep (well some people went out).