First day of being on campus!

This place is seriously amazing! Our classroom is right next to a waterfall... I am still in shock of my surroundings! This morning a bunch of us went for a run at 6am through the game reserve and the residential streets of Pietermaritzburg. It was such a beautiful but HILLY run! We decided to start in early in hopes of seeing an animal and also before the extreme heat. We ended up seeing an antelope run right in front of us! It was a great way to start the morning and have our minds and bodies feeling great for the rest of the day.

Breakfast is at 7:30 am every morning, followed by our History and culture of South Africa which all the students take. After class, it is time for tea at 10:00. Yes, I said tea! haha... We have tea and cookies/muffins twice a day and that is time for us to relax and build in relationships. It is really nice because it allows you to slow down in the middle of your day. Which, as many of us know in the U.S., it is very hard to slow down. So I am anxious to learn how to continue learning this. In south Africa, time is not relevant like it is to us back home. Here, people are much more laid back and not in a hurry. I noticed this the first night when we went to the pub restaurant and waited nearly 30 minutes after our meal to get our check. So this is definitely something I and I am sure everyone else is trying to adapt to and lower our standards and definition of.

After tea, we had free time and so a bunch of us brought blankets and books to the huge lawn in the middle of our campus here. There is a huge African tree that provides shade for all and when the sun got too hot, you could cool off under the tree. It sort of feels like we are at summer camp a little bit! It is fun! The guys are pretty much on one side of the campus, and the girls on the other! And since not everyone know each other, we all are meeting and playing games to get to know everyone.

After laying out on the lawn, we had lunch and went to do a mall run to get necessities and toiletries. Every US dollar is 7.424 Rands I believe. Rands is the African currency and in our case we benefit when it comes to money. After the mall run we came back and had out intercultural communication class which was very interesting! I really like our professor already. His name is Clive and he is all about getting to know one another and developing a deep bond. I am anxious to learn about how different cultures work especially within their country because there are many different races within Africa. I hope to get a lot out of this class and get to know him more too!

After class we had dinner which was meat, potatoes, and steamed vegetables... very good but the meat was a little tough! Especially when you are only using a butter knife to cut it! haha. But we somehow managed. Then after dinner Becca, Alyssa, and I went for a walk through the thick forest behind our campus! There is so many places to explore around here. Anyhoo, I am very exhausted, so I am calling it a night. Enjoy your day family and friends back home : )

Love, Jamie