I tried chakalaka today!

So much has happened within the last two days! First and foremost, I met up with pretty much everyone who is in the SIT program with me! Thank goodness, I was getting pretty lonely. Everyone seems pretty chill and ready to have a good time, which I am definitely okay with. There was a small group of us who got picked up from the airport around noon. The next group was going to be picked up at 7:30pm, so we had some down time. There was a small marketplace within walking distance of the hostel we are staying at (called Shoestrings, it's adorable). The group of us decided to walk there. However, someone with extremely pale skin (hint: that's me) forgot to put sunscreen on (sorry, Mom). So I had a nice red glow all down my arms and chest.

On our way to the market, a school must have let out for the day because we ran into a big group of kids walking home from class. Fun fact about South Africa, the school year starts in January and goes until December. Makes a lot of sense, right? Anyway, we got mixed in with these school kids and they would say something, I'm assuming in Zulu since there is a huge population of Zulu people in Johannesburg, and then all start laughing. So of course they were definitely talking about the strange Americans who would jump out of the way whenever a car came speeding down the road. Another fun fact about South Africa, sidewalks aren't a thing. And everyone drives like their hair is on fire. And they drive on the opposite side of the road than Americans do. So you have to look left instead of right before crossing a street. And you get into the shot-gun seat by getting into the left-hand side. It's all very confusing.

Anyway, we made it to this market where it was incredibly shady. Or, I guess, it was shady compared to an American market. We ended up not buying anything, but it was nice to walk there and stretch our legs. The walk back was less eventful, since we kind of got the hang of the street concept.

We waited around for everyone to join the rest of the group, and then we called it an early night since everyone was all jet lagged anyway.

Today was the fun day! We woke up around 7:30 and had breakfast at 8:30. Breakfast was good, it was pretty simple. I love breakfast so I hope that maybe my host family is a big believer in breakfast like I am. The morning was kind of chaotic, since there is 23 of us and only one shower in this entire place. I'm serious. One shower. There's one outside the hostel, but I can tell you right now that that is NOT going to happen.

During the rest of the morning, we spent going over the schedule for the week and some of the rules for the rest of the time in Joburg. Then after that, we broke off into groups to talk about our hopes, expectations, and fears. I think this was a good exercise, especially for me, since seeing all of my fears for this trip didn't make them seem too scary after that. It was also nice to know that my fears were similar to several other people going to Cape Town. Another part of this exercise that I liked was that we were told to write down our expectations, and then cross them all out. The idea of going into something with absolutely no expectations kind of terrifies me, especially since I like to know exactly what is going on at all times. But South Africans don't work like that, So I guess this will hopefully be a great learning experience for me.

After lunch, we drove into downtown Johannesburg. That city was definitely much bigger than I was expecting! I couldn't get any good pictures of the skyline because the sky decided that right then and there it was time to open up and release tons and tons of rain. I didn't think we would actually make it to our destination, the Apartheid Museum.

The best part of the entire museum was that parts of it were outside. Which I would have enjoyed much more if it wasn't POURING. The workers at the museum assigned you a random ticket that either said "Whites" or "Non-Whites" and then you had to go through the appropriate door, and you would experience apartheid style conditions through the first five minutes. However, due to the torrential downpour, we just ran straight through into the inside of the museum. So I was kind of bummed that we didn't get to experience that part, but the rest of the time was absolutely phenomenal. It was so humbling and inspirational to walk around and see the struggle that so many committed their lives to. There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to the life of Nelson Mandela, who is personally one of my heroes. It was amazing to watch how he continued his fight even while in prison and once he was released.

One of the most haunting exhibits for me was a room that was simulated like a prison room. It listed all of prisoners who died in custody, and listed how they died as well, such as police brutality and injuries already sustained while brought in. But the most common way of death was suicide by hanging. When you looked up at the ceiling of this room, there were hundreds of rope nooses. It was actually terrifying to see that and to think that these political prisoners found this to be their only way of escape. It truly made me stop and think. (The Internet here is being weird, so I can't post a picture of it. But the website has tons of pictures to offer if you're interested: http://www.apartheidmuseum.org)

Another part of the museum I loved was the wing of influential women in the movement. There is a saying, "Malibongwe," which means, "let them be praised." It refers to the women who marched in 1956 in an anti-pass book demonstration. I loved walking around and seeing the portraits of these inspirational women who gave up so much to provide for so many.

So yeah, today was an amazing, humbling day. We ended the night with some brie, which is was South Africans call barbecue. We also had chakalaka, which is like a South African chili, and another fun fact, I saw them make it on a food show on the African Channel before I left! The food here is DELICIOUS in case anyone was curious! I'll try to post pictures of it when I get a better internet connection!

To wrap up, I would like to leave you with this quote from the museum. Have a wonderful weekend!

"When it is over, I don't want to wonder if I have made my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don't want to end up simply having visited the world." -- Mary Oliver

Also this:

Also this happened.
#done

I'm watching a cricket match right now

FINALLY. After a six hour flight to London, followed by another six-ish hours in the Heathrow airport, followed by ten hours on another plane, I FINALLY made it to Johannesburg! I ended up deciding to get here earlier than when my program officially starts, so right now I'm chilling in a lovely guesthouse by the international airport. The owners have been nothing but kind to me, and for that I'm definitely grateful. Especially since I'm still not really sure which way is up or down at this point.

While I was sitting in the gate waiting to board for Johannesburg, a lady came and sat down next to me. We got to talking (about how difficult it was to even find the gate, let alone anything else in that airport), and then she took me under her wing. She had grown up in Johannesburg and now lived in Atlanta. She was coming back to visit friends here and she was just thrilled that I picked South Africa to spend my time studying abroad. When it was time to board, she made me stand with her so we wouldn't be trampled by everyone wanting to board. And as luck would have it, she ended up sitting next to me on the plane! Thank goodness, because I was a hot mess on that plane.

For those of you that do not know, I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder when I was a senior in high school. Because of this, I am prone to get pretty bad, paralyzing anxiety attacks, and one of those happened while I was on the plane to Johannesburg, It was because I was so sleep deprived; when I get tired, especially that tired, it usually sets off an anxiety attack. But I'm not writing about this for you to pity me or to get worried about me (I'm looking at you, Mom, Dad, and Grandma) but to talk about how I was able to talk myself out of it and eventually get some sleep. I don't think I've ever been more proud of myself for managing to get myself out of a pretty difficult round of anxiety. I'm still feeling pretty anxious, but I'm feeling better knowing that I can help myself out.

The lady on the plane that I talked about earlier helped too. She was continuously watching out for me, which was very wonderful of her. I'd tell her what I was worrying about and she'd help show me that it wasn't really something I should worry about. She even held my hand during landing -- I hate landing. She even stayed with me all through passport security and customs, and she made sure that I had been safely with the person who was giving me a ride to the hotel I'm staying at. She was the absolute best and I'm upset I didn't get her name so I could email her or something.

So now, here I am, at a small hotel in Johannesburg. Right now, it's 70 degrees and rainy, which I will take ANY day over snow. I have the TV on and there's a cricket match on. I do not understand this sport at all, but it's the first channel I found so I'm sticking with it. On Friday, I'll finally meet my entire study abroad group. Until then, I'll need to find something to keep myself entertained with. I don't think that will be an issue: I have wifi now, so I'm basically unstoppable :)

Here's to new adventures!

Leavin' on a jet plane

I officially leave the country in less than 24 hours. The bags are packed, the tickets are booked, the seats on the plane are mine. I'm feeling all kinds of different emotions right now: excited, terrified, nauseous, ecstatic, and sad. This is the first time I'll be traveling all by myself, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that yet.

Starting tomorrow, Monday Jan. 26th, I'll begin my journey to South Africa from Chicago, Illinois. I have a layover in London, and I'm hoping to see the city a little before I eventually head off to Johannesburg. Once I'm in Johannesburg, I'll spend a couple of days getting over my jet lag and then I'll meet my study abroad group. We'll spend about a week in Johannesburg before going to Cape Town, where I'll spend the rest of my time in South Africa. While there, I will be studying multiculturalism and human rights, a field I am so very passionate about. Courses include a class on human rights in South Africa, social narratives of different types, and even a language course on Xhosa, one of eleven national languages in South Africa.

I'm from a small-ish town in the Chicagoland area of Illinois. Going somewhere like the big city of Cape Town will be a new experience: sure, I've visited Chicago plenty of times, but I've never really lived in a big city before. I'm so excited for all the new adventures I'll have, but I'm also a little scared of something so new and different. I'll miss my family and friends for sure. Being 8 hours ahead of them will be a struggle for me, and having limited Internet will also be hard to continue communication. That being said, I don't know how often I'll be able to update this blog, so bear with me! I hope that I can be able to document my travels as much as I can: not only do I want to have something for my family and friends to read, but I also want to have something to look back on when I'm all finished with my time in Cape Town.

I should try and wrap this up so I can try and sleep before I finish getting ready for my travels in the morning. A special shout out to everyone who has helped me prepare for this new adventure; I absolutely cannot wait to get started and see all that I can within the city of Cape Town!