I am burnt...

         I realize that it has taken me an excessive amount of time to get this blog started, my apologies for the delay.  It took Shane and I about a week after arriving in Port Elizabeth to acquire any form of internet at our accommodation!  Anywho, to get caught up with what we have gone through I should start with leaving Des Moines on Wednesday the 1st of February...

         We (this will be used all too often as this blog is to express both Shane and I's experiences) flew out of DSM at 11:12 that morning (after crying and hugs for everyone) then arrived in Atlanta after about 2 hours in the air.  That was all fine and dandy, then came the long haul.  We entertained ourselves in the Atlanta airport for 5 hours by doing a lot of reading, scouring for food, and watching the first few episodes of The Big Bang Theory (courtesy of my brother).  If I recall, we boarded at about 7pm on February 1st and landed at 5:40pm in Johannesburg (which keep in mind is 8 hours ahead of Des Moines--so the flight ended up being 14 hours and 42 minutes long).  After about 2 movies into the flight we were pretty restless and found sleep was impossible in such a cramped space; this may not apply to everyone else, but being 6' 2" was a huge hinderance.  It also did not help to have a child cry every time sleep starts to wash over you!  We touched down in Joburg and rushed through the airport, as much as we could anyways (stood in line for 40 minutes or so).  We grabbed our bags, checked them in again, then walked the length of the entire airport to locate our terminal.  We waited briefly (20 minutes), to board our final plane and got on our way for the final stretch.  This final flight being about an hour and twenty minutes was measly in comparison to the rest and felt more like 10 minutes.  Deplaning was odd, as stairs were rolled up to the plane versus the ramp/chute contraption typically used.  It was muggy when we touched ground and thoroughly depressing because of the incessant rain (though more like a 'spitting').  The Port Elizabeth airport is incredibly small so we were able to grab our bags instantly and locate the guide from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (though we were not expecting her).  She (Richelle) had us wait for the other students who had come off of our flight and then the 7 of us walked the short distance to our hotel.

         Shane and I took no time at all to fall asleep (plus we had some handy sleeping-aids) and got up at 6:45 the next morning to make the short walk to the airport (as this is where a shuttle from the school would be picking us up).  The schedule for the day stated we would be picked up at 8am, brought to the school to sign for our housing and check-in, be dropped off at our accommodation to leave some luggage there, and then leave at 9am to go on a weekend orientation camp.  It was raining yet again so we trudged in our group of 6 (the guide from NMMU didn’t stay at the hotel) to the airport and waited about a half hour for our driver to show up.  We have discovered that just about nothing starts on time here, the school seemingly allots about an hour of waiting time for each event.  Our group acquired two more at the airport and we all (8) squeezed our luggage and ourselves into the van/bus.  We arrived at a place called Annie’s Cove, which is one of the options for off-campus housing (and one Shane and I had applied for, though did not get).  We unloaded our luggage, left it in the rain, and crammed ourselves into a very small, make-shift office where we signed some papers acknowledging that we knew where our accommodations were and to confirm our place at the bush-camp/orientation that would be departing in 30 minutes.  It turns out that Shane and I could not be placed on this camp as all 90 spots had been taken (would have been nice to know before we got here)!  Three members of our group (from California) made the cut, but didn’t have time to go to their housing so had to shove all of their luggage on the bus and leave immediately.

         We ended up standing around in that office for an hour until a shuttle arrived to bring us to our accommodation (we live at ‘Southport’).  It was abrupt because we were brought to our house and then left alone.  Shane and I had mental checklists to fulfill: acquire internet, a phone, bedding, currency, and food… We quickly discovered that no help was forthcoming and had no means to call a cab or use the internet to pull up a map of this city.  Eventually our landlord showed up and gave us a brief tour of our home (which is two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a hallway/kitchen) so it took milliseconds and then called us a taxi.  Pang (our driver) is hilarious, you immediately sit down in his little blue Toyota (the left rear door has issues) and he bombards you with information and complaints.  He took us first to the airport to exchange some money (chattering the entire way), to a small convenience store where we bought a $14 phone and bedding that smells horrible, then to a Pick n’ Pay which had minimal food in it (we later discovered that this was a cheaper part of town and now know where to go to actually find options).  After unpacking, Shane and I literally did nothing but sleep for the next two days (and cooked ourselves some Ostrich burgers-tasted like sausage).

         On Sunday the sun finally showed up and we went exploring.  We were paranoid about being robbed because everyone has told us to be wary: don’t go anywhere alone, don’t travel too much at night, only take private taxis, lock everything up--even when you are there, don’t wear jewelry, don’t carry a camera around, etc.  Obviously nothing happened to us on this short excursion.  When walking around Port Elizabeth you immediately note that EVERY house has massive walls/gates with electrical wiring, warnings about dogs, and alarm systems—it is daunting.  Though it was later explained to us that all of these securities were thrown up right after the end of the apartheid because people still feared retaliation and whatnot.

         We got back to our accommodation, which I should describe in more detail.  Shane and I share a two-bedroom house, which has a small kitchen and bathroom.  Our house is attached to a bigger one that houses 6 guys (though I believe it has 8 bedrooms): 3 are from France, 2 from America (California), and 1 from Germany.  There is a smaller house attached to the boys’, which has 4 girls in it: 2 Americans from N. Carolina, 1 from Amsterdam, and 1 from France.  Our property also has a pool and an outdoor lounge-area.  The house was incredibly quiet over the weekend as only the guys from France did not go on the bush-camp and they are ninjas (you can never find them when you want to)!

        

         On Monday we went to orientation which was brief and consisted of staff welcoming us and warning us about this and that.  I luckily had Martin sit next to me (1 of the people from our airport group-from Germany) so we were able to exchange numbers.  After the brief presentations we were left on our own until 4pm when we were supposed to find a café on campus called Madibaz where a small school function would be held.  Shane, Martin, and I found some food on campus and ate (I had about 1 bite of my burger and was disgusted with it—though the fries [called chips here] were delicious) and then walked around campus exchanging stories and discovering various buildings until 4.  A small raffle was held at Madibaz when we got there and prizes were given out to a select few.  The food provided was horrid, it consisted of some odd sausage links, a mass of goo that smelled like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and bread (which was the only good part).  We walked home (30 minutes from campus) and crashed—I seemingly cannot stay awake past 8pm here!

         On Tuesday Shane and I were scheduled for a City tour from 8am til 5pm.  The bus did not leave until 9am, but that was expected.  We first drove into downtown and got out to walk past a couple of art sculptures in desolated areas of the city, then to a pyramid/lighthouse created for Elizabeth (the city's namesake) by her husband. 

These stairs lead up to the above lighthouse/pyramid.

We got back on the bus (after more facts from our tour guide) and were driven to the largest mall in the Southern hemisphere under 1 roof.  We were given an hour of time in the mall and spent it eating (I avoided another burger and instead had some spare ribs—better, but still not home).  After our stint at the mall the bus drove into the shantytowns, which are segregated into white, colored, and black.  It was depressing seeing how some people live, their shacks are literally no bigger than our shed at home.  The children we passed were incredibly excited when our bus passed (as they know foreigners usually get out and give them things).  We went through a museum tour that day and ended the tour in a backpacker’s lounge run by unemployed women who live in one of these poorer areas. 

         Wednesday was registration day and ended up being the nightmare we had anticipated.  Half of the classes we are unable to take because the qualifications here do not match up (I am a senior, but am only able to take up to 3^rd year classes here).  Some classes that were said to be in terms 1 & 2 were now in 3 & 4…. Shane and I ended up finishing registration on Thursday after our campus tour.  On a high note, Shane and I got internet at our house on Wednesday (though it is limited, we purchased 3 GB of usage).  We also purchased bicycles that were delivered Thursday.

         I apologize if all of that was an excess of information, but we have been here for 9 days and I had not had a chance to share anything!  I will be posting more frequently (dependent upon events) and hopefully a lot less information!  We have our first day of classes on Monday, so we shall see how that goes….

The beach is about 5 minutes from our house (we are on the Indian Ocean).