Sunrise Over Dakar

I have now been in South Africa for two and half weeks, and I love it here. At first, things were a bit overwhelming with jet lag and the normal culture shock, but I am finally feeling settled in here. It is absolutely beautiful. I look outside my kitchen window to see a mountain. I am living with 2 girls, one from Finland and my other roomate is from Wisconsin. They are both great roomates. We live in a fully-furnished 3 bedroom flat with a kitchen and 2 bathrooms. It is about a 10-15 walk to campus.

Getting to South Africa was quite an adventure!
Our flight was supposed to simply refuel in Dakar, Senegal, and then head on to Cape Town. Well, once we reached Dakar at 5 am, after 8 hours of flying, the captain came over the intercom to inform us that the plane was having some mechanical issues. Long story short, Delta had to fly in mechanics from Atlanta to check out the plane....and I spent the night in Dakar, Senegal in a five star hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Africa. I looked up the rates of the Le Meridien President Hotel where I stayed, and my room was at least $300 a night! It is was awesome! There were about 13 other American students on the plane who were also studying at Stellenbosch, so I made some friends before I even got to South Africa, which was so great.
Thanks Delta SkyTeam!

(I have also decided that if I ever write an autobiography, the title will be "Sunrise Over Dakar")

I have now made it to 3 countries in Africa...50 to go!

It is summer here and it is HOT. I believe today was 36 degrees Celcious, which is about 97 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are some thoughts on my time here thus far:

South Africa is an incredibly diverse and gorgeous country with quite a staggering social class division. I live in Stellenbosch, which is mainly composed of white Afrikanners, who live just as any other middle or upper class American. The houses are beautiful with European architecture, and brand new Land Rovers are not an uncommon sight. However, just 1 mile away is Kayamandi, a township, composed of mainly black South Africans. In Kayamandi, shanty shacks made of tin line up along roads of concrete and dirt. Children play barefoot and many families live in hostels, where the only division between families is a sheet sepearating the dirty bunk beds. Often, children suffer from malnurishment and diseases from playing near dirty water.

Both Stellenbosch and Kayamandi coexist, full of life, in the same 1 mile radious. The reality is absolutely astonishing. The effects of years of oppression are evident and alive. Apartheid only ended 14 years and the reversal of it's effects will take time. I have not experienced much racisim in South Africa, just the stark contrast of classes. The third world and the first world exist right next to eachother.

Kayamandi is where my heart is. African children laughing and playing in the streets.

I start volunteering at Ikaya Primary School in Kayamandi next week. I am so excited. I will be working with 7th graders in an after-school program. Arts and crafts, tutoring, and playing outside. My kind of a good time!

All in all, South Africa has so far been adventure I will not soon forget. The Lord is just showing himself everywhere. Whether the mountains, the ocean, or the people he has placed in my life. I have already found a church and a small group. What a blessing.

More updates to come! Sorry it took so long, I just got internet this week. TIA. This is Africa!

With Love,
Nicole