ZA at last!

So South Africa SUCKS!!!!! Just kidding, even though I am running into my fair share of frustrations I am still enjoying my time in South Africa. I left O'Hare airport on Wednesday January 19th at 16:15 [a knowledge of military time is a must here, thank you Ardyce for having me live on the Air Force base with you]. On the flight we were served dinner and we had personal television screens on the head rest of the seat in front of us. On the flight I watched Life as We Know It, the movie with Katherine Hiegle and some guy who are left with a child to raise together when their mutual friends die. I also watched an episode each of How I Met Your Mother and The Office I couldn't sleep at all, but that was fine. Although looking back on it I probably should have tried to sleep because on that flight the plane was far from full. In fact there were entire rows that were empty, especially in the back where I was. Within the last hour and a half of the flight we were served a small breakfast. Then the plane landed in Amsterdam. After a three hour layover in Amsterdam, where I slept through most of the wait, we boarded our plane to Johannesburg. We got on the plane and I fell asleep almost immediately. I would wake up periodically when the flight attendants were going up and down the rows with meals or snacks or asking if we wanted drinks. On this flight we were served lunch and a small dinner toward the end of the flight. And that's about all that happened there! I literally slept through the entire flight other than meals!

Then we went through customs which was fast because our flight was the last to arrive at the airport so there was no one else in the airport. Then to get our bags, which did arrive thankfully, and to find our driver. We found him right away and he drive us to the University where we were informed that they were not ready for us to move in. So we were placed in temporary housing in a dorm called Asterhorf. When we got to the room we saw that we had no sheets or pillows on our beds [we were informed that all of this would be provided. So we slept on the bare mattresses and i used my folded up towel and a folded up sweatshirt as my pillow! Not that comfortable let me tell you!

Then I woke up the next morning and while I was washing my face in the shower I noticed that it hurt a lot to put pressure under my right eye. When I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror I saw that I had a bug bite under my eye which made the entire underside swell up. So I looked like someone had just punched me in the eye and I was about to get a black eye, but it never came! We went to unblock our accounts so that we could register and were told that we needed to get medical insurance. So we went to get that and were told that we needed to open a bank account. So we went to get that and were told that we needed a letter showing our proof of residence with our address. So we went to get that and by that time everything was closed so oru day was over!

But amidst all of this crazy stress and unorganized chaos, we have managed to, over the last five days, get our letter of residence, open our bank accounts, get cell phones, put money in our bank accounts, move into our houses in Tuks Dorp [I'm in house 8!!!], get our medical Insurance, and unblock our accounts.

I have also picked out my classes and talked with the head of the music department and made a friend in my department as well! [I keep running into him when I get lost trying to find my way around the music area of campus [which includes an Ampitheatre!!!] Turns out he is really interested in America and hopes to soon attend Juliard, he invited Caitlin and I to coffee so that he could ask about America but we were on a mission so we politely turned him down. He was currently working on music for the Theory class. So I think I know who I'm going to for help on my Theory class now!!!

I've also met other great people, my roommates [well the other five that are already moved in, two more are to move in today] are amazing and we are all very different but will have a great deal of fun together! I cannot wait to have dinners at the table with all of them and simple laugh and talk the night away as we did last night with other friends from other houses. I live with two girls doing their masters here from Sweden, one girl from Holland teaching for her masters I think, another girl from Holland doing her undergrad, a girl from Finland doing her undergrad, and the other two i do not know what they are studying but one of them is from Oklahoma! Exciting! My house has 8 girls and is the only one with that many, it is the largest house and there are two floors but we only have the top floor, there are 8 other girls on the bottom and they are completely different houses. I have not met any of them yet!

Things are turning around for the best and I am starting to understand why everyone loves it so much here!

Well that's all for now! i'll try to stay up on my blogs better so that they aren't as long in the future!

Peace, Love, and Jesus
xoxo

P.S. And for those of you that are worried about my health safety it is ok! I am doing great and no one has dared to try to bother me with taking my things or anything! plus most of the time I spend in gates that you have to swipe you student card to get into and security is walking around every where! So stop worrying so much. But the prayers are always welcome! I miss you all and wish I could just pick up the phone and chat with you all but sadly that would break the bank!

Love you all