Alright, here at last is a decent-sized message about my experiences in South Africa. I'm going to try and post here at least once a week. I have yet to get the pictures sorted out, but I assure you that I have taken them, they are quite nice (if a little compacted on that teensy memory card) and they shall be up in the near future.
The last few days have been very hectic. I will try and summarize each day, paragraph by paragraph.
The Cape Town study abroad group arrived in at the airport about 10:35pm on Thursday and guess who's luggage didn't make it through? Yep, somehow it was delayed--actually, I didn't receive it until Saturday afternoon. I'm really glad that my Mom made me pack an extra set of clothes; also, the Bethel group was really great about lending me things for Saturday.
We spent Thursday night through Sunday afternoon at BISA, the Bible Institute of South Africa. BISA is located in Kalk Bay, which is about thirty minutes away from the college. This was because our homestay families were still on holiday; plus, the dorm-lik situation helped us get adjusted to the place. It is so beautiful there! There are these great, green-padded mountains surrounding you on three sides and the clear blue-green ocean curling up in broad waves on the fourth side. We spent Friday on orientation subjects and getting acquainted with the area, which meant walking along the shore to Fish Hoek and back again, and eating delicious fresh-caught fish at a local fish and chips shop. I was finally able to try grilled calamari, with chips and lime juice and salt--delicious! We also received cell phones that day; they operate like TracFones, but the minutes are very expensive, so I'm getting a crash course on the less-expensive texting. Friday night was a braai--mmm! I had went to one on my trip through Namibia--technically they are a barbeque, but really so much more! Borewoers sausage and nicely chargrilled chicken and steak and this cornmeal pudding with tomato relish and a green salad besides! Ahhh.
Saturday we had practice taking the metrorail into downtown Cape Town, where we had to find several local monuments and ask questions of several South Africans. It was an exercise to get us familiar with the area, since many of us will use the metro to get to and from school. On this trip we were able to stand on the balcony where Nelson Mandela gave his famous speech promoting reconciliation after apartheid had just been finished! Also, on this day I ended up switching homestay families. A girl was going to end up with a more affluent family and she really wanted a less affluent family as she really wants to work in underprivileged areas, so I switched with her. To be honest, I was worried about how a less affluent place was going to afford my food, with all of my food allergies! I didn't want to impose on someone who really couldn't afford it--sometimes it's hard for ME to afford to eat! ;-) Also, this new homestay is with an Israeli international student, which sounded like a really interesting perspective.
On Sunday we went to Quintin's church(he runs one of the study abroad programs we'll be doing). That was really great. Afterwards his wife treated us to authentic Cape Indian food--spicy and delicious! It was odd, because the curry and biryani, which looked ominously tangy, were actually just very flavorful--the innocuous watermelon relish and cucumber sauce held te REAL too-hot culprits! Of course, I discovered this AFTER I had assumed they were mild and topped everything with them! My sinuses were quite clean after that meal!
Then we went to Cornerstone, where I was picked up by the parents of my homestay host sister, as she's on holiday. They'll be staying with me in her flat until she returns at the end of the week. It has worked out really well; her parents are lovely people--he's Israeli and she's from Germany. I know at least she has lived here during the apartheid. Plus, Orit's mother is on a special diet as well, which means accommodating me is no problem! For diabetic reasons Orit's Mom(no, I'm still not sure of her name, first or last) has to eat brown rice and brown rice pastas and low sugar and etc--it's delightful! We've gone to the stores twice already, buying fresh fish and vegetables--she's absolutely concerned that I don't eat anything bad for me. This has been a real God-send for me, as food was something I had been praying about a LOT(for those who don't know, I'm allergic to wheat, apples, bananas, pears, and 'moldy' foods like aged cheeses, vinegar, and alcohol).
As far as schooling, that's going well, Praise God! Today was the first official day of the two-week intensive study of African cultures before the regular term sets in; we had some discussion and a walking tour of Cape Town. It was very good, but I'm very tired due to a long day yesterday--after picking me up, Orit's parents proceeded to give me a three hour driving tour of the whole Cape peninsula! I've been walking nonstop here-I'm going to get very fit! *laughs*
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." -Psalm 28:7
Indeed, His providence is truly beyond my imagination! I will keep praying that my heart is open to His leading this semester.
In His Word,
God bless you all,
-Janeen
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