Note from Jessica in South Africa
I just wanted to send a quick note to let everyone know that we arrived safely in Port Elizabeth, South Africa–we got here around 7pm Friday my time (we are 6 hours ahead here in PE). Anyway, it has been amazing so far! The only glitch is that one of my classmates missed the flight out of Dulles and he will not arrive here until Monday, otherwise, all is well. Our accomodations are nice, although we were all surprised to see that we will only be taking baths for the next month and no showers! =) An adventure for sure. This morning we all had breakfast together on the beach at a cute little restaurant where I had a very English breakfast. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but PE is on the coast, so it almost feels like home.
After breakfast we did some grocery shopping and then headed off for a tour of the townships. The townships are where most of the impoverished blacks live and it was very moving and sad to see how some of these people live. At the same time, though, they seemed so happy and were very welcoming of us. We also had the opportunity to visit the Red Location Museum, which is in memory of the struggle through Apartheid. It paid tribute to the lives of those who fought to end Apartheid and the people killed mercilessly. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will go to a game reserve and then on Monday we will begin orientation at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. – Jessica