Day 6 - September 4, 2006

Today is our first day of class. Unfortunately, we had to meet the bus to take us to UCT at 8am, meaning a 7am wake-up. We all managed to wake-up on time, shower, get dressed and make it to the bus. It took us about 15 min to reach the campus by car, which was up on the hillside. We first drove to the Middle Campus to the All-Africa House, which is where our seminar classes will be held. The campus is quite beautiful, with lots of trees and Mediterranean architecture.

Today was a basic introduction/orientation to South Africa and the University of Cape Town. First, we had a visit by the International Centre at UCT, who gave us a quick orientation about the university and safety on campus. Then, Joel gave us an orientation lecture on South Africa, which was quite general. At 11:15am, we had a short campus tour and walked up hill to the Upper Campus. The Upper Campus is where most of the students were hanging out and where most of the campus buildings were located. We were led immediately to the student id card office and all given temporary id cards.

Then we walked to the student union for lunch. To my surprise and absolute pleasure, all the restaurants in the food court were halal! I bought an avocado and beef bacon burger, which was really good. I'm really excited to be eating on campus, when so much food is halal. After, I went to the bookstore, which was right next door, and I bought a navy blue UCT sweatshirt - clothing that always comes in handy. We then walked around the campus for a bit and took in the sites, including a great view of the city from up top.

Our next session started at 1:30pm, so we headed back to the All Africa House. For the next few hours, Joel gave us more information on South Africa and the transition period. Finally, we got into a discussion on education and the educational system in the country. This was the most interesting part of today's seminar, and the discussion was heated for many parts. After the session, we walked back to Ivydene.

Tonight for dinner we are having a braai, a traditional South African barbeque. I met with the caterer, who would be serving us food Mon-Fri, and she was really nice. She bought separate halal meat for me and kept it in the packaging, so I knew it was halal. I helped out with the braai, and I had a whole plate of lamb ribs and a beef bratwurst for myself. There was so much meat and really good salad and garlic bread, plus drinks. I definitely overate. For dessert, we had fruit skewers, cake and a South African delicacy called cook sisters, which reminded me of jalebi. Yummmmm all around. We helped wash dishes to clean up.

Then, since it was Jessica V.'s birthday, we went to Long Street and listened to House music in Orchard Bar and a karoake singer performance at The Dubliner. There were all these old couples dancing to 70s and 80s songs, including ABBA and Cat Stevens. It was a fun time. After, we returned home and went to sleep.