The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

It's been just a couple days in PE and so far, I love it!! It's been very hot here the past couple of weeks, which is why we've gotten a few days of rain, so I've been told. This weekend should clear up in time for Mom & Dad and I to go to Addo Elephant Park tomorrow, where we'll take a drive around the park and see the Big 7 (Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Right Whale and Great White Shark)!!! On Sunday we're planning to finally have a beach day! The beaches are beautiful and I can't wait for the next hot sunny day!

While it has quiet and calm around here due to the rainy weather, I've still met so many lovely and kind people, it's unbelievable. Everyone here is just so friendly; they want to know where you come from and what brought you to PE. There are taxis that cater mostly to students, and the drivers (I've met two so far who have driven me to the stores at Summerstrand Shopping Center, Annie's Cove - the flat where I am living, and to the hotel my parents are staying at til Sunday) are always giving me advice, telling me where I can buy essential items for my flat, how to stay safe, offering tips and information that will help me this semester. The hotel staff are also so kind and very generous. People here are very hard workers, I've noticed. In every industry, whether it's at the hotel, in the restaurants, taxis, shops, they are very eager to help you and have your every need met. They're willing to bargain with you to make sure they make some sort of profit, and they do not give up on trying to sell. In the parking lots, people will help cars back out of the spots for a small tip, and there are vans that drive up and down the streets constantly looking for walkers who may want a lift. I think it's really inspiring; that so many people here have so much energy and motivation to work and support their families as best they can. Nobody simply asks for money, it's always in exchange for services or goods, and even then, it seems like I always got more for the money I paid.

I moved all of my things into Annie's Cove today. It is very comfortable and roomy! I've posted photos below. Each flat has 4 bedrooms, and there are about 30-40 units on the property. Nobody in my flat has moved in yet, so it was very quiet when I was there, but it sounds as though everyone else will be moving in this weekend. There was also a big group that left for weekend Orientation when I arrived. I'll be going to the weeklong orientation next week.

Last night, my parents and I went to Barney's, a restaurant that everyone has been raving about. It was delicious food, I had fish & chips, my dad had the fisherman's basket, and my mom had a chicken burger. (We all got drinks too.. SA drinking age is 18, so my order for a Castle Lite wasn't anything out of the ordinary there!) There was live music - some songs were in Afrikaans, some in English (Adele's Set Fire to the Rain was played, as well as that song that goes "Hey now, HEYYY now". The night before we ate at the hotel. Dad and I ate this appetizer - a Kudu spring roll. We weren't quite sure what kudu was, but we ate some of it anyways, thinking it was beef or something. Turns out, it's a huge deer-like animal, and the earrings I bought yesterday... made from Kudu bone. SO, it's safe to say that the kudu rakes in a lot of money for South Africans! And we also will possibly see one or two tomorrow at the park!! Here's the view from our table:

It's been lovely here so far, and with just a couple days left in there stay, Mom Dad and I will be making the most of this weekend at the Elephant park and on the beach. Then it's off to Orientation for me, and classes beginning on the 12th! I'm hoping to see a lot more faces around Annie's Cove once the weekend orientation is over, and getting to know more really great people!