And so it begins...class.

Sadly, the day finally came when classes started. Today, Monday, the honeymoon ended and I started what I came to Cape Town to do (well, at least officially), which is study. I'm taking three classes: sacred image, which looks at Christian iconography in film, Italian Renaissance art, West African art, and South African art; a social work class which I have yet to attend, since it meets Tuesday through Friday, but according to the course manual looks at South African social work structures both before and after the Apartheid as well as international social work institutions; and a history class about African genocide. Even though I'm not really looking forward to adjusting to a set schedule (especially one that impedes on my beachgoing), I think these classes will be very interesting. My art history class, sacred image, is starting with film which is exciting because I've never taken a class about film before. The class about genocide will be extremely interesting, and the teacher seems great.

But to be honest, I can't really be too sad about starting class since this is where my classes are:

Complain all I might, I know how beautiful this place is and how lucky I am to be studying here. I'm looking forward to learning things I would never learn back home while in a new and exciting environment. I think it will be rejuvenating for my academic life. 

Something fun that comes along with starting school is the sports. I went to my first rugby game this afternoon. I got to watch the Ikey Tigers, UCT's teams' mascot (I prefer saying 'icky' to how it's really pronounced, like 'eye-key') fight it out against a rival university. I look forward to seeing more games to come. I'm also excited to start up with the clubs I joined. UCT has some really amazing clubs, and international students get to join three for free. One club I joined is Mountain and Ski, which involves a lot of hiking and climbing. I also joined the underwater club, where I can get certified to scuba dive and go on lots of fun diving trips throughout the semester. 

I signed up for a spring break trip today. I'm spending ten days in March camping in Botswana and Zimbabwe. In Botswana I'll go on safari in this one park that has a huge elephant population. In Zimbabwe I'll go to Victoria Falls and go rafting down the Zambezi River. Fun, eh? I can't wait. What makes the trip really special is that we camp for the whole time. It's a relief to have all the planning taken care of, since a travel agency sets everything up. It gives me more time to plan other trips and adventures that are less daunting than the all-important spring break. 

In food news, I finally went grocery shopping for substantial foods. Tonight I successfully made my first dinner here in Cape Town that consisted of something besides Cheerios or yogurt. I also have taken to eating Kit Kat's fairly often. There is something different about the Kit Kat's here. Maybe it's that they're called Kit Kat Chunky or that they're cheap, or maybe they have some extra additives not legal in the US, but I'm totally hooked. So that's what I've been up to lately: class, planning adventures, and eating Kit Kat's. Peace out, peeps. 

-Sarah