So this is Africa.

Well maybe not REAL Africa as I've been told so many times. But geez, I'm certainly not in the States. I cannot even begin to put into words the environment I'm currently living in. I'll just give it short and quick. 90 degree weather, soothing breeze, white sandy beaches, blue ocean (REALLY blue), and a backdrop that is unlike anything I've seen. So I will post pictures of all this when I take them.

I don't know how to treat a "travel blog" so excuse me if I don't follow the correct format. I think I intend to use this more of an interesting tidbits of info that come mind here rather than "today I did this, or tomorrow I plan on ..." but there is sure to be some of that.

First order of business, one of my favorite parts of Cape Town. Minibus taxis. Minibus taxis are the cheapest method of public transport in Cape Town 5-6 rand a trip ( the exchange is about 7.5 rand to a dollar) so they are really dirt cheap. But there is a reason and I will let the wikipedia entry on the minibus taxi do the talking here, "Over 60% of South Africa's commuters use shared minibus taxis (16 seater commuter buses). These vehicles are mostly unsafe and not roadworthy, and often dangerously overloaded. Minibus taxi drivers are well known for their disregard of traffic rules."

Just watching these guys drive is a hoot. They will weave across several lanes of traffic to potential customers swing the sliding doors open while they are still moving at absurd speeds. Someone said downtown the average is about 70kmh (about 40).

But the best part about the minibus taxi is the "Gotcha." The man who leans out the window of these vans and shouts, whistles, winks, makes totally inappropriate comments to white women, and any thing else he feels might make people want to jump into his taxi. This gets really funny considering when you realize how many of these guys there are. A serious approximation I'll give is about 40% of cars are minibus taxis. So the city is just brimming with these hilarious men leaning out of car windows going 40 down busy streets (the wrong side of the street at that, I don't like this driving on the wrong side of the road business...going to get me killed) trying to entice people who don't need a ride to spend 75 cents for a quick ride.

Also they are also apparently a great place to get mugged at night. So I've steered clear of them, but they keep me constantly in stitches. Which is great.

Other little tid-bits I have right now are ...South African beer is decent. I've firmly decided the cheapest is also the best tasting, Black Label its called, its 5.5% ABV, and has a lot more flavor than Windhoek (Namibian). So that's the booze life.

Music here is disappointing. The first night I went to a dance club with some people I'd met... all they played was American pop music. And this was not like good pop (okay...there was some Lady Gaga) but stuff like Owl City...weird. I hope to see some good live stuff. Some people said there are lots of little jazz lounges around that have live music most nights. Something I'll be sure to check out.

Last talking points: I moved into my house today. Totally beautiful. Really upscale nice place, not your typical college house I'll say. It's in what our landlord assures is a "really safe neighborhood" and is "no more dangerous than wherever you all come from." There was a BMW just sitting out on the street (very bold). That's a plus. Very international house. I have 2 Norwegians guys (tons of them in this program)...Turns out Norwegians are the coolest people on Earth... A Swiss guy, a girl who goes to UMichigan, a girl from Yale, and an Australian. And there is one more Swiss person moving in soon. So very nice people. I think we are going to do a little braai tonight. That's South Africa speak for BBQ. Looking forward to that.

So, all is well here.

and they call traffic lights "robots."