Hello from Cape Town! It is currently 8:40 pm and I am sitting in an internet cafe named "Cocoa" (this is where my mom looks it up on google....). I arrived safely here around 1 pm after what was the LONGEST travel experience that has ever existed. They told us that the flight from JFK in New York to Johannesburg is the longest direct flight currently in commercial use (apologies for syntax...its been a LONG day). I met up with girls that I knew through friends in the airport and we stuck together throughout the duration of the flight. They are all really nice. A lot of girls are from Penn...most SDT (wahoo sisters of the torch) and two of them are friends with my big from Michigan (hello Adina!). Of course I found the Jews...as usual. Anyways, I sat on the flight to South Africa from New York next to a girl who goes to the University of Richmond and next to her were a South African couple from Johannesburg. The woman (Rae Brest) was SO nice and we got her email and phone numbers and I will definitely contact her when I go to JoBurg. She knows South Africans that I know who live in Boston...TINY WORLD! The plane ride was PAINFUL...not going to lie. It was sooo long and so crowded. The food was awful and I couldn't sleep well. My video thing didn't work either so that sucked. We arrived in Cape Town 15 hours later and had to go through immigration and customs after picking up our luggage...about 30 people from my trip were on the same flight. While rechecking my luggage I spotted Kimora Lee Simmons and her boyfriend...she had a lot of Louis Vuitton luggage and was wearing 7 inch heals. I clearly followed her through the airport. The flight from JoBurg to Cape Town was 2 hours and 15 minutes. I slept for most of that flight but luckily woke up to see the descent into Cape Town which was absolutely stunning. The whole city is surrounded by mountains and the ocean and it sort of looks like flying into Arizona or Las Vegas. A lot of the townships were visible from the sky, as well. Once we landed, the program picked us up and we drove on a bus to campus. We are staying at a UCT dorm until Wednesday. It is beautiful and has lovely courtyards. The food has not been great but the tea is! The weather was beautiful today but cool right now... It is interesting seeing the extreme poverty next to clearly wealthy white people. They drive on the opposite side of the road which is funny and strange. The rest of this week is orientation for the CIEE program...I get a phone tomorrow so I will try calling, texting, and bbming everyone. The way that the service works here is very different from what I gather.
So hungry, tired me is super happy and having a great time...all news is positive from Cape Town!
Much love from a place different than any I've ever been to before,
Talia
P.S. Much thanks to all my friends who set me up with our mutual friends :)
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