I made it :)

I can actually say that I am in Cape Town South Africa:)  I am officially sick of flying and sitting at airports and am extremely happy to be able to walk around outside and smell fresh air.  The plane from Amsterdam to Cape Town was awesome.  I am pretty sure I watched a total of 6 movies and 8 T.V. shows in 24 hours.  Our group was welcomed by Aaron Asmundson, our instructor, and Alan Jansen, the Arcadia Program leader, when we arrived at the Cape Town airport.  It was nice to see a familiar face and it made me feel more comfortable that they knew their way around Cape Town.  Today was our first official day in Cape Town, and I am really excited for the next couple of days.  My roommate Simone and I already managed to sleep through our alarm, which was a great way to start off our first day:)  Today was mostly orientation stuff and safety tips for our three week trip.  We had a chance to take a bus tour of Cape Town, and learned a lot about the history of Cape Town South Africa.  One intersting fact that I learned was that Cape Town is divided into a West and East side.  The West side we saw today, and it is known as the "wealthy side."  The East side on the other hand, is consumed by poverty.  This Sunday, our group will have the opportunity to experience the so-called "East Side" at hand.  We will be staying with families in the townships and will get to see what it's like to live below standards.  I am looking forward to this part of the trip.  I think it will be an awesome experience for me to step outside my comfort zone and learn a lot about the culture and lifestyle of the South African people.  Tonight, we will have the opportunity to eat a real South African style dinner at the Riverview Lodge, which is where we will be staying for this week and also our last week in Cape Town.  So far, I love everything about Cape Town.  The Weather was rainy today, but it still beats Minnesota:)  On our city tour today, we got a chance to see the stadium where the world cup took place!  It makes me so happy that this country loves soccer:)  Well that's it for now!  Thanks for all of your love and support, miss you all!

Much love:)