Africa! What do you think? I bet you don't think of what I'm seeing here right now in this super fancy mall on the Cape Town waterfront! I almost guarantee you don't. Granted, there are some parts that I had expected. Mostly the polarization between rich and poor we had been taught about before leaving. What I didn't expect was how extreme it is. And how practically on top of each other they are. Imagine thousands of people crammed in on top of each other in extreme poverty, and literally across the road is a much bigger area reserved for five buffalo. Amazing! (and not in the good way).

So, I finally figured out how to work this blog... so here I am. I can't believe that I am leaving for Africa in two days! I've spent half my life living in the United Kingdom, but I've never traveled outside the Western Hemisphere. I'm expecting a bit of culture shock, but I'm ready for it! I'm excited for it! I'm excited for something different. I'm definitely ready for a different climate! I love Seattle, but all this rain is getting to me. I'm so excited that its the middle of summer in the southern half of the globe!
I used to be very nervous about the trip. Heck, I was nervous about my study abroad last Jterm, and that was to Canada! I tend to get nervous when I don't know what to expect about the future. However, now that I've finished the reading material for the course in South Africa, I feel a lot less nervous. I'm actually rather excited. It will be amazing to have the opportunity to actually get the chance to see what I've been reading about. I'm so excited for everything to be tangible, rather than trying to abstractly extract the information from books and other sources. And while books can be full of great information, we all know its nothing like actually being there.