Attempting to prepare...OOfta! 12/13/12

To begin with, I am heading to Port Elizabeth, South Africa on January 29th, where I will study abroad for five and a half months!  I will be attending Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where I will finish my Political Science, International Relations and Mass Communications studies.  I am staying at a place in Port Elizabeth, called Annie's Cove, where we apparently have maids (strange concept to get my head around!) and a pool!  We share our houses, called flats, with other international and St. Cloud State students, so it will be exciting to meet other students from all over the world!  Annie's Cove is about a ten-fifteen minutes walk to campus, and the same from the beach!



Attempting to prepare for something like this is overwhelming.  Up to this point, I have spent countless hours doing paperwork, picking out classes, and trying to decide where to visit and how much it will cost.  Just to give an idea, just to be considered for a student visa to South Africa, you have to have a background check, malaria shot, Tuberculous Test, psychical, and special insurance through the university.  Now that ALL of that in FINALLY over, I have to figure out what in the world to put in my suitcase. UM.  When I get there, it will be like May here, so the beginning of summer!  Thank GOODNESS.  I plan to bring as little as possible on the flight, so that I have plenty of room for the stuff I buy there. (Side note:  The South African Rand compared to the U.S dollar is a 9 to 1 ratio!)  So, lets just say,  I may or may not be making a lot of purchases! hehe

Today I actually started putting together a list of the things I wanted to do while I am in South Africa.  This is what I have so far:

1) Visit Mount Kilimanjaro

(For those of you who are unaware, Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, which is nearly 2,000 miles from where I am staying in Port Elizabeth, S. Africa.  Because of my frequent flyer miles from my trip over to South Africa, my plane ticket will be basically free!)  While in Tanzania, there are many national parks to visit, and its cheap!

2)  Visit Cape Town

a.      Table Mountain

b.      Boulders Bay (penguins!)

c.       Swim with Great Whites (In a cage obviously..)

d.      Tour Robben Island (Where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for nearly twenty years)