I live in Cape Town?

Well hellooo there all you trusty followers (maybe a few more than Mom and Dad now, since I've got something a little more interesting going on these days...)! I hope everyone over there in the Americas is doing fine and dandy, and enjoying the (what I hope to be) lovely transition from summer into fall.

Well, here's the big news as of late: I am now in Cape Town! I am sure most, if not all of you, know this already, but it is still working it's way into my brain as reality. I feel like the last few days have just been a blur of plane seats, airport check-in counters and the always wonderful airline food. I left Seattle very early this past Monday morning, and after approximately 24 hours of flying and/or layover time, I made it safely and soundly to the Cape Town International Airport around 8:50 pm Tuesday. A Volunteer Abroad Corps (VACorps, the organization I am here through) staff member named Sly picked me up and we hauled my luggage into a nearby backpackers hostel located in Observatory, the neighborhood where I'll be living. Unfortunately everyone else was in the mood to party, and I was VERY much in the mood to sleep, so it was a slightly restless night, but definitely better than trying to sleep on the plane (next to a very loudly snoring couple.. very nice, but very congested :)

Wednesday morning was all about moving into my apartment and meeting my new roommates. I live in a house called Station Road, and there are 12 bedrooms and two bathrooms (well, technically three, but one doesn't have a toilet and another one has a toilet but no shower.. so I'm not sure how you classify the bathroom situation). Right now there are 11 of us living here, and everyone seems pretty nice so far. Three of the girls have been here for a few months already, so it's nice to have people to show us the ropes and teach us about how to put minutes on our phones, buy electricity at the grocery store (yes, it is true), and where the safe ATM's, streets, bars, restaurants, and running paths are. Each person in the house has a different internship; some are working at refugee centers, one is teaching dance to underprivileged schoolchildren in the area, another is working at the International Center for Transitional Justice, etc. It really varies. I am the only one doing a conservation/science-based internship, so my experience will most likely be very different than the rest.

Anyway, after moving in and getting unpacked, myself and another new girl, Gen (who is really sweet and from just outside Toronto- Gen is short for Genevieve) headed down to the Quik Spar, our trust little grocery store, to pick up some goods for the following day or so. We got home with our eggs, milk, bread, muesli, yogurt, etc. and proceeded to eat. However, we soon realized that the muesli (granola-type mix) had been opened at the grocery store and someone must have poured themselves a bowl at some point before returning it to the shelf. We didn't quite know what to do at first, but we were so hungry at that point that we decided to go for it anyway, hoping it wasn't poisoned or replaced with some odd concoction of drugs. Muesli was fine and we were both satisfied, but it was pretty funny nonetheless. Only in Africa, I guess...

Thursday was devoted to orientation and a bus tour of the city. Now, one would think that coming to South Africa during the middle of their springtime would be hot. Not exactly the case yesterday. The four of us who were doing the tour sat on top of the bus, bundled in jeans, hoodies and fleece jackets and still freezing our tushes off. The sun peeked through the clouds a few times so we could get some great shots of Camps Bay and Table Mountain, but boy was it chilly. Apparently their summer doesn't really kick in for another month or so. Definitely should have brought a few more warm clothes! But back to the tour... the bus took us around the entire city centre and up Table Mountain, which is gorgeous. The view of the coastline is incredible, and the beaches and waterfront area is amazing. I can't wait to hike Table Mountain and see the vegetation and wildlife up close (as close as they'll let us get to them, at least). Just driving by we spotted grazing zebra and wildebeest.. pretty awesome. I will be posting most of the tour pictures on facebook, as well as pictures I have taken since then. I will work on finding time to post some pictures on future blogs as well, but for now it's easiest to upload them to one site only.

After the tour we had about three hours of orientation with Jon Wilson, the head of VA Corps, which included a lengthy safety overview, tips on budgeting and food, things to get involved with and the guidelines for being involved with the internships. He said that for the most part, our VACorps coordinators will stay involved with us for the next two to three weeks, but after that we are mainly involved with our internship supervisors and the VACorps staff is just around if we need any guidance at any time. They do organize weekly activities on Fridays, such as hikes and winery tours, but everything is optional. It sounds like most of the interns get involved with this stuff if they can get Fridays off, so we will see how my schedule turns out.

Last night was a meet and greet at a Reggae bar here in Observatory (known as "Obz" to the residents and locals here), but by the time we had one drink I was absolutely exhausted so we all headed home for a quick dinner and bed. I finally got a full night's sleep last night so I am feeling much more energized than yesterday.

Yesterday and today were very interesting and exciting.. I learned how to spearfish and free dive! How cool. The guy who runs Animal Ocean, the tourism diving company that I will spend the next few weeks helping out (his name is Steve Benjamin), is a Dive Instructor, free diver and lover of spearfishing, so he volunteered to meet with me yesterday and talk about what we'll be doing for the next few weeks. He is 27 and has done SO much for his age.. he studied zoology and icthyology in school (obtained his Honors, which is the fourth, or "extra" year after a three-year degree) and has worked as an underwater photographer, videographer, research and conservation scientist, body double for diving movies, Dive Instructor, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. He now owns a 14-passenger boat which he uses to take clients out on day trips doing various diving and adventure activities, such as Pelagic Shark diving, Cape Fur Seal diving, wildlife photography expeditions, Cow shark diving, and several others. His skill set is truly amazing and inspiring; I suppose growing up in Cape Town doing these things as a child will help you out a little bit in that department :) Anyway, I will basically be tagging along with Steve and his friends/clients/crew for the next two weeks doing whatever it is that they do- today was free diving and spearfishing at Dassen Island, which is about 9 km off the West Coast here, and is inhabited by a small penguin population. It is the same size as Robben Island but much less known and visited, as not many people beyond fisherman know about it. Today was amazing.. within five minutes of taking off from the boat launch, we spotted a Southern Right whale to our left about 50 yards away, maybe not even quite that far. We stopped the boat as it breathed, spouted and then showed us its tail fluke as it dove back down. The rest of the morning and afternoon was filled with chasing after frantic, circling groups of terns who were feeding on small fish chased upward by the Yellowtail. When the fish feed below the surface, the birds get excited and form feeding groups that are easily noticed above water, indicating to fisherman where the shoal (group of fish swimming together) is located. The men I was with were unsuccessful at spearing Yellowtail today, but they did end up getting about ten good-sized Hottentots (which they called "Hottie" or something to that effect for short). After about five hours on the water, chasing around birds and diving in kelp, we headed back to the shore. On the way we spotted a small pod of Heaviside dolphins, which is a small species of dolphin found off the coast of Namibia and off of the Western coast near Cape Town. They left pretty quickly but we were soon greeted by a curious seal that jumped in and out of the water several times while passing our boat. It was adorable. I am now home, showered and full, and absolutely exhausted. Tomorrow is another early wake up and it's off to dive with Cape Fur Seals! How did I get so lucky?

Well, that was slightly more detailed than I had been planning on, but hopefully that's a good rundown of my first couple of days here. I probably won't have time to be extremely detailed in the coming weeks/months, but I am hoping to update weekly about what's going on with Animal Ocean and then starting in October what types of research I'll be helping out with at Save Our Seas Shark Centre (SOSSC).

Hope this entry finds you all happy and healthy, and know that I am missing family and friends back home like crazy! Would love to hear from all of you!

Love, Amanda