Molweni!

Molweni!!  For the past two days, myself and the 400ish other International and Post Graduate students have had orientation.  We've had presentations on things like safety, financies, classes and other logistical items.  This morning, however, we had two crash courses in the two languages prevalent in Stellenbosch and in the Western Cape.  The first is is Xhosa, which is a form of clicks.  It is the 2nd most popular language in South Africa after Zulu.  The presenter was spectacular.  He had amazing energy and had us singing within the first two minutes.  The language was very fascinating to listen to, but the clicks we had to make were very challenging.

Here's a little of what I learned!!
Molo - greeting used for one person
Ewé - yes (pronounced like "away")
Molweni - greeting more than one person
Igama ndinguKatie - My name is Katie
Enkosi - thank you

Then we had a lesson in Afrikaans, which is a language with Dutch roots.  There was a lot of phlegm involved when pronouncing words that started with a g, but it was nice to learn a few words to help get by for a little while.  Afrikaans is the language spoken most in Stellenbosch so the words will come in very handy.

Here's some of what I learned!!
Hello.  My naam is Katie.
Sonskyn - sunshine
Kan ek vir jou 'n drankie koop? - Can I buy you a drink?
Waar is die naaste badkamer? - Where is the nearest bathroom?
Dankie - Thank you

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We've had a lot of free time - which is something that I'm told we need to get used to.  South Africans have a very different lifestyle than we do back in the US.  They are much more relaxed.   My resident director here said that by the end of the semester, we will all be pros at doing nothing!!  For example, I spent yesterday afternoon in the sun, reading and playing soccer with a 5 year-old boy from across the street.  This is basically what we've done every afternoon for the past few days.

A few nights ago I attended my first braai.  A braai is the Afrikaans word for barbecue.  Everyone from my apartment building and the others in my area come with food and drinks and we all just sit around a table for hours.  It was very fun and I got to meet a whole bunch of new people.  I met students from France, Australia, Germany, a few other European countries as well as the US.  Tonight, the PGIO (Post Graduate and International Office) is hosting their own braai at the Town Hall for all of us.  It should be really fun - and I'm pretty sure it's free food which makes it even better.

Cooking for myself is something relatively new - and cooking for myself on what looks like a toster oven with hot plate type burners glued to the top is really new.  I currently have no pots or pans in my kitchen, but I went to one of my friend's apartments last night and cooked an egg!!  It was very exciting - but took about 10 minutes to cook all the way through.

I keep forgetting to bring my camera to the building where I have internet access, but pretty soon I will have internet in my room and (hopefully) I'll be able to upload some pictures.  It's beautiful here.  The sun, the mountains, the architecture - everything is just lovely.

We have free time until classes start in a week, and we're going to the beach one day, Cape Town another day and then on some hikes for the rest of the time - so expect pictures and more stories soon!!!

Happy Snow!!

Love,
Someone with a Minor Sunburn!