Je m'appelle Kaylee

Hi Cool Peeps,

Happy Monday!  I actually had class today.  It looks like my semester is starting.

I had basic french at 8am this morning.  I decided last night that I needed the delicious eggs and oatmeal I had once before so I got up early and went to eat breakfast at the dining hall with another girl in my class.  Unfortunately, they did not have the breakfast out by 7:45 so I had to abandon hope and head for class.  Breakfast supposedly ends at 8:15 so you think that it would be available sooner, but "African time" says otherwise. Oh well,  I had a juice instead and listened to the super upbeat music blasting in the dining hall. People love juice here.  You can find it everywhere.  Most of it is super sweet and close to syrup but I have tasted a few delicious flavors!

My french class was a lot of fun.  It lasted almost the whole hour.  The professor was very outgoing and had a good sense of humor.  He spoke french most of the time and I used context clue to figure out what he meant.  (Also I kept asking the guy next to me, who was nice enough to keep explaining things.)  We went over basic stuff like how are you, what's your name, and what do you do.  French words are pretty darn unfamiliar to me, so reading them and saying them is a bit of a struggle currently.  But just wait, by the end of this I'm going to be a beast at Je m'appelle Kaylee.  (Arjamand, be prepared.  I plan on practicing my french with you!) One interesting thing is the class the started right on time and the professor was not very happy with the students coming in late (some even 30 minutes late).  I've heard that classes often start late and people arrive late.  I wonder if this is the exception or the rule. 

After getting my french professor to sign my add/drop sheet, I took the slip to the international office.  Hopefully, now they will add the classes I want and drop the others.  I will probably check tomorrow just to make sure... I went back to the dorm and realized that I had the whole day to myself since my 2nd class was canceled.  I went for a run and then walked to main mall with my neighbor.  I bought a yogurt and ate a granolla bar for lunch.  Delicious.  Main mall is great because there are all kinds of venders set up selling crafts, clothes, candy, and food.  On almost every corner someone is selling candy or hotdogs.  It is so popular here. My neighbor had a plate of food from one of the vendors and said it was yummy and better than dining hall food.  I  bought a plate, bowl, and a chain for my closet door.   I have a lock on the door to our room but we are also advised to lock valuable stuff in our closets since security, ra's, and cleaning women have keys to our room.  Theft is apparently a pretty big problem here.   It is not advised to walk to many places off campus by yourself.  Safety in numbers.  Yet, I really do feel safe here.  As long as you use common sense I think the odds are in your favor. 

After the mall, I went to the cashiers office to pay for the international students excursion next weekend.  I have been very torn one whether or not I want to go.  The trip includes a trip to a local village where they perform some kind of show for us, feed us, and then we sleep there in tents.  Then next day we visit the local game reserve right outside of Gabs and go on a safari.   It cost 1000 pula which I think is A LOT of money.  I'm not sure that the trip is actually worth that.  Yet, I could just hear my mothers voice saying "Kaylee!  Stop worrying about it!  Did you really go all the way to Africa to be a cheap ass?"  So in the end I spilled out the money and I'm glad I won't miss out on anything!  

I also signed up for the badminton team today.  I'm not sure if they will let me on or what the hours are but I figured I have so much free time I should do something.  Yesterday, I emailed a veterinary clinic and the game reserve near Gabs  to inquire about volunteering opportunities.  I hope to get involved with the "animal" community somehow while here.  Yesterday, was a super relaxing day for me.  I laid in bed until 1:30 and read my book. I then organized my room and walked to the mall for groceries.  

Oh and I almost forgot to share one of the coolest things that has happened to me while here. Saturday night,  Paige (my roommate) and I set off to find out where the load music drifting across campus was coming from. (Apparently from a club down the road..?)  We passed the dining hall and saw there was a loud crowd so we went in to check it out.  It turns out the Olympics were on and just as we entered a woman from Botswana was about to race.  The place was packed!  We watched the race and she actually won!  The excitement in the air was touchable. Everybody was cheering, and yelling, and jumping around.   We went back the next night (last night) to see her race again.   It was even more crowded with people.  They introduced the runners and people went crazy for her.  When the girl from the US popped up she was booed.  Several people around turned to us to see our reaction to the booing.  Paige and I were both pretty neutral.  Out of a place full of people there were only a handful of international students.  The race started and we were all cheering and yelling and then at the last moment USA pulled ahead and won.    Paige and I just looked at each other, decided it was awkward and started heading for the door.  No one really gave us a hard time for it.  One person said "ah man you beat us".  The moment was bitter sweet.  Of course I'm always proud to have America win,  but being here immersed in the culture with a crowd full of excited people you can't help but pull for the underdog.   Both experiences were great!  It gave a whole new feel to the Olympics!  

Here is a picture of the crowd watching the olympics!

Here is a picture of main mall.  You can see that it is pretty much an alley way with stores on each side and vendors set up in the middle. 

 

Have an awesome day! :)