So, I'm in Cape Town. Hard to believe. The trip took nearly twenty-four hours, but so far, it seems like it will be well worth it.

It's beautiful here. Mountains seem to be everywhere you look. I always catch sight of them between buildings, or at the end of streets.

My neighborhood, Observatory, is completely adorable. There are a bunch of cafes, restaurants, bars, shops, and of course an internet cafe. It's all very student-oriented and hip. It's small, but manageable.

We went into downtown Cape Town today (Long Street), led by two people who actually know the area. The architecture is so interesting -- it's definitely a mix of British, Dutch, and local flavor, just like Afrikaans. (Afrikaans was the official language of the apartheid government, which is actually sort of ironic, considering its origins. Early Dutch pioneers in the region stole it from their slaves' slang, mixed it with Dutch, and adopted it for themselves. There are still lots of signs all over the place in Afrikaans.) But anyway. Lots of buildings are painted really bright colors, and it's just a big mishmosh of stuff. One street will look very Western European, then all of a sudden the next block feels like Mexico.

The disparity between rich and poor here is something people talk about a lot. There are beggars everywhere, even (and perhaps especially) in the nice areas, and crime is a huge problem. One South African guy mentioned that it's no wonder, since a fraction of the city (mostly the white part) has camera phones (etc) while a large part of the city (many in the "Townships" or "Cape Flats") still don't even have running water.

But people from other countries in Africa (like Zimbabwe, which has an authoritarian government) still talk about how South Africa is the best country to live in in Africa in many ways. There is a democracy, which enshrines in its constitution rights which are denied to citizens of other African nations all the time. It's also the richest country in Africa, with many thanks to DeBeers, which is based here and generates a lot of business. (It's the tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid here, and DeBeers had an ad saying "A democracy is forever." I thought that was nice. I always liked those shadowy diamond commercials with classical music.)

Anyway. This is already getting too long, but I'm very excited to be here, and I'll try to update this as I can.