Do I look like a suspicious character?

I finally arrived in Cape Town yesterday afternoon at 4:45PM, and right away I saw posters welcoming people coming for the 2010 World Cup. The posters look like something that came straight out of the “Wav’n Flags” music video by K’Naan and David Bisbal. I went through the first security check, and I was told earlier by my RA in Cape Town that I had to say I was here for “vacation” or “holiday.” I said it, but the security man continued to question me. He wanted to know exactly where I would be staying, and shuffling through my Stanford orientation papers, I finally found my address. He looked at me suspiciously because he read the "Stanford Overseas" label over the address, “so, is this for holiday? Or for an education holiday?” Ahh, I think he caught me.

Then I get to customs. The two other Stanford students who were with me, Elaine and Tim, were able to walk right through, showing the man that they had passports (they didn’t even have to open it). But then he stops me to interrogate for a few minutes, asking me tricky questions, and testing me on things that I said previously to see if I was going to answer the same. I told him I was staying with friends more than two times, and then at the end, he casually asked if I was visiting family. “No…friends.” Later, “Did you bring drugs, alcohol, etc.?” “No.” “Did you bring gifts or presents for your friends since you’re visiting?” “No…” I finally passed, and Elaine and Tim were waiting there, laughing in disbelief that I had been stopped when they were able to walk easily through. Maybe I do look suspicious.

Sipho picks us up from the airport and takes us to our home for the next few weeks. It's located in a place called "Observatory." The three houses are lovely and very homey. Everything is connected, which I really like. I live on the second floor, right above the den where everyone hangs out and eats. My roommate is Mimi, who I’ve known since freshman year. She’s sweet and awesome. I knock out for a while, unpack, and take a long shower. I felt like a new person, layers of uncleanliness due to hours of traveling actually came off while I was bathing. Really.


Sunday, March 28, 2010 - Day 1
A group of us walked to a local grocery store called “Pick-and-Pay” a few blocks away, took a train to the Muizemberg Beach, hung out there for a couple of hours, and had an awesome native-South African dinner at the house.

The Muizemberg Beach was absolutely beautiful—dramatic cliff “points” next to the ocean, colorful rows of little buildings, and bright sunshine with a breeze. It was really relaxing; we took pictures and walked around. The boys sat while the girls read “Long Walk to Freedom.”

We have a great group. Everyone’s really friendly, nice, and open to getting to know each other. Several of us have talked about how we want to become friends with locals. One of my friends named Liesl asked a University of Cape Town (UCT) student today after getting her number, “Do you…have friends...from here?” Because we have friends too, and they can meet your friends, and we can all be friends together...?

More than just being comfortable in our Stanford group, we want to meet people from Cape Town, which I think is pretty cool. Like I said, I'm with a great group of people, and I look forward to getting to know them better.