June 5-6

Wednesday was my first real day of work! I was so excited to start working on things and to learn more about the organization I am working for. I had several induction meetings to get to know more about each department in the organization. For most of the morning I was in those meetings, but then I was able to meet with my supervisor and she gave me my first assignment. I was required to profile certain universities and people who work at the universities, who could be prospective speakers for and Alumni Relations Workshop. I started working on it for awhile than decided to take a lunch break. For lunch we went to this tiny little deli and got some of the best food since I've been here: a chicken and potato meat pie and curried beef and cabbage samosas. I can honestly say that for the past few days that I have been here, I have not had a single bad meal. I went back to work and began profiling some more. I had about four pages done by the end of the day, and right before I was about to leave I accidentally overwrote my entire work. I lost everything that I had worked on that day and needed to start from the beginning. I was pretty frustrated as you could imagine, especially since I thought I was doing pretty well on them. I decided that it was best if I just relaxed and worked on it a little when I got home, so I wouldn't have so much to do the next day. Later that day the rest of my roommates came home and we decided to go out. We heard that Wednesdays here are like the Thursdays in Lexington, so I was looking forward to a stress-free, fun night. We walked to Station Rd. in Observatory and decided to go to Obz Cafe for dinner. The food was amazing of course. They took a long time to bring us our bill, but honestly I didn't mind it. It was refreshing to just relax and talk after dinner, and not rush everywhere. I feel that Americans are always on the go, and do not really spend much quality time with one another. People here truly live in and for the moment, which is quite an experience for me.

After dinner we went to Stones, a billiards hall/bar. When we first got there it was pretty much empty. There were about four other groups of people playing pool, or billiards. After about two hours there were so many people there that it was hard to even play pool because people were in your way. I had an absolute blast!!!! It was the first time since I've been here that I actually felt at home. Everyone was friendly and all there just to have a good time. Chris, Jasmine, and I left earlier than the rest because we were exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep.

Thursday started out well. I already had done some of the work I had lost. Luckily I remembered where I got most of the information so it was easy to restart, and actually revise it and make it better. I actually learned quite a lot while doing the profiles. It was interesting to see what these universities have done to advance themselves further, which actually had a very positive effect on the environment and society. One of the universities launched a green project, where students, staff, alumni, and other corporates met at a location and planted over 10,000 indigenous trees. The people here seem to truly care about their environment, which they should. They environment they live in is so beautiful and full of life, to destroy it would be a shame.

Later on Boyd and our coworker Vivienne walked about 20 minutes from our office and went to lunch. We got Gatsby sandwiches, which are really popular down here. In case you're wondering, the sandwiches are basically a whole meal. They come in so many different kinds, but ours had lettuce, tomato, fried bologna, french fries, and peri peri sauce all on a sandwich bun. We walked back and saw all of the kids walking home in their uniforms. It reminded me of NDCL, my high school, a little. By the end of the work day, I was able to finish all of my work (10 pages, of which I'm very proud of).  We drove home and rested for awhile. The rest of the night we didn't do much but watch a movie and order Nando's! My favorite meal so far I'd have to say. It's just simple chicken, but it's soaked in your choice of sauce and absolutely delicious. No chicken in America can compare to this. If you ever get the chance to come to South Africa, you need to try it. Over the next few days I'll be going to the Aquarium and Robben Island, so look out for my posts on those exciting adventures!

xoxo,

Alexandra