Cape Town: First Day in detail

We arrived in Cape Town and had to wait on the tarmac for a bus to take us 50 feet. Once we got to customs, I realized I needed proof that I had a return ticket. Luckily I was able to sweet talk the customs lady by telling her I'd fix her broken computer. The SOL Mates (Student Orientation Leaders) were there to meet us and they packed us all onto a bus and drove us to the hotel. I had just enough time to shower at the hotel before I got on another bus to take us to the waterfront.

From CIEE Orientation

The waterfront is a pretty large mall that sits right on the harbor. There I withdrew some Rand and went out to lunch with 10 other people from my program. The restaurant was outside with a view of the water, and of a street performer who strolled up and down mimicking how people were walking. We weren't sure what his game was since nobody would pay him for mocking them but it was pretty funny nonetheless.

After lunch we all got into taxis again and went back to the hotel for a quick meeting. The public transportation is very confusing and I'll try to sum it up but I may be wrong or missing something:

• Metered taxis - the only safe form of transportation at night (especially if you're alone), you call them to pick you up
• Non-metered taxis - you have to barter with the drivers on these and they're not very safe to take after dark
• Mini-buses - by far the most entertaining form of transportation, these run up and down Main Street, and are essentially VW mini-buses. They have a guy who hangs on the door yelling the direction the mini-bus is going, and sometimes he'll get out and try to recruit people from the street while the driver honks. Only $0.50.
• Buses - There is some sort of city bus we've seen around but nobody's talked to us about it so I have a feeling we're not supposed to take it
  
• Metro Train - Ok to take during the day and pretty cheap, but very dirty and can never be taken at night.

Now getting back to my first day... after a quick welcome meeting we were free until 7 when we would all take a bus down to Long Street, where many bars, clubs, and restaurants are. We ate at Nando's, a chicken chain that is very good but this one was just terribly slow. It's supposed to be semi-fast food but it took about an hour for a group of 8 of us to get our food. When we did it was delicious and I was introduced to a South African favorite, Peri Peri sauce which I believe is Portuguese. By the time, dinner was done, we only had a little while until the buses were leaving, so Hillary, a SOL mate showed us around some of the bars and clubs. Brian and I ended up talking with a South African at the bar who knew a lot about American politics and worked for an oil company as a computer scientist here in Cape Town.

I stayed up late just surfing the internet because I wasn't jet lagged like everyone else as I'd spent a week in Europe. Now though I must go to bed for it is the crazy day of registration here at Cape Town which happens in a large room, not on computers. It's like I'm going back in time.