Arriving and Settling In

I've only been here a few days now, so there's not a ton to tell yet.  My flights were long but went smoothly.  I only had one really long layover in Johannesburg but was able to rent a room in the hotel at the airport.  The room was surprisingly nice and I was able to take a nice, long bubble bath after two days worth of traveling.  When we first flew in to the Port Elizabeth airport I was shocked at how small it was: even tinier than the Birmingham airport!  The owner of the boarding house (sorta/kinda host mom) picked me up from the airport that morning.  My first impression was that I could not believe how chilly and windy it is! I knew it was called the "Windy City" and they weren't joking.  And even though I also knew it'd be winter here until about September, I still didn't think it'd be this cold (upper 30s and 40s).  But it should be warming up soon.  So far I haven't done too much, lots of sleeping in and trying to adjust to the time change (seven hours ahead).  I've also just been trying to settle into my flat.  The layout of the boarding house is like this: the main house where the family lives (with adorable 14 month old boy and girl twins!) and two flats, or guesthouses, in the back with a patio between.  I haven't really been able to unpack, yet though, because Monday the other girl from UA, also named Brooke, and I will be moving into the other flat once the two UGA interns leave.  Since all the other interns have already started school, the other Brooke and I have just been hanging out during the day and mostly go back and forth to the "Pick 'n Pay" for things we keep forgetting.  Today we walked down to the Boardwalk and looked around.  It's a really nice shopping area with a casino and restaurants surrounded by manmade lakes and gardens.  Tonight one of the interns borrowed the schools truck, or bakki (pronounced "bucky"), and went to the store and picked up a pizza.  We've just been hanging out at the flat since.  I know this doesn't sound too exciting yet but I'll have more interesting things to say after the weekend and once school has started Monday!