So You Agree, You Think You're Really Pretty

So, yesterday was pretty much fantastic. We had our first class with Anre in the morning which was fairly interesting. In the afternoon we went to Leap College, which is a school for 8th-12th graders. Basically, they accept students from townships who demonstrate that they can handle the coursework and provide them with more opportunities than they would normally have, such as computer labs, cultural activities, smaller classes, and a supportive and encouraging environment. We are all paired one-on-one with 11th and 12th graders tutoring them, but what is interesting is that they are more concerned with us teaching them skills such as time management, studying help, etc. as opposed to just helping them do their work. They were all sooooooo nice and the girl I got was amazing and super chatty. After talking with them one-on-one for a while, we went around and watched the different cultural activities that they do. All of the students participate in one and can choose between choir, drama, gumboot dancing for boys, and traditional African dancing for girls. They were all AMAZING, especially the dancers. Some of us got to learn part of the gumboot dance which was so much fun but really tiring. After leaving LEAP we came home, hung out, went to dinner, and then went to a club called Hemisphere, on the 31st floor of some building downtown. Apparently, it used to be super exclusive and Leonardo DiCaprio went there, but obviously it's not anymore if they let a bunch of young Americans in. At first, it was a little slow, but of course we ended up having a fabulous time. There's definitely some Real World style drama that's starting and I really hope progresses.
Today, we had our first sociology class with a South African prof. She's really nice but she speaks really slowly, which isn't the best for a bunch of jet-lagged kids. I'm thinking that her class will be pretty good, but she seems to have a lot of assignments for us, which is really not ideal. At least Anre has no homework for us except for journaling. After class we went to the bank, and then got this huge sandwich called a Gatsby which is a poor-man's meal, in that it is fries, chicken, and lettuce sandwiched between a huge loaf of bread and sliced for four people. It was really messy and we all know that I don't do messy food very well, but after all the fries fell out I just ate them. Also, we met this fabulous girl named Lotte (Charlotte) from London who is living with us in the hostel. Apparently, she is a psychiatry med student who is doing work abroad for two months and doesn't know a person in Cape Town, which I was like WTF, I'm not sure if you're really brave, adventurous, or just crazy, but in any case we're like best friends and she will definitely be going out with us tonight! I can't imagine being in her position, her first day in a completely different city and not knowing a soul, so I'm going to do everything to make sure that she feels like she's welcome and she can always go out with us (plus, who doesn't love a good British friend, right?!?). I see a great friendship blossoming so who knows where this will go ;-). Tonight, Moses is taking us to a hookah bar for smoking and drinks and then we're going to Long Street which is a street downtown with TONS of clubs and bars and restaurants so I think after dinner we're going club hopping, so I predict it will be really fun. Anyways, it's our first weekend so I'm sure it will be a little crazy (just a little). Till then,

Jason